A Sweet Valentine’s Breakfast

How lucky are we that Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday this year?? (Lucky!!!) That means plenty of time for relaxing with your loved ones, no rushing to get out the door in the morning, no rushing to get home from work for a Valentine’s dinner, and plenty of time for good eating.

Honeyed Citrus Cranberry Scones * Chard, Bacon & Cheddar Quiche * Citrus Salad with Mint Sugar

Blood Orange Mimosas

Like this breakfast menu you could make for your sweetie–or family, or friends, or loved ones (I think Valentine’s Day is for everyone that means something in your life!) Much of it you can prep the night before, leaving you time in the morning to lounge in pjs, sip your caffeinated beverage of choice, and enjoy a lazy Saturday. On the menu:

Heart-Shaped Honeyed Citrus Cranberry Scones
Swiss Chard, Bacon and Cheddar Crustless Quiche
Citrus Salad with Mint Sugar
Blood Orange Mimosas

And because Valentine’s Day is all about spreading the love, Tiffany and Grace also have some scrumptious dishes and treats to share for Valentine’s Day: you should check them out, too!
Over at The Garden Apartment, Tiffany brings you a tapas menu inspired by her honeymoon to Spain. What better to make for a romantic dinner than little plates of tapas?

Apple, Manchego & Jamon Toasts

Warm Olives with Garlic & Citrus Zest

And over at A Southern Grace, Grace has done up dessert with Pink Velvet Cupcakes – how appropriate for the holiday!

Grace's Pink Velvet Cupcakes

Between all these dishes, you could have your whole Valentine’s day menu planned!

A few notes about breakfast: I wanted to do a breakfast/brunch menu because it’s really my favorite meal to make for entertaining. You can prep many parts of it the day before, leaving you free to visit and relax with your loved ones, and you have the whole day ahead when you’re done.

The scones are bright, citrusy, and just-sweet-enough from a touch of honey. I happened upon some dried cranberries in our local natural foods store that are only sweetened with fruit juice, so I jumped on those and stocked up. You can make the scones the night before, freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet, drop them in a ziptop bag and then bake them, directly from the freezer, the next morning (I do this with scones all the time!) If you have heart-shaped cookie cutters, you can cut the dough into hearts, but they’d be just as great cut into wedges, too.

Sweet Scones

The crustless quiche is a take-off on Mark Bittman’s basic quiche recipe, with some sauteed swiss chard and browned bacon in the custard, along with some grated sharp cheddar. You can prep the custard the night before, then bake the quiche in the morning. It is GOOOOOD, and also tasty for lunch and dinner, if you have any leftovers!

Swiss Chard, Bacon and Cheddar Crustless Quiche. Mmm....

I used blood oranges, ruby red grapefruit, and navel oranges for the citrus salad with mint sugar. You can supreme all the citrus the day before, keep it in a bowl in the fridge, and toss it with the mint sugar (just mint leaves chopped with sugar in the food processor) just before serving. It’s just sweetened enough to cut a bit of the grapefruits’ bitterness, but not enough to be cloyingly sugary. I loved it.

Minty Fresh Citrus

And finally, blood orange mimosas! Rosy, fruity, sparkly, and festive — you can juice the blood oranges the day before, keep the juice in the fridge, and mix it with champagne (or other sparkling wine) right before serving. If you wanted to make a non-alcoholic version, you could use sparkling cider or just seltzer. I am in love with blood oranges, by the way. How can you not love something with that gorgeously vibrant color, drippingly juicy flesh, and floral undertones in its taste? Impossible.

Blood Orange Mimosas

Happy (early) Valentine’s day to all, and be sure to visit Tiffany and Grace’s sites, too, for their recipes!
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Heart-Shaped Honeyed Citrus Cranberry Scones

An Eggs on Sunday original

View printable recipe

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup honey
1 cup heavy cream

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Toss in the orange zest and dried cranberries until well combined.

In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together 1/4 cup of honey and 1 cup of heavy cream. Pour this mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and lightly stir with a fork until the mixture comes together in moist clumps (try not to overmix.) Gather the dough with your hands in the bowl and knead it against the side of the bowl a few times to gather any loose crumbs.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into a 1-inch thick disk. You can either cut it into wedges, or use a 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out hearts. Whichever way you do it, place the cut scones on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (you can put the baking sheet in the freezer until the scones are frozen, then store them in a ziptop bag. Bake directly from the freezer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.)

When ready to bake, brush the tops of the scones with a little cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 minutes (17 minutes if frozen), until golden brown and puffed.

Makes 8 scones.

Swiss Chard, Bacon and Cheddar Crustless Quiche

Adapted from Mark Bittman’s recipe

View printable recipe

Ingredients
2 cups cream, half and half, milk, or a combination of those — gently warmed
6 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
small pinch grated nutmeg or cayenne
1 small bunch (about 1/4 pound) swiss chard, leaves removed from ribs, torn into pieces
1 shallot, minced
4 strips good-quality bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a pie dish.

Cook the bacon pieces in a large pot over medium heat until they’re browned and crispy. Remove from the pot and set aside (leave the bacon fat in the pot.) Saute the minced shallot in the bacon fat until softened, then add the torn pieces of swiss chard and continue cooking until the chard has wilted down. Remove from the pot and let cool slightly, then chop the chard into small pieces.

Combine the eggs, cream (or milk or half and half), cheeses and salt and whisk until well blended. Stir in the chopped chard/shallot mixture, and the cooked bacon. Pour into the buttered pie dish (you can cover the dish and refrigerate it overnight at this point.)

Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until puffed and still ever so slightly jiggly in the center. Cool on a rack briefly, then serve wedges of the quiche warm or at room temperature.

Citrus Salad with Mint Sugar

Adapted from Bon Appetit, December 2003

View printable recipe

Ingredients
4 ruby-red grapefruits, supremed
4 navel oranges, supremed
4 blood oranges, supremed
1/2 cup mint leaves, packed
1/4 cup sugar

Directions
Place all the citrus supremes in a bowl (you can do this the day before.) Before serving, process the mint leaves and sugar together in the food processor to make the mint sugar. Toss the citrus segments with the mint sugar, and serve.

Makes 6 servings.

Blood Orange Mimosas

from Anthony Bourdain via New York Magazine

View printable recipe

Ingredients
2 cups freshly squeezed blood orange juice
1 bottle champagne or sparkling wine
8 blood orange slices, for garnish

Directions
Juice the oranges (can be done the day before.) Pour the champagne into a large pitcher, and mix in the blood orange juice. Serve in glasses garnished with blood orange slices, if you like.

Serves 8.