Move over charcuterie boards, there’s a new board in town! We are big fans of anything in the kitchen that encourages you to step outside of the box and get a little extra creative. And putting together an elaborate charcuterie board for Girl’s Night or Date Night has always been both thrilling to create and delightful to share. We aren’t new to the latest trend, Breakfast Boards, as we’ve been doing these up for many years as an easy way to plunk breakfast down in the middle of the table for all hands to dig in! They are perfect for our Sunday Brunch or Breakfast-for-dinner plans.
Grab the largest wooden butcher block you can find in your kitchen, some mini mason jars, and your other favourite decorative bowls and mix and match our tips to create a pan-tastic Breakfast Board experience. We also love the boards made by our neighbours – Three Seeds and Below the Bark as well as the one we have from our gal Jill with Pampered Chef!
TIP #1: Whip up some Lannie Rae Gourmet Pancakes. Or waffles. Or both!
Depending on the size of the board you’re filling up, making them mini means you can pile up more to give your board some fun and depth. Go for it and put more than one flavour on your board to add variety, we have over 20 thoughtfully blended flavour combinations to choose from. Perhaps pair up your flavours with a theme…fill your board with fresh blueberries, peaches, and strawberries to complement our Okanagan Peach, Strawberry Cream, or Wild Blueberry mixes. Create a holiday board with Old Fashioned Gingerbread pancakes or waffles, traditional Christmas bread, juicy mandarin oranges, and mini mincemeat pies.
TIP #2: Get saucy.
The more the merrier. Syrup is a must, but consider some other breakfast condiments that will butter up your guests. Going Nuts is one of our favourite local vendors that has a variety of nut butters to choose from, including dark chocolate hazelnut butter and coconut curry peanut butter for those feeling adventurous. Worthy makes small batch unique jams like Earl Grey Lavender Peach and Black Cherry Chai, and Preserved is another local vendor that has both sweet and savoury options, like sweet garlic & chili ketchup, and carrot cake jam, that make great additions your brunch board. Top up your pancakes, breads or pastries with delicious butters and syrups, like the ones offered by Cosman & Webb Organic Maple Syrup, or try our Vanilla Buttermilk Syrup Recipe.
TIP#3: Sides, sides, oh and, more sides.
I think by now you are catching on that variety on a Breakfast Board is a good thing. The majority of our Lannie Rae Gourmet Pancake and Waffle mixes are egg free, dairy free, and plant based, and therefore most of our mixes can be made vegan and lactose free using simple and suitable dairy-free replacements (nutritional information is shared in our online pantry). We encourage our vegan and vegetarian friends to load up your boards with fresh and/or dried fruits, nuts, roast potatoes or root vegetables and other vegan-friendly pastries. If you are feeding a family of carnivores, there are so many great options and combinations. Add hard boiled eggs, cooked ham, strip bacon, back bacon, breakfast sausage, or smoked salmon. When filling up your board, think seasonally and locally. We have a ton of fantastic butchers and growers in Alberta, so take advantage of our bountiful province.
TIP #4: Gather your family, friends, and loved ones.**
These hearty boards are meant for shared experiences. And even better is creating them together. Put one person in charge of the pancake grill, one person with good knife skills in charge of fruit preparation, one person to sizzle up the bacon, and one person to set the table. Then sit, savour, and smile as each person gets to build-a-breakfast to their own taste and craving.
**Please be mindful of all government and municipal guidelines and restrictions on gatherings for your own area in regards to the Covid-19 pandemic. Be safe, stay well.
