Breakfast for house guests

Morning eggs get a guest-worthy garlic-and-herb upgrade in Herbed Eggs with Sautéed Arugula. (Photo: The Junior League of Houston)

Cooking Buzz is produced in partnership with the Junior League of Houston, a women’s charitable and education organization founded in 1925.

When you’re a guest in someone’s home, it’s a wonderful sensation to wake up to the delicious smell of breakfast cooking. It’s been more than 20 years since I stayed on my grandmother’s farm, and I can still remember the scent of her homemade cinnamon rolls drifting from the kitchen into the purple bedroom where my sister and I slept.

When my family visited each summer, the grandkids anticipated these rolls with an enthusiasm usually reserved for Disney World. And what a production these rolls were! My grandmother would be awake at 5:30 a.m. to start preparing them. I’m not a morning person at all, but the faintest scent of the rolls in the oven was enough to make me leap out of bed by 7 a.m.

With school out and travel season in peak, chances are you’ll be hosting out-of-town family and friends at your home this summer. Your days may be packed with activity, which could involve lunches and dinners out. However, breakfast is your time to shine as a host. Instead of the usual hurried morning routine, your guests can relax while enjoying food and conversation in their pajamas.

A breakfast spread can be delicious and impressive without unnecessary stress or waking up before sunrise. Let’s start with beverages. In addition to coffee and tea, I’m a huge fan of smoothies in the morning because they can pack such a nutritious punch. The Sunshine Smoothie from Peace Meals has three benefits: it’s a refreshing antidote to muggy Houston mornings, it delivers a healthy serving of fruit and yogurt, and it’s easy. Drop six ingredients into a blender and mix. Freeze the mango and peach slices overnight so the smoothie is cold upon serving. For a fancy touch, add a peach slice to the rim of each glass.

For a main dish, I recommend the Herbed Eggs with Sautéed Arugula from Peace Meals. It’s a sophisticated, crowd-pleasing twist on classic scrambled eggs. It even helps you incorporate some extra greens into your day. Like the smoothie, it’s pretty easy to prepare. The most difficult part of the preparation is refraining from eating all the garlic-and-herb cheese before you add it to the eggs. The eggs pair well with hash browns or grilled potatoes, toast or bacon.

Now for dessert – because every special meal served for guests needs something sweet to finish it off. Although I never wrote down the recipe for my grandmother’s legendary homemade cinnamon rolls, I find the Coolrise Cinnamon Rolls from Stop and Smell the Rosemary to be a tasty alternative. This recipe requires some advance preparation. However, you can make the dough and cinnamon mixture up to 24 hours before serving. Then refrigerate until you are ready to bake them and make the icing. Drizzle the icing over the rolls as soon as they come out of the oven.

Happy hosting.