Congratulations to the Class of 2016!
It is cap and gown season again and we are so proud of our local high school graduates! We will certainly miss your smiling faces around the breakfast table, but we wish you the best of luck as you head off to college and careers!
In honor of your special day, we’d like to share with you a few of our favorite inspirational graduation 
messages. Hopefully these words will encourage you and help guide you through the next few years!
“Just because you don't know what you want yet, it doesn't mean that there's nothing to want.” — Emily Henry
"It’s your turn. And the good news is, you’re ready. And when your journey seems too hard, and when you run into a chorus of cynics who tell you that you’re being foolish to keep believing or that you can’t do something, or that you should just give up, or you should just settle — you might say to yourself a little phrase that I’ve found handy these last eight years: Yes, we can." — Barack Obama
"Now go, and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here. Make good art." — Neil Gaiman
"You are educated. Your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your ticket to change the world." — Tom Brokaw
And of course, we have to add a few of our own words of wisdom to the list. Remember the following and don’t forget to come see us for breakfast out in Denver!
“All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.” – Unknown
Good luck Class of 2016!
Celebrate Mom!
Mother’s Day is just around the corner! We love this special holiday as it is a time to celebrate all of our moms and thank them for their love and support. Of course one of the best ways to say thank you to mom is to take her out for a nice breakfast in Denver. We’ll be happy to host your whole family so that you can give mom a much needed and well-deserved morning off!
Here are a couple of other cute gift ideas to show mom that she is special:
Hand Print Flower Art – Great for kids ages 0-5
Little ones will need a bit of help from Dad to work the paint, but will love covering their hands in bright colors to make the flower prints on this cute homemade card for mom.
Fruit Flower Bouquet – Great for kids ages 6 and up
This is a wonderful project to do with young children and makes a very special treat for moms on Mother’s Day. It would be a great gift to tide everyone over before going out to brunch later in the morning. Little one’s may need some help from dad to cut the shapes, but then can arrange the fruit flowers on their own!
Homemade Chocolate Truffles – Great for kids ages 10 and up
Instead of buying mom a box of chocolates from the store, gather the whole family (minus mom of course!) and make your own! Homemade chocolates are easy and make a very fun project for older children. Plus mom will love this sweet, homemade gift! Check out the recipe here.
To all our moms, we wish you a very Happy Mother’s Day from your Original Pancake House family!
Add a little SPRING to your breakfast
Spring is finally in full swing in Denver! We love the sweet smells of flowering trees and plants, bright green grass, and warm sunshine. This time of year, we really like to enjoy breakfast dishes that utilize fresh spring produce – both at home and when we go out to breakfast in Denver!
For a comforting and healthy spring breakfast at home, we love this recipe for asparagus and prosciutto strata which utilizes all the fresh flavors of spring. Served warm on a lovely spring morning alongside a warm cup of coffee and a bright spring berry salad, you’ll be in heaven! Read on for the recipe below!
Asparagus and Prosciutto Strata
Ingredients:
2 slices dense multigrain bread
12 large eggs
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/2 cup dry white wine or low-fat milk
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups halved and very thinly sliced sweet onions
1 cup thinly sliced leek(s), white part only
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch thin asparagus (about 1 pound), trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup chopped scallions or fresh chives
3 very thin slices prosciutto (about 1 1/2 ounces), torn into strips
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons lemon zest (optional)
Directions
- Cut bread into 1/4-inch cubes. Whisk eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in milk, wine (or another 1/2 cup milk), dry mustard, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir in the bread. Let stand at room temperature while you prepare the vegetables. (If baking the next day, cover and refrigerate the egg mixture.)
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, leek and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking very gently, stirring occasionally, until the onions have a little color and appear almost melted, 30 to 45 minutes more.
- Meanwhile, bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a medium skillet. Add asparagus, cover and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and let cool; pat dry.
- Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish (or similar 3-quart dish) with cooking spray.
- When the onions are done, stir in scallions (or chives) and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer. Sprinkle the asparagus over the onion mixture. (If baking the next day: cover and refrigerate the vegetables in the baking dish.)
- If the egg mixture and vegetables were refrigerated overnight, remove from the refrigerator, uncover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Scatter strips of prosciutto over the vegetables. Stir 1/4 cup cheese, parsley, mint and lemon zest (if using) into the egg mixture until well combined, then pour the egg mixture over the vegetables. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cheese over the top.
- Bake the strata just until firm to the touch in the middle and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers at least 160°F, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, very carefully cover with foil to keep warm and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.
Tips
Make Ahead Tip: Prepare egg mixture (through Step 1) and vegetables (Steps 2-5) and refrigerate separately for up to 1 day; remove from the refrigerator about 1 hour before baking (2 hours before serving).
And of course for those days that you’d rather have us cook up a delicious spring breakfast, we have many dishes that will brighten your day including our Seasonal Berry Crepes, Blueberry or Strawberry Waffles, our Garden Benedict, or the Vegetarian Omelet! Happy Spring Denver!
Colorado Rockies Baseball Breakfast
The Colorado Rockies are wrapping up Spring Training down in Scottsdale and are getting ready for their big season opener at Coors Field in just a couple of weeks. At the Original Pancake House, we’re getting excited for baseball season in Denver! So that got us to thinking – what do baseball players like to eat?
Baseball is a bit different than other professional sports in its approach to health and nutrition. Until very recently, baseball players were eating candy bars, hot dogs, and their fair share of beer after a game. Just in the past few years, baseball players and their respective clubs have started to put a much greater focus on nutrition and healthy choices that one might expect for professional athletes. Whereas a pre or post game spread used to consist of cheese and bologna sandwiches, fast food, and a few hot dogs, now the players are dining on salmon, veggies, and shrimp scampi. Gone are the sweets and processed foods, gone are the days of ball park fare!
With a focus on health and well-balanced meals, baseball players are also making healthy choices for their other meals, including breakfast. Many baseball players sleep in and enjoy a big breakfast after a late night at the park. But their breakfast is typically well-balanced with lean protein, fruits, veggies, and of course a few healthy carbs.
We’ve come up with a perfect breakfast for the professional (or little league!) baseball player. This meal has a perfect balance of protein, fruit, veggies, and carbs to fuel any position from pitcher to left field.
Colorado Rockies Veggie Omelet Platter
- To start, make sure your eggs are whipped until they are light and even a bit frothy. For a solid meal, we usually use three eggs. Choose a selection of your favorite veggies such as broccoli, peppers, onion, spinach, tomatoes – anything goes! Dice veggies.
- Warm your pan over medium heat and add a tablespoon of butter or oil.
- Turn your pan down to low heat. Add your eggs to the pan and sprinkle veggies and cheese if you like over the top.
- Once the eggs are in the pan, lightly stir the eggs and pulling them away from the sides to ensure evenly cooked eggs. Cook covered on very low heat for 5-8 minutes.
- Once the omelet has finished cooking, fold in half or in thirds and ENJOY!
Serve Omelet with whole wheat toast or an English muffin and a side of fruit.
Of course if you are tired from extra innings in your game the previous night, the Original Pancake House would be happy to serve you an MLB-style breakfast in Denver. We have a great selection of veggie omelets including our Mediterranean Omelet, our Denver Omelet, the Fresh Vegetarian Omelet, or the Florentine Omelet. Best of luck to our Colorado Rockies in their upcoming season, and best of luck all our Denver little leaguers who dream of someday becoming one of the Rox!
Important Ingredients: 5 Reasons to Love The Original Pancake House
We recently came across this article profiling the most important restaurants in America. The author noted that it wasn’t the fanciest, trendiest or most popular ones that made the list, but the ones with consistently good food, unique recipes and happy customers.
Even without any breakfast restaurants topping the list, we’re confident that we have all the ingredients necessary for an important restaurant:
- 15-Ingredient-Made-From-Scratch Pancake Batter: You can’t find stuff this good in stores, folks. And we’re not giving away our recipe either.
- The Dutch Baby: If a pancake and a crepe had a child, it would be The Dutch Baby. Oven baked and served with whipped butter, lemon and powdered sugar, this is one of our favorites.
- Salty and Sweet: There’s a reason people don’t mind a little syrup getting on their bacon. It’s the perfect combination, and if you haven’t tried it yet, our Bacon Belgian Waffle will win you over.
- Breakfast for Lunch: More commonly known as brunch, this is the most important meal of the weekend. Anyone care to disagree?
- Green Chile: Coloradoans love their green chile, and we have some of the best in the country – Mark Schlereth’s Green Chile Sauce. It’s gluten-free and has become the official green chile of Coors Field and Pepsi Center. Try it on one of our omelettes, or with your bacon and eggs.
And when the most important stop of someone’s day is having breakfast at our Cherry Hills or Denver Tech Center location, well, that just tops the list. We invite you to come in and try one (or all!) of our important ingredients, and find your own reason to love The Original Pancake House.