Once we were thirty-something unmarried professionals who had signed on for sun and surf as members of the Breakfast Club beachhouse in Rehoboth DE. Every weekend we raced each other from ninety miles away in Wilmington, Delaware to arrive early enough to score a bed in the girls’ and boys’ dorms nestled under the roof on the second floor of the rambling beachhouse. More than twenty of us shared that house from summer to summer and through many years as housemates, we developed lifelong friendships, most of which began in the kitchen.
Beverley, who did a little catering on the side, was our kitchen commander. As we stumbled down from the "dorms" bleary eyed on a Sunday morning from dancing the night away at the Summer House and aching for caffeine, Beverley had only one question"
“How would you like your eggs?”
Each weekend, she enlisted us as sous chefs and our brunches became a local legend --- Dutch Baby pancakes, frittatas with herbs and vegetables, omelets, hash browns and Delaware’s famous pork scrapple. And of course, our Bloody Marys and Champagne. Fittingly, as a symbol of membership upon joining, each house member was presented his or her individually monogrammed champagne flute for our weekly toasts.
Invitations to our brunches were coveted, and freely issued. We kicked off each of our seasons together with a Memorial Day bash. While other beach houses offered burgers and hot dogs, we served up sliced filet with mustard sauce on toast points, chicken-stuffed pastries with plum sauce and steamed shrimp. The strawberries that Beverley taught us to inject with grand Marnier (one house mate was, after all, a nurse, so needles were not difficult to get) were dipped in chocolate, served on a silver platter and never lasted long.
It was not unusual to have hordes of beach-hungry people gathered on the deck for a weekend meal, enjoying dinner and the soft ocean breeze. And feeding merely our own household required serious planning. Beverley divided us into teams, directing our peeling and chopping while we maneuvered around each other in the tiny kitchen. She was our culinary instructor as well, teaching us the proper way to dice onions and shave potatoes for the hash browns. She demonstrated how to tell when the filet mignon was seared to tender doneness and how to arranges the slices for an attractive presentation.
At that time our lives were still uncomplicated. In the future were marriages, mortgages and children. Our shared purpose, the close packed kitchen at dusk after a day at the beach and the delight of making something delicious together, brought us together as family.
Our story has evolved away from Rehoboth Beach, but it still remains about food. At the Breakfast Club, Beverley made it all about family and she is the one who still keeps us together. Today we are parents and grandparents, but our family stays connected through food and our annual holiday champagne toast.
We meet at Beverley’s house, all trimmed out as her Yuletide cottage. And of course, Beverley is still the custodian of our personal champagne flutes. Each year she brings them out of storage when we gather, dressed to the nines, for our holiday toast. We cluster around the warm circle of firelight. She rings the ceremonial bell. We raise our glasses and celebrate our family -- the Breakfast Club.
Holiday Cheddar Mini-Appetizers
This easy to make holiday appetizer takes advantage of the benefits of Kerrygold butter in two special ways – contributing to the flakiness of the dough and providing a rich sauté for the filling. The goat cheese dough complements the savory filling for an unbeatable finger food appetizer.
Dough
Prepare the dough, flatten into a disk and chill for at least 30 minutes while finishing the other ingredients.
½ cup Kerrygold unsalted butter
4 ounces goat cheese at room temperature
1 ¼ cup flour
Filling
2 shallots chopped fine
1 clove garlic minced
1 tbs Kerrygold unsalted butter
1 egg
1 cup cheddar cheese grated
2 slices cooked bacon chopped
1 tbs chopped parsley
Pinch of sea salt
Preparation
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease mini-muffin pans. For the dough, beat butter and goat cheese. Add flour gradually. Flatten dough into a disk and refrigerate.
Saute shallots in butter, adding garlic when nearly done. Remove from heat and let cool. In a mixing bowl, combine shallots and filling ingredients except bacon. Remove dough from refrigerator. Shape dough into 24 balls. Place the dough into the muffin cups, pressing the bottom and up the sides. Sprinkle a scant amount of chopped bacon into each cup. Spoon tablespoons of the filling into each of the muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes till filling is puffed and golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes and remove from muffin pans, transferring to wire racks. Can be served warm or at room temperature.
