Breakfast in Georgia (Kellett edition)

I made it to my parent's place in Georgia last night after a long drive from the Old Dominion. (Although, the trip did include a brief stop at a splendid glass shop in Greensboro. That made the journey a bit happier!)

Since their guest room shares a wall with the kitchen, I awoke to the sounds of Dad banging things around in an attempt at breakfast.

It seems he's been cooking more, and even my mother ,who reserves her praise unless things are truly phenomenal, says he's getting "better." So, I jumped in as his sous-chef and we made an omelet, hash browns, and some of my mom's sour dough rolls.

Now, it isn't much to look at, but my dad and I have had some carefully guarded distance over the past few years and this little meal... I think it's the beginning of better times to come. Sigh. I like breakfast.

Cinnamon Raisin Pancakes with Jack Apple Compote

After a fun night, (and a funner morning, wink, wink) we rolled out of bed to make coffee and create breakfast. Our brunches tend to be egg and veggie based, but the fridge being a bit bare left Avery holding a red apple and saying, "What can we make with this?" Being the oatmeal pancake lover that I am, I said, "Jack Daniel's Apple Compote!" And so the morning began...

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes for 2

• 1/2i-sh cup flour (pref. organic wheat)
• 1/2 cup of rolled oats
• 1 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 pinch of black pepper
• 1 tablespoons of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon
• 1/3 cup of raisins
• 1 cups of milk (buttermilk is even better!)
• 1 egg

1. Stir together dry ingredients.

2. Add milk and beaten egg.

3. Preheat oven to 200. (so you can keep the pancakes warm after you make them)

4. Heat skillet to just over medium and grease pan with butter (yes, butter, just this once...)

5. Pour pancake-sized dollop of batter in skillet.

6. When it starts to get bubble on top, flip the cake.

7. Cook until golden brown on each side.

8. Place cake on plate or pan in the oven.

9. Repeat 5-7 times until out of batter and all pancakes are made. (for us this usually makes about 3 apiece - WAY more than we can eat!)

Jack Apple Compote

• 1& 1/2 red apples (with or without skin) chopped into small pieces
• 1/2 cup sugar or molasses
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1 shot of Jack Daniel's whiskey

1. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat

2. Add Apples and cook until soft

3. Add sugar or molasses and let simmer over medium until ready to pour over pancakes

Served with sausage, cantaloupe, and scrambled eggs this delightfully sweet brunch came together quickly and contained all the good things a brunch should - sweet, savory, and a little dash of Jack Daniel's.

Nuevo Huevo Rancheros

This morning found Kellett in town and Avery ransacking his fridge to pull breakfast together...

Some churizo sausage, spring onion, thai hot sauce, roma tomato, and lime juice made a salsa-ish sauce to go over the toasty warm corn tortillas, sunny-side-up eggs, and a little shredded cabbage.  The resulting sweeter, spicier spin on huevos rancheros made for a lovely start of the weekend, reunion meal.

>From Brunch

Roasted Asparagus, Grit Cakes and Scrambled Eggs

After returning home from giving the final this morning, I roasted some leftover fresh asparagus, made the leftover grits into grit cakes and scrambled up some eggs. I love how a stocked fridge makes for great breakfasts!

Breakfast and the Museum

This morning's brunch led us to breakfast with our friend, Henry, over in Freemason. Scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, capers, cream cheese, bagels, jam, and my meager contribution of Georgia grits made for a filling breakfast while Benny Goodman played away on the phonograph.

After breakfast, we walked over to the Chrysler Museum's Norman Rockwell exhibit.Weekend mornings should always be this enjoyable!

Brunch is Back

After a hiatus from posting created by busy directing and work schedules... I'm thrilled to say I'm back in the kitchen and headed back to a routine. Avery came up for the show opening on Friday and we made sweet potato home fries and a Korean squash and cheddar frittata for breakfast on Saturday. Which was rare for us, as he's often at the glass shop and I'm often at rehearsal. Happy eating!