“Breakfast Reimagined” Cedar House Inn Cookbook

Cedar House Inn Cookbook Cover

In June of 2009, armed with rose colored glasses and blind faith I embraced Cedar House Inn, my labor of love.

It’s been several years now and along the way my fantastic guests, culinary adventurers all, encouraged the creation of a Cedar House Inn cookbook, and so we persevered.
I do not pretend to have the skills to create even a “Cook Pamphlet”, but I was inspired by those brave & loyal guests to gave it a try. In my world, cooking is one part talent, two parts enthusiasm, and a lot of luck. We certainly hope that you enjoy our efforts and have much success with yours to create these delights in your own home.

20 step-by-step dishes, including:

Baked Pear Strusel with Wild Berry Compote
Crunchy Caramel Breakfast Rolls
Berry Parfait with Homemade Banana Bread Croutons
Cedar House Inn Signature Juice Blend Mimosa
Breakfast Tart with Homemade Pesto & Caramelized Onions
Toasted Butter Pecan Belgian Waffles
Fresh Fruit Bird of Paradise with Honey Ginger Drizzle
Beth’s Bodacious Bacon Jam

With love and appreciation,
-Cyndi

Cedar House Mimosa

Want to add a little sparkle to your Easter weekend celebrations? Try our Cedar House Mimosa!

Start with our Cedar House Juice Blend

1/3 Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail
1/3 Fresh Orange Juice
1/3 Simply Orange/ Pineapple Juice

Add your favorite chilled champagne or sparkling cider into frosted flutes and enjoy!

Caramel Apple Stuffed French Toast

Caramel Apple French Toast

Serves 10-12

Three Loaves of day old White Bread
½ of a 24 Ounce Container of Philadelphia Cream Cheesecake filling
10 Large Eggs
2 Cups Whole Milk
1 Cup Buttermilk
¾ Cup of Sugar
2 t Cinnamon
½ t Nutmeg (1/4 t Freshly grated is best)
½ t Kosher Salt
Maple Syrup
2 Cans of Apple Pie filling (Its easier!)
½ Cup of Chopped Walnuts
Whipped Cream
1/2 Sliced Strawberry per person

• Slice the bread loaves into 1 inch cubes and let dry on a baking sheet while you prepare remaining ingredients
• Move bread cubes to (2) 11×14 Pyrex Baking Dishes
• Place dollops of Philadelphia Cheesecake mixture sporadically over the top of the bread cubes (about 9 dollops per dish)
• Whisk together the Eggs, Milks, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Sugar and Salt
• Pour liquid mixture over bread cubes allowing the extra to remain in the dish to be absorbed by the bread cubes
• Press lightly to ensure absorption
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight
• The next morning remove the plastic wrap

• Pre-Heat the oven to 350’
• Cover the Pyrex dishes with foil taking care not to touch the top of the bread with the foil
• Bake 350’ for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake for another 25-30 minutes uncovered

• Cut the Stuffed French Toast into large squares for presentation and position in the center of the plate. You can also prepare in 5×5 Square ramekins for individuals presentation.
• Place 2 T of the Apple Pie mixture in the center of the French Toast. Drizzle with Caramel Sauce and Maple Syrup to taste.
• Dust with Powdered Sugar and sprinkle with Chopped Walnuts.
• Top with a Strawberry Half and Whipped Cream for a little decadence!

Quick and Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce

½ Cup of White Sugar
½ Cup of Brown Sugar
1 Stick of Unsalted Butter
½ Cup of Whole Milk or 1/2&1/2 for a richer texture
¼ t of Salt (or a touch more to taste)

Place the Butter, Sugars and Salt in a medium sauce pan
Over medium heat
Stir until the Butters, Sugars and Salt until dissolved
Add Milk/Cream and let the mixture boil aggressively
For 4-5 minutes stirring every 10 seconds to prevent
The mixture from sticking
Remove from heat and let cool completely to room
temperature before using
You can store in a glass jar for up to 3 weeks
To re-heat remove lid and place in a microwave for 20 seconds

Enjoy!

Cedar House Cookies

Satisfy your resident “Cookie Monsters” with our Cedar House signature cookies! Easy to make, but not easy to keep around so make plenty and enjoy!

Cedar House Cookies
Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 cups quick oatmeal
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or your favorite nuts
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon of salt

Directions
• Cream together sugars, butter, and eggs
• Sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda
• Add to creamed mixture
• Add oatmeal, nuts, and coconut
• Mix well with wooden spoon (a good workout!)
• Drop by teaspoon on ungreased cookie sheet

Bake in preheated oven at 350’ for about 10 minutes – Careful not to overbake
Makes about 5 Dozen Cookies

Fantastic Fall!

Hello from Beth Wilson, Master Gardener of Cedar House Inn…

Fall and all its glory has arrived at Cedar House Inn!

While the summer garden was a feast for the eyes thanks to plenty of sunshine and TLC, both the garden and I are ready to welcome cooler temperatures and a much anticipated seasonal change to the inn.

The summer annuals, joined by a host of feathered friends grazing at the bird feeder in the Red Maple, gave us a wonderful show. We are now making way for bolder colors and lots of flower power. Geraniums, Snapdragons, and New Guinea Impatiens, are some of my favorites.

In addition, Mums are also a classic autumnal feature. Four large specimens are currently gracing the front porch and are beginning to showcase their beautiful palette. When purchasing Mums, I recommend selecting plants that are just getting ready to bloom. Once you have placed your Mums, remember to water at the base of the plant for longer lasting displays. Once the blooms expire, deadhead (pinching the spent blooms off their stem) as needed to make way for more colorful flowers to appear.

The inn’s bird feeder has been robust with flocks of visitors. We use the song bird mix which has attracted a delightful variety of different birds. We welcome a visit from Birders to help us identify them and thank Noel and Bob Brouillard, treasured guests at Cedar House, for the book on Florida’s Birds to get us started!

Helpful Garden Hint: Don’t forget to fertilize in October you will love the results and your flowers, shrubs and trees will reward you for it.

Breakfast Re-imagined & Our first Recipe share!

Here is our #1 requested recipe!

Baked Pear Streusel

Serves 8

Topping
1 cup Quick Cooking Oats
½ cup Brown Sugar, firmly packed
2 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
½ Teaspoon Ground Allspice
½ Teaspoon of Cinnamon
6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
¼ cup almonds chopped

Combine oats, brown sugar, flour and allspice. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly – Stir in nuts – Cover and chill

4 Firm Bosc or Bartlet Pears
Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds and stem

8 ounces Plain Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Honey
In small bowl, combine Yogurt and Honey – Cover and chill

Heat oven to 350
Line Baking Sheet with Parchment Paper to prevent sticking

• Place pears cut side down on baking sheet and bake 30 minutes or until pears start to soften
• Turn pears over, place in baking dish, spoon oat mixture over pears
• Bake 30 minutes (or until soft) until topping is light golden brown
• Allow the pears to cool
• Plate pears (The photo will give you an idea but be creative!)
• Spoon the Blueberry Compote (recipe below) on 1/3 of the Baked Pear and drizzle the Yogurt Sauce in a crisscross pattern over the pear
• Serve Warm…

Blueberry Compote

1 Tablespoon of Corn Starch
½ Cup of Water
¼ Cup of Orange Juice
1 Cup of Frozen Blueberries
¼ Cup of Sugar

• Combine Water and Corn Starch over medium heat it until thickens
• Add Orange Juice
• Bring to a simmer and add fresh or frozen Blueberries and Sugar
• Simmer until the pour thickens and reduces slightly
• Keep warm until ready to use

If you love this recipe, there are many more in the Cedar House Inn Breakfast Re-Imagined cookbook. Click here to order your copy.

Enjoy!

The Green Thumbs Have Arrived!

Welcome to our first blog as part of the kick off to the new website!

I want to take this opportunity to introduce you to my sister Beth, who (at my urging…) has just moved to St Augustine. Besides wanting her close by, I had a thinly veiled ulterior motive…She is a Master Gardener!

Those who have visited Cedar House know that we have a lovely garden area in the front yard, which could be made glorious in the right hands. Well I am thrilled to say that the “Green Thumbs” have arrived! On that note, say hello to Beth Wilson, owner of Living Art by Beth…

“I have been a Garden Designer for over 12 years in South Florida. When visiting Cedar House over the past four years, Cyndi has encouraged me to work a little magic in the garden adding some seasonal changes and identifying what plant material would thrive in the North Florida area.

When working in the garden many of the gracious guests of the inn have shown an interest and have approached me to comment both on my efforts and to share their own gardening experiences. I thought blog posts on the Cedar House website would allow me to continue that conversation. The Blog will also provide a format where I can introduce tips and ideas for your home garden and to encourage you to follow the changes that will be happening in the garden at the inn.

I consider Cedar House Inn “small space gardening”. Opportunities abound to layer in color, texture and form. For example, we have recently added wrought iron plant stands lined with coco to add height to the space. We filled them with multiples of colorful annuals and perennials. As a result the area has transformed from a one dimensional display to a colorful multi-level feast for the eyes!

One of the questions I am most often asked is “What is the difference between annuals and perennials?” The easy answer is Annuals are seasonal color, switched out in anticipation of the cool and dry months and of course again for the hot and wet months in Florida. Perennials are plants that can live over many seasons or (when properly maintained) for years.

Garden ornamentation can be as classic or whimsical as you prefer. You are only limited by your imagination, but remember, the plants are the stars! For example, a new addition of ornamentation has been added under the inn’s Maple tree. An antique garden bench (crafted from an iron twin bed frame, believe it or not) that I found years ago, has been placed among the ground plantings with a basket filled with Petunias and Blue Daze resting comfortably as if they had just happened there. Adding architectural forms bring visual interest to your garden. Don’t be afraid to experiment as you may be pleasantly surprised at how creative you can be.

Email me with your questions, thoughts and ideas and Happy Gardening!”

Livingartbybeth@gmail.com

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