I love everything and anything orange.  It's my favorite color.  My favorite flavor.  My favorite scent.  I love it so much so that I can even be found popping up in an orange juice commercial for about 3 seconds.  If you see an ad for Florida's Orange Juice, don't blink, you'll see me!

So, when I opened up Pioneer Woman's new cookbook and found Marmalade Muffins, I nearly fell off the bar stool in my kitchen I was so excited.  Pairing my favorite flavor with a sweet morning breakfast treat ... now THAT's a happy moment.  Pioneer Woman is pretty much a household name in any food bloggie's world, but for those of you that have not yet had the delightful opportunity, click here for an introduction.  PW is one of the first blogs I ever read (if not THE first blog) and I always find her writing makes me smile.  I had the awesome opportunity to meet her live and in person at the BlogHer Food party in San Fran during our recent trip to the west coast.  Her new cookbook was a gift to attendees and between BlogHer and driving through Napa my waistline has grown at least an inch since that trip.  Good thing I've got  marathon training to slim it down again!

What was I saying before that long tangent and reminiscing about San Fran?  Ah ha!  Back to the orange muffins ... I was all ready to make them that very instant until I read an ingredient that I never keep in the house ... buttermilk.  I had a bad experience with it as a child.  When I was a little girl, I used to love drinking my grandmother's coffee cream.   She would keep it in a little tin creamer jar in the refrigerator and I would always sneak in a sip or two off the refreshing cold spout.  That is ... until she discovered what I was doing and realized my little 4 year old lips had inadvertently graced every single cup of coffee poured in the house!  Then she started putting the little tin creamer just out of my reach.  I thought I had outsmarted her once when I found what I thought was cream, but then took a big swig of buttermilk.  BLAAAAH!   After that, until I out grew my cream addiction, I only drank cream from the individual plastic thimble-sized versions in restaurants.

So, needless to say, buttermilk has never been a staple item in my refrigerator.  Now, Ree includes instructions for how to "make" buttermilk, or a substitute if you don't have it.  But I thought it was time I made amends.  Besides, I needed to get some fresh oranges.

Florida navel oranges are what's in season, and if you've never had a navel orange allow me to introduce you.

Some have "innies"

Some have "outties"

(And this one has a honker of one for sure.)

And that's why they call them "navel."

You'll notice that they're a little blemished.  Florida oranges usually are.  But what they lack in exterior skin perfection on the outside compared to their California cousins, they more than make up for inside with juicy sweetness.

While my grandmother was over at my house teaching me how to make Rhubarb Jam, we made a batch of these muffins too.

Here we go, starting with blending together the butter and sugar.  Nearly all of  PW's recipes have butter in them.  Quite frankly, I don't know how she stays so fit and trim.  But she does  live on a ranch and has 4 kids to raise ... so I imagine there is a lot of calorie burning opportunities there.

Now, just because they're described as "mini" muffins doesn't mean I had to pull out such a small bowl.  I probably just pulled it out of the cabinet because it was orange.  Sheesh. Have to transfer to something larger.  My grandmother is shaking her head giggling at me at this point and mouthing off some thing in French I can't understand.  :oP

We mixed together the dry ingredients ...

Added the buttermilk and other wet ingredients ...

Zested up some navels ...

And WOOOOOOW.

I've never worked with batter so "fluffy" before.  It's light and whipped and soft and creamy.  I'll have to try buttermilk in place of regular milk in some other recipes now too!

My grandmother couldn't help taking a taste ... caught orange handed!

Now, since PW made mini muffins, I thought I'd try out a new iron pan that my mom gave me over a YEAR ago!  Now so new, huh?

They look delish, but my grandmother shook her head and said, "Rachelle, there is too much in those."  I thought, how could a tablespoon of batter possibly be "too much?"  She was right though.  They sort of exploded into a gigantic pancake completely covering the pan and dripping over onto the bottom of my stove.  Thank goodness I had a cookie sheet there to catch the drippings!

So, we poured another batch in regular muffin cups and THOSE turned out delish!

Drizzled on top is a quick and easy topping of orange juice and brown sugar.  Next time though, I think I'll try this  citrus glaze that I used on scones before.  After all, you can never have enough orange!

In case you were wondering if you've ever seen me blip across your tube in an OJ commercial ... here's photographic evidence!  Just please don't associate me with flu season.  LOL!

This is me with Dave.  And yes, he's a real live bonafide Florida citrus grower.  SERIOUSLY!

And there's me.  In my orange shirt.  Told you I love the color.  But if I ever dye my hair carrot red/orange please tie me up and smack me silly.

Here's the scoop for PW's Marmalade Muffins!  I cant' wait to try the other comfort food yummies she has in her book. Yum!

Marmalade Muffin's from Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients

2 oranges

2 sticks of butter, sorftened

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Directions

1) Grate the zest from both oranges.

2) Mix the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until creamy.

3) Crack in the eggs and mix until well combined.

4) Sift and add your flour into the bowl and stir together using as few strokes as possible so the muffins aren't tough.

5) In a small cup or bowl, combine the buttermilk and baking soda.

6) Add the buttermilk mixture to the muffin batter and mix until just combined.

7) Add the zest and mix until combined.

8) Grease 24 mini muffin tins (or 12 regular muffin tins) and fill 2/3's full with muffin batter.

9) Make for 12 to 17 minutes until golden brown.

10) While muffins are baking, prepare the glaze.  Juice the 2 oranges and add to the brown sugar in a medium bowl.  Stir until combined but don't worry about dissolving the sugar completely so that it will give it a grainy texture.

11) Drizzle the glaze over the muffins as soon as they're done.

Oooh and Aaaah.

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I had lunch with my friend Jimmy recently where we were both talking about our marathon/half-marathon training schedules.  I made the decision to make running a habit when I started baking and re-creating these fabulous (but sometimes fattening) breakfast recipes from Inns.  Jimmy decided to start running when his roommate moved in. You see, she's an aspiring pastry chef.  The girl can do things with fondant that I could only DREAM of trying out for pretend with playdoh. Oh, yeah, and she can make her own peanut butter cups ... from scratch!

Jimmy shared some of her fabulous photos (click here) with me and I invited her to write a guest post for Inn The Kitchen.  Something breakfasty, fall-related, and easy to make.

She sent me the following recipe and photo nibbles for her Apple Crostata.

ENJOY!

Yvie's Apple Crostata

Ingredients:

Dough

1 Cup All Purpose Flour

2 Tbsp Granualted Sugar

¼ Fine Grain Salt

1 Stick Cold Unsalted Butter – Cubed

2 Tbsp Ice Water (possibly)

Filling

2 Large Apples (whatever you have on hand or prefer)

¼ tsp Orange or Lemon Zest

¼ Cup Flour

¼ Granulated Sugar (I used Vanilla Sugar that I’ve made)

¼ Fine Grain Salt

¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon

Dash of Allspice

Freshly Ground Nutmeg

4 Tbsp ( ½ stick) of Cold Unsalted Butter – Cubed

*1 Egg beaten w/ a tbsp of water for egg wash

Directions (For the Dough)

Place the flour, sugar, and salt in food processor and pulse until combined. Once mixed add cubed butter and pulse until the butter is combined and the dough resembles peas.

SLOWLY add the Iced Water – you may not need both tbsp.

Use just enough to bring the dough together.

Once mixed, turn dough out unto a floured surface and form into a disc.

Cover and refrigerate until firm (at least 1hour).

Once the dough has become firm, roll out into a 10 or 11-inch disc. Place this on parchment paper in a shallow sheet pan.

Directions (For the Filling & Crumb Topping)

While the dough is chilling – make your filling and crumb topping. Dice the apples and toss with the zest – place in refrigerator until ready to use.

In the food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg until all mixed. Once mixed, add the butter and pulse until just crumbly. Place the bowl in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Once the dough has become firm, roll out into a 10 or 11-inch disc. Place this on parchment paper in a shallow sheet pan. Place the apple/zest filling in the center while leaving a 1 ½ - 2-inch border (this can be smaller or larger depending how thick you like your crust).

Top with crumb topping.  Fold crust over -- it's okay if some of this covers the apples at the edge. Brush the crust with the egg wash and then bake the crostata in a 450° oven for 20-25 minutes – just until the crust is golden brown.

You can serve the crostata as is or drizzle with a glaze – I drizzled some slices with a vanilla bean glaze and others with homemade caramel sauce. Yummy!!!

Check out more of Yvie's Treats here.

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Any snack, dessert or breakfast containing  either bananas, chocolate or nutella (or God help me all 3 ingredients!) is surely going to push me into my "I'm not sharing" mode.  Containing bananas, maple syrup and pecans ... this breakfast is one of those.  Thankfully for my waistline it is too big and too rich to eat all on my own.

After trying out this recipe I'm convinced there is a way to incorporate it into my campfire cooking repertoire.  Just got to work out the not-having-an-oven in-the-woods part.

This delicious recipe was sent to me from Margi with C.W. Worth Bed & Breakfast in Wilmington, NC.  I absolutely love Wilmington. I have great memories of this historic waterfront town while visiting there often while my cousin went to school at UNCW.   Their ghost walk happens to be one of my favorites.  That guide had me shaking in my boots from his stories and tall tales.  A little history mixed in with a little adrenaline is a great way to entertain.

Anyway.  Back to the Banana Upside Down Pancake.  To start, you'll need to whip up a basic pancake batter found here: Classic Pancake Batter.  The only difference is, add about a capful or two of vanilla to your batter.

Along with your classic pancake batter, you'll need a cup of maple syrup, 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans, vanilla extract, about 3 bananas sliced, and one whole stick of butter.  Yes, one whole stick.  Told ya this would be good!

Margi uses a cast iron skillet.  Since I don't have one, I used an oven safe pan.  Now that I think about it, I probably could have used a little less butter since the cast iron would have absorbed more.  But ... since when could you EVER use too much butter?

When the butter is melted, coat the pan with a pastry brush and add maple syrup.  Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Next place coat the bottom of the pan evenly with banana slices.

Then cover your bananas with the chopped pecans.  I think I went a little nuts with the nuts.  That looks like a little more than a 1/2 cup in my hands.

Next pour your pancake batter on top of the nuts and bananas and cook for about 5 minutes on the stove top.  Then add to your oven for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let cool.  Then invert onto a large platter or plate and enjoy!

I smothered mine in more syrup, and then let it soak up the syrup for another 5 minutes.  As you can imagine that made it incredible moist and really ... really ... sweet.

My neighbors Jim & Ana came over for dinner and I served up some of this left over pancake with vanilla ice cream on the side.  Jim said it reminded him of a clafoutis, which is a French term for basically "fruit and batter."  Well, it may be.  If you want to get all fancy schancy.  But really it is just a simple and easy recipe to make.

C.W. Worth House Bed & Breakfast

Banana-Pecan Upside Down Pancake

Ingredients

1 stick butter

1 Cup Maple Syrup

2-3 bananas

1/2 Cup chopped toasted pecans

1 recipe of your favorite pancake mix

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2) In heavy cast iron skillet, over low heat, melt 1 stick of butter and brush the sides of the skillet with the butter using a pastry brush.

3) Then add 1 cup of Maple syrup and remove from heat.

4) Slice 3 to 4 bananas evenly to completely cover the bottom of the pan.  Sprinkle chopped toasted pecans over that.

5) Mix up pancake mix and add vanilla.

6) Pour batter slowly over the bananas/nuts and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes.  Then bake in oven for 45 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

7) Let cool, then invert on large platter or rimmed cookie sheet and serve.

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Here in Florida, since the weather stays warm, the only way to know if the season has changed is when the store fronts change their displays.  And since orange and black and purple Halloween stuff is around every corner I turn when shopping ... we must be entering into my favorite season ... FALL!!!  I'm glad all the stores have their stuff out early because the month of October seems to fly by too fast.  I say, better to get started sooner rather than later ... even if it's still 90 degrees out.

Fall brings with it many big festivals to our quaint little town and one I'm really looking forward to this year is the 25th Annual Craft Fair. The sweet smell of kettle corn, funnel cakes and cinnamon brooms.  The buzz of the crowd.  And the many really cool artisan crafts lining the streets.

During our last festival, I had the opportunity to meet Teresa Haun, craftsman artist and creator of Mind's Eye Journals. She stayed at our cottages during Mount Dora's Annual Art Festival and we instantly became buds while sharing travel stories and philosophies on life around a fire pit while roasting marshmallows and making smores.

Teresa resides in Tahoe, but has spent the last year with her husband innkeeping at the Silver Forset Inn located in Montana between art shows. Being an innkeeper has given them both the opportunity to express their creative side in the kitchen mixing ingredients and and flavors.

She's coming back this October and I can't wait!  Teresa recently sent me two of their favorite recipes, and this one below is the perfect thing to wake your senses out of any Halloween-candy-sugar-induced coma you may find yourself in during the coming months.

I trimmed the recipe in half since I was just cooking for two ... however, I have the full recipe at the end of this post.

Here are the players ... full character roll listed at the bottom with the recipe.

Italian seasonings include marjoram, thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano and basil and are very fragrant. Usually you can find this in a gourmet spice blend. Once you add them to the simmering butter ... the aroma will lure people into your kitchen asking, "whatchya makin'?" Meaning ... "I'm going to get to taste this, right?"

Melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the spices and crushed garlic.  The garlic crusher takes two hands for me ... it was a big clove ... but no vampires will be lurking around here for Halloween with this recipe for sure!  Set your oven to 350 degrees to start warming up.

Garlic, spices and melted butter ... is anyone hovering over your shoulder making "Mmm" noises yet? I recommend doing this on low heat so that the butter doesn't bubble or burn.

While your waiting, wash your mushrooms and place them in a cake pan or cookie sheet with edges gill side up with the stems removed.

When the butter is fully melted and the spices have simmered for a minute or two,  evenly divide the mixture in all the caps. My baking dish is clear, so it looks like I'm doing this on my counter top.   Bake the caps for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

While your caps are cooking, your ready to start poaching your eggs. "I don't have an egg poacher," you say. No problem! You can poach eggs without an official egg poacher.
Next, add a tsp (maybe a dash more) of white vinegar. This helps the eggs stick together as one piece instead of making a stringy egg drop soup.

My first tip, bring the water to a boil, then turn down the heat so it is more of a simmer and not a rumbling bubbly boil.

And the secret ... crack your eggs into a small bowl and slide the egg from the bowl to the water.  This also helps them stay in one piece as opposed to plopping into some stringy Saturn-shape. Also, if you happen to break the yolk, you won't be dirtying up your water.

The eggs will take about 3 to 5 minute to cook depending on the firmness you like. I would start the process when your caps are almost complete. If you need to, you can add your eggs to an ice bath to stop the cooking process while you're preparing other things. We'll warm them up again in the oven with the mushroom caps.

You can use a slotted spoon to corral the egg when you first slide it into the water. Cover and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes.  For this recipe ... be sure not to over-cook the eggs as you're gonna add them to the oven as well.

While your eggs are cooking (and this is going to happen quickly, so don't be like me and wait until the last minute to get your spinach out of the fridge), saute/steam your spinach in another frying pan with a little olive oil and water. This should also only take about 3 to 4 minutes. We'll be flash broiling all the ingredients together in a little bit.

At this point, your caps should be done. Take them out of the oven and switch the temperature on the oven from 350 to Broil.

Arrange your spinach onto oven safe plates and gently slice your mushroom caps onto the spinach.

Next, you'll add the cream. I was a goof and forgot to divide the cream in half when I was reducing the recipe for two people. So ... I have a pint ... and at least I can use what's left over to cream my coffee. If you are baking 4 mushroom caps, then a pint is perfect. If you're only baking two, then a pint will drown them so don't add the whole thing.

Now that my confession is over with ... add two eggs to each cap and then drizzle with a cream.

The cream will blend with the butter, garlic and seasonings and create a rich savory sauce.

Sprinkle with grated Parmesan. This is getting good ...

Cover with foil and broil (didn't mean for that to rhyme) for about 3 to 4 minutes.

Just enough for the cheese to melt.

Mmm. Delish. When you remove from the oven, sprinkle with chopped parsley and enjoy!  Be sure to add the plates to a charger for a moment as they will be hot!

Portobello Eggs

Ingredients

2 Portabello Mushroom Caps
1 Garlic Clove
1 tbsp Italian Seasonings
3 tbsp Melted Butter
1 tsp White Vinegar
(not pictured and used for poaching eggs)
4 cups Spinach
(totally forgot this in the fridge come picture time! but it's in the recipe!)
1 pint Heavy Cream
(yeah, I should have reduced this to half ... at least I had some left over cream for my coffee!)
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan
Parsley for Garnish

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2) Melt the butter, add the crushed garlic and Italian seasonings. Using a cake pan or cookie sheet with edges, place the caps gill side up and without the stem. Equally divide the butter mixture between caps and bake for about 20 minutes. Caps should be cooked but not shriveled ... firm to the touch and just a little light color left. When the caps are done, remove them and cover with foil. Turn the oven up to broil.

3) While caps are cooking, start your poached egg water. It should almost be at a boil, but not rolling bubbling boil. Add a teaspoon of white vinegar to help bind the eggs. Crack the eggs one at a time into a small bowl, and slide the egg from the bowl to the water to poach your eggs. This helps contain the egg better and prevent it from spreading out and getting stringy in the water. The eggs should only take about 4 minutes depending on the firmness desired.

4) In a separate large frying pan, saute/steam your spinach in just a touch of olive oil and a little water.

5) Arrange spinach on oven safe plates. Place 1 cap on each bed of spinach, place 2 eggs on each cap.

6) Drizzle with heavy cream over the whole plate. (this mixes with the butter mixture adn creates a rich sauce) Sprinkle with Parmesan and flash under the broiler, just enough to melt the cheese a little. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve. (I like to "chop" my parsley with kitchen scissors)

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Yesterday we headed over to the Mount Dora Historic Inn to learn how to make ... quite possibly... the best omelet I've EVER had. Seriously. First of all, the salty scent of frying bacon got the best of my empty belly when we first stepped in the door. But when Chef/Innkeeper Jim Tuttle walked out with a bottle of chardonnay and said, "we're going to need some wine to make this breakfast," I knew it was going to be a fabulous day.

Chef Jim shared with us his secret to making the best omelet, cooking asparagus, and even a little dance that makes water boil faster. The recipe of the day was his Bacon Asparagus Stuffed Omelet with Buerre Blanc sauce. It's the perfect gourmet breakfast for two.

****Now, there are so many different methods for making an omelet. Some add water, some add milk, some cook with butter, some with oil, there really is no "wrong" way ******

Want to make your own awesome omelet? Here's what you'll need

Freshly cooked bacon and asparagus, eggs, 1/2 stick of butter, 1/2 Cup fresh grated cheese, dried mustard powder, salt, freshly ground pepper, a dash or two of Tabasco

First, start off by taking a look at my side notes for creating the buerre blanc sauce and perfectly cooked asparagus.

Now, let's get started on the perfect omelet. Chef Jim has a couple of secret ingredients I've never added to my omelet mix ... Tabasco and mustard powder. The first step is an easy and familiar one ... just break your eggs into a deep mixing bowl and whisk together.

Then sift your mustard powder through a sieve to break up any clumps and add about 5 "dashes" of Tabasco to taste. Personally, I usually don't like hot sauce, especially on my breakfast. But adding the Tabasco at this stage gives it a little more flavor without the kick. Also add just a dash of water (Chef Jim's not known for measuring things) and whisk together again. You're about ready to start your omelet.

Bacon. Bacon. Bacon. I hear the voice of that pooch in the bacon strips commercial chattering on in my head.  I'm just as crazy about bacon as he is ... except ... of course ... this is the real thing.

Prepare the bacon as you normally would. The TIP here is, after you've finished cooking it stove top, sandwich between paper towels and microwave for about 10 to 15 seconds to further absorb the extra grease. This tip makes for extra crispy bacon.

Chef Jim likes to use butter AND olive oil to coat his frying pan. So, just in case the olive oil and asparagus threw you for a loop and gave you the impression that this is a "healthy breakfast" ...  let me just say that the taste is worth EVERY calorie. Especially the buerre blanc sauce. Mmm. On with the omelet .

Chef Jim quoted Julia Child as saying, "an omelet contains a hard outer shell of eggs containing a soft scramble." Here's his tip on how to get an evenly cooked omelet. Lift up the cooked edge and allow the uncooked egg to flow around it. This creates layers of cooked egg. See the sequence below ...

At this point, you want to flip your omelet and layer with the goodies you've pre-prepared such as the bacon, asparagus and sprinkle with cheese.

Here's another extra step I had never considered. Jim pops his omelets in the oven for 3 minutes at 375 degrees in order to bring everything to the same temperature. Note, if you are going to do this, you need to make sure you have oven-safe frying pans (without any plastic parts) and remember to use oven mitts to remove them!

Flip them onto your serving plate ... drizzle with buerre blanc sauce ... savor the moment ... sprinkle with paprika ...

Bacon & Asparagus Stuffed Omelet

Ingredients

Bacon
Asparagus
7 Eggs
1/2 stick of Butter
1 Cup Fresh Grated Cheese (we used muenster and cheddar)
Dried Mustard Powder
Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper
Tabasco

Directions

1) Create your buerre blanc sauce and perfectly cooked asparagus.

2) Break your eggs into a deep mixing bowl and whisk together.

3) Sift your mustard powder through a sieve to break up any clumps and add about 5 "dashes" of Tabasco to whisked eggs.

4) Prepare the bacon as you normally would. The TIP here is, after you've finished cooking it stove top, sandwich between paper towels and microwave for about 10 to 15 seconds to further absorb the extra grease. This tip makes for extra crispy bacon.

5) Add butter and olive oil to coat frying pan.  Bring heat to medium high.

6) As egg is cooking, lift up the edge and allow the uncooked egg to flow around it. This creates layers of cooked egg.

7) When omelet is firm,  flip and layer with the goodies you've pre-prepared such as the bacon, asparagus and sprinkle with cheese.

8 ) Add omelets to the oven for 3 minutes at 375 degrees in order to bring everything to the same temperature.

9) After baking for 3 minutes, slide omelet onto your serving plate ... drizzle with buerre blanc sauce ... savor the moment ... sprinkle with paprika ... and enjoy!

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Chef Jim, with the Mount Dora Historic Inn, shared with us this recipe to accompany his Bacon and Asparagus Stuffed Omelet. So, what exactly is Buerre Blanc Sauce? Literally, buerre blanc translates to "white butter." Now, add to that butter a little wine. And in this recipe, add a little cream. Sounds sinful and naughty, does it not? Buerre blanc sauce is a rich and savory French sauce that will make a flavorful addition to any dish, from eggs to fish. There are many different variations such as citrus, lemon, shallot, wasabi and more, but today we're going to stick with simplicity.

There are only 4 basic Ingredients: Wine, Heavy Cream, Butter & Salt.

You'll love how it starts ...

Open up a bottle of chardonnay or your favorite unfinished white wine from the night before.

Add a half cup of wine to a medium sauce pan over medium heat.

Stir wine until it becomes a little syrupy and the volume is reduced by half.

See how there is a line on the pan from the initial pour of wine?

Pick a spot as your "half way" point to measure when it's reduced by half.

The wine will also thicken and become a little syrupy.

At first it's going to smell a little weird ... like vinegar.  But don't fret.

That's normal.  And the butter and cream that's added will cut down on the acidity.

Next, add in 1 Cup of Heavy Cream and whisk together with the wine.

Also add a pinch of salt to bring out the flavor.

After the wine and heavy cream are whisked together, add a full stick of butter.

Most recipes call for "chunks" of butter to be added.

This little tid bit was Chef Jim's secret for easy whisking.

As the butter melts, you can more easily blend it with the wine and cream

without getting clumps of butter stuck to your whisk.

Let it simmer until it's bubbly.

And Chef Jim says, "when you think it's bubbly enough, let it go just a little longer.

Voila! Serve over your Bacon & Asparagus Stuffed Omelet.

Basic Buerre Blanc Sauce

Ingredients

1/2 cup of white wine

1 cup heavy cream

1 stick of butter

pinch of salt

Directions

1)  Add a half cup of wine to a medium sauce pan over medium heat.

2)  Stir wine until it becomes a little syrupy and the volume is reduced by half.

3)  Add heavy cream, pinch of salt and whisk together.

4)  Add whole stick of butter, and whisk butter into wine and cream reduction as it melts.

5)  Let it get a little bubbly and simmer.  Then serve!

###

How on earth ... literally ...can it be ...that I can shop the world with just a click of a mouse ...

all the purchasing power of PayPal at my fingertips ...

and I can't get one single friggin kind of beer?!

From New York?!

How can this be!?!?!?!?!?

Something about alcohol crossing state lines ... whaaaaht???? I suddenly had a shimmering glimpse of what it must have been like during prohibition. So sad.

If you're going to try this recipe ... and you don't live in the State of Florida ... you MUST try it with Brooklyner Weisse Beer as it was intended.

And then email me or comment about how delightful it was a totally rub it in my face that I'll never know ... that is ... until I go on vacation out of state somewhere and whip this up again.

Inspired by a visit from Tom and Gayle, and in an effort to entice my photographer friend Jim (check out some of his other images here) to pop over for some breakfast ... I paired breakfast with beer.

It was a late breakfast ... I promise ... after noon.

This was a little outside of my box as it was not an "inn" that gave me the recipe. I found the recipe on Tom's website, BrooklynBrewery.com . Having beer with breakfast intrigued me. While I have to confess that I'm not normally a beer drinker ... this was an AMAZING flavor pairing. Since I couldn't procure the Brooklyner Weisse, I just had to use a substitute (but still very tasty) beer with my breakfast.

Follow along our fun day of drinking beer and kitchen debauchery.

I have the recipe in it's entirety at the end of the post.

The Players ... 2 to 3 eggs, a log of goat cheese, granny smith apple, a dab of butter, a splash of milk, a wee bit of vegetable oil, and a pinch of sugar. Okay. Maybe a little more than a pinch.

You're going to need two (2) pans ... one for the apples and one for the omelet.

Melt the buttah.

Add a dab of oil to the pan you're going to use to make the omelet.

While you're waiting for your butter to melt ... you can start on the following.

Such as chopping your apples. I use this nifty tool. Is that cheating?  I think I've had this cutting-corners guilt trip before.  Anyway ... take a swig of beer to ready your pallet.

Remove the skins from the apples and make the slices about 1/8 inch thick ...

or should I say thin?

If you've got a beer open at this point ... careful with the knife.

Arrange your apple slices in the hot melted butter.

Sprinkle on the ... ah em ... pinch of sugar. I think I used an 1/8 of a cup.

While your apples are browning (stir them occasionally)

slice up your goat cheese and break into crumbles.

Goat cheese is my favorite ... but it's a sticky sucker!  I got it all over my hands

If you're making an omelet for one ... as in ... just for yourself ...

now is an appropriate time to lick your fingers.

Who want's to waste delicious goat cheese?

If you're making an omelet for yourself AND others ...

then now is a good time to go wash your hands

while the photographer snaps a shot of the lonely goat cheese.

Next, prepare your eggs as you would to make an omelet.

What on EARTH was I thinking using this tiny bowl. I'll tell you what I was thinking ... I've got two other great bowls to use ... but they're both in the dishwasher. Darn! Sip some beer.

So, now how am I going to whisk these babies?  Can't exactly tip the bowl.  The beer is getting my creative side going.  Or ... maybe it's just making me forgetful?  Here was my great solution ...

Not exactly a "Top Chef" method for whisking eggs.  But it was fun.  And I laughed.  A lot.  (Take another swig ... it is after noon, after all!) Oh yeah. I forgot. I needed to add a splash of milk. Now I'm not laughing. Sobered up real quick. I've run out of room in my tiny bowl.

Pour your eggs into the pan when the butter/oil is hot enough to sizzle ... but not so hot that it will burn.

After the egg has coagulated (can you believe I'm using such big words with a beer in hand?), run a spatula around the edges of your omelet to unstick it from the pan.

Then you're going to lift it up by the edge and tilt the pan so that the liquid egg runs into the empty space you've created ... thus cooking more evenly.

How am I able to do this so gingerly after starting in on the beer?

Nearly spilling eggs on my floor sobered me up.

Ah, there we go. A nearly perfect omelet ready to flip.

Obviously I hadn't sobered up enough! Or, as Julia Child would say, I must not have had "the courage of my conviction."  Ah well.  I didn't add it back to the pan.  I've got plenty of eggs.  We'll just make some more.

After you get your omelet flipped ... and back in the pan ... it's time to put it all together.

Apples look good, sweet and slightly caramelized.

Add your apples and cheese.

Pour your brew.

Voila. Beer ... with breakfast!

The sweetness of the apples with the creaminess of the goat cheese wrapped in fluffy egg is divine. Now. After taking a bite. Take a sip ... WOW that's good!

--Rachelle

Goat Cheese & Apple Omelet

from the Brooklyn Brewery
Serve with Brooklyner Weisse

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 Granny Smith Apple, peeled and sliced thin
Pinch of Sugar
1 Small Log of Goat Cheese (approx. 4 ounces)
2 Extra-Large Eggs
1 Tablespoon Milk
Black Pepper to Taste

Directions

1) Melt half the butter in a small nonstick saucepan or wok over medium heat. Add apple and cook until slices start to brown, then add sugar. Stir slices until nicely browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Cut slices of goat cheese, 1/2 inch thick.

2) Beat eggs and milk together, just until uniform. Heat remaining butter in an omelet pan or small nonstick pan over high heat. When butter foams, add eggs and reduce heat to medium-low. When omelet is about half firm, carefully turn over.

3) Arrange goat cheese on one half of omelet; cover cheese with apple slices. Fold omelet in half, turn off heat and leave for one minute. Place omelet on a warm plate, and sprinkle with black pepper to taste. Serve with Brooklyner Weisse.

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