Brunch…it’s one of my absolute favorite meals. I wonder if that’s why brunch is such a popular thing to do on Mother’s Day? Is it because brunch gives mom enough time to sleep in while their family makes a brunch time feast? That’s not the way it is around here, but maybe my kids are just Mother’s Day slackers.

I’m kidding. My kids do a great job with Mother’s Day, but a fancy brunch feast isn’t usually a part of their plans (unless you count toast and grapes with peanut butter on them fancy). If I want brunch on Mother’s Day, the options are to either head to the nearest restaurant, or make it myself. It’s a good thing I love to cook, because making my own Mother’s Day brunch doesn’t seem like such a chore. In fact, cooking up a big, mid-morning meal for my family is one of my favorite things to do, Mother’s Day or not!

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Friends, I may have discovered an easy breakfast recipe to make you feel a little less guilty about not having time to feed your kids a “real” meal in the morning.

I mean, those frozen waffles? We all know that those are about as easy as things get in the morning, right? Well, dare I say this is even easier.

You see, I “waffled” King’s Hawaiian Sweet Sliced Bread. Have you seen their sliced bread? It is so great by itself, but let me tell you… it is so, so, so good as little waffle squares!…

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The post Easy Breakfast Recipes – King’s Hawaiian Waffles with Pumpkin Syrup appeared first on Dine and Dish.

The giveaway is closed. Congratulations to the Sweet Tooth Runner for winning! Thanks to all who entered.

Sometimes a girl just wants to have fun… well fun, and great tasting food!

For those fun-loving friends looking to combine quirky recipes with a great time, The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook by Lindsay Landis is for you. Who doesn’t love cookie dough? Imagine it turned into cookies, cakes, candies and more and it  just ups the fun quotient even more.

This past weekend I was getting ready to make breakfast when my daughter, Kelly, said “You know what would be good? Cookie dough waffles!” I’d never heard of such a combination, but sure enough, when I grabbed my friend Lindsay’s cookbook, I found that there was a recipe for Belgian Cookie Dough Waffles with Chocolate Whipped Cream. In a jiffy, a super fun breakfast was served….

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“Oh, dear me!” Those were the first words that escaped my lips when I first tasted this creamy chocolate pancake syrup. Then I took another spoon full and continued to sing praises of joyous things unto the world. This. Is. Good. Period.

When I took Chef Brad’s awesome recipe for Buttermilk Syrup and turned it into Creamy Eggnog Syrup, I thought that was the best it could get. Both of those recipes are seriously to die for. Last meal? Give me a bowl of either of those syrups and a spoon and I’ll be a very happy camper (minus the fact that it was my last meal, but that’s beside the point). However, dear friends, I may have taken this syrup to the brink of amazing.

So, you know those mornings when you wake up at 6:30am with an immediate chocolate craving? Well, I had one of those intense cravings yesterday morning and decided to do something about it, with pancakes. No, I didn’t want to make chocolate pancakes, although I do love those. Looking in my fridge, deciding what to make, I remembered we had some chocolate milk and then I thought… “What would happen if I added chocolate milk instead of eggnog to that delicious pancake syrup?” Which, is exactly what I did.

Now, friends… you don’t use some wimpy, lite, low cal, non-fat kind of chocolate milk for this recipe. I recommend the full fat, in a glass bottle, prepared chocolate milk…the kind that leaves a permanent milk mustache on your top lip. The gooooood stuff. I mean, really, if you are eating chocolate for breakfast, you shouldn’t be concerned about calories, right? Of course, unless you want your thighs clapping together when you walk, I wouldn’t recommend eating this syrup every day. If you want to live in a complete and total state of bliss and start your morning off in the most indulgent of ways, then sure… every day is just fine! Go for it!

Either way, make this. Love it. Eat it. Enjoy it. When they say “eat dessert first” I’m pretty sure they meant first thing in the morning. This creamy chocolate pancake syrup is the next, best thing.

Oh, and when you ask your 6 year old to help slowly pour the syrup so you can get an action shot, remember, they don’t know what slow means and will simply “dump” the syrup. Don’t worry though… no chocolate syrup was wasted during this photo shoot. We promptly proceeded to lick it clean.

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Creamy Chocolate Pancake Syrup

An indulgent, delicious, creamy chocolate syrup for your pancakes, waffles or ice cream.

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• 3/4 cup commercially prepared chocolate milk full-fat version
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

• In a large pan (make sure it is large, this syrup will grow when you add the vanilla and soda), place the butter, chocolate milk, and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously.
• Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and soda (it will foam)
• Serve over hot pancakes or waffles. Enjoy!

The post Even Better {Recipe: Creamy Chocolate Pancake Syrup} appeared first on Dine and Dish.

My oldest brother, Mike, is 22 years older than me. I’ve never thought a whole lot about that, until recently. He was married by the time I was born and began his own family just a few years after my birth. Sure, it was kind of odd growing up with a nephew just a couple years younger than me and a brother around the same age as some of my friends parents, but it is all I knew so I didn’t think much about it….

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What do you get when you combine 20 bloggers with a passion for food, one incredible company who is known for their quality and innovative products for culinary enthusiasts and a gorgeous location in Scottsdale, AZ?

You get the Thermador’s “Now You’re (Steam) Cooking” Blogger Adventure! I was honored to be one of 20 bloggers invited by Thermador to their event to unveil the new Thermador Steam and Convection Oven.

Photo courtesy of Thermador

The Thermador Steam and Convection Oven is one impressive appliance. With three different modes (Steam, Convection, and Combination Steam/Convection), Thermador’s newest innovation is going to change the way culinary enthusiasts use their own personal kitchens. Imagine having perfectly fresh steamed vegetables with just the touch of a button or baking an amazing French Loaf without having to do the whole water bottle spritzer trick. Do you want your food to have the same fresh taste and texture without the microwave sogginess? The Thermador Steam and Convection oven does the trick! You can get complete details on the Thermador Steam and Convection oven plus learn more about Thermador’s entire line of cooking appliances by going to the Thermador Website. After spending a few days with the folks at Thermador, who are about as passionate and genuine as they come, you can bet that if I were doing a kitchen remodel or upgrading my appliances, I would definitely go with the Thermador brand!

When you get this many food bloggers together and you are wined and dined for 3 incredible days, you also start to notice how slightly fanatic we all are about food photography! Everywhere you turned cameras were clicking. Our cameras definitely got a workout as we all went into full food paparazzi mode.

Jenny from Picky Palate, Jennifer from Savor the Thyme, Tina from Carrots ‘n’ Cake and Russell from Endless Simmer

Jane from This Week for Dinner and Brooke from Cheeky Kitchen

Todd from White on Rice Couple with Chef Kyle

I had a wonderful few days and appreciate the folks at Thermador for including me in this event. The Hyatt Scottsdale was such a welcome retreat, Maestros Restaurant had the best filet I have ever eaten, 5th and Wine restaurant was such a fun atmosphere with delicious food and I seriously came home 5 pounds heavier thanks to the Chefs at Thermador and their fabulous food!

Speaking of fab food, here is the Buttermilk Syrup recipe from Chef Brad I promised you. Once you try this syrup, you won’t want to try anything else on your pancakes, french toast or waffles. It melts in your mouth the second it hits your tongue and tastes so buttery rich and delicious. It does make a huge batch, but you can save what you don’t eat up in the refrigerator and you will discover it has an even richer flavor after you heat it up the next time.

Buttermilk Syrup for Pancakes, French Toast or Waffles (from Thermador’s Chef Brad)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (I used buttermilk substitute – 1 Tbs of Lemon Juice for each 1 cup of milk)
3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 teaspoons baking soda

Directions:

In a large pan (make sure it is large, this syrup will grow when you add the vanilla and soda), place the butter, buttermilk, and sugar.  Bring to a boil stirring.  remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and soda.  it will foam.  Now it is ready to serve. Yum Yum.

Disclaimer: Thermador was generous enough to pay my travel, room / board, meal expenses for my time in Scottsdale, AZ however the opinions expressed in this post about their products are my own.

The post Getting Steamy with Thermador (Recipe: Buttermilk Syrup for Pancakes) appeared first on Dine and Dish.

I am usually a fairly confident and secure person, but for some reason lately I have been hit with a dose of insecurity. I think part of it is starting the Culinary Snapshot blog. I feel like I have had this idea for a blog for so long now, and I am nervous that it will not turn into the resource for food photographers that I want it to be. It is hard to start over being a “newbie” blogger. Dine & Dish has been around for awhile now, so getting back to the basics of starting over with a new blog brings up all of those original blogging  insecurities…  kind of like being the new kid at school!

I am also heading to the BlogHer conference in Chicago at the end of the month. I am so excited because there will be several food bloggers there that I can’t wait to meet in person. On the other hand, I am nervous because I feel like the food blogger attendees at BlogHer will be waaaaay out numbered by the other blogging venue participants (especially since they have announced there will be a BlogHer food conference in September…soooo wish I was going to that conference!). I read a  lot of Mommy blogs but have never really integrated myself into their tight, niche community.  I feel like I am going to be a little fish in a very, very big sea. I hope that I am able to connect with bloggers in all the different venues and I hope I learn a lot at the conference sessions. If you are heading to BlogHer and read Dine & Dish, shoot me an email so we can meet up! I would love to put a face with a name.

I am not shy, but I have never been the type of person to stand out in a crowd. Trying to draw attention to a new blog  and  attempting to step out of my food blogging comfort zone to mingle with non-food bloggers who have no idea who I am and what I do at Dine & Dish will be a new experience for me. Hopefully both experiences will end up being very successful!

Speaking of not standing out in a crowd, I totally feel that way about Corn Flakes cereal (how is that for a pathetic attempt at a segue?) Corn Flakes are one of those classic cereals that really do not get much attention. I typically only buy Corn Flakes when I need to top a casserole with them and that is how I came to have a half empty box of Corn Flakes in my pantry.  A quick Google search brought me to this recipe for Corn Flake Waffles. Sounds kind of strange, doesn’t it? This recipe actually gives Corn Flakes the star attention they really deserve. You wouldn’t think that adding Corn Flakes to a waffle recipe would make that much difference, but the Corn Flakes in this recipe take center stage giving the waffles a delicious, almost nutty, flavor.  Make Corn Flakes feel a little better about themselves and give them the starring role by trying these waffles. They may be a little different, but I can promise you they are worth getting to know!

Corn Flake Waffles from AllRecipes

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup crushed cornflakes
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

In a bowl, combine flour, cornflakes, baking powder and salt. Beat egg yolks lightly; add milk and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until combined. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; fold into batter. Bake in a preheated waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions until golden brown.

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