Kim Dannies: Lifestyle & Adventure writing

Stack the Deck with Breakfast Goodies
December 23, 2004

On holiday mornings it’s nice to break out of the domestic routine, relax, and enjoy the celebration. Sounds like a great plan for everyone-- except, of course, the person in charge of breakfast (me). It’s the age old conflict of knowing that bacon has to be fried, but I don’t want to change out of my delicious new cashmere bathrobe to do it. My 2004 antidote to this dilemma is to prep a fabulous breakfast two days ahead of time, put my feet up on Christmas morning, and revel in the pandemonium. Happy holidays to all!

Falalalala Frittata is a delicious quiche-like dish without all the fat and fuss. I prep two: one is a child-pleaser with just cheese, and the second one is filled with 3 cups of special stuff like sliced avocado, shrimp, sweet peppers, tomato, herbs, spinach, and 8 ounces of shredded cheese, your choice. The rule of thumb on frittata fillings is this: if it goes well on a pizza, then it can go into the filling. Spray two glass pie plates with non-stick spray. Place filling ingredients in pie plates, layer cheese, wrap and store. Crack open a dozen eggs, whisk together with salt and pepper and store in a sealed container until the big day. All you have to do for breakfast is preheat the oven to 350 degrees, pour half of the egg mixture into each pie plate, and bake 25 minutes. Great for reheats all day, this recipe wows 8-12 revelers.

Nina’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake is fun to munch on during present-opening with a hot cup of coffee (which is set-up the night before to brew on a timer.) This is my mom’s traditional coffee cake recipe, and we wouldn’t have a holiday without it.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep a ring mold style Bundt pan with non-stick spray. In a mixer, combine the following:3/4 cup of softened butter, 1 cup sugar, 3 eggs, 2 teaspoons almond extract. Beat for 2 minutes.
Add 3 cups of flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder AND baking soda EACH; 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 16 ounces of non-fat sour cream. Beat until a smooth batter forms, 2-3 minutes. Spread one-third of the mixture into the pan.
Filling: mix 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (nuts are optional), sprinkle one-third of the filling over batter, repeat 2 times, ending with filling on top of cake. Bake for 60 minutes. Cool 10 minutes, then tap cake on to a cooling rack.

Breakfast Meats such as sausage and bacon can be roasted ahead in a 350 degree oven for 15 -20 minutes; wrap lightly in paper towel and store in the fridge. To reheat, simply place on a plate lined with fresh paper towel and zap in the microwave for one minute.