Men's Breakfast at Las Cuevas 2008

This past Tuesday morning, Susan and I, with the help of our neighbors, Geni and Larry, and a friend, Bruce, had 22 retired men as breakfast guests to our house at Rancho Las Cuevas. Again, the theme was "Southern U.S. Breakfast", and as such, calories and cholesterol levels were ignored.

The Menu

• Home made Cinnamon Rolls
• Angel Biscuits, sausage gravy
• Thick Sliced, Hickory Smoked Bacon
• Hominy Grits
• Scrambled Eggs
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• Oven roasted Potatoes
• Salsas, both red and green
• Strawberry Jam, Honey
• Small, freshly squeezed Orange juice
• Coffee

(A big urn type coffeemaker was lent to us by Rick Davis, co-owner of Restaurant Cha Cha Cha in Pátzcuaro. Many thanks, Rick!)

The day was bright and sunny when the guests started arriving at about 9:10, and we were serving by 9:50. However, preparations started the day before and I set to work in the early morning at 2 a.m to begin baking and cooking. The most time consuming part was the making of the cinnamon rolls, but I enjoyed it because it took me back, on a flood of nostalgia, to the more fun aspects of owning a bakery in the 80s and mid-90s.

The rest was basically Army Cooks' training coming to the fore with organizational skills and exquisite timing. There were a minimum of glitches. When it was over, the guests were happy and well-fed, and we and our crew were rewarded with satisfaction and a pitcher of

"Mexican Bloody Marys."

Here's the recipe:

• 5 or 6 chilled 12 oz V-8 juices
• juice of 6-7 Mexican limes
• 5-7 dashes of Salsa Huichol or favorite bottled salsa
• Lea & Perrins, 2-3 dashes
• Maggi Jugo, 2-3 dashes
• 1 cup, approximately, ice-cold Tequila (nothing fancy)
• ice
• Serve in glasses rimmed with sea-salt and coarsely ground red chile .

Thanks to Geni Certain for the photos. Many thanks to Larry Wood for squeezing many kilos of oranges for orange juice, serving coffee, and moving furniture. Thanks to volunteer Bruce for his help serving. Muchas gracias a nuestros vecinos, Chucha y Mateo por nos dando prestacíon de unas sillas y una mesa. Special thanks to SFC (U.S. Army, Ret.) Ric H., for his organizational skills.

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