When your brain goes blank

[Cathy]

For us it is an hour to 2 hours before as it depends on the breakfast. Can't set the table the night before as it is on an outdoor terrace ... our guests eat outside off our living room.
Dishes are put out on the counter the night before, we do not offer early coffee unless a guest wanders in or the dogs tell us someone is up and outside (as soon as they go out their door they are on the terrace) and they ask for a cup
"We'll take it over by the pool over there" - (lol first they are taking from my pot of coffee not always a good thing to do) - of course I say, (not like I am doing anything any way ... like cooking your breakfast) I'll be right out with it.

My partner in crime does the fruit prep and clean-up and I do the pan dulce of the day (no longer make sweet bread) and the egg dish. I make home made bread the day before as I do not like getting up at 5:30 to make bread. Sorry.
We are one day going to take a picture of our table setting(s) and I would love to share them with you ... we are fortunate enough to serve from Talavera pottery and Mexican style glass wear so the table is usually colourful.
Cathy.

I would LOVE to see your table setting....sounds wonderful to eat out on a terrace
Tomorrow is a little tricky since it's just me on a weekday without dh to serve. I have one room eating at 8 AM & then have an en suite breakfast delivery in our other house at 8:30 AM, so I will probably plate everything on one plate tomorrow for the 8 AM folks (one is a vegan, too so it's a little different). The earlier breakfast has to be out of here by 8:30, so they won't be lingering.
.

Can you believe ... yesterday morning AFTER breakfast I say ... doh !! forgot to take a picture of the table setting. Mental note for this morning ... take photo. Breakfast cleared ... laundry started ... and doh again.
We may just have to do our settings without guests as we have no bookings (yet) for 10 days.
It is on the list of things to do. It is coming though.

 

[Cathy]

We kind of ask. We mention the main dish the night before ... quiche, omelet (cheese, avocado and bacon or no bacon) or scrambled (cheese, avocado, corn, spices) ... or waffles/pancakes or ?. We don't usually ask them if they want a choice of what dish they want, just mention what is going to be served the next morning, which allows me to also make enough bacon, etc. The omelet is the only one that seems to vary with the bacon, no bacon, but usually get sounds good, thanks.
A bit of discussion between our guests last night (all 4 are in the same group) as they bobbed in the pool. One egg, one waffles, 2 pancakes ... sorted ... 1 waffle, and 2 sm. pancakes on each plate served with a dish of macerated strawberries and a dish of whip cream for those who wanted toppings. We had a plate of waffles, sectioned, and put on the table in case any one wanted one more, this is the first time we offered extras this way.
A bit of a choice. But I learnt early, I cannot do eggs restaurant style (8 different ways) and never ask any more and thanks to this venue I have found out that offering the dish of the day is OK. Love the expression "Cook's Choice".
Fruit plate is served family style in the middle of the table as well as the pan dulce at the end of breakfast. With our guests last breakfast, we also give everyone a chocolate covered strawberry.

 

[YellowSocks]

We kind of ask. We mention the main dish the night before ... quiche, omelet (cheese, avocado and bacon or no bacon) or scrambled (cheese, avocado, corn, spices) ... or waffles/pancakes or ?. We don't usually ask them if they want a choice of what dish they want, just mention what is going to be served the next morning, which allows me to also make enough bacon, etc. The omelet is the only one that seems to vary with the bacon, no bacon, but usually get sounds good, thanks.
A bit of discussion between our guests last night (all 4 are in the same group) as they bobbed in the pool. One egg, one waffles, 2 pancakes ... sorted ... 1 waffle, and 2 sm. pancakes on each plate served with a dish of macerated strawberries and a dish of whip cream for those who wanted toppings. We had a plate of waffles, sectioned, and put on the table in case any one wanted one more, this is the first time we offered extras this way.
A bit of a choice. But I learnt early, I cannot do eggs restaurant style (8 different ways) and never ask any more and thanks to this venue I have found out that offering the dish of the day is OK. Love the expression "Cook's Choice".
Fruit plate is served family style in the middle of the table as well as the pan dulce at the end of breakfast. With our guests last breakfast, we also give everyone a chocolate covered strawberry..

With our guests last breakfast, we also give everyone a chocolate covered strawberry.

Ooooh... love it! Too bad I have so many one nighters, but something I want to do for multi-night stays once in a while!
=)
Kk.

 

[Cathy]

We kind of ask. We mention the main dish the night before ... quiche, omelet (cheese, avocado and bacon or no bacon) or scrambled (cheese, avocado, corn, spices) ... or waffles/pancakes or ?. We don't usually ask them if they want a choice of what dish they want, just mention what is going to be served the next morning, which allows me to also make enough bacon, etc. The omelet is the only one that seems to vary with the bacon, no bacon, but usually get sounds good, thanks.
A bit of discussion between our guests last night (all 4 are in the same group) as they bobbed in the pool. One egg, one waffles, 2 pancakes ... sorted ... 1 waffle, and 2 sm. pancakes on each plate served with a dish of macerated strawberries and a dish of whip cream for those who wanted toppings. We had a plate of waffles, sectioned, and put on the table in case any one wanted one more, this is the first time we offered extras this way.
A bit of a choice. But I learnt early, I cannot do eggs restaurant style (8 different ways) and never ask any more and thanks to this venue I have found out that offering the dish of the day is OK. Love the expression "Cook's Choice".
Fruit plate is served family style in the middle of the table as well as the pan dulce at the end of breakfast. With our guests last breakfast, we also give everyone a chocolate covered strawberry..

With our guests last breakfast, we also give everyone a chocolate covered strawberry.

Ooooh... love it! Too bad I have so many one nighters, but something I want to do for multi-night stays once in a while!
=)
Kk.
.

We feel we have to serve chocolate at breakfasts as it kind of goes with the name. So if we aren't serving white chocolate in with the raspberry muffins, or dark chocolate in with the cranberry orange scones... if we serve muffins or scones (sweet with no chocolate added or savory) we usually serve individual chocolates as well.
If it is the guests last day we feel we have the chocolate part covered with the chocolate covered strawberries. Only had one couple who did not eat or take them.

 

[hawley]

Why do you do it to yourself Bree, you are not a diner!
Serve it up, they eat it or not. That is what I would do and I DO. There is not enough time in the day to stuff around with people. You are bringing them a fresh hot delicious meal. Don't let those old fuddy-duddies ruin your morning.
My theory - they had a big fat greasy dinner - so they don't want it. On second thought, it sounds kinda good I will burn it off hiking...whatever.
Serve it up. Fat people get bigger portions and skinny people get slim portions? NOPE. Everybody gets the same. Same toast. Same Quiche. Typically it is the skinny binny's who are out jogging at 5am and eat like horses. You never know if people even eat breakfast at home and really only want a cup of coffee.
Can you tell I am impatient in this arena? NAWWWWW.

.

Why do you do it to yourself Bree, you are not a diner!
Serve it up, they eat it or not.

This is why I ask about food allergies, to try to cut down on what we make that guests won't/can't eat. Some 'diets' I respect. The guests are clear that they can't eat something and they don't ask me to go nuts for them. The one this weekend with the 'scrambed egg only' that is all she ever wants. She's a good, repeat guest, is polite, takes care that her dogs are well-behaved and that's all she asks for. Of course she is going to get that!
But, I just can't serve good food to guests who just don't want it. Maybe it all goes back to my own childhood and having foods (and lots of it) put in front of me and left there for me to eat, like it or not, able to fit it all in or not.
So, I ask. 'Would you like toast and sausage with the quiche?' Generally a fairly easy question. Some days I'm just not awake!
I don't entertain answers like, 'Can I have pancakes instead?' You can have any combo of quiche-sausage-toast, that's it.
OK, am I really so far off here? Does no one else ask questions like this? I guess I just don't like it when a plate of something is thrust in front of me that is totally NOT something I want. I'd rather have the choice to decline instead of having the cook think it doesn't taste right!
.

I do the same. I have the quiche, sausage, toast. Check ahead of time and plate what they want. Cuts down on waste and makes people feel they are catered to.
Have week long guests now. Took 2 children that I usually don't have but just have the one room. Kids have been easy to do. Mother told me kids eat everything. First day, 7 year old was polite but at the end of breakfast he told me he didn't like eggs very well. So I talked to him about what he wanted to eat the rest of the time. It was cereal. So I bought rice kispies, what he wanted, and cherios because I thought the 1 year old would probably eat them.
His eyes lit up when I asked him if he liked mango and stawberries. He eats his fruit.
He has his juice in the box with little straws most of the time.
They can come again. But most times I won't take kids.

 

[Morticia]

Why do you do it to yourself Bree, you are not a diner!
Serve it up, they eat it or not. That is what I would do and I DO. There is not enough time in the day to stuff around with people. You are bringing them a fresh hot delicious meal. Don't let those old fuddy-duddies ruin your morning.
My theory - they had a big fat greasy dinner - so they don't want it. On second thought, it sounds kinda good I will burn it off hiking...whatever.
Serve it up. Fat people get bigger portions and skinny people get slim portions? NOPE. Everybody gets the same. Same toast. Same Quiche. Typically it is the skinny binny's who are out jogging at 5am and eat like horses. You never know if people even eat breakfast at home and really only want a cup of coffee.
Can you tell I am impatient in this arena? NAWWWWW.

.

Why do you do it to yourself Bree, you are not a diner!
Serve it up, they eat it or not.

This is why I ask about food allergies, to try to cut down on what we make that guests won't/can't eat. Some 'diets' I respect. The guests are clear that they can't eat something and they don't ask me to go nuts for them. The one this weekend with the 'scrambed egg only' that is all she ever wants. She's a good, repeat guest, is polite, takes care that her dogs are well-behaved and that's all she asks for. Of course she is going to get that!
But, I just can't serve good food to guests who just don't want it. Maybe it all goes back to my own childhood and having foods (and lots of it) put in front of me and left there for me to eat, like it or not, able to fit it all in or not.
So, I ask. 'Would you like toast and sausage with the quiche?' Generally a fairly easy question. Some days I'm just not awake!
I don't entertain answers like, 'Can I have pancakes instead?' You can have any combo of quiche-sausage-toast, that's it.
OK, am I really so far off here? Does no one else ask questions like this? I guess I just don't like it when a plate of something is thrust in front of me that is totally NOT something I want. I'd rather have the choice to decline instead of having the cook think it doesn't taste right!
.

I do the same. I have the quiche, sausage, toast. Check ahead of time and plate what they want. Cuts down on waste and makes people feel they are catered to.
Have week long guests now. Took 2 children that I usually don't have but just have the one room. Kids have been easy to do. Mother told me kids eat everything. First day, 7 year old was polite but at the end of breakfast he told me he didn't like eggs very well. So I talked to him about what he wanted to eat the rest of the time. It was cereal. So I bought rice kispies, what he wanted, and cherios because I thought the 1 year old would probably eat them.
His eyes lit up when I asked him if he liked mango and stawberries. He eats his fruit.
He has his juice in the box with little straws most of the time.
They can come again. But most times I won't take kids.
.

It was cereal. So I bought rice kispies, what he wanted, and cherios because I thought the 1 year old would probably eat them.

We have those little boxes of cereal. Had 2 kids here for 4 days and that's all they wanted. Little box of cereal. They were happy as could be. (Same guests as my original story here! Only a couple of times did the older one want the breakfast, or just the sausage part of it.)
Kids think those little boxes of cereal are the greatest invention ever. We give the guest kids a bowl, but we've shown our grandkids that the box makes its own bowl. You'd think we pulled a rabbit out of a hat when they saw that!

 

[Samster]

Why do you do it to yourself Bree, you are not a diner!
Serve it up, they eat it or not. That is what I would do and I DO. There is not enough time in the day to stuff around with people. You are bringing them a fresh hot delicious meal. Don't let those old fuddy-duddies ruin your morning.
My theory - they had a big fat greasy dinner - so they don't want it. On second thought, it sounds kinda good I will burn it off hiking...whatever.
Serve it up. Fat people get bigger portions and skinny people get slim portions? NOPE. Everybody gets the same. Same toast. Same Quiche. Typically it is the skinny binny's who are out jogging at 5am and eat like horses. You never know if people even eat breakfast at home and really only want a cup of coffee.
Can you tell I am impatient in this arena? NAWWWWW.

.

Why do you do it to yourself Bree, you are not a diner!
Serve it up, they eat it or not.

This is why I ask about food allergies, to try to cut down on what we make that guests won't/can't eat. Some 'diets' I respect. The guests are clear that they can't eat something and they don't ask me to go nuts for them. The one this weekend with the 'scrambed egg only' that is all she ever wants. She's a good, repeat guest, is polite, takes care that her dogs are well-behaved and that's all she asks for. Of course she is going to get that!
But, I just can't serve good food to guests who just don't want it. Maybe it all goes back to my own childhood and having foods (and lots of it) put in front of me and left there for me to eat, like it or not, able to fit it all in or not.
So, I ask. 'Would you like toast and sausage with the quiche?' Generally a fairly easy question. Some days I'm just not awake!
I don't entertain answers like, 'Can I have pancakes instead?' You can have any combo of quiche-sausage-toast, that's it.
OK, am I really so far off here? Does no one else ask questions like this? I guess I just don't like it when a plate of something is thrust in front of me that is totally NOT something I want. I'd rather have the choice to decline instead of having the cook think it doesn't taste right!
.

I do the same. I have the quiche, sausage, toast. Check ahead of time and plate what they want. Cuts down on waste and makes people feel they are catered to.
Have week long guests now. Took 2 children that I usually don't have but just have the one room. Kids have been easy to do. Mother told me kids eat everything. First day, 7 year old was polite but at the end of breakfast he told me he didn't like eggs very well. So I talked to him about what he wanted to eat the rest of the time. It was cereal. So I bought rice kispies, what he wanted, and cherios because I thought the 1 year old would probably eat them.
His eyes lit up when I asked him if he liked mango and stawberries. He eats his fruit.
He has his juice in the box with little straws most of the time.
They can come again. But most times I won't take kids.
.

It's easy to do it that way when you only have a couple of rooms When you start getting multiple rooms, multiple seatings, it's a different story. We have very liitle waste, except from people that just don't eat much period.

 

[hawley]

Why do you do it to yourself Bree, you are not a diner!
Serve it up, they eat it or not. That is what I would do and I DO. There is not enough time in the day to stuff around with people. You are bringing them a fresh hot delicious meal. Don't let those old fuddy-duddies ruin your morning.
My theory - they had a big fat greasy dinner - so they don't want it. On second thought, it sounds kinda good I will burn it off hiking...whatever.
Serve it up. Fat people get bigger portions and skinny people get slim portions? NOPE. Everybody gets the same. Same toast. Same Quiche. Typically it is the skinny binny's who are out jogging at 5am and eat like horses. You never know if people even eat breakfast at home and really only want a cup of coffee.
Can you tell I am impatient in this arena? NAWWWWW.

.

Why do you do it to yourself Bree, you are not a diner!
Serve it up, they eat it or not.

This is why I ask about food allergies, to try to cut down on what we make that guests won't/can't eat. Some 'diets' I respect. The guests are clear that they can't eat something and they don't ask me to go nuts for them. The one this weekend with the 'scrambed egg only' that is all she ever wants. She's a good, repeat guest, is polite, takes care that her dogs are well-behaved and that's all she asks for. Of course she is going to get that!
But, I just can't serve good food to guests who just don't want it. Maybe it all goes back to my own childhood and having foods (and lots of it) put in front of me and left there for me to eat, like it or not, able to fit it all in or not.
So, I ask. 'Would you like toast and sausage with the quiche?' Generally a fairly easy question. Some days I'm just not awake!
I don't entertain answers like, 'Can I have pancakes instead?' You can have any combo of quiche-sausage-toast, that's it.
OK, am I really so far off here? Does no one else ask questions like this? I guess I just don't like it when a plate of something is thrust in front of me that is totally NOT something I want. I'd rather have the choice to decline instead of having the cook think it doesn't taste right!
.

I do the same. I have the quiche, sausage, toast. Check ahead of time and plate what they want. Cuts down on waste and makes people feel they are catered to.
Have week long guests now. Took 2 children that I usually don't have but just have the one room. Kids have been easy to do. Mother told me kids eat everything. First day, 7 year old was polite but at the end of breakfast he told me he didn't like eggs very well. So I talked to him about what he wanted to eat the rest of the time. It was cereal. So I bought rice kispies, what he wanted, and cherios because I thought the 1 year old would probably eat them.
His eyes lit up when I asked him if he liked mango and stawberries. He eats his fruit.
He has his juice in the box with little straws most of the time.
They can come again. But most times I won't take kids.
.

It was cereal. So I bought rice kispies, what he wanted, and cherios because I thought the 1 year old would probably eat them.

We have those little boxes of cereal. Had 2 kids here for 4 days and that's all they wanted. Little box of cereal. They were happy as could be. (Same guests as my original story here! Only a couple of times did the older one want the breakfast, or just the sausage part of it.)
Kids think those little boxes of cereal are the greatest invention ever. We give the guest kids a bowl, but we've shown our grandkids that the box makes its own bowl. You'd think we pulled a rabbit out of a hat when they saw that!
.

We just bought 2 boxes of cereal, not the little boxes. Those here are a variety pack and some don't get eaten.
I don't know how you do so many for breakfast and not have the waste, but I think you do very well with how you make your offer of what is available for breakfast. You are comfortable with doing it and it works for you.

 

[Morticia]

Why do you do it to yourself Bree, you are not a diner!
Serve it up, they eat it or not. That is what I would do and I DO. There is not enough time in the day to stuff around with people. You are bringing them a fresh hot delicious meal. Don't let those old fuddy-duddies ruin your morning.
My theory - they had a big fat greasy dinner - so they don't want it. On second thought, it sounds kinda good I will burn it off hiking...whatever.
Serve it up. Fat people get bigger portions and skinny people get slim portions? NOPE. Everybody gets the same. Same toast. Same Quiche. Typically it is the skinny binny's who are out jogging at 5am and eat like horses. You never know if people even eat breakfast at home and really only want a cup of coffee.
Can you tell I am impatient in this arena? NAWWWWW.

.

Why do you do it to yourself Bree, you are not a diner!
Serve it up, they eat it or not.

This is why I ask about food allergies, to try to cut down on what we make that guests won't/can't eat. Some 'diets' I respect. The guests are clear that they can't eat something and they don't ask me to go nuts for them. The one this weekend with the 'scrambed egg only' that is all she ever wants. She's a good, repeat guest, is polite, takes care that her dogs are well-behaved and that's all she asks for. Of course she is going to get that!
But, I just can't serve good food to guests who just don't want it. Maybe it all goes back to my own childhood and having foods (and lots of it) put in front of me and left there for me to eat, like it or not, able to fit it all in or not.
So, I ask. 'Would you like toast and sausage with the quiche?' Generally a fairly easy question. Some days I'm just not awake!
I don't entertain answers like, 'Can I have pancakes instead?' You can have any combo of quiche-sausage-toast, that's it.
OK, am I really so far off here? Does no one else ask questions like this? I guess I just don't like it when a plate of something is thrust in front of me that is totally NOT something I want. I'd rather have the choice to decline instead of having the cook think it doesn't taste right!
.

I do the same. I have the quiche, sausage, toast. Check ahead of time and plate what they want. Cuts down on waste and makes people feel they are catered to.
Have week long guests now. Took 2 children that I usually don't have but just have the one room. Kids have been easy to do. Mother told me kids eat everything. First day, 7 year old was polite but at the end of breakfast he told me he didn't like eggs very well. So I talked to him about what he wanted to eat the rest of the time. It was cereal. So I bought rice kispies, what he wanted, and cherios because I thought the 1 year old would probably eat them.
His eyes lit up when I asked him if he liked mango and stawberries. He eats his fruit.
He has his juice in the box with little straws most of the time.
They can come again. But most times I won't take kids.
.

It was cereal. So I bought rice kispies, what he wanted, and cherios because I thought the 1 year old would probably eat them.

We have those little boxes of cereal. Had 2 kids here for 4 days and that's all they wanted. Little box of cereal. They were happy as could be. (Same guests as my original story here! Only a couple of times did the older one want the breakfast, or just the sausage part of it.)
Kids think those little boxes of cereal are the greatest invention ever. We give the guest kids a bowl, but we've shown our grandkids that the box makes its own bowl. You'd think we pulled a rabbit out of a hat when they saw that!
.

We just bought 2 boxes of cereal, not the little boxes. Those here are a variety pack and some don't get eaten.
I don't know how you do so many for breakfast and not have the waste, but I think you do very well with how you make your offer of what is available for breakfast. You are comfortable with doing it and it works for you.
.

We have waste. Hubs makes enough of the main course for everyone to have a serving. Lots of guests will say, at the breakfast table, 'I'll just have toast this morning.' Quiche I'll eat the next day. Cheesy potato pie? Not a chance.