"The blackberry crème brûlée French toast with whipped cream was one heck of a way to start the morning in The Dinsmore House dining room."
~ Style Weekly Magazine
Dinsmore House guests enjoy a full breakfast each morning. Guests can choose to eat on the breakfast porch, in the dining room or on the back deck. Breakfast is served from 8am to 9am Monday through Friday, and until 9:30am on weekends. Everyday our menu includes fresh fruit, delicious gourmet Greenberry's coffee, assorted teas and orange juice. A hot dish accompanies the meal and varies daily. A sample of our main dishes includes:
Spinach and Gruyere Strata
Torta Rustica (our signature dish)
Pecan Crusted French Toast
Gingerbread and Pumpkin Pancakes
Eggs Dinsmore (our variation on Eggs Benedict)
Crème Brûlée French Toast
Recipes
Dinsmore House Torta Rustica
1 pound puff pastry
12 large eggs
Boursin cheese (1/2 to 3/4 container)
3 Tbsp butter
The Filling:
6 large roasted red bell peppers
Spinach
1Tbsp olive oil
10 oz swiss cheese, thinly sliced
8 oz smoked ham, thinly sliced
1 large egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water and a pinch of salt for egg wash.
Prepare crust:
Generously butter a 9 inch springform pan.
Cut off 1/4 of puff pastry and set aside.
Roll out remaining puff pastry to 1/4 inch thick, place in bottom of the pan, leaving 1 inch overhang. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Roll out the smaller piece of pastry until it is 1/4 inch thick.
Cut out a 9 inch circle of dough to place on top of the torta and place it aside. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Prepare filling:
Whisk eggs, boursin cheese, salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl.
Melt butter in large skillet over low heat and pour in egg mixture.
Gently but constantly stir eggs until cooked. Eggs should be scrambled slowly and loosely.
Place cooked eggs aside and let cool.
Retrieve spring form pan from refreigerator and layer the ingredients in the following order:
1/4 the swiss cheese, half the eggs (discard any liquid that may have accumulated on the plate), half the spinach, 1/4 the cheese, half the ham, all the roasted red peppers (laid out flat). Continue layering in the reverse order with the remaining ham, 1/4 the cheese, spinach, eggs, and 1/4 the cheese. Make sure to spread the ingredients all the way to the edge of the pan.
Prepare the egg wash:
1 large egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water and a pinch of salt for egg wash.
Fold the excess pastry over the top of the filling and brush the edge of the crust you've created with egg wash. Retrieve the smaller pasty circle from the refrigerator and place over the top of the filling. Gently push the top crust down the sides of the pan, pressing and sealing the top crust to the bottom crust. Brush with egg wash.
Cut a small hole in the top of the crust to vent.
Bake in a 425 degree oven for about an hour, or until crust is puffed and golden brown.
Pecan Crusted French Toast Recipe
Cut loaf of french bread into 1 inch slices and cover the bottom of an 8x10 greased baking dish with bread. Press bread together so no gaps can be seen. Place a 2nd layer of 1 inch slices on top of primary layer in 8x10 baking dish.Combine the following ingredients in a bowl, mix and pour evenly over bread in 8x10 dish:
* 8 Large Eggs
* 2 Cups half and half
* 1 Cup whole milk
* 2 T sugar
* 1 t vanilla
* ¼ t cinnamon
* ¼ t nutmeg
Place baking dish in refrigerator for 2 hours, or overnight. Blend the following ingredients in a mixing bowl:
* 2 sticks of softened butter
* 1 Cup packed light brown sugar
* 1 Cup of chopped pecans
* 2 T light corn syrup
* ½ t cinnamon
* ½ t nutmeg
Spread mixture evenly over bread, so that no bread is visible.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes.
Makes 8 large servings.
Peach Crème Brûlée French Toast Recipe
Makes 5 to 10 servings. Refrigerate overnight.
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
10 (1 inch thick) slices of bread
6 large eggs
1 ½ cups of half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon triple sec
¼ teaspoon salt
1 lb fresh or frozen peeled, sliced peaches
½ cup white sugar
¼ cup peach brandy
Spray a 15x10-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter with brown sugar and corn syrup, stirring until smooth; pour into baking dish. Place bread slices a atop the butter mixture. Whisk together eggs, half and half, vanilla, triple sec and salt. Pour over the bread and cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, preheat oven to 350 F, let French toast sit at room temp for 30 minutes, then bake for 30-35 minutes, then bake for 30-35 minutes. While french toast is baking, put teach slices in a bowl. Add white sugar and peach brandy; stir to combine. Place 1-2 pieces of French toast on each plate, brown sugar side up. Spoon peaches over the top of each serving.
Spinach and Gruyere Strata Recipe
Active time: 30 Minutes, Start to finish: 10 hours (includes chilling)
1 (10-oz) package chopped frozen spinach, thawed
1 ½ cups finely chopped onion (1 large)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
8 cups cubed French bread (1/2 lb)
6 oz coarsely grated Gruyere cheese (2 cups)
2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup)
2 ¾ cups milk
9 large eggs
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove liquid. Sauté onion and butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add ½ teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of pepper, nutmeg and cook while stirring for 1 minute. Stir in spinach, then remove from heat.Spread one third of bread cubes in a buttered 3-quart baking dish and top evenly with one third of the spinach mixture. Sprinkle with one third of the cheese. Repeat layering twice (ending with cheese).Whisk together milk, eggs, mustard and remaining salt and pepper in a large bowl and pour evenly over strata. Make sure the egg mixture thoroughly soaks the bread otherwise it will turn to toast on top. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 8 hours.Let strata stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake strata uncovered in middle rack of oven until puffed and golden brown. Cook through for 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Makes 8 servings.
