Big Breakfast at Night

I have posted similar “All Day Breakfast” before but it is so good that it is worth to post another version.
As I noted before, this meal is a snap to make in restaurant or diner environment with their big steel hot plate and deep fryer always at ready but at home it involves quite a juggle act and few utensils. However, this time I cut it down to just one small sauce pot for canned maple syrup beans even though they could have been heated up in microwave oven and one large (12” flat bottom) non-stick frying pan that comfortably cooked 3 pineapple rings cut in half, 2 thick slices of smoked ham, 3 large cremini mushrooms cut in half and 3 eggs (scrambled). Frozen and seasoned potato quarters were crisped up in toaster oven. From start, including all the prep, to plating in under 30 minutes, a lot faster than my previous version and a definite repeat. That big frying pan was a huge asset and so was the fact that ham, pineapple and mushrooms could be cooked on same heat and at the same time and that the eggs were scrambled just at very end in the same pan. Of course, I had to move the ham, pineapple and mushrooms to one side.

Breakfast for Dinner - A Simple Meal. Not!

It sounded like a great idea when my better half asked me to cook a big breakfast for our dinner, just like in some family restaurant or old style diner. But hey, these establishments have a huge steel hot plate, something like 15 square feet! They can cook bunch of dishes on one plate. All I have is all kinds of pots and frying pans so the apparent simplicity of the meal went out the window. Big breakfast for us means toast, pan fried potatoes, sausage, melted cheese, eggs and fried beans with maple syrup. That’s quite a few pots and pans:

1.      Toaster for bread

2.      Small sauce pan for beans

3.      Small sauce pan for par-boiling potatoes

4.      Large frying non-stick pan for sausage, potatoes and cheese

5.      Medium non-stick frying pan for eggs sunny-side-up.

Yes, all four burners were on. Some simple meal. J

Note to myself: Make only when you have way too much energy left at the end of a day and not after playing golf and mowing the lawn afterwards.

Oh! Was it worth the effort? Absolutely! Will I make it again? Definitely!

Baguette French Toasts

This version of French toast is not only great breakfast food but also great snack while traveling in a car. This recipe is a 2 days and 3 steps process.

Day old, or older, baguette is sliced into 1-1/2” thick slices and soaked overnight in a milk/egg mixture and then next day cooked in frying pan or griddle and then baked. All this work is worth the little effort.

Ingredients:

1 white flour baguette, sliced 1-1/2” thick

3 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup white sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Zest of 1 lemon

Directions:

Whisk together eggs and milk then add sugar, salt, lemon zest and vanilla extract and mix till well combined.

Place baguette slices in a sealable plastic bag, pour mixture over slices and seal bag while squeezing out as much air as possible. Make sure that all slices are submerged in egg mixture and store in refrigerator overnight.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a hot lightly oiled non-stick frying pan or griddle cook the slices in batches till both sides are lightly golden, about 3 minutes per side. Place cooked slices on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Turn slices over and bake additional 15 minutes or till both sides are puffed up and golden brown.

When done, remove from oven and place slices on a cooling rack.

For breakfast, serve with maple syrup.

Another Breakfast Idea

This morning when I opened fridge door and saw some asparagus, Swiss cheese and eggs I saw a breakfast.

So simple and utterly delicious. I just peeled bottom half of asparagus stem, nuked it in wet paper towel for 1 minute and then wrapped in 3 thin slices of Swiss cheese and broiled in toaster oven till cheese melted. While this was going on I scrambled 2 eggs plus 2 egg whites that I had leftover from other meal, toasted and sliced English muffins, plated it (on preheated plate as usual, of course) garnished with a sliced tomato and bingo! Breakfast done in about 5 minutes.

Next time I’ll wrap the asparagus in cheese and then slice of ham. My first choice would be prosciutto but no prosciutto for sale in our town.

All Day Breakfast

When my day is very busy and I don’t have a time to cook I usually go for ADB (All Day Breakfast). In our case it means caramelized smoked ham and pineapple, Maple Syrup beans, eggs and toasted English muffin. Great comfort food any time of a day with one drawback: too many frying pans! One for ham and pineapple; one for eggs and a pot for beans. In a restaurant everything is cooked on a hot griddle, it is quick and easy.

I don’t think that I have to write a recipe; picture is worth a 1000 words, right?

Shakshuka (Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce)

I can imagine how many people would be uneasy to try this recipe because of the name. It is simple dish loved by Israelis and with Lebanese origin. So simple yet so delicious. I have prepared it tonight and according to Marjo it will be on menu at least every other week if not more often. Again, thanks go to Saveur online newsletter.

Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 Anaheim chilies or 3 jalapeños, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tbsp. paprika
1- 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, not drained 
Kosher salt, to taste
8 eggs
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
Warm pita, for serving

1. Heat oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add chilies and onions and cook until soft and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and paprika, and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft, about 2 more minutes.

2. Put tomatoes and their liquid into a medium bowl and crush with your hands. Add crushed tomatoes and their liquid to skillet along with 1/2 cup water, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 20 minutes. Season sauce with salt.

3. Crack eggs over sauce so that eggs are evenly distributed across sauce's surface. Cover skillet and cook until yolks are just set, about 5 minutes. Using a spoon, baste the whites of the eggs with tomato mixture, being careful not to disturb the yolk. Sprinkle Shakshuka with feta and parsley and serve with pita, for dipping.

SERVES 4 – 6

Note:

I didn’t use Jalapeno or hot peppers because my wife, as most other people, doesn’t tolerate the same heat level as I do. I used sweet banana red/green peppers instead and used hot Hungarian paprika to spice it up to acceptable level.

Main ingredients.

Seasoning.

Saute onions and peppers.

Add cumin, paprika and garlic, cook till fragrant.

Add tomatoes and simmer (I transferred sauce to earthenware pot).

Add eggs and feta and poach till whites are set.

Ready to be served.

It is so, so good. I can't wait to prepare it again.