Booze at Breakfast

Casting aside societal taboos regarding drinking before the cocktail hour, I’ve found potent potables a wonderful addition to breakfasts at Bryn Brooke, especially for our opera guests. The summer brings many Glimmerglass Opera fans to Bryn Brooke Manor, and a rarified lot they can be. Breakfast conversations can dabble in all things esoteric, from Handel to high finance to the Himalayas. This group generally possesses an educated palate.

Not holding a liquor license, I can’t sell the spirited elixirs, but nothing stops me from cooking with them. Liquor can be a dynamic addition to both sweets and savories and using it increases my compliment ratio markedly.

Of course, morning drinking is hardly uncommon; it’s even genteel, in the form of Mimosas, Bloody Marys, and, my favorite, Bellinis, at brunch. As I’ve explored the borders beyond the usual American breakfast fare, I found myself visiting the bar more and more often, frequently spiking the fruit fillings for cobblers and crisps with cassis, Chambord, or Cointreau. Golden Buck, (featured on page 115 of Home Plate: The Traveler’s Food Guide to Cooperstown and Otsego County,) fortifies a beautiful cheese sauce with local brews.

The following is a brand new addition to the tipsy offerings in the morning hours at Bryn Brooke, created when I wanted to do something different. Mushrooms and eggs are natural companions, and the liquid golden yolk of the poached eggs coats the drunken mushrooms, forming a luscious sauce.

Learn how to make Vermouth Mushrooms over Poached Eggs.