I can't believe we're more than half way done with the first month of the year.  I feel like I hit the ground running January 1st and haven't even stopped to breathe! Yeah, that's me on the left talking on my phone.  Seems like I either have that attached to my ear or my laptop attached to my fingertips.  It's been a busy start to 2011!  Whew!

A new year always presents itself with new beginnings.  Here are my confessions (excuses) of why I haven't been posting as much this month ...

NEW LOGO & SITE ... "The Travel Bite"

I'm in the process of re-branding.  As a former innkeeper and social media consultant for bed & breakfasts, that's how I got my start in blogging on Inn The Kitchen.  But since my writing has been expanding to more than just breakfast, it is the perfect time to get a new look.  I chose the name "The Travel Bite" because I believe the best way to experience a destination is through it's flavors.  Plus I'll be sharing extra "bites" of information about travel.

Re-branding has been a lot like re-modeling a home; looking at layouts, color palettes and new plug-ins.  And just as moving in real life takes some time and organization ... so does moving over one blog to the next.

I'd love your input!  Any new blog templates or layouts you've seen that you like?  Tell me what websites you just LOVE for the design.  Orange is my favorite color, so I want to incorporated it into the new look.  What do you think of this color palette?

I expect to have the new site, The Travel Bite, up before summer.  And since I still love to stay at B&B's, Inn The Kitchen will still be "live" as I slowly turn it into a sub-category of The Travel Bite.

NEW VIDEOS

Very excited to be starting production on a series of 13 episodes with iZon Orlando.  My home base is in Orlando, and people usually think of Central Florida as the Mouse town and only theme parks.  That couldn't be further from the truth.  Fact is, Disney is about a 45 minute drive outside of downtown Orlando.  My show on iZon Orlando will focus on fun/cultural/foodie things that you wouldn't expect to find here.  The first episode will go live at the end of February.

In addition to iZon Orlando, I have regular cooking show appearances on HSN for Command Performance.  Click here for a program schedule.

There is an exciting line up on the Inn The Kitchen/Travel Bite editorial calendar ... click here to check it out and let me know if there is something that also fits with your plans.

You know how there are those certain foods your parents make you eat that you don't quite appreciate until your an adult?  Growing up, my grandmother used to make "meat pie" every year for Christmas.  And not just one, but several so that we could freeze them and have it throughout January.  Back then, I used to wonder why our family couldn't eat something normal for the holidays such as ham or turkey.  But now, I couldn't get through the winter without having a slice of meat pie.  It's a nice change from hot chili, soups, stews to warm you up after a cold day.

Here's my grandmother, my "Mamere," teaching me to make meat pie.  Or how she and the French Canadian's call it, Tourtiere.

La Ingredients ...

Before you begin ... peel, cut and chop your potatoes. We used 3 pounds of potatoes, but when it was all said and done, we realized we could have added another pound. You could also use "instant" mashed potatoes if you need to save time, but taking this extra step makes for a better texture.

Add the meat to a large stock pot and set on medium heat.

After the meat is fully cooked, drain the broth into a separate bowl for later use.

With the meat pie filling set aside, we added the potatoes and onions back into the same pot with some fresh cold water and a tinsy bit of the broth left over from the meat to add flavor.

The spices ... I only had whole cloves, so I used my mortar and pestle to grind them up. Mixing the dry spices together before adding to the meat pie filling helps make the flavor more even throughout the pie.

After the potatoes have cooked, drain them and add all the ingredients back to the pot.   Using a large spoon or a hand mixer, blend all ingredients together and add the spices. .

Add the filling to your empty pie crust shells.  This recipe makes two pies.

Using a little water, wet the edge of the crust before adding the top layer of pie dough.

Create some vents either using a knife or shaped cookie cutter.  Cover with foil and bake at 450 for 15 minutes, then remove foil and reduce heat to 400 degrees for 40 minutes.

Voila!  Tourtiere ...

French Canadian Tourtiere

My Grandmother's Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground pork
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 8 white potatoes, peeled & cooked
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 -  refrigerated 9 inch pie crust

French Toast was probably my favorite breakfast growing up and recently I've been receiving lots of different variations of this popular morning food.  Some with different fruits and spices, some stuffed, some layered, the classic single slice and family casserole style.  It made me wonder, why do we call it "French" toast anyway?  I know it's not really French, or is it?

Wikipedia's etymology says the earliest use of the term was in 1660 and was bread fried with wine, orange juice and sugar.  I'll have to give that recipe a try!  After doing a little more digging through Google, I discovered in French it is actually called "pain perdu" which translates into "lost bread."  It was a popular recipe in many countries, not just France, as a way of making stale bread palatable.  The English call it "gyspy bread" and I think I'd like to adopt that term from now on ... sounds like breakfast with an adventurous edge!

While there are many different adaptations, the basics remain the same.  A simple batter of eggs and milk.  And I like to add a dash of vanilla, the way my Mom always made it.

This recipe comes from Diane Kenniston Hill Inn Bed & Breakfast in Maine. She likes to make her French Toast with shell or heart shaped homemade biscuits.  In lieu of biscuits I used some Texas sized bread.

Here's what you'll need:

The basics ... milk, eggs, bread, butter

Add to that a dash of vanilla, some sugar, walnuts, strawberries, and maple syrup.

You can do this same recipe with whole slices of bread instead of heart shapes.  Or, if you're like me, next time you walk through the baking section of your store and see all the cookie molds you'll dream of French Toast in the shape of flowers, butterflies, kittens, birds, musical notes and the State of California.  (That last one was random, I know)

If' you're going to make it into a shape, cut your bread first ...

Then add the milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla to a large bowl and mix well.

Pour mixed batter into a shallow bowl for dipping.

Then start layering into a 13x9 inch baking dish.

Slice your strawberries and layer on top of the bread.  Isn't this starting to look like a lovely Valentine's Day breakfast?

Next, put a layer of bread on top of the strawberries, sort of like a sandwich.

I poured the extra batter over top to fully soak them in eggy goodness.

Sprinkle with walnuts and add a dab of butter to the top of each toast.

Bake at 325 for about half an hour.

And you'll have plenty of left over crust to make bread pudding ... or feed the ducks.

When they're finished, slice around the edge of the hearts with a knife and serve individually with strawberries and maple syrup.

Doesn't it look like it's sticking it's tongue out?

That is, if French Toast could sass back and actually had a  tongue.

Mmm.  Delish.

Heart Shaped Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

If you ever wanted dessert for breakfast, and felt a little guilty popping a single Dove's Promise's Dark Chocolate piece to melt on your tongue with your morning coffee ... then I have wicked solution for you.  A muffin.  Because even though it's chocolate, the fact that it's a muffin still makes it breakfast.  And since the stores are filled with pink hearts, chocolates and forget-me-not's, I thought this treat would make the perfect cupid's arrow  ... either for your Valentine's heart or your own.

I have a full list of ingredients and directions at the end of the post ... but the main stars of this event are ripe red raspberries, dark chocolate chips and pink muffin cups to make them cute and girlie.

Sift together your flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.  Then sift the cocoa.

I should have sifted the sugar in with the flour ... but making these snow topped cocoa mountains was more fun.  I like to play with my food.

Add the brown sugar, then whisk/stir it all together.

Next start adding your wet ingredients.  Whisk your eggs together in a separate bowl.

Milk.

Chocolate chips.

Might I add that I almost had to run out to the store to buy another bag as Jim, the photographer, could not stop eating these.  What makes that even funnier is that he doesn't like sweets!  Liar.  These are bittersweet ... so I give him that credit at least.

My recommendation ... get an extra bag of chocolate and an extra package of raspberries for munching.

Here's a few facts that will take away the guilt ... raspberries are loaded with vitamin C ... chocolate is full of antioxidants and polyphenols ... eggs and milk give you protein and calcium.  Ignore the sugar and flour. They don't exist except to carry this wholesome nutrition into your body.  (wink)

Mix in the chocolate chips before the raspberries.  They're a little tougher, so you can really mix them in well.

Raspberries are fragile, so be careful when folding them in.  These were fresh, but I might even recommend freezing them for an hour so that they hold up better to mixing.

Serve on a platter for breakfast ...

Or as a single tasty treat with coffee or tea ...

Chocolate Raspberry Muffins

(recipe modified from Inn at The Park's Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe Below)

2 Cups all purpose flour
2/3 Cup cocoa
1/3 Cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 Cup milk
1/2 Cup melted butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 package of chocolate chips
1 package of fresh raspberries

1) Preheat oven to 350 and grease muffin pan or line with paper cups.

2) In a large bowl, whisk or sift together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder and salt.

3) Beat eggs in a separate bowl, then add all wet ingredients to flour/cocoa mixture.

4) Fold in chocolate chips. Next add the raspberries and spoon batter into muffin cups.

5) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool then dust with confectioners sugar and serve.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

from the Inn At The Park Bed & Breakfast, Louisville, Kentucky

2 Cups all purpose flour

1/3 Cup packed light brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 Cup milk

1/2 Cup melted butter

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 package of chocolate chips

1) Preheat oven to 350 and grease muffin pan or line with paper cups.

2) In a large bowl, whisk or sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

3) Beat eggs in a separate bowl, then add all wet ingredients until well blended..

4) Fold in chocolate chips. Next add walnuts and spoon batter into muffin cups.

5) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve.

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