{weekday breakfast with starbucks & keurig}

I am so excited to partner with Starbucks for a 3 part series about their flavored K-Cup® Packs because let’s face it people...my lifeblood before noon revolves around coffee. We’ve had a Keurig machine for almost 3 years now ever since we received one off our wedding registry and it really satisfies my push of button instant gratification needs (read: I’m a bit lazy in the morning so anything that takes significant effort or laborious clean-up isn’t going to work).

Today’s post is all about my favorite breakfast pairings. My dream breakfast situation (besides going out for a boozy Sunday brunch) is a leisurely morning spent cooking (probably this French toast) and maybe even getting back in bed to eat it, but most days that’s not a reality.  So today I thought it would be fun to show two of my favorite go-to breakfasts for quick weekday mornings: a super-food packed acai parfait and avocado toast using my secret ingredient!

Most mornings the very first thing I do (after taking out our high maintenance dog) is brew a cup of coffee in our Keurig and add a splash of cream.  I enjoy that cup of coffee while getting ready, watching the news, trying to make myself presentable to leave the house, etc.  I always drink that first cup of coffee like it’s my last and it disappears in about 15 minutes, so I’ll brew a second cup to enjoy with breakfast.  I usually just add a splash of cream to my coffee so I was excited to try out the flavored Starbucks® flavored K-Cup® Packs hoping that the sweet flavors like Vanilla or Cinnamon Dolce might prompt me to use less cream (which they did! win.).  Scroll down for my secret avocado toast ingredient and simple acai parfait recipe that I pair with my morning coffee!

{custom coffee sleeves with our wedding crest from here}

{sugar bowl from here & gold tongs from here}

{you guys. this Tajin Seasoning is the secret ingredient to out of this world avocado toast. trust.}

Simple Acai Parfait:

what you need:

• acai smoothie packet (I like the unsweetened version from here - and you can find it cheaper at your local Whole Foods or Costco)
• 1/3 cup granola 
• 1/2 cup light vanilla soy milk
• 1 cup kale (or leafy greens like spinach)
• 1 half banana, chopped
• 5 strawberries, sliced
• toasted coconut flakes

1. Place granola in bottom of glass or bowl. 
2. Chop bananas and strawberries. Set aside.
3. Place acai packet, kale and soy milk into a blender.  Blend until smooth and then place contents on top of granola.
4. Top acai blend with strawberries, bananas and coconut flakes. 
5. Enjoy!

The rich aromas and sweet flavors you love from Starbucks®,now brewing at home. Introducing two new K-Cup(R) flavors for fall, inspired by our café favorites.

LEGAL: Developed in partnership with Starbucks Coffee Company and their new Starbucks® K-Cups® packs. K-Cup® packs for use in Keurig® K-Cup® brewing systems. Keurig, the Cup and Star Design, Keurig Brewed, K-Cup and the Keurig brewer trade dress are trademarks of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., used with permission.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Starbucks Coffee Company, via Mode Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Starbucks Coffee Company.

{easy sunday brunch + the perfect bloody mary}

There are few weekend activities I love more than brunch.  Whether it's at a swanky brunch with my girlfriends or a greasy neighborhood spot to nurse a hangover or even hosting a big group at our place, I will never turn down a brunch opportunity.  I think what makes brunch so amazing is that the sole purpose is to enjoy a leisurely Sunday meal rehashing the weekend's activities and stories alongside plenty of bloody marys!  Whenever Chris and I don't have plans on a Sunday, we love to celebrate the end of the weekend with a casual brunch in our home with my favorite layered breakfast dish and a ulta decadent bloody mary complete with an over the top garnish.  Check out below for our go-to brunch dish and the recipe we use for a perfect bloody mary including my secret ingredient!!

{this layered brunch dish has made many appearances for breakfast in our house.  It consists of a simple base of arugula tossed with a light vinaigrette and fresh cherry tomatoes.  Then we add a Belgium waffle from Trader Joe's frozen section topped with crispy bacon and a poached egg.}  

{if you love that salty/sweet combo for brunch then you can even drizzle a bit 

of maple syrup on this dish!} 

{everything that goes into the perfect bloody mary- just add vodka!}

{over the top garnishes are my favorite part of a bloody mary and this one includes cornichons, olives, lime wedges and fresh cucumber- check out the little video I made of turning up your bloody mary right here}

{my secret bloody mary ingredient is to top the finished cocktail with a few dashes of Scrappys celery bitters to really kick up the celery aroma}

The Perfect Bloody Mary Mix

mix together in a large pitcher the following ingredients:

• 1 quart tomato juice
• lemon juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder

**I omitted horseradish from my mix because its just not my thing, but feel free to doctor up your mix however you desire! 

Place plenty of ice in a high ball glass, add 2oz Pinnacle Vodka and then top with bloody mary mix. Garnish with celery stick, garnished skewer and straw.  Place a couple dashes of celery bitters on top and enjoy!

Pinnacle Vodka shakes things up with unexpected experiences and delightful discoveries. Explore with other fun flavors at http://www.pinnaclevodka.com”. Also, check us out at 

www.facebook.com/pinnaclevodkas and https://twitter.com/PinnacleVodka or find more fun 

entertaining and drink ideas on our Pinterest page at http://www.pinterest.com/pinnaclevodka/

Pinnacle® is a registered trademark of Jim Beam Brands Co. and is used with permission.  This is a sponsored partnership, with Pinnacle® Vodka, via Mode Media.  The information, comments, and ideas expressed on this website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Jim Beam Brands Co., its affiliated companies, or any of their directors or employees.

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{brioche french toast}

The local boulangerie where we pick up baguettes almost daily also carries an extensive selection of amazing tartes, quiches and different breads.  On occasion they have loaves of brioche available and this past weekend we picked one up to make decadent french toast inspired by the dish I had here.  Since our little paris apartment has no oven and a mini stovetop with only two burners, we had to improvise on the recipe a little, but this dish turned out amazing.  Would be the perfect dish to surprise your Valentine with tomorrow or as a special weekend brunch- see recipe below. 

 {two things: one, butter here in paris is basically its own food group and two, they sell ready made creme anglais in the market here- not like the tiny hard to find specialty market, but the regular run of the mill corner market.  I want to put it on everything.}

Brioche French Toast:
(serves 2)

what you need:

• 6 slices of day-old loaf of brioche bread
• 6 eggs
• 3/4 cup cream
• juice of half an orange
• zest of one lemon
• beans from 1 vanilla bean (or 2 tablespoons vanilla extract)*
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch salt
• butter
• optional toppings: maple syrup, fresh fruit, creme anglais!!

1. Whisk together eggs, cream, juice, vanilla, sugar, zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, & salt in large bowl.
2. Immerse each slice of bread into bowl, flipping to fully cover in mixture.  Or you can place all slices into a baking dish and pour mixture over top allowing slices to soak for 5 minutes.
3. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in large skillet pan over medium heat.
4. Fry two to three slices in pan at a time- flipping after about 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown on each side. 
5. Add fresh butter to pan between batches of slices.
6. Garnish with creme anglais and fresh fruit.  

*vanilla beans are comically cheap here in Paris (as in $3 for two of them!) so I find myself adding them to almost any recipe I can!

{brunch appetizer}

I really love appetizers- so much so that I would almost prefer to order exclusively from the appetizer menu when out at a restaurant.   Appetizers allow chefs to experiment a little more with flavor combinations since patrons will only have a bite or two of the dish which means they tend to be more interesting while not being a huge investment in terms of what you eat over the course fo a whole meal.  Breakfast and even brunch really get the short end of the stick as far as appetizers are concerned.  Brunch might have some amazing cocktails dedicated solely the specific meal/time of day, but there is no such thing as a brunch appetizer menu and that generally disappoints me.  

We have had some houseguests this summer which got me thinking about easy appetizer ideas for Sunday brunch.  Since we are talking about the first meal of the day (potentially before you have even have coffee aka the time of the day when simple tasks are too much to comprehend) I wanted to think of something easy that could be mostly prepared ahead of time.  I ended up creating these mini yogurt/granola cups inspired by my favorite morning room service order.  The yogurt and cute signs are prepared the day or night before then the morning of before your guests drag themselves out of bed, you simply top the cups with granola and fresh berries as well as mini spoon.  Find a similar set of the mini glass containers I used right here.  Obviously this isn't the type of thing you would prepare for the random friend that drinks too much and falls asleep on your couch after a party, but it is a nice dish to prepare for those extra special house guests! 

{my favorite mini spoons for appetizers from here} 

 {the secret to not making a mess trying to get yogurt into mini containers- a little squeeze bottle.  the mini containers are home Home Goods- you can find similar ones right here}

 {more than half of the work is done the night before and ready in the fridge! and yes- our fridge is pretty empty right now since I have been travelling so much. dont judge.}

{true food's kale aid smoothie}

One of my favorite places to go when I'm in Southern California (besides my first love) is True Food Kitchen, the menu is incredibly fresh and tasty plus they have a fun cocktail list.  Even if I don't have time for a full meal there, I love to stop in and grab their Kale Aid smoothie!

After returning home to a very rainy Chicago this week, I decided a Kale Aid smoothie would be a great reminder of warmer weather.  A little googling and I was able to find the exact recipe and you can see my adapted version below which adds in almond milk instead of water and a splash of agave nectar for added sweetness!  This smoothie is super refreshing as well as good for you- don't let the leafy ingredients and green color scare you away!

what you need:

• half cucumber, peeled & sliced
• juice of one lemon
• 1 cup kale, de-stemmed and chopped
• 1 stalk of celery
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 1 chunk fresh ginger, peeled
• 3/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar

1. Add all ingredients into blender or food processor until all leaves are fully incorporated.
2. Enjoy!

{brunch for ten}

I love posting about the different parties we host on this blog, but I don't always get to go in depth about what it really takes to host each one. This past weekend we hosted a little brunch for 10 people at our place and I thought it would be fun to give a little insight into everything you need to host your own brunch for 10 people.  A lot of the difficulty in entertaining is the guesswork involved in how much of each dish you should make or how many bottles of what you need.  We have hosted brunch at our place quite a few times over the years and I think we have finally nailed a good menu that tastes great, but also allows us time to enjoy ourselves with our guests. So here it is!

The key to a successful brunch menu is choosing dishes that won't take over your entire Saturday prepping food and losing out on a fun weekend.  I would estimate that we spent about an hour and half prepping all the food together.

For the french toast- we followed this recipe which we made one and half times the recipe.  This was way more than we needed for 10 people so I would say you are actually safe to follow the recipe as is without doubling it unless you think you will have some particularly hungry eaters!  (Also let me just warn you that this french toast is like crack and it tastes so good it almost feels wrong, but definitely not wrong enough to not finish your entire plate and maybe seconds.)

For the potatoes we purchased 4 pounds of red potatoes for 10 people.  The potatoes were cut into bite size pieces, boiled until tender and then stored them in the fridge overnight the night before our brunch.  The morning before guests arrived we tossed the potatoes in some oil, salt and pepper then roasted them at 450 degrees for about 45 minutes. Bonus points if you wanna add some truffle oil to them!

The strawberries were simply a pound and half of strawberries which I sliced the night before and stored in their serving bowl til the next morning.

The biggest part of the meal was the baked eggs which required our guest's involvement in creating their own dish.  This is a great brunch addition because it takes a lot of work off the hosts and your guests can prepare their eggs exactly to their liking. Here's what you will need to set that up:

• 2 to 3 eggs per person
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 bunch chopped green onions
• 12 slices of bacon, cooked & chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped & sauteed  
• sriracha

optional toppings if you wanna get real fancy:

• truffle oil
• avocado
• arugula
• soyrizo
• ham
• pancetta

Each of the above items should be portioned, cooked and placed into serving bowls the night before then stored in the fridge. Before guests arrive, lightly spray each ramekin with cooking spray and place all the toppings selections out  (extra points if you make cute labels for each of them!).  Each guest will fill their ramekin with their desired toppings then crack 2 to 3 eggs on top.  To discern which ramekin belongs to who, have guests write their name using a sharpie directly onto aluminum foil and cover their prepared ramekin.  Bake ramekins for 25 minutes or until the eggs are set at 375 degrees.  See more information about baked eggs in this previous post. 

Once the eggs are about 10 minutes from being done, pop the french toast and potatoes back into the oven to warm them up.  With this many guests, we usually set all the dishes out and allow people to serve themselves with the exception of their individual ramekins.  

{a little snapshot from last weekend's brunch}

 {1.carafes for orange juice & water, 2. simple champagne flutes, 3. highball glasses- to serve bloody marys in 4. metal straws for the bloody marys, 5. ten individual baking ramekins, 6. pyrex dish}

Obviously to pull this meal off you will need plates, forks, knives, water glasses, pots, pans and etc. for 10 people, but you will also need some more specialized items that you might not already have available.  These are all items that will prove useful for many menus and occasions to come besides just this simple brunch.

Entertaining guests in our house wouldn't be complete with a few cocktails!  While I love mixing it up and trying interesting cocktail combinations, when it comes to brunch I like to keep to the classics.  A simple mimosa which I like to use Korbel's Brut for and a DIY bloody mary bar using our "doctored up" bloody mary mix are the only two drink options you need!  For 10 people, you will need 2 bottles of champagne and one carafe of fresh orange juice for the mimosas.

For the bloody mary bar you will need:

• one fifth of vodka 
• two bottles of bloody mary mix- preferably Trader Joe's version
• 10 celery stalks
• a bucket of ice
• 6 limes, cut in half and then quartered
• bottle of sriracha
• bottle of tabasco
• container of horseradish
• bottle of worchestershire sauce
• kosher salt
• fresh ground pepper
• small bowl of olives

As for coffee, we simply used our Kuerig machine for guests to use as they pleased, but one pot of coffee should get you through the event. 

 {our bloody mary tray from last weekend- check out a cuter Bloody Mary set up from our "breakfast for dinner" party we threw last year}

{1. gold flatware makes everything better, 2. paper straws would make a festive alternative to the metal ones, 3. a vintage trophy champagne bucket to keep the bubbly cold, 4. crystal decanter for the vodka,  5. labels from Sugar Paper LA for the baked eggs toppings & bloody mary bar, 6. colorful cocktail napkins from Crate & Barrel}

These are just some fun items that will punch up the decor of your get together- you certainly don't need any them to host a great brunch, but they do make everything look a bit more fancy!

{our set of gold flatware from our wedding registry that I try to use as much as possible}

I hope you have enjoyed hearing a little bit more about the process behind entertaining for a large group in way that the hosts can still enjoy themselves as well.  Brunch is one of my favorite meals and I look forward to the next time we get to cook host this meal for our friends!

{sunday brunch: breakfast polenta}

Even though I thoroughly enjoyed spending countless hours creating things for our wedding in our spare time, it feels really good to be back to having free time on the weekends that we can spend relaxing not feeling like there is some wedding related activity we should be getting done.  This past Sunday with both of our mothers out of town, we made a leisurely brunch for just the two of us to enjoy. 

My friend Eva suggested we try this breakfast polenta she found on Pinterest and it did not disappoint.  We followed this recipe which is for the sweet version with candied pecans, maple syrup, marscapone and fresh berries.  Chris also made his own savory version using the polenta base, but adding bacon, pesto and a poached egg.  Topped off with some home-made bread and mimosas, this was by far one of the best brunch meals I have had in a long time. 

The variation between each of our dishes reminded me of our personalized baked eggs dish which we have done for bigger brunches before.  The breakfast polenta dish would work perfectly for this type of meal where you could make a big batch of the polenta base and then let your guests add sweet or savory toppings to their liking.

 {savory version}

 {sweet version}

 {gold flatware from our registry & pink napkins from Mexico}