- Hi guys, welcome back to my channel. So Valentine's day this
year falls on a Sunday, and I thought that was
the perfect opportunity to share a delicious brunch
idea theme to the occasion. This menu is easy and delicious and filled with some of my most
favorite comfort foods. And as always at the end of the episode I'm gonna give you my game
plan for tackling the prep, and I'm also gonna share
some decor ideas at the end, if you're looking for some inspiration for how to set your table. So first up, we're gonna make these delicious strawberry almond scones that are light and flaky and so delicious. So, the first thing you
wanna do is add two cups of all purpose flour to a bowl. And then you can also add
a quarter cup of sugar. And then to that, you're
also gonna add two teaspoons of baking powder and a
half a teaspoon of salt. Then we're gonna add 10
tablespoons of unsalted butter, that's been diced and is very cold. So, making sure that
your butter is chilled is really the secret, I think
to eat light and fluffy scone. So the idea really is
just to take the butter and mush it in between
your hands, just like this. So, that the flour has a way
to incorporate with the butter. You don't wanna actually make
scones in the food processor, because what ends up happening is they get processed too much. Because when the butter melts in the oven that's what creates the air pockets that then create the
flakiness of the scone. So sometimes the old fashioned
method is the best method. You'll know that it's ready, when it looks like a course meal. Then at this stage we wanna add one cup of dice strawberries. Now, if you can't find fresh strawberries you could use frozen, I just
would not fall them out, I would use them frozen. That way they won't get
too watery mushy on you. Then I have a half a cup of heavy cream in my pitcher to that. I'm gonna add one egg
(egg shell cracking) and this is gonna really help
keep the scones together. If you've ever had a scone
that's too dry and crumbly chances are it doesn't have the egg in it. And then you can just whisk this up.
(spoon tapping) Then we're also gonna add two teaspoons of almond extract, and it goes. If for some reason you're not
an almond-flavored person, (laughs) I know they're out there. You could use vanilla, instead. I just think the combination
of almond and strawberry is really delicious. And then we're gonna whisk this up.
(spoon tapping) Then at this point, we're
gonna just make a little bit of a hole or a divot in the center, and then we are gonna pour our cream mixture inside the well and they can just gently
mix up the scum dough, making sure that the
cream is incorporating and the flour is combining and
you just wanna do it gently. You don't wanna overmix,
otherwise you'll end up with a tough scone. Now, another thing (chuckles)
I should just mention when you're pouring in the
cream and you have like, just a little bit left at
the end of the container, don't wash that out because
we're gonna use this to brush our scones after they're cut. And then you can go ahead
and put some flour down on you're bored and then
turn out your dough. I like to also get my hands
kind of flowered (chuckles) before I go in, there. And then you don't wanna
overwork this dough. So, what I usually do is
just kind of spin it around like first, make sure that the flour is getting all over your
little dough ball, see. Then, all you really need to do is just press it down, there. And we're looking for a
square and just make sure that you're rolling pin
is flowered slightly. And then you can just roll
over your scones a little bit. Make sure your knife is flowered, and you can use that to kind
of square up the edges here, and create a really nice, tight square, because this is what is gonna
give us the nice tidy corners on our triangles, there we go. You can get really obsessive
(laughs) at this part. I can remember what I used to have a crew shooting these videos,
and I would sit here obsessing over these corners and I could just see they were all like, "Oh
my gosh, come on now." Which is dangerous, now
that I'm here with myself 'cause I could be doing this all day long. So, I'm just gonna forward
your head, there we go. (chuckles) Nobody likes
perfect, okay there. So, then we are gonna cut it in half and then cut it in quarters. If the strawberry start
to peak out, that's okay, just put them back in, here we go. You can cut them in half and this is how you're gonna create your triangles. Then we are just gonna
gently transfer these to a baking sheet, that's been
lined with parchment paper. Now, we're gonna go back to our pitcher that still has that little
bit of cream at the bottom. That is the perfect amount to
use to brush our scones with. And this will give them
a little bit of a shine and will also prevent
them from splitting apart. Now, you could make these
scones the day before and have this all ready to go, pop this in your refrigerator, and then wake up the next morning, and all you have to do is bake. I'll get into more detail in the game plan at the end of the episode,
but if you're thinking ahead, not to worry, you can
totally do it the day before. Then you wanna bake your scones
at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for just 25 minutes, they'll
be nice and puffed up and golden Brown, and that's
when you know they're done. (guitar music) So, now for our juice blend, I wanted to show you how to do something that's super simple, but so
delicious and so pretty too for Valentine's day. In this craft, I have four cups of just regular store-bought orange juice. To that, I am gonna add some of these beautiful blood oranges. We usually get these
early because our spring really kind of starts in
February, but you can see, they are like so beautiful. And I can always tell when
it's early in the season because they're kind of
pink, as the season wears on and you get into like March, April, May they start to become
really deep and purple. Look at this, it is like the
most beautiful pink juice. but it also has the most
fragrant flavor to it. So great, if you've never
tried a blood orange. This looks good, so, it took
me about five blood oranges. So if you're at the
market and you wanna know how many to buy I would say five or six. Then we are just gonna go
ahead and pour it in pretty. There we go.
(glass bumps) You can serve your scones
with coffee, the juice. If you wanna be extra
festive for Valentine's day, you can serve some high
biscuits blend tea, because it is the most
beautiful shade of deep pink. (soft guitar music) Every time I think of Valentine's day, I can't help but think of a souffle. I mean, is there anything more romantic, decadent and delicious? (chuckles) Well, I'm gonna show you how to serve one for breakfast. It is so light, it is so
delicious and so beautiful. Whoever you serve this to is
gonna be completely blown away. So a cheese souffle typically
has three components. We have the bhishma sauce,
we have our egg yolks and then the egg whites. So, it's these three
things that come together to form this delicious concoction. So let's start with the bhishma sauce. And this you're gonna make a day ahead. So, in our skillet here I have four tablespoons
of just unsalted butter. Once your butter is
melted and nice and foamy, then we're gonna add the flour. So, I have a quarter cup of
just regular all-purpose flour, and then you wanna whisk this
up until a nice paste forms, and then cook it for about a minute. And then to the paste,
you're gonna slowly add two and a quarter cups of
just regular whole milk. You could also use 2%
if that's all you had. So we're basically looking for this to simmer and start to thicken. But meanwhile, we can season it with three quarters teaspoon of salt, a little bit of freshly cracked pepper, (shaker shuddering) and then one garlic clove
that has been minced. So, you just wanna
simmer the bhishma sauce, until it coats the back of a wooden spoon. So, something like this,
that's all you need to do. So here comes the really
delicious part, the cheese. So I'm gonna be adding a full
tub of crumbled, goat cheese. I go with the crumble just
because it's easier to melt and then you don't have to chop it up but crumble it yourself. I know that there are people
that don't like goat cheese but I'm here to tell you that this souffle is not gonna actually
taste like goat cheese, it's the weirdest thing. Once it bakes into the souffle it just has a slight tang to it. So, if you're not so sure
about the goat cheese, trust me on this one, you won't
even notice it's in there. But if you really can't get
on board with a goat cheese, then, I would use Swiss cheese. I would do a cup, maybe
a cup and a quarter of just grated Swiss cheese. You could also use Monterey Jack. So just keep stirring this up until all of your goat cheese has melted which I think we aren't about there. Then we can set this aside to cool, and now I'm gonna show
you how to prep the eggs. So I have 10 eggs here, and
we are gonna separate them into yolks and whites. So I'm putting the yolks in a large bowl because this is the bowl
we're ultimately going to then fold the egg whites into. So, you want a larger bowl
that can hold that volume. And I like to just keep it in the bowl that I'm gonna mix it in the next day, that way I'm a step ahead. So, two tips when it
comes to separating eggs, one make sure your egg is very cold because a colder egg will
be a lot easier to separate than a warm egg. If you try to separate a warm
egg, the yolk is not very firm and it can start to
separate in with the whites. And another thing that will
help is to crack your egg on a flat surface, not on the bowl because what will happen
is the weakest point of an egg is in the center. I learned that from the Domestic Geek, she taught me that one. And that will give you
two little equal cups to separate your egg in. Then we're also gonna add some fresh dill, that is such a great flavor combination dill with the goat cheese and the egg. This actually would be a fantastic
egg casserole for Easter, or mother's day too. So if you like it for Valentine's day you could bring it back (chuckles). So, we're just gonna whisk up our egg yolks here.
(glass bowl clanging) And then we are gonna
add in our fresh dill see how easy it's all we have to do. And then we're gonna whisk that up. (egg yolks twirling)
Our eggs look good. Our egg whites are ready to go. So now what we can do is just cover them and pop them in the fridge. I just recently discovered these cute little bowl covers, aren't they
the cutest things (laughs). I just was like going nuts
between all of the tinfoil and plastic wrap that was in my life that I thought I'm just
gonna invest in these three in my Amazon shop, if you want a pair. So, in the fridge they go. And now that our bhishma sauce has cooled we can then transfer that into a bowl. Now, I know it might
be tempting to put this in with the egg yolks at this stage just to save yourself a bowl. But if this bhishma sauce is even warm and it hits the egg yolks it's gonna start to cook the egg yolk. So that's not gonna be good. So, it's better off to
keep everything separate just until tomorrow when it comes time to actually put it together. So, the morning of here's
what you're gonna do; take all of your components,
get them at room temperature just because they've been
in the fridge overnight, all of these ingredients are pretty cold, so, it's better off if they
sit for about 30 minutes, just to get them up to room temperature. It'll be better for your souffle that way. It'll rise quicker, it'll
cook in the interior faster, and will prevent the top
from getting too brown. If it's too cold inside,
it's gonna take a long time to cook inside, and the
top could get too brown. So just sit them on your
counter for about 30 minutes, which is okay, 'cause we can
get started on our home fries, which is what we are gonna serve with this delicious souffle. (soft guitar music) So while our ingredients are
coming up to temperature, well, you can just peel these off. I'm working with three pounds of potato which I think is good for six people. Then to cut our potatoes,
what you wanna do is cut them first in half,
just like this, lengthwise. And then you wanna cut them
with a nice chef's knife in half, lengthwise, and
just hold on to the top to make sure that it doesn't come off. And the reason why you wanna do this is that this will help you
get nice uniform cubes. The secret to a home fry in
my opinion, is making sure that all of the potato cubes
are roughly the same size so that they'll cook at the same rate. And we only have 30 minutes that the souffle goes in the oven. So, we want them to cook
in that time (laughs). All the more reason to be motivated if you're looking at this and thinking, "I don't have time for that." (laughs) I totally get it. There were years when my kids were young, I didn't have time either. So, what you could do is get
some of those store-bought, pre-shredded hash browns,
that would be great, that would go well with this too. And just use the same
seasoning that I'm gonna do, and basically the same
preparation and presto, no potatoes to peel, nothing to chop. But if you do have the
time, I have to tell you these potatoes are so good and delicious. There is a little bit of
moisture to them, you'll notice, but leave them be, because
it will help them steam up when we cover them, and
then we'll remove the cover to get them browned on the outside. So, it actually works with you, and it's one less thing
you have to do (chuckles). Okay, then we are gonna season these with a little bit of salt
just to taste and pepper. Potatoes will soak up the salt. (shaker shuddering)
So, I kinda give them a first dousing before I cook them, and then I'll also do
it right before serving. So, you can do that too, if you want. And then I also do a good sprinkle maybe a half a teaspoon
of herbs to provence. If you don't have that you could use some dried
oregano, dried Bazell. You can give them a toss, just make sure all that
seasoning is incorporated. We are gonna let these hang
out just for 10 minutes or so. They're okay to do that, while
we get the souffle ready, and then we are going to cook
these while the souffle bakes, and that's how I think
this time's out best. So, now for our egg whites, we are gonna put them
into a electric mixer then to make sure that our egg whites become nice, and fluffy, and stabilized. They need a little bit of acid. So, you could either
use a quarter teaspoon of cream of tartar, or
you could use a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice, which
is what I'm gonna use. This is also going to prevent
our souffle from deflating. If you have egg whites that
are weak, this can happen. So to strengthen our egg whites we're gonna make sure that
they're nice and stiff and we're gonna give them a
little bit of lemon juice. Okay, then we're gonna
go back to our egg yolk, we are going to combine our bhishma sauce with the egg yolks. Look how delicious this is (laughs). This is not low-calorie I would say, and you just wanna get the egg yolks and the bhishma sauce
all combined together. Then, to add our egg
whites, we're just gonna add a little bit at a time
and fold them in gently. So we don't wanna deflate
all that gorgeous volume but at the same time,
you do wanna make sure that it is combining with the egg yolk. So, I typically just get under there and making sure that the
yolk comes to the top and that the egg white
is getting incorporated. And if you need to do
like a little stirring, just to make sure it's
incorporating, that's okay you're not gonna hurt it any. Then we're gonna pour this mixture into our 9 x 12 casserole dish that has been sprayed with baking spray. And then you are going to bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit,
for about 30 to 35 minutes. You'll see, it'll start
to rise up and crack, that's exactly what you want. Okay, so now for the home fries. It does help if you can
get a nonstick skillet because the potatoes
do get kind of sticky. Then you're gonna add three tablespoons of olive oil into the skillet, which might seem like a lot of oil, but we have quite a lot of potatoes here. And I find that if you want a really nice crunchy sear on the bottom, three tablespoons is what it takes. You can pour in the potatoes, then here's the other secret, (potatoes fizzing)
you wanna make sure that you cover them,
(lid clanking) because we're basically doing two things; we're letting them cook on the bottom so that they get nice and golden Brown. But that we're also needing to steam them, so that they get cooked through. And then just let them sit here for about five to seven minutes, resist the urge to touch them and start poking at them,
because we really wanna get that nice caramelization on the bottom. You can shake them,
(pan clanging) if you feel you need to do something. And then once they'd been
sitting here for a bit, you've been doing the shaking,
(pan scrapping) then you can do an official
flip (atmospheric). Just to make sure that you're
getting browning on all sides. And then at this day you can just every, maybe four or five minutes, just keep tossing them around until they're the color you like and they're cooked through. And then the other thing I
like to do with the home fries (knife tapping)
is just add a little bit of freshly chopped parsley. Then, about five minutes
before your souffle is done, make sure everybody is
at the table, ready to go and bring it directly oven to table. It's funny, it's not
like a regular souffle that will deflate really quickly. It will actually stay
puffed up for quite a while but it's just so much better
when you can eat it hot from the oven with all of its volume. And when served with the home fries, it is the perfect comfort food brunch that everybody will just come that sport. Now for something sweet,
I'm gonna show you two ideas that I think would be a fantastic way to round out this meal. You can make one or the other, or you could even make both. I'm gonna show you how to
make a bruise laid grapefruit which is a really simple idea but it's like the most delicious thing. So we're gonna be starting
with some pink grapefruit then, you are gonna cut them in half. And then another thing you wanna do just to stabilize them is cut
off just the tiniest sliver on the bottom of the peels, liked that. And that will keep it from
kind of rolling around, it'll stabilize it. And then take a sharp knife
and just go all the way around the perimeter of the grapefruit. But we're not gonna actually stop here. We're gonna do one more thing. And that is to cut in
between the membranes to release the grapefruit segments. That will loosen the grapefruit and make it a lit easier to eat. Then, once you do that, you're gonna take a teaspoon of brown sugar and sprinkle it all over the top of the grapefruit. Then we are gonna place our
grapefruit under the broiler for just about four to five minutes just until that brown
sugar is nice, and bubbling and it will begin to brown in places, then you can pull them out. And then the final thing
I'd like to do to them, I love to add a little bit
of freshly minced rosemary to the top of them. (chuckles) I know that might sound like a really strange
combination, but it's so good. It's refreshing and sweet
all at the same time and then that little touch
of rosemary on the top, It's just so yummy. Now, for the decadent parts
some homemade hot chocolate. Now, you might just be
thinking of hot chocolate for Christmas, but I actually think it's a great little dessert
idea for Valentine's day. So I'm gonna make it in a Dutch oven, that way I can just
reheat it the next day. So we are gonna add
eight cups of whole milk. And to that, we're gonna add a half cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, a half a cup of powdered sugar, and then you wanna put
this on a medium high flame and then whisk it up.
(whisk rattling) And as you whisk it together
it will start to dissolve and melt and come together. Now, because we're
serving this as a dessert, it's really up to you, how
chocolatey you wanna make it. So you may also wanna add some of this bittersweet chocolate. I like to have the combination of the unsweetened cocoa powder and the bittersweet
chocolate, just so one, it's not too sweet. That way you can really control the sugar, and also I think they sort
of impart different flavors. So I've got my hot chocolate
all filled up in my mug here, and then I'm gonna add a little bit of this homemade whipped cream and then it wouldn't be Valentine's day without some hearts sprinkles. So I'm gonna put a few of these on top. I like the combination
of the pink and the red but if you were partial to one color you certainly could pick them out. (guitar music) This is the perfect little festive treat to end your Valentine's date brunch. If you'd like to make my
Valentine's day brunch here's your game plan. So the day before you can
make your scone dough, cut the scones, brush them
with the cream mixture then loosely cover with
foil and pop in the fridge. You can squeeze the blood oranges, combine them with the
store-bought orange juice and store that in the fridge. You can make the patient *El
sauce for the egg souffle, separate the eggs with the egg yolks, with the dill cover and refrigerate. You can whisk up all the
ingredients for your hot chocolate, put it in a Dutch oven
so it's easy to reheat and then pop it in the fridge. You can also make the
homemade whipped cream transfer it to a pastry
bag, fitted with a tip and pop that in the fridge. The morning of you can
prep your grapefruit, so go ahead and slice them,
cut around the perimeter and separate the membranes and
then pop those in the fridge. I would just wait to add the brown sugar until you're just about to bake, that way it won't soak too
deeply into the grapefruit and prevent it from caramelizing on top. Then you can go ahead
and bake off your scones, allow them to cool, slightly
place them on a platter and bring them to the table
along with your juice. And then remember to start
the coffee or the tea then take out all the components for the souffle and allow them
to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, you can peel your potatoes, cut them into cubes and season. Then, remember to set
your oven for 350 degrees for your souffle. So that way, as soon as it's
assembled in your casserole you can put it straight in the oven. Now you can get the home fries going, making sure that they're
getting golden brown, but also tender inside. Then five minutes before
the souffle is ready, call everybody to the table,
add your chopped parsley to the home fries and
transfer them to a bowl, and then serve your souffle
as soon as it is ready. Then when everybody's clearing the plates, you can reheat the hot
chocolate, put your brown sugar on your grapefruits, pop
them under the broiler, make sure you set your
timer for four minutes because you don't wanna
forget about that grapefruit. Then place your on a
platter, add the rosemary, bring those to the table then
pipe your whipped cream on top of the hot chocolate and
garnished with your sprinkles. So, one thing that I have
learned about entertaining over the years is yes, it's the recipes, yes, it's the planning but
the third thing that sometimes becomes overlooked is the environment. There's something about
setting a beautiful table that just puts everybody in the right mood and somehow just nurtures the soul. So if you need some inspiration here's some table decor ideas that would go great with this menu. So for a color palette I
always think it works best to pick two dominant colors and then two to three supporting colors. This will get you the most
cohesive and interesting look. So for my dominant colors, I went with a dusty pink, and
cream with supporting colors and a soft gray, touches
of gold and natural wood. And when using a simple color
palette that's monochromatic I think it also really
helps to tie in texture. And it just makes what could
be a simple color scheme a lot more interesting. So for the table runner, I
went with a natural cream but it's made out of rad work which makes it a lot more interesting and gives it a cozy wintery vibe. Then to give the runner more interest, I love to use a selection of bug bosses of different shapes,
different sizes and styles. Even though they came in a set, it looks like I've been
collecting each Foz over a course of many years. Just gives them more interests. And I think bud vases like this look best with just a few blooms in them. And normally I am a
proponent of fresh flowers but for something like this, I wanted to do something
a little bit more fun, that almost felt more like decorations. So I went with these fabulous fakes. They're poppies that from
a distance look really real and it's kinda of fun
because you can use them year after year. Now the plates are another
way that you can add more interesting texture into the scheme. I went with these great
plates, I love the soft color and almost looks like
it's been hand grown. Now, usually we'll go with a
neutral color for the plates just so the food will pop but the napkins are a great way to add
in your color scheme. I think there's something really lovely about a French linen napkin
that has a little bit of a wrinkle to it,
but I find the best way to fold these napkins
is to iron them flat. And then don't iron in the crease, so that you have one flat napkin then naturally fold them
into the shape you want. And you'll find you get the softest most natural fold that way. I usually see cutlery is like
the jewelry of the table, it's a small accessory
that can add a little punch of one of your supporting
colors or textures. And then I also brought
in another wood piece in the form of a trivet,
its made out of oak and I love it because it's adjustable. So depending on however
big your casserole is, it can adjust to its size. And then for the juice glasses,
look for something that's etched, or has a bubble in it. They look like they're hand-blown and it just sort of
continues that artisan theme. (upbeat music) Now, everything that I've
shown you so far are pieces from my collection that I mix and match for all types of occasions. And I think that's really good advice if you're just starting to
build your tabletop wardrobe is pick things that you
can use more than once. But I usually reserve
one thing on the table that is specific to the
holiday, and for me, I love these little love mugs. I think there's something so cute about the little pop of color of red, the stitching on the top and of course, the little heart inside the mug. How cute is that? And then lastly, for a little whimsy, I love these woven trivets. In fact, this is how my
whole color scheme began. (chuckles) I saw these trivets
in these beautiful colors and I thought that is a
Valentine's day scheme. So sometimes inspiration
for your tablescape can come from any one piece you
may have in your collection, and then you can build off that. You guys, thanks for sticking with me, what a fun way to spend a Saturday, I hope you enjoyed this. You've got the menu,
you've got the game plan, you've even got the table setting. You have everything you need
and I wanna hear all about it. So leave me a comment, share your photos with me on social media and
let's toast (claps) to love and everything it brings.
(guitar music) You guys I'll see you back
here next time until then, bye.
