All I Want For Christmas

Forget the Christmas presents, the chocolates, cookies, fruitcake, eggnog......all I want is a nice warm buttery morning bun!

I Finally Met Terese Allen After All These Years!

In 1981, Harva Hachten, authored "The Flavor of Wisconsin." Back in the day, this was a great cookbook that talked about the social life and customs of Wisconsin cookery. Well, my long-time favorite author, Terese Allen, was asked to revise this cookbook......so, she did just that (Harva Hachten died shortly after her book was published in 1981). Terese did a great job with the new edition which was just released, and today, I finally got the chance to see the cookbook and meet Ms. Allen. All I can say is, what a nice down to earth person.

What makes this special, is that Terese Allen started out at my favorite bakery/cafe called, The Ovens of Brittany, in Madison Wisconsin in the 1980's. If you have followed my blog long enough, you know that I have a fascination with bakeries and the most famous, Morning Bun! Terese Allen was taught how to make Morning Buns, but since she worked in the cafe section of the Ovens of Brittany, she never really had to master the art of making these special European treats, but she certainly watched the bakers make them everyday . After talking briefly with her this morning, she told me where to find Morning Buns made closely to the Ovens of Brittany technique. If you don't know my fascination with Morning Buns, go back to last years post and read about what a Morning Bun really is.

I bought the newest edition of the "Flavor of Wisconsin" by Terese Allen and asked her to sign my book. What a special treat. Meeting Ms. Allen and attending her speaker session was the highlight of my library conference. The heritage of Wisconsin cooking has always interest me greatly, so I was in seventh heaven this morning.

Flowers + Bakery = Happiness

What a nice pick-me-up today. The flowers were so pretty. My co-worker knew I've been having a stressful week so, she bought me flowers today! There's nothing like fresh flowers to cheer you up. At least when I am absorbed in my paperwork, I can look up from my desk and see my flowers. Thanks J for your kindness and love.



Here's my second surprise today...well actually, I hinted to my husband this morning before he left the house to pick up some treats at the European bakery in Eau Claire. As you can see, he did, yippee! He's such a good husband, even if he does tell me how to ride my bike, grrrrrrr! I told him this morning that I really needed a sweet treat to kick me out of this gloomy funk that I am in. Remember, bakeries are high on my "happy" list. I could never walk by a bakery and not go in, that's just not me. Yup, bakeries are in my blood. You want to make me happy, take me to a bakery....seriously.

I Was Thinking About Bakeries This Morning

You know, I'm a softie for bakeries! Softie meaning, I can't resist visiting a bakery any where, any time, any place. It's in my blood-line, especially coming from a heritage of French & German ancestors. On my mother's side of the family, they were all bakers by trade. I still have memories as a small child getting all excited when my great uncle Oscar was coming to visit from Milwaukee. When uncle Oscar came to visit my grandparents, he came with several boxes of baked goods from his Mitchell Street bakery. Wow, that was big stuff for us small-town folks!

What fascinates me the most about bakeries is the uniqueness of each one. Every bakery specialized in something...they are know for one super good product and they make it well.

Now I've been in some horrible bakeries too, so they're not all good....I just have to say that. But, when I do find a good bakery, I will go out of my way to make a visit and make a purchase.

I guess my "thinking about bakeries" theme popped up this morning because Ted & I found a new bakery in downtown Eau Claire last Sunday night. Of course it was closed, but we walked by on our way to the Gaelic Storm concert. Ted had to return to Eau Claire yesterday so, voila, he stopped by and discovered they make Morning Buns there...whooo hoooo! Lil Lis was doing a happy dance last night right in the kitchen!!!!!!

So why didn't I take a picture you ask, of the Morning Buns? Ha...their gone, all eatin, no crumbs, no picture! Do I feel the slight bit guilt? NO WAY!

Here's my list of bakeries I like:

Cadott, WI Nice scratch bakery in a small town

Chetek, WI Excellent french donuts, also small town

Eau Claire, WI Marie's Original bakery, delicious french pastries

Bloomer, WI Bohemian Ovens, best kolaches

Bloomer, WI Bloomer bakery, another scratch bakery

Middleton, WI Clausen's European bakery-good Morning
Buns

Baraboo, WI Another smaller European bakery

Ironwood, MI Great focaccia bread & meat pasties

I'm Dreaming of Morning Buns

I was looking around at different blogs this morning, and I found an interesting blog from a woman that lives in the San Fransisco Bay area, via Sarah's Jottings. Take a look at her blog....she calls herself deliajude and she has very interesting subjects she talks about like her family, food, life in general...great pictures too. I was reading all her older posts and stumbled across a picture of her, or maybe her sister eating a "morning bun." Look for her Tuesday January 13, 2009 post.

By the way, the picture above is courtesy of Manna's Cafe & Bakery in Madison, Wisconsin...I love technology!

Anyway, I just want to say I absolutely love morning buns and no one really knows that except my mom! Because I don't live in a metro area....I live in rural Wisconsin remember....I cannot find anyone that makes or sells morning buns. Once in a great while my mom would buy me some morning buns because my parents live close to metro area. So, all I can do is sit and day dream about my favorite pastry.

So what is a morning bun? A morning bun is made from croissant dough, lots of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. The dough is rolled, cut and then placed in a muffin tin and baked. It's like a cross between a cinnamon roll and croissant. No frosting needed for those babies!

If you've ever eaten a morning bun, send me a comment!