Perfect Christmas Morning Meal

Christmas breakfast is a special meal for many families. But that doesn't mean you have to spend a lot of time preparing it.

In this installment of the series "The Perfect Holiday," Chef Tori Ritchie

The Early Show and specialty home furnishings retailer Williams-Sonoma joined forces for this series, which was designed to help make your Christmas merrier. The segments originated from the Williams-Sonoma store at Columbus Circle in New York City.

Ritchie is a San Francisco-based food writer, cooking teacher and host of the long-running "Ultimate Kitchens" on the Food Network. Her latest cookbook is "Party Appetizers: Small Bites, Big Flavors" (Chronicle Books, Fall 2004).

She told The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm the key is to keep it easy, because you don't want to cook Christmas morning; why do that when you can be sitting around the tree unwrapping all the goodies?

Ritchie believes Christmas breakfast shouldn't be formal. Instead, it should be an intimate, casual affair. The morning isn't really about a tradition-laden meal, so you could create an easy, but delicious meal the whole family can enjoy and that lets you relax as well.

Many of the recipes Tori shared here are her personal favorites. And they're certainly different than your garden-variety pancakes or waffles.

RECIPES

Bread Pudding

Bread pudding, often thought of a dessert item, actually is a great substitute for French toast. The flavors of sugar and cinnamon, as well as the soft texture of bread pudding, are similar to those of French toast. The beauty of this dish is you can prepare it the night before and simply pop it in the oven when you wake up.

Ingredients:

12 slices day-old baguette, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
4 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt 4 cups milk
1/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions:

Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking dish. Spread the bread cubes in it. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until well blended. Pour in the milk and whisk until combined. Pour the mixture over the bread cubes. Let stand, pressing down on the bread occasionally, until it is evenly soaked, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat an oven to 350°F.

Scatter the cranberries evenly over the surface of the soaked bread and press to submerge the fruit. Set the baking dish in a large, shallow roasting pan. Add very hot tap water to the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the baking dish.

Bake the pudding until a knife inserted near the center comes out almost clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Generously dust the top of each slice with confectioners' sugar. Serves 8. Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series,Dessert,by Abigail Johnson Dodge (Simon & Schuster, 2002 ).

Mini Orange-Currant Scones

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
8 Tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup currants
1 egg
1/2 cup heavy cream
Zest of 1 orange Granulated or turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat an oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a mini scone pan. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles pea-size crumbs. Transfer to a large bowl, add the currants and stir to mix. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, cream and orange zest until blended and add to the flour mixture. Using a fork, stir to form large, moist clumps of dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press together with your hands until the dough comes together. Roll out the dough, flouring as needed, into a 9-inch square about 3⁄4 inch thick. Cut into 4 equal-size squares, then cut each square diagonally into 4 triangles. Press each triangle into a well of the prepared pan.

Sprinkle each scone lightly with sugar. Bake until the scones are golden, about 25 minutes. Invert the pan onto a wire rack and lift off the pan. Let the scones cool for 10 minutes before serving. Makes 16 mini scones.
Adapted from a recipe given to Chuck Williams by Judy Rodgers, executive chef and co-owner, Zuni Café, San Francisco.

Corkscrew Bacon

It's called corkscrew bacon because you take high-quality bacon, which you can find at your meat counter -- often referred to as "slab" bacon -- and simply twist it, then sprinkle on brown sugar; pop them in the broiler, and they come out crispy with just a hint of a sweetness. Placing them in the broiler helps them keep their twisted shape as opposed to when you cook them in a saute pan.

Ingredients:

12 strips bacon
3 tablespoons brown sugar
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Line up strips of bacon on a sheet of waxed paper or parchment. Sprinkle half the sugar over top of bacon. Dust bacon with pepper to taste. With your fingers, rub in sugar and pepper. Turn bacon strips over and sprinkle the other side with remaining sugar and pepper to taste, rubbing it in.

Have a broiler pan with a slotted top or a rack set over a baking pan ready. Transfer the bacon strips to it, twisting each piece into a corkscrew as you place it. Place strips close together but do not touch. Bake until bacon is golden brown and crisp, turning with tongs about half way through, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Yield: 6 servings.

Copyright, 2001, Tori Ritchie

Mint Hot Chocolate

You can make your own hot chocolate easily, using cocoa powder, milk, and heavy cream. Your children and other family members can "personalize" their hot chocolate by adding a drop of peppermint extract or vanilla extract. So you can create a fun little "hot chocolate" bar by also having a variety of marshmallows and whipped cream on the side. And for the adults, you can use some liqueur such as Amaretto in your hot chocolate.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chilled heavy cream
4 Tbs. sugar
3 Tbs. Dutch process cocoa powder
4 cups milk
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped, plus 1/2 oz., shaved
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

Directions

In a bowl, beat the cream and 1 Tbs. of the sugar until soft peaks form. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

In a small, heavy saucepan, combine the remaining 3 Tbs. sugar and the cocoa. Gradually whisk in the milk. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer, whisking frequently. Add the chopped chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Stir in the peppermint extract.

Divide the hot chocolate among warmed mugs. Top each with a dollop of whipped cream. Sprinkle with the shaved chocolate and serve immediately. Serves 4.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Lifestyles Series, After Dinner, by Kristine Kidd (Time-Life Books, 1998).