surprise! surprise!

YOWZA!!! I never even knew there was such a thing as Open Faced Pancakes!!!

When David told me he was making pancakess for breakfast one morning; then I was served these flat croissants; I thought for sure he had messed up somewhere.... and that he was just making it up when he kept calling them Open Faced... so I had to google it later on, and Lo and Behold, they do EXISTS!!!
and I can honestly say, I like this version sooooo much more... it was tasty and endless possibilities as to what to eat them with....

so keep the surprises coming, Marketchow!!!

Sabaton : "Tres Délicieux!!!"

In the Ardeche region of France, situated between Lyon and Avignon, one will find the famed Maison Sabaton at Labégude -- leading French producers of Jams, jellys, purees.... Founded at the beginning of the century, Sabaton has been preserving and transforming the Ardeche fruits since first going into business. Based in the heart of the region known for producing chestnuts, Sabaton has gained a worldwide reputation for making the best “Marrons Glaces”. Sabaton produces a variety of Chestnut-based products such as: Candied Chestnuts for Pastry, Chestnut spread, Chestnut puree, and whole Chestnuts.
Recently, we were treated to an array of their famed fruit & nuts spreads (jams & jellies)... 8 different flavours to be exact... and each one, just as delicious as the other... so you can see it was very hard to choose which one to use - each and every morning... but no matter which one one chooses, couple it with freshly bakes bread and it will be "si délicieux" -- GUARANTEED!

Biscotti ala David

Biscotti with my morning coffee - YUM!!!

This morning I woke up to a special treat - freshly baked BISCOTTI.... David was inspired once again to bake something different and so he tried his hands at these Italian treat cookies....

He basically tried to retraced the way of making it, learned from Chef Fausto, from his stint in Turino, Northern Italy... made his own twists by changing it a bit... instead of a regular biscotti - he made it a chocolate flavoured one ... and even added raisins instead of chopped nuts.... I have not had them in a while so it was a very nice treat to start the day, indeed!!!


And as an added bonus - I even get to learn more about Biscottis, as David also fed me some facts:
-Biscotti is the plural form of Biscotto in Italian - which literally means "twiced baked".
-They were prepared this way during the war eras to preserve them longer for journeys.

Hot Pandesal Anyone????

So this last trip I got to reacquaint myself once again with the HOT PANDESAL -- Filipinos most FAVE breakfast bread - that is just as good at any time of the day!!! It really is a Spanish bread called Pan De Sal (literal translation: Salt Bread).

Growing up, breakfast is never complete without the HOT Pandesal on the table... they can be eaten with slices of cheese, CHEEZ WHIZ (a type of cheese spread), or go even more Native and serve them with Vienna Sausages and some fried fish ( as seen in the photo). As for me, it is just as good by itself and with a strong cup of coffee in the morning or dipped in Hot Chocolate in the afternoon. It's soft, powdery texture is attained by its' core ingredients: flour, eggs, lard, yeast, sugar, and salt.

Pandesal has been around since for many. many years... and from the taste of things - it will be around for much more....

...top of the morning....

Normally, am not really a breakfast kind of person.... this is a LUXURY that I used to associate only to weekend brunches or buffet breakfast whee traveling and staying in hotels... for the most part, a cup of fresh brewed Java is enough to get me going in the morning.... preferably, from the beans I had just grounded myself.... the sound and the smell it omits is also part of the morning/waking up ritual... and usually that would have sufficed...

Lately though, I have been finding myself getting more and more into having more than just coffee to start my day with correctly... I actually now, wondering, what kind of goodies will I be waking up to.... yes, each morning I am being spoiled with being served a different kind of breakfast.... from just plain "hot off the oven bread - to pancakes - to omelette - and my personal favorite, waffles topped with fresh fruit or jam....

I know, I know, this is not good for the diet but heck, it is morning after all... and one has to get some good food in the tummy to get energized and start the day off right.... besides, I will have the whole day to either swim, run or go to the GYM and burn the extra, delicious calories off... I HOPE!!!