All is calm. All is bright.

All is calm. All is bright. Yellow Door wishes you a joyful and peaceful Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa… holiday season. Be thankful for all the happy moments in your life. A toast!

Chef Craig at Yellow Door on New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is ideal for reflecting on the past year's milestones and looking forward to the New Year and all its possibilities. Kick-start 2010 at Yellow Door, devoted to cooking up foods grown on local farms that focus on sustainability.

Our guest chef for December 31 is renowned Chef Craig Common of Common Grill in Chelsea. He's taking a break from his busy schedule to cook up two breakfast entrees. Bring friends and family and dine on his delicious foods or traditional bread pudding, prepared by our own Yellow Door chefs. The scoop:

The Guest Chef:

Chef Craig Common of Common Grill

The destination:

Yellow Door in Chelsea, Michigan. If you're new to Yellow Door, email us so we can give you directions.

The menu:

*Gunthorpe Farms roasted chicken frittata with basil, prosciutto, caramelized shallots and Wisconsin Asiago cheese served with a sweet potato parsnip hash
*Cherry-smoked salmon scramble with Zingerman's Creamery goat cheese, roasted red peppers and chives served with a sweet potato parsnip hash.
* Traditional bread pudding with raisins, served with caramel-rum creme anglaise, roasted pears, creme fraiche and sausage
*Zingerman's Holiday Blend coffee

The details:
* Breakfast is served 8:00 to 10:00 a.m.
*No RSVPs are required. (For those who previously RSVP'd, please don't be discouraged. We hope you'll still come enjoy breakfast with us!!!)
*$15 per person suggested for the aforementioned breakfast options (see the above list).
*Kids are welcome and can hang in the Kids Room, hosted by Blake and Grant Ortbring. $5 for the Kids Room menu of juice boxes, jiffy muffins and fruit.
*You're welcome to bring a little morning *cheer* to toast the New Year.

Toast your holiday meals with Michigan wine

It's 11:00 a.m. Guests arrive in an hour and just when you think you have everything under control you remember dear Aunt Bern drinks only sparkling wine. Don't worry! The New Chelsea Market has you covered. Zip down to the corner market and head to the Michigan wine section for L. Mawby sparkling wine. While you're at it, stock up your wine offerings with other styles of Michigan wine, including Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc. Table wines and proprietary-named wines, like Black Star Farms Red House Red, are also great options, as they are generally nicely balanced. A toast to you this holiday season!

Angie signs first *BIG* check to Chelsea Community Kitchen

As you may know, Yellow Door is raising money for Chelsea Community Kitchen, a new venture to incubate new food businesses. Yellow Door's CFO Angie O'Neill signed the first big check to CCK earlier this month.

With your help, we'll continue to raise money for non-profits, like CCK, and hand over big checks from time to time as the coffers fill.

Good times at Yellow Door: Families welcome!

Good cheer and apple juice greet young ones at Yellow Door. There's always room for your wee ones at the table. (Unless, of course, we have a full house.... once the tables clear, though, there's room again!)

So if you've been thinking of visiting Yellow Door, please come. Your children are welcome, regardless of the age! Everyone's welcome behind the cheery yellow door. And what a great way to introduce the rich flavors of our region to your children while they're young enough to listen to your sage advice on eating nutritious foods!

New plan for New Year's Eve: Come one, come all - No RSVPs needed

A funny thing happened on the way to New Year's Eve brunch... you see, we thought, maybe a few folks would be hanging around town over the holidays... maybe a few people would be interested in gathering at Yellow Door to toast the New Year and maybe we'd just use the 12-cup coffee pot. Yeah, right! Now we're thinking we need a second 40-to-60 cup perculator! The response to New Year's Eve at Yellow Door has been phenomenal. Like you, we're excited to gather with friends, eat Chef Craig's breakfast dishes, share stories and sip BYO mimosas. So, what does this mean????

We asked for RSVPs to check interest in the NYE brunch. (Thank you to those who RSVP'd.) Please note, though, the NYE brunch is now, "First come, first serve." We've added a few more volunteers for the day; though, we always need more! (Email: meetatyellowdoor@gmail.com if you care to volunteer for any Thursday Yellow Door.) Breakfast is 8:00 to 10:00 a.m.

Made-to-order omelettes and gingerbread pancakes

Yellow Door was hopping with Audrey in the kitchen whipping up custom omelettes and Roy performing Christmas favorites in the parlor. Pancakes were cookie-cuttered into gingerbread men in the spirit of the season and omelettes were crafted with favorite ingredients, like peppers, mushrooms, cheese, onion and tomatoes. A big thank you to Audrey and Roy for a fabulous breakfast experience!

Join us @ New Year's Eve Yellow Door

Begin your last day of 2009 dining on artisan cuisine prepared by Chef Craig of Common Grill at Yellow Door. (Oh, I wish I could be there! *sigh*) While we were originally taking RSVPs, we're now doing "first come, first serve" for this breakfast. Come celebrate the end of the year and toast the New Year with us!

The Chef is cooking up:

*Gunthorpe Farms roasted chicken frittata with basil, prosciutto, caramelized shallots and Wisconsin Asiago cheese served with a sweet potato parsnip hash.
*Cherry-smoked salmon scramble with Zingerman's Creamery goat cheese, roasted red peppers and chives served with a sweet potato parsnip hash.

Other Yellow Door favorites-o-the-season:

*Back Forty Acres pork sausage or Mama MoFoods veggie sausage
*Honey-sweetened yogurt, granola and seasonal fruit or West Wind Mill scones

Cap off your meal with Zingerman's Holiday blend roasted coffee, organic tea or Michigan apple cider.

A donation of a minimum of $15 is recommended. A Kids Room, hosted by Blake and Grant Ortbring, is available for wee ones who can dine solo (with parents in main YD dining area). $5 donation for Jiffy muffins, juice boxes and fruit. Canine friends Linus and Ozzy will be on hand to lend some entertainment as well.

Be one of the last six Yellow Door chair sponsors -- and possibly win free breakfast for all of January!

Be among the Sweet Yellow Door Sixteen sponsors of our stylin', gray, antique chairs. Your name will be emblazoned, well, more like, written in black Sharpe on a cow ear's tag and forever bolted to a Yellow Door chair. For $100, you gain a lifetime membership in our YD Sweet Sixteen. Your donation supports Yellow Door in its endeavor to introduce you to local farm-fresh foods.

If you commit to a chair sponsorship on New Year's Eve and we sell the remaining six chair sponsorships, you'll be entered to win a chance for month-long breakfast at Yellow Door in January. Bring your checkbook! RSVP to the New Year's Eve breakfast at: meetatyellowdoor@gmail.com.

Guest Chef Audrey Schmidt and music by Roy Schmidt this Thursday

Aaaaah, music and fabulous food crafted by Guest Chef Audrey Schmidt this Thursday, December 17. Bring your friends and linger over scrumptious seasonal fare (see menu to right). Music by Roy Schmidt adds to the casual ambiance of Chelsea's newest breakfast destination.

Scrumptious December menu full of seasonal flavors

I can already smell the gingerbread wafting from the kitchen into the cozy dining area. See you Thursday for flavorful, seasonal fresh breakfast fare!




Gingerbread Pancakes, featuring:

* Roasted pears
* Homemade crème fraiche
* Farm-fresh butter
* Warm maple syrup

Plus, your choice of sausage, veggie sausage or yogurt parfait


Holiday Apple-Eggnog Bread Pudding, featuring:

* Cranberry sauce
* Farm-fresh butter
* Crème fraiche

Plus, your choice of sausage, veggie sausage or yogurt parfait

Huevos Rancheros, featuring:

* Chipotle & tomatillo salsas
* Baked beans
* Corn tortilla
* Avocado and lime


West Wind Milling Thistle & Chicory Scones, featuring:

* Farm-fresh butter
* Crème fraiche


Yogurt Parfait, featuring:

* Honey-sweetened yogurt
* Fresh, seasonal fruit
* Granola