A Romantic Breakfast in Bed

They say that the "way to a man's heart is through his stomach". This is as true for women as it is for men.

Women love to be awaken to the aroma of a lovely tray full of goodies for a leisurely breakfast in bed, just as much as a man. Fill a breakfast tray with a lovely breakfast; add a French champagne mimosa cocktail to accompany the hot steaming cappuccino for an eye opener.

Top it off with a long stemmed rose laying across the tray to set the romantic feel of the elegant bed-breakfast-tray.

Can't afford roses?

A few white tulips, or a few blooms of any flowers that may be available. Setting them in a mason jar of water, or a pretty piece of crockery will do if a vase isn't available. Your loved one will be tickled to death and will love you for it just the same.

Adding pretty cloth napkins instead of paper napkins will help to set the scene, and candles are just as romantic for breakfast as they are for romantic dinners. Cover the breakfast with one of the cloth napkins like a miniature table cloth.

Slip a romantic card or a hand written poem under the breakfast plate or prop it up against the mason jar of flowers. Write it on a paper doily. Don't know what to write?

Visit How to Say I Love You to get some romantic ideas.

This small gesture is sure to bring a smile.

It is the attention to the simple little details that you'll find will be appreciated the most.

Nothing says "special person or a special day" like serving a Mimosa. Your loved one will know just how special they are when served a mimosa on the beautiful breakfast - bed tray you have provided.

2 champagne flutes
1 bottle chilled champagne
1 quart of orange juice (fresh squeezed is best of course)
Grand Marnier
Crushed ice

In a martini shaker, add 2 oz. of orange juice and 1 oz. of Grand Marnier; shake until the orange juice is chilled. Strain the orange juice. and Grand Marnier equally into each champagne flute. Pour the chilled champagne slowly into the orange juice mixture, being careful not to let it bubble over the rim of the glass.

Note: If using wine glasses or goblets instead of champagne flutes, double the recipe and garnish with slices of orange and a maraschino cherry.

Variation: Drop a fresh strawberry, raspberry, or peach slice into the Mimosa instead of the maraschino cherry.

Shabby Cottage Chic Wooden Serving Kitchen Tray

Having a romantic breakfast in bed can make any day a special occasion when served with this shabby chic breakfast tray. This country cottage tray is a fashionable shabby chic. Use this trays to serve the food in the bedroom and the bed tray below to hold the food tray.

Click Here to See the Details:
Shabby Cottage Chic Wooden Serving Kitchen Tray

The Element of Surprise is the Essential Key

Prior preparation is the key! Plan your menu ahead of time. Making a romantic breakfast doesn't have to be a lot of work, but it does need to be planned. If you share the same bed as the person you're cooking this romantic breakfast for, have an excuse prepared in case they wake up before you are ready for them to get up. One possibility is to leave a note on the pillow saying something like, "Stay in bed, I'll be back soon." Or if they wake when you get up, you might say something like, "Go back to sleep. I'm just getting up to let the cat out."

If a luxury for your loved one is simply a hot croissant, coffee and the morning newspaper, plan to get up early to pick up the morning newspaper and fresh croissants from the bakery. Set the automatic timer on the coffee pot to make the coffee while you're gone. Leave a love note on your pillow with a rose you bought the day before in case your loved one wakes while you are gone.

If you are planning something more elaborate, plan your menu shopping and do as much of the prep work as you can the night before. Be sure to give yourself plenty of morning prep time, before your loved one would normally arise, so that you won't be rushing around.

Veggies for an omelet can be chopped and stored in the refrigerator overnight. Crepe batter, pancake batter, French toast batter and waffle batter can all be stored over night as long as they are sealed tight. Cutting bread into heart-shapes with cookie cutters or scissors can also be prepped the night before. Wrap the cut bread in plastic wrap to keep it from drying out into an uneatable piece of hardtack.

Leaving eggs out over night will save you time by having them at room temperature when you get up in the morning. Don't crack them and leave out, however, as they will become bacteria magnets.

This waffle recipe makes about six, 6-in heart shaped waffles. This can vary depending on the size of the heart-shaped waffle iron. Mine is rather small. Any left over waffles may be frozen between waxed paper and sealed in a zip-lock plastic bag. To reheat, just pop them in the toaster.

Ingredients:

1/4 c. plump, moist raisins
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 c. unbleached white all purpose flour
2/3 c. whole-wheat flour
1 Tablespoon double-acting baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 Tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons honey
1-1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Real maple syrup

Preparation:

1. If your raisins are dried out and not plump, you can soak them in a bowl of boiling water for a minute to plump them back up. Drain them and pat dry with a paper towel.

2. Preheat your waffle iron. If you want to keep the waffles warm while you are cooking the rest, preheat your oven to 200 degrees F.

3. Melt the butter and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until well combined.

4. Next, whisk in the sugar. In a smaller bowl, beat together the buttermilk, vanilla, eggs, and honey until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Fold in the raisins and the melted butter until evenly distributed.

5. Lightly butter or spray the grids of hot waffle iron. This should be enough to do it once as long as your iron is a well-seasoned iron or a non-stick iron. If you find after the first waffle that the batter is sticking. Then spray it again.

6. Spoon about a 1/2 cup of batter onto the center of the hot iron grids. An ice cream scoop works perfect for this. Close the lid and let the waffle bake until the waffle light turns off or there is no longer any steam coming from the iron. If you take a peek, the waffle should be lightly browned. Place the baked waffle directly on the rack in a single layer in the oven to keep warm while you finish the rest.

7. Before serving, heat the maple syrup in a glass cruet in the microwave for one minute to warm it.

Option: Mix a little vanilla, honey and cinnamon into some thickened yogurt and add a dollop to the top of the waffle.

This waffle recipe came with my made in America Vitantonio Waffle Iron that I've owned for almost 20 years and it still works as if it's brand new. I made a few minor changes to the recipe. The original recipe called for 2 eggs. If you don't like it that eggy, cut the eggs back to 2 and increase the milk to 3/4 c. so the batter isn't too thick

Yield: 5-6 waffles

Ingredients:

3 eggs - lightly beaten
6 Tablespoons Sugar (for decoration)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon real natural vanilla (Do NOT substitute imitation vanilla)
1/2 cup chocolate fudge syrup
4 Tablespoons butter, melted (Do NOT substitute margarine)
1-1/2 cups Cake Flour, sifted
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Combine eggs, sugar, milk and vanilla; whisk together thoroughly.

2. In a separate bowl, blend chocolate syrup with melted butter.

3. Let butter mixture cool; stir into egg mixture.

4. Combine all dry ingredients. Add egg and chocolate batter to dry ingredients and stir until smooth.

5. Bake as directed by your waffle iron. If waffles stick to iron, spray lightly with cooking spray, or brush the grids with cooking oil.

Variations:
1. Top with fruit, sweeten yogurt or whipped cream and nuts.
2. Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon to the dry ingredients.

Dessert Variations:
1. Top with vanilla ice cream, or chocolate chip ice cream, and chocolate fudge sauce.
2. Layer waffles with slices of ice cream and top with fruit or sundae sauce, whipped cream and nuts.
3. Add 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips to waffle batter.

From TienLove ~ "the heart shaped waffles are so cute. I made heart shaped pancakes the other day for my sweetie and he loved it. Then I made three pancakes, one shaped like an I, one shaped as a heart, and another shaped like a U and lead them all out next to each other. He thought it was great! :)

Thank you to TienLove for leaving her great Idea in the comments ~ KonaGirl

Get Romantic Ideas for a Message in a Bottle CLICK HERE!

Crepes are delicious and can be served just about any way your heart desires. They can be served plain; warm with a little butter and honey; or with a gentle dusting of powdered sugar,. They can be sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar, or dusted with dark cocoa powder mixed with powdered sugar.

Dinner crepes can be made to hold savory fillings, such as a thick creamy Wild Mushrooms with Chervil, a spicy Shrimp Curry, or Beef a la Stroganoff. Goat cheese with roasted red peppers are also excellent. Any savory, creamy filling works very well. Get creative and create your own personalized crepe favorites.

Crepes are usually thought of in America as an elegant serving for special occasion breakfasts and desserts; which of course, is what we are using them for here.

Preparing crepes isn't as difficult as you might think. They are actually much easier and quicker to make than an omelet or pancakes. The trick to making crepes is using the right pan. A crepe pan is best, but any non-stick, shallow pan with a heavy bottom, or a well seasoned cast iron pan can work fine with a little practice. Most people these days have at least one 9-inch, or 10-inch, non-stick skillet that is their favorite for cooking non-stick eggs or omelets; that would be the best one to use for crepes.

Figure on throwing out the first one you make, as it will usually stick, while you get the temperature set and you get the wrist flipping action mastered. Just remember to add another pat of butter for each crepe.

For filled crepes, plan on about 3 to 4 tablespoons filling per crepe. If serving warm, heat the filling and keep warm before making the crepes.

Leftover crepes may be stacked on layers of waxed paper between each crepe and frozen in a zip-locked plastic bag. To reuse, thaw to room temperature and warm with a scant brushing of butter in a non-stick skillet.

This recipe yields 8 crepes

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1-1/2 cup 2% milk
1 tsp vanilla (omit for savory dinner crepes)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar (omit for savory dinner crepes)
1/4 c. melted butter
1 c. all-purpose unbleached flour
Extra butter for cooking crepes
1 Tablespoon canola or sunflower seed oil

Preparation:

1. Using a wire whisk, whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla and melted butter together. Slowly mix in the flour, sugar and salt. Whisk until well-blended, you want to avoid lumps.

2. Covering, and allowing the batter to rest for an hour in the refrigerator, is usually recommended, but I have made crepes with only a 1/2 hour rest and they have been fine. I have also refrigerated the batter overnight and it was also fine. I don't think it matters on way or the other.

3. Just before cooking, stir the batter and add a little more milk if batter is too thick. The batter should have the consistency of thin cream.

4. Heat your non-stick pan to medium heat and melt about a teaspoon of butter and a teaspoon of oil in the crepe pan. The oil prevents the batter from sticking and the butter from burning, while the butter gives the crepe it's flavor. Brush the butter and oil around the pan with a pastry brush, or swirl the pan around so the entire surface is coated.

5. Pour a scant 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the heated pan. I use a small ladle for this purpose for an exact measurement every time and less of a mess to clean up.

The batter should be thin enough to spread quickly. You can help it spread evenly over the entire pan bottom by immediately tilting the pan gentley and swirling it. If the batter still appears to be too thick, thin the batter for the next crepe with a little more milk. Remember, this first crepe is the "test" crepe that usually gets thrown out.

6. Right away, as the edges of the crepe begin to dry and loosen away from the pan, and the bottom is lightly browned, using a wide spatula, or your fingers, gently loosen the crepe from the pan and flip the crepe over, being careful not to tear it. Cook for about 30 seconds and remove to a plate or piece of parchment paper.

7. Spoon the Lemon Curd filling into the center of the crepe; roll and fold the filled crepe like you would a burrito, or just gentley fold over in half, then fold in half again into a quarter fold.

8. If berries are available they may be used to top the crepes. Garnish with a dollop of sweetened yogurt or sweetened whipped cream

Variations for Breakfast: Drizzled with honey; spread with chocolate-hazelnut butter; filled with fruit preserves, or marmalade; filled with fresh fruit and topped with sweetened yogurt or whipped cream.

Variations for Dessert: You can add flavorings to the crepe batter with any natural flavorings such as almond, orange, or rum; any liquors such as brandy, amaretto, or grand marnier, instead of, or in addition to the vanilla.

Note: Frozen berries can always be substituted for fresh when berries are out of season.

For the sake of ease and saving time, Lemon Curd can be purchased in the gourmet section of most grocery stores. If you can't find it in your area, you can purchase some here or below from Amazon.

Dickinson's Lemon Curd is the only store bought brand I have ever tried, and it is good, although I think homemade is better. France is where lemon curd originated. The British like to lay claims to being the originators, but the fact is, lemon curd was first created in France and was brought to England some time in the 14th or 15th century.

Better yet....

Make your own.

Lemon Curd filling is really very easy to make; the flavor is decadent; and it will make you think of liquid sunshine in the spring.

For the best flavor and color, use only organic free range eggs. Organic chickens tend to feed better and will usually have yolks that are more intense in color which is an important factor when making lemon curd. The color will usually range from an intense deep yellow to a brilliant jeweled orange color.

This recipe makes about 2 cups, or enough for 4 crepes, just perfect for a romantic breakfast in bed for two.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup unsalted butter (no substitution here)
2 large lemons
2 egg yolks
2 eggs
1/3 cup confection sugar

1. Wash the skin of the lemons well before using. Grate the yellow skin, but do not include the white pith; it is bitter. Squeeze the juice from the grated lemons. Remove any seeds and set aside.

2. Separate the yolk from the two eggs; save the egg whites for another use. Add the next 2 eggs and whisk all together with the lemon zest, and sugar until smooth. Set aside.

3. Melt butter in the pan over a low-medium heat. It is better to be cautious with the heat rather than take the chance of curdled egg chunks in your cream because the heat was too high. You may just have to stir the creme a bit longer. Don't worry, your eggs will not curdle as long as you keep whisking them continuously over the heat.

4. As soon as the butter has melted add the yolk mixture, and whisk in the lemon juice. Just keep stirring until it has thickened and the color and texture resemble hollandaise sauce. Remove from heat and set aside until crepes are ready.

This is quite simple, yet very delicious and pares well with any berry or citrus fruit topping or it can be used on your crepes alone and still holds it's own.

1 cup Orange Marmalade
1/2 cup orange juice
1 T. Grand Marnier
1 T. brandy

1. Heat the Orange Marmalade and orange juice in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to bubble.

2. Turn the heat down to low and stir with a wooden spoon breaking up the lumps in the preserves, and incorporating the orange juice.

3. Once the Orange Marmalade has completely melted and liquefied, stir in the liquors and allow the sauce to cook down to the consistency of syrup, stirring occasionally.

That's it! Drizzle a little of the syrup over your Lemon Curd Crepes and Voile! Bon Appétit!

Variation: Saute sliced bananas in butter; add 3 Tablespoons, or more, of Grand Marnier- Orange Marmalade Sauce; top crepes; sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar.

When this impressive breakfast dish first comes out of the oven, it will be poofed up high and then settles down leaving a beautiful eggy shell, so don't be alarmed. The shell can be served plain with a dusting of nutmeg and powdered sugar or it can be filled with your favorite fruit topping.

THE DUTCH BABY

Makes 3 to 6 servings.

Some people use a paella pan, but I use a big well seasoned cast iron skillet. Whatever pan you have to use it must not be more than 3 inches deep.

Once you decide on a pan, measure its total volume by pouring in quarts of water. When you determine the pan's volume, select the recipe portions you need from the chart below.

Pan Size -- Butter -- Eggs -- Milk & Flour

2-3 qt. ----- 1/4 cup---- 3 -----3/4 cup each

3-4 qt. ----- 1/3 cup---- 4 ----- 1 cup each

4-4½-qt.--- 1/2 cup --- 5 -----1-1/4 cup each

4½-5 qt --- 1/2 cup --- 6 ----- 1-½ cup each

You will also need a nutmeg and a nutmeg grater for a fresh grating (so much better than buying already ground and so much more economical) and powdered sugar.

Directions:

1. Place butter in pan and set in a 425 degree oven. While the heat is building in the oven and melting the butter, mix batter quickly.

2. Put eggs in a blender or food processor and whirl on high speed for 1 minute. With motor running, gradually pour in milk, then slowly add flour; continue whirling for 30 seconds. Alternatively, in a bowl, beat eggs until blended; gradually beat in milk, then flour.

3. Remove the hot pan with the melted butter from the oven and pour in batter.

4. Return pan into the oven and bake 20-25 minutes, depending on pan size, until pancake is puffy and well browned,

5. Dust the pancake with a fresh grating of nutmeg.

6. Cut into wedges and serve at once with any of the following options.

Options:

Powdered Sugar Classic:
Have a shaker or bowl of powdered sugar and thick wedges of lemon at the table.
Sprinkle on hot pancake, then squeeze on lemon juice.

Fresh Fruit:
Use sliced strawberries or peaches, sweetened to taste; or any fruits in season, cut and sweetened.

Hot Fruit:
Sautéed apples, pears, or bananas make a good fruit topping.

Offer with sweetened or plain yogurt; or sweetened or plain sour cream. with any of the fruit toppings.

Syrups:
Pour warm or cold honey, maple syrup, fruit syrup or liqueur syrups over hot pancake.

If you and your loved one just are not morning people and a full breakfast in bed is just way to daunting, then by all means ..... Keep it Simple Sweetheart!

You can still be just as romantic by whipping up a boxed muffin batter; pouring the batter into a heart-shaped muffin tray and pop them in the oven before your lover arises. A boxed mix can go into the microwave and you can have a beautiful tray fixed in no time at all.

Mix some frozen concentrate for the Mimosas the night before, set the coffee the night before and you will be good to go in the morning (or at noon if you're sleeping in) with just the few minutes it takes to mixed the boxed muffin mix.

Part of the gift of cooking a romantic breakfast for your loved one is cleaning up the mess in the bedroom and the kitchen when the romantic breakfast is finished. Leaving the mess for your partner to clean up isn't a very good gift.

A true breakfast in bed gift comes with the dishes being washed and the bed being made. This not only completes the gift; it also helps to set the mood for helpful gestures throughout the day to show your love and affection. Don't let your thoughtful gift end with breakfast.

Remember, it's the little things that really count!

Buy a few extra roses and keep them hidden. Draw a bath for your loved one. Remove the petals from the flowers you hid and add them to the bath water. While your lover is soaking in the rose infused water, quickly clean up the breakfast dishes, make the bed, and then......

Join your love in the bath and have a little more fun with your loved one !


Photo by www.gendingkedis.com

This lens was awarded a purple star on 7 February 2011. The giant squid organizers here at Squidoo award purple stars each week to their favorite lenses created by all-star lensmasters. To learn more about the Purple Star Program click the Purple Star below:

A huge thank you to WhiteOak50 for the honor of a Squid Owl Blessing and for featuring it at Lens Sightings! Please visit her Lensmaster Page and look at her lens creations. They are fabulous! Also, please go to Lens Sightings; leave a comment & let her know you found her here! Thank you.