Needless to say we were both very excited for the visit. They were to attend a wedding north of San Diego in Carlsbad on Saturday. We planned to drive down there in my Toyota RAV4, the traveling machine, with stops in Santa Barbara and wherever else I deemed worthy of a visit.
In one of her emails, Anne mentioned that she would love to have one of my brunches on Wednesday. I said sure! Nothing is more fun than brunch in the middle of the week as was proven when the Darlos were Here .
We would leave on Thursday for Carlsbad so Wednesday was a "free day.
Welllll, an email popped up stating that her husband, Steve, ( quite the coincidence that we both married Steve's) was admitted to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. She said " we should be okay to fly out there when he is released". The question of the moment is when exactly can he be expected to be released? Having been through a year of dealing with my Steve's on and off hospitalizations, there is no answer to that question. Unfortunately he has some sort of infection that they are bombarding with antibiotics. In my mind I thought the chances slim that he would be strong enough to make the grueling trip out here.
They are not here and probably will not make the wedding. In spite of the turn of events I thought I would write about the brunch I would have prepared on that Wednesday for the three of us.
A one skillet eggy dish that has been a favorite of ours for many years came to mind along with the memories of the last time I made it which was March, 2009. This is from the journal I used to keep about our brunches.
March 1, 2009-Dutch Baby, baby
I have wanted to try this for 30+ years, ever since it was featured in a Sunset Magazine all of those years ago. It is a puffy, eggy pancake that looks like a souffle and collapses like one too.Those were the days that we didn’t eat breakfast, only drank it. Coffee or tea during the work week, beers on weekends with the occasional English muffin. Sometimes I would have cereal. That was when a box lasted me way more than a month. I actually had cereal that turned bad. I didn’t know it until my little niece, Natalia, noticed that the rice crispies didn’t snap, crackle or pop. How embarrassing is that?
Anyway, Martha Stewart was on the Today show demo-ing a Dutch Baby Pancake. The blender technique looked easy and foolproof. Let's give that a try. Here is the link for the recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/333957/dutch-baby-pancake
Sunset magazine had an article on Coffee roasted bacon that I wanted to try. Brunch was on!
Dutch Baby Pancake, made in my old Descoware medium skillet that I haven‘t ruined yet. In a previous blog I lamented about the time I walked away from my beauty large Descoware skillet while olive oil was heating and it cracked the enamel sending splinters spewing. This time I watched the melting butter very carefully.
The presentation was pretty cool. Bits of butter, sprinkle of confectioner’s sugar and squeeze of lemon over all. Very yummy. Steve added Maple Syrup, not I though.
Coffee and brown sugar bacon- Sunset Mag. Feb. 2009, the timing was off in the recipe, so, using my experience from a few overcooked bacon episodes, I shortened the baking time and it came out perfect. Sunset's Coffee-Brown Sugar Bacon
Fruit compote- this was fun too. Kumquats, tangerine segments, kiwi, strawberries, fresh blackberries, a few frozen blueberries and raspberries. Toss together and microwave on medium for 30 sec., stir and keep going at 30 sec intervals until the frozen berries are defrosted. Everything melds together.
I had some leftover yogurt-rum dressing for the fruit which was basically yogurt, honey, rum & a little nutmeg.
Bubbly was one of Trader Joe's Crement du Bourgoune Blanc de Noir, made with Pinot Noir grapes from Burgundy, France. I wasn’t impressed as it tasted a bit corked with the first sip but I decided it was just oakey. Steve only had one glass so I know it wasn’t his fav.
We both agreed this brunch was a keeper. Maybe I’ll bring it out for Easter brunch this year.
Fast forward April 2012. I would have made pretty much that same brunch but would have added a few dishes to embellish the table. Sausage, for instance as well as a good sturdy coffee cake or scones. I know we would have had a great time laughing and telling old stories about the times when we were in college. She had an old Opal auto that she drove around. She called herself "An" in those days and was very active in the Democratic party when Robert Kennedy was a candidate. I was a cheerleader and we had another "bud" that we hung around with but her nickname was "bummy". She liked to "Go-Go" dance in cages at a local club. She became a flight attendant and I think still is. We lost track as she was a little unpredictable when she started drinking but that is a whole other story.
I heard from Anne and they managed to make it to San Diego for the wedding but not without a trip to the emergency room in a Carlsbad hospital. Hope all is okay now that they are back home.
I'll keep the brunch on hold for another time, for sure.
