Moos - Art of Breakfast: B&b Style Recipes to Make at Home

I clearly recall the very first dish I created for the inns menu before we even moved to Maine. I put sliced bananas and pineapple in a flameproof dish, sprinkled it with cinnamon, topped it with brown sugar, and broiled for a couple minutes. When I realized that I had no control over the browning, my husband pulled out his torch. My pineapple and banana towers were born. But guests Noreen and Michael one morning claimed that they looked like cairns, the directional rock stacks that serve as hiking trail markers in nearby Acadia National Park. From that morning on, we put them on the inns regular menu rotation and called them Pineapple Banana Cairns.

Serves 4

• of a pineapple, peeled and cut into vertical quarters
• 2 ripe bananas
• 4 tablespoons Cinnamon Crme(see )
• 4 tablespoons raw sugar

• 1. Cut the core off of each of the pineapple quarters. Slice 2 of the pineapple quarters and both bananas into about 10 -inch slices. Layer, starting with the largest slices of pineapple on the bottom, stacking four pieces of each.
• 2. Top the tower with a tablespoon of cinnamon crme, then a tablespoon of sugar.
• 3. Carefully torch at a distance that will allow the sugar to burn evenly. This takes about 4 to 5 seconds (depending on the size of your flame) if the flame is about 2 to 3 inches from the sugar. Youre looking for the sugar crystals to melt and then lightly burn. If they dissolve into the sauce before you can burn them, just layer another teaspoon of sugar and quickly torch again. You may have to adjust how close you hold the flame to the sugar. Keep the flame moving all over the sugar to avoid a hot spot. If the sugar starts to smoke, you may have just gone a microsecond too long and will end up with burned sugar. But you can just remove the sugar and start over! Just practiceit will take some getting used to, but its worth it.

Danas Tip

Youre trying to melt the sugar with the flame before it starts to naturally dissolve in the wet sauce. You also want to ensure all sugar crystals are melted and meld together, which then allows the top surface of the sugar to burn and brown. When melted and then burned, the sugar crystals will essentially become a solid piece of hard candy instead of individual crystals. White sugar will not work, as the crystals are too small and will immediately dissolve in the sauce before you can even turn the torch on.

This dish was a Cond Nast travel writer favorite. Ive enjoyed broiled grapefruit at many bed and breakfasts, but the sugar tends to melt before it broils, not allowing you to achieve a nice thick sugar crust. Using a torch gives you control of the burning. For those on cholesterol medication who cant eat grapefruit, orange slices bruled with Vanilla Bean Crme taste just like an orange Creamsicle.

Serves 4

• 2 ruby red grapefruits
• 8 tablespoons Vanilla Bean Crme(see )
• 8 tablespoons raw sugar

• 1. Halve each grapefruit and section with a grapefruit knife or tool. (I have a fabulous two-sided knife with a double blade that cuts along each side of the membrane. The other, curved end cuts the fruit from the rind.) Place 2 tablespoons of vanilla bean crme on top of each grapefruit half.
• 2. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over the sauce on each half and torch immediately. Work quickly to avoid the sugar dissolving before you are able to torch and burn. You may need to layer more sugar and torch again in order to get the right burn.

Danas Tip

Dont do as I do: I learned that my glass dishes were not flameproof on the last morning of our third season at the inn. I had sixteen bowls with grapefruit halves, ready for the torching. I usually topped two at a time with sugar and then torched. I got to the second-to-last dish and I must have held the flame too close to the glassit cracked and went all over the kitchen island, and shattered glass was tossed around into the bowls of ready-to-be-served fruit. Needless to say, I didnt serve a fruit course that morning; we went right into the entre. That next season I bought new, flameproof dishes!

This is one of the classic examples of fruits of opposite colors working beautifully together. The inspiration came from the use of lime and coconut in Thai foods. The lime adds such a delightful brightness to the dish and wont curdle the sour cream. I wanted to use a fruit of the opposite color to the watermelon and experimented with kiwi. I just had a feeling it was going to work. The kiwi is very acidic and the watermelon not so much; the sauce marries the two beautifully.

Serves 6

• of a medium seedless watermelon (or a whole baby seedless melon)
• 8 kiwi
• juice of 1 lime
• cup Coconut Lime Crme(see )
• zest of 1 lime, for garnish

• 1. Cut the rind from the watermelon and kiwi. Cut the watermelon into triangles about inch thick and about the size of an oversized tortilla chip. Cut the kiwi into slices inch thick. Refrigerate both until well chilled, about 45 minutes.
• 2. When ready to serve, stack on a dry plate, starting with the watermelon and alternating fruits. Squeeze about a teaspoon of lime juice onto each stack of fruit, then spoon a few tablespoons of the coconut lime crme over the top of the stack and onto the plate.
• 3. Garnish with a sprinkling of lime zest (pass the lime over the zester twice).

This is my version of peach Melbathe cool raspberry coulis against the warm grilled peach is delicious! On warm days I prefer to serve the peaches chilled, with a scoop of frozen vanilla yogurt or raspberry sorbet.

Serves 4

• 4 medium-ripe large peaches
• 4 tablespoons toasted walnut oil (I love Fiore oils, but you can use any brand)
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar2 teaspoons white peach balsamic vinegar (again, Fiore has a fantastic one, or just use a white balsamic)