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Breakfast in Bed – Blue Plate Special

Blue Plate Special 9

Post by Alison Hein.

You know how they say that desperation, starvation, uh necessity, is the mother of invention? Case in point – after returning from vacation, I found that our cupboards (and fridge) were bare. Hungry, yet not wanting to shop yet, I decided to create my very own Blue Plate Special.

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To me, this means a meal scrounged from scraps and served on a blue plate. J Wikipedia, however, describes a Blue Plate Special as “a term used in the United States by restaurants, diners and cafes. It refers to a specially low-priced meal, usually changing daily. The term was very common from the 1920s through the 1950s, but it is a vanishing tradition.”

So I foraged and found some stale (but not moldy) Ciabatta rolls, then sliced off the ends to make two lovely slices of thick, hearty bread, just right for toasting. Now, what to put on it? As luck would have it, I located an egg, and some pungent sharp cheddar. I decided to cook the egg over easy, and melt a bit of the strong cheese on top. Yet my sandwich was still missing something (a thick slice of bacon or salty ham would have worked wonders, but to no avail). I settled for a satisfying squirt of sweet mayonnaise. Surprising and tangy, my Blue Plate Special turned out to be a very repeatable breakfast in bed that’s here to stay.

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Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
2 slices Ciabatta bread (or other hearty style bread)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 egg
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon (or 1 thin slice) sharp cheddar cheese
Mayonnaise, to taste
Fresh lettuce and tomatoes, for garnish

Preparation

Melt butter in heavy frying pan over medium heat. Add Ciabatta bread and toast until rich and golden on both sides, flipping once. Remove from heat.

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At the same time, heat oil over medium heat in small frying pan. Crack egg into pan. Reduce heat to medium low. Season egg with salt and pepper and fry on one side until cooked on the bottom but still soft on top. Gently flip the egg (over easy) and place the cheddar cheese on top. Cover with tight fitting lid and turn off heat. Allow to sit for a minute or two until cooked to your preference. Put a little mayonnaise on each of the toasted bread slices. Place egg one slice of toast and cover with the other to make a sandwich. Serve immediately with a little fresh lettuce and tomatoes on the side, if you like.

Makes one breakfast sandwich.

Blue Plate Special 10

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