Breakfast - Brunch

This is superb for a party or brunch. It is different and satisfying – not quite chocolate soufflé cake and not a cheesecake but somewhere in-between. It is as good served chilled in wedges with warm white chocolate sauce as it is slightly warm out of the oven, with caramel sauce or whipped cream or even a scoop of softened vanilla ice-cream. Use leftover chocolate cake such as Classic Dark Chocolate Layer Cake and leftover Notting Hill Brownies (without any nuts in it) or your own. If you are really time-pressed, use leftover store-bought or a mix. I give you permission for the final results of this cake are more than the sum of the parts (although homemade everything makes it cake Utopia). And if you don’t have enough cake  - use more brownies; or vice versa or make up the difference with the bread chunks. It is a flexible recipe. Chocolate extract is optional but a nice touch. Nielsen Massey makes it and can advise you where to find it online or in stores.

 

One batch of batter – divide in two: dump blueberries in one, and chocolate chips in the other. One effort, two batches of muffins. Everyone is happy. Great freezers.

A dessert bread or a breakfast treat. This is the easy approach of a cinnamon bread with but the French factor: tons of chocolate, butter and the creativity of la boulangere. It is like pain au chocolate in a loaf. This recipe gives you a dough hook or bread machine approach.

You cannot believe how good a strong black tea is when coupled with chocolate notes and a sweep of orange! This is dessert in a cup. An extravagant, outrageously, decadent cuppa tea. You could vary this by using white chocolate instead of the milk chocolate. This is a great tea to bring in a cannister or pretty cello bag and a colored tie as a gift or for serving to guests with spice cake, butter cookies, or a delicate pastry.

This is lovely to look at and handy, as it is made ahead (up to three days). It is refreshing and unique, and easy enough to serve a crowd. If you want to avoid the eggs, simply leave them out. Canned or jarred prepared beets, as well as roasted red peppers are two ways to speed up the preparation of this salad. A sweet and sour version is another variation: chopped cabbage, lettuce, apples, pears, raisins, and carrots would be the layers. You also vary it in with canned black beans and crushed tacos - almost any variety of layered things would work. The trick with this is finely chopped everything so the final result is a pretty, marinated salad.

Double or up the recipe as you need.  This is wonderful for Passover, Easter, brunches or wedding day luncheons. A Fiestaware egg dish is perfect for this.

A dense, dark spicy bread.

Another recipe inspired by Commander’s Palace of New Orleans. Puffy, fried hominy (cream of wheat or use cornmeal) croquettes topped with a spicy sausage and scrambled egg crown. We recommend Trappey’s Red Devil hot sauce with all our New Orlean’s recipes.

The Brennan family, like many landmark New Orlean restaurants has vowed to stay open and continue their family’s restaurant legacy. This is a coffeecake such as they serve at Commander’s Palace. It is rich, buttery and typical of our favorite American style sour cream coffeecakes. Serve with www.ThanksgivingCoffee laced with a dash of chicory. This is a sumptuous, golden, moist sour cream coffeecake to beat the band. If you collect sour cream coffeecakes, you have to try this one. Visit www.CommandersPalace.com in New Orleans.