America breakfast, Italian breakfast, raspberry cream cheese almond coffee cake, food

The Cabinet of Culinary Curiosities

In The Kitchen With The Paris House

American breakfast looks different depending on where you are. Every meal connects to a place and a moment. My Italian grandparents came from Rome, Naples, and Sicily and settled in Upstate New York. In Italy, breakfast was just coffee and a pastry. After moving to America at age seven, their mornings included strong coffee, toast, and something sweet. On weekends, they added eggs, bread, jams, cheese, meats, fruit, and something homemade. Their breakfast became a mix of Italian traditions and American ways. As a child, I loved waking up to the smell of coffee, eggs, fresh bread, and my grandmother’s baked treats.

Food evokes my strongest memories, making me pause to savor each experience—a sentiment likely kindled by my appreciation for Proust’s Swann’s Way. I remember nearly every meal: crème fraîche-smoked salmon in Edinburgh, escargot in Lyon, smoked fish at Iceland’s Blue Lagoon, hummus in Bahrain, tacos in Mexico City, pancakes in New England with butter and maple syrup, ricotta lemon pancakes in D.C., pastries in Prague, ice wine in Canada, tapas in Barcelona, and steamed lobster shelled at the table in Nova Scotia. The list goes on, but let’s return to the American breakfast.

I’m at the cottage in Maine, baking brunch. I’ll wait for blueberry season, but for now, I made a raspberry cream cheese almond coffee cake from the cookbook A Real American Breakfast by Cheryl Alters Jamison & Bill Jamison. We had raspberries on hand, and the recipe doesn’t need much sugar. It’s simple for experienced bakers and easy for beginners if you follow the steps. The authors suggest a 10-inch springform pan, but I used a 7x10 Pyrex dish, and it turned out great. Coffee cake and black coffee are a classic New England breakfast and bring back memories. You can add herbed eggs, country bread with butter, and Vermont maple-glazed bacon. For more brunch ideas, check out our blog for yogurt fruit parfaits—these meals might become your own traditions.