Category Archives: Breakfast in Bed
Breakfast in Bed – Valentine’s Eggs, Sunny Side Up
Post by Alison Hein.
If there’s one perfect day for serving breakfast in bed, it is, of course, Valentine’s Day. Well, it’s right around the corner, so now’s the time to start thinking about making a festive morning meal for your special someone.
For starters, pull out a tray. Then dress it up. Try linen napkins, a red rose, a tiny goblet of fresh berries, a love note, or even your dear one’s favorite newspaper tied up with golden ribbon. If you have a shocking red plate, by all means, place that front and center. Now, what to put on the plate? For just a couple of dollars, you can purchase a heart-shaped egg ring – a thin metal band in the shape of a heart, reminiscent of a large cookie cutter. Simply set the ring directly in a heated frying pan, drop a cracked egg into it, then let it cook a couple of minutes until the white is set and the yolk is glossy and golden.
You can use the ring to make accompanying heart-shaped toast, if you like. Or cook up some bacon first, then fry your heart-shaped eggs in the rich, salty drippings. Or, use your rings to make a few heart-shaped pancakes. Use your best judgment to tailor the quintessential breakfast in bed for your loved one. Then, don’t be upset when your heart gets broken. 😉
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Equipment
Heart-shaped egg rings
Ingredients
2 slices bread
1 to 2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
Preparation
Use the heart-shaped egg ring to cut out two hearts from the bread slices. Set aside while cooking eggs.
Heat a heavy frying pan over medium-low heat. Add olive oil and butter, continuing to heat until butter is melted. Crack one egg into a small bowl, making sure the yolk is intact. Place a heart-shaped ring in the frying pan, then carefully pour the egg into the ring. Repeat for the second egg. Season liberally with salt and pepper. If you like, baste frequently with the oil / butter mixture to accelerate cooking time. Cook until whites are cooked through and yellow centers are still soft, about 2 to 3 minutes.
While eggs are cooking, toast bread. Place toasted hearts on a warmed plate, then top with the sunny side up eggs. Serve immediately.
Makes 1 serving.
You can find heart-shaped egg rings in local kitchen specialty stores, or on many popular websites, such as Amazon.com
Breakfast in Bed: Benne Wafers
Post by Alison Hein.
Now that we’ve gotten all the Super Bowl hoopla out of our systems, it’s time to focus on more important things – like African American History Month. Historian Carter G. Woodson initiated focus on African American history back in 1926 when he decreed that the second week in February become “Negro History Week.” Woodson chose the month of February, when both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass celebrated their birthdays.
It wasn’t until 1976 that the US government officially expanded Woodson’s initiative to become “Black History Month.” President Gerald Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”
Our country’s food history, too, owes a lot to our African American forbears. Popular soul food, like collard greens, johnnycakes and chitlins, stems from African roots. Benne (the Bantu word for sesame) was brought from Africa to this country during the slave trade era. Benne Wafers are still very popular in the south, and are considered a specialty of Charleston, South Carolina.
Sometime this month, I urge you to make these nutty little wafers. Pack some up and head out to a local park or museum for an event honoring African Americans. Here are some links to get you started:
http://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/
http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/black-history-month.htm
http://www.nycgovparks.org/events/black_history_month
http://americanfood.about.com/od/resourcesadditionalinfo/a/Soul-Food-History-And-Definition.htm
Ingredients
½ cup benne (sesame) seeds
¾ cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°. To toast seeds, place them on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake until golden brown, stirring once or twice, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
Reduce oven temperature to 325°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Beat butter and sugar together until creamy. Mix in egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Stir in flour and baking powder to form stiff batter. Drop batter by rounded ½ teaspoons onto prepared sheet, leaving about 1½ inches between wafers. Bake until lightly browned, about 12 minutes.
Makes 5½ to 6 dozen wafers.
Breakfast in Bed – Game Day Breakfast: Denver Omelet and Strong Seattle Coffee
Post by Alison Hein.
I was rooting for the Patriots during the football playoffs. The reason? New England cuisine (think clam chowder, lobster rolls and brown bread) would be preferable to Denver fare (think, uh, lamb, beef and, uh…) at our annual Super Bowl team-themed party. And while I’m still not sure how to appropriately represent Colorado for the evening meal, I’ve got breakfast covered super-bly with a Denver Omelet!
Fresh green peppers, chopped onion and country ham are the basis for this colorful, flavorful omelet. My version also calls for some sweet red peppers and zesty cheddar. If you chop everything up the night before, with 10 minutes prep time, you can be settling in for a super game day breakfast in bed. Just don’t forget the strong Seattle coffee. Heck. Make it an espresso. Stay alert as you cheer your favorite team to victory.
Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped onion
¼ cup finely chopped red bell pepper
¼ cup finely chopped green bell pepper
¼ cup cooked ham, cut into small cubes
1 tablespoon butter
2 eggs
¼ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Pour olive oil in heavy frying pan and heat over medium heat. Add chopped onion, red pepper and green pepper, and cook until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the ham at the last minute, just to warm through. Set aside.
Melt butter in a separate small, heavy pan over high heat. Break eggs into small bowl and whisk until mixed. Add eggs to heated pan all at once and swirl to even. Tilt pan slightly, and every few seconds, use a jerking motion to pull the pan towards you so the eggs move away as they begin to cook. When the eggs begin to set but are still very soft in the center, remove the pan from the heat for a few seconds.
Spoon about 2/3 of the onion mixture over the top of the eggs. Sprinkle grated cheddar cheese on top of the onions, peppers and ham. Return the pan to the stove, reduce heat to low, and continue the jerking motion, this time holding the pan at an even higher angle, until the omelet begins to flip over onto itself. Give it a little push with a spoon or spatula if necessary. Leave folded omelet in pan and cook on low heat until cheese melts, less than 1 minute.
Turn the omelet out onto a plate, top with remaining onion/pepper/ham mixture, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.
Makes 1 serving.
Breakfast in Bed – Eggs à la Martin
Post by Alison Hein.
Through researching old cookbooks I’ve found that baked egg dishes were popular during the 1920s, and that someone named Martin figured prominently in the culinary world. Sarah Tyson Heston Rorer included a recipe for Eggs à la Martin without spinach in her classic cookbook Many Ways for Cooking Eggs. Another great culinary matriarch, Fannie Farmer, showcased Eggs with Spinach à la Martin in her famed Boston Cooking-School Cook Book. In this case, however, ham, as well as red and green peppers, were added to the mix. The meat, vegetables and eggs were cooked omelet style, then served over a bed of cooked spinach.
Interpreting a bit from Sarah and a little from Fannie, I came up with my own take on Eggs à la Martin – individual egg portions nestled onto a thick bed of spinach and breadcrumbs, baked in a creamy white sauce and topped with melted sharp cheddar cheese. Bubbly and hot from the oven, golden yolks blending with rich creamed spinach, these little eggs are sure to delight for a lazy Sunday morning or cozy breakfast in bed.
Perhaps something even Martin (whoever he was) would approve.
Ingredients
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
½ cup chopped frozen spinach, thawed
2 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
Preparation
Preheat oven to 325°. Spray 2 ramekins or small oven-proof dishes with cooking spray.
To make white sauce, melt butter in small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth, thick paste forms. Whisk in milk and cook until slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Set aside and keep warm.
Add half of the breadcrumbs to each of the ramekins, then top with half the spinach. Pour enough white sauce on top to cover the spinach, then add a whole, cracked egg to each dish. Top with enough white sauce to cover each egg, then sprinkle half of the cheese on top of each dish.
Place eggs in oven and bake until whites are set and cheese is melted and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Cook eggs a little longer if you’d like the yolks to be cooked through. Serve hot with buttered toast, if you like.
Makes 2 servings.
Breakfast in Bed – Savory Mushroom Aebelskiver (Danish Filled Pancakes
Post by Alison Hein.
My good friends Rosie and Jeff come through again! Rosie is the idea person behind our International Breakfast theme (remember Personal Shakshouka?) and Jeff is the talented cook who recently created a Proper English Fry-Up. What now, you ask? Well, Rosie gifted me with a new aebelskiver pan – the non-stick kind which makes flipping the little pancakes a breeze. Better yet, she gave me a breakfast cookbook which included savory aebelskivers! Goat cheese and herbs, jalapeño and cheddar, potato and bacon…
I decided upon a duxelles filling (sautéed shallots and mushrooms) for my aebelskivers. What a delight to bite into a tiny filled pancake and be surprised by the deep, earthy flavor of buttery button mushrooms. Served with a dab of sour cream on the side, Savory Mushroom Aebelskivers are a pleasant change from sweeter fare, and a delightfully different breakfast in bed.
And Jeff? He presented me with a recipe book filled with international breakfast recipes and a promise to cook for us again. This time – Jeff’s Costa Rican Tico Breakfast – coming soon to a kitchen near you! Stay tuned…
Ingredients
Mushroom Filling
2 tablespoons butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped
1 tablespoon cream
1 teaspoon dried parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste
Aebelskiver
1 cup unbleached flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 eggs, separated
Cooking spray (or melted butter)
Special Equipment
Aebelskiver pan
Preparation
To make mushroom filling, melt butter in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until softened. Add mushrooms and continue to cook another 5 to 7 minutes, until mixture is cooked through. Remove from heat. Stir in cream, parsley, salt and pepper and set aside until ready to use.
To make aebelskiver, combine flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl. In separate small bowl, mix together milk, cider vinegar and egg yolks. Gradually add liquid mixture to dry mixture, stirring constantly, until batter is smooth. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold into batter.
Place aebelskiver pan on burner over medium heat. Spray each well of the pan liberally with cooking spray (or brush with melted butter). Spoon about 1½ teaspoons of batter into each well. Then place about ½ teaspoon of mushroom filling in the center of each aebelskiver. Finally, pour another 1½ teaspoons of batter on top, being sure to entirely cover filling.
Cook for about 2 minutes, until bottom of aebelskiver is dark golden brown. Carefully flip using two skewers, a knife and spoon, knitting needles (as is common in Denmark), or chopsticks. Continue cooking until flipped side is also golden brown, another one to two minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm while making the remainder of pancakes. Adjust heat and regrease pan as necessary while cooking. Serve warm with a dollop of sour cream if you like.
Makes 20 to 30 aebelskiver.
