breakfast blogger

Looks Yummy. I like the little history lesson on the origin of the Egg Benedict. Here’s more info on Eggs Benedict on Wikipedia.

Yep, you read that right. I doubt I will ever try this out but it’s good to know that there are people who have.

Great step-by-step instructions with pictures can be found here. Found via Grow-a-Brain.

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve updated. But that’s understandable since I had my wedding a week and a half ago. The morning after the wedding (after an hour of sleep) I went to the hotel where many of my friends were staying for a buffet breakfast and fainted right in the lobby. BAM. Flat on my back. I guess I was exhausted. My father came to pick me up and took me back home after that. Funny thing though, I didn’t manage to get to sleep for another 18 hours after that. That’s what running on adrenaline is all about I suppose. I’m sad I missed out on that breakfast!

Well looky here, Az in fact has NOT passed away in her sleep. I know it’s been a while but I could never leave BB. The boys need a woman’s touch around here.

I had been forced to take an unexpected hiatus in order to move at the last minute. Life happened, and it happened fast, but the important thing is that I’m back!! And with me I bring….*drum roll*

Cream of Wheat sticks!

All my life I’ve always enjoyed my cream of wheat a little on the thick side. I enjoy being able to cut into it with my spoon, carefully carving away at it from the outside in, making a little CoW fortress to hold my precious supply of jam and butter till I break down the walls and let ot oooze all over.

I was an only child. I have too much imagination sometimes.

Anywho, I got thinking one day, and wondered if it was possible to make CoW so thick, that it can be cut into shapes. So off to the stove I went, with a trusty box of CoW in hand.

I made it like I usually do, but just added more till my spoon started to bend and shake under the pressure. I almost got an arm cramp from stirring it was so thick, but the pain meant it would work!

After it was cooked, I grabbed a platter, my offset spatula and a little butter and poured the CoW in the middle of the platter. Using the spatual grease with butter I spread it out till it was about 1/2- 1/4 inch thick.

After a brief chill in the fridge to set up a bit, I decided to have a little fun. Sticks may be fun, but nothing beats using a cookie cutter sometimes. And so I did. It all cut easy once it had chilled a bit. And they held their shape great!

As I was looking at my lucky CoW charms, I sat in quiet reflection for a moment. These are good, but there is always something that makes food better… FRYING IT! SO out came the frying pan and some butter.

Now you have to admit, CoW has never looked sexier than is does now. The crisp, hot, fried outside holding in the soft, creamy wheaty goodness inside just makes me start droolin’ a little. Served up with some maple syrup or warmed up jam for dipping, they bring a new twist to the standard CoW breakfast!

I, of course, had to add some other breakfasty things to make sure I had a nice balanced breakfast, but they are just as delicious on thier own as they are with eggs and the like.

*burp*

I sometimes wish that I spent a little less time eating (not really) and a little more time thinking of a great name for today’s entry. This sandwich deserves a really great name, and that really great name would look particularly fantastic up there in that marquee space….

…but, alas, I spent my time cooking and eating.

So, for now, I have settled on:

“The Challah-French Toast-Peanut Butter-Banana Sandwich, with Maple Syrup”.

Not bad, but a little long. For a short time I considered omitting the segment “with Maple Syrup” that seems haphazardly tagged onto the end of the name, but once I looked at the truncated version I was struck with nervous visions of some poor shmo making this incredible breakfast and then topping it with something like jelly, or even worse - breakfast syrup. It seemed like listening to a well-composed and executed piece of classical music, but then switching off the stereo just before the coda is heard.

That being said, and after letting you glimpse at that marvelously delicious photo, here is the recipe for “The Challah-French Toast-Peanut Butter-Banana Sandwich, with Maple Syrup”. I figure if I say it a few times it will begin to roll off the tongue. Here it is once again: “The Challah-French Toast-Peanut Butter-Banana Sandwich, with Maple Syrup”.

For each sandwich, you will need:
-Challah. I usually use thick slices from a loaf, but as I am demonstrating, rolls are perfectly acceptable. The rolls I am using for this recipe are what I consider to be the best challah rolls in Montreal, baked at Fresser’s on Decarie. Note: the best results will be achieved if you buy your Challah unsliced from a bakery and then slice the bread yourself, allowing for very thick slices.

- 1-2 eggs
- 1 banana
- peanut butter
- maple syrup

Let us begin:

Beat the eggs in a bowl, adding about a tablespoon or so of milk, if you’ve got some laying about). Slice your challah, or in this case, cut your rolls in half. NOTE: This sandwich can be made open-face or closed - depending on your preference. Adjust recipe if closed face.
Melt some butter in a pan, or on your flat-top, and soak the challah in the egg mixture. When hot, lay the challah on the cooking surface and cook until brown, then flip and repeat.

While your challah is Frenching - if I may be so bold as to liberally transform ‘French Toast’ into a verb - slice your banana lengthwise.

Once your French toast is ready, remove from heat and spread on a thick layer of peanut butter, then add slices of banana (If you are making this a closed-faced affair, here is where you would add your 2nd slice of bread, or challah-roll top.)

Most importantly, add maple syrup..

Here is the finished product:

And here is what may also be considered the ‘finished’ product.

My dad used to make these when I was a kid, and now I make them all the time.

Some Ontarians, and other non-Montrealers, call them “egg-in-the-hole”, but that usually refers to a slice of white sandwich bread with a hole torn out. That is wrong.

A bagel is lovingly hand-rolled, boiled in water and honey, and then slowly smoked over real hardwood.
This particluar sesame-seed bagel is from the St-Viateur Bagel Shop, about a block-and-a-half from my home. I like to keep things local, and consider myself very lucky to live in a vortex of such concentrated gastronomic resources. More about that another time. . .

So, to make your Bagelette, you will need your bagel, which you see I already have. You will also need 2 eggs per bagel, and some butter. NOTE: It is preferable to have an ample, and flat, cooking surface that can accommodate your bagel, or bagels. I am using the same cast-iron flat-top that my father used before me. It seems like it was hand-crafted specifically for making 2 bagelettes. Be careful, as a small frying pan will not easily fit 2 bagel halves, sitting flatly, which is essential to the egg cooking properly in the cavity of the bagel.

Today I will skip ahead to intermediate cooking levels and get a little fancy by adding some parmeggiano reggiano, grated onto the bagelette.If you are still in cooking 101, or don’t spend any time with food snobs, or more specifically, cheese snobs, Parmeggiano Reggiano is Italian for “very, very good parmesan cheese”.

Here is a shot of the almost fully-cooked bagelettes.The recipe is fairly simple:

-Cut your bagel
-heat up your pan, or skillet, or flat-top, and melt some butter
-put your bagel halves on the hot surface and drop an egg into the center of each
-when you feel it is time, flip
-enjoy

Throughout the history of the bagelette, there has been some heated arguments as to which side of the bagel to start your cooking. Some more conservative cooks prefer the flat (cut side) side face-down to start, thus not allowing any egg to escape the confines of the bagel. Some more liberal-minded folk swear by beginning their bagelettes with the natural, bumpy side face down, to allow for a greater cooking surface for the egg. There is also the rare cross-section of society that has no political affiliations whatsoever - these people tend to cook their bagelettes with each half facing a different direction. I believe the term ‘I swing both ways’ was originated from this group of bagelette eaters.

Personally, I find both techiques to be equally satisfying.

Behold:The goal, if there were a goal other than eating, is to cook the bagelette so the yolk is still runny, thus allowing the eater to mop up some yolk with each bite of bagel.An added treat is the little bits of fried cheese that may have ‘accidentally’ not landed directly on the bagel during the cooking process. Here is an example of such a casualty: As sad as I was for this poor scrap of cheese, I forced myself to eat it.

And, of course, the money shot. .

Instead of going out to breakfast last weekend, I decided to stay in and try something a little different. I picked up a danish without frosting:

Cracked a couple of eggs into a dish, added some milk, vanilla and cinnamon and mixed it up:

Gave my danish a bath:

Then fried it up and voila!

Now for a little maple syrup.. I happen to keep mine in an old vodka bottle:

And NOW it was ready to eat. mmmmmmmmmmm yummy:

Via digg.com:

***EDIT***

I wrote to the Ziploc people about doing this and got a reply this morning:

Mr. Peabody,

Thank you for your email regarding the safety of ZIPLOC® Bags.

Regarding your inquiry, ZIPLOC® Bags cannot be used to boil food. Unfortunately, we do not manufacture a “boilable” bag.

We do not recommend using any ZIPLOC® Bag in boiling water, or to “boil” in the microwave. ZIPLOC® Bags are made from polyethylene plastic with a softening point of approximately 195 degrees Fahrenheit. By pouring near boiling water (water begins to boil at 212 degrees) into the bag, or putting the bag into the water, the plastic could begin to melt.

If you have additional concerns, we recommend you call our Product Safety Department at 1-866-231-5406. They will be happy to address any questions you may have.

Best regards,

Megan

Consumer Relationship Centre
SC Johnson
Toll free number: 1-800-558-5566
www.scjohnson.ca

Reference Number: 012700037A

——-

Yikes! You have been warned!

Super thanks to my buddy KJ for sending this to me:

Crack 2 eggs (large or extra-large) into the quart size Ziploc bag (not more than 2) and shake to combine them. Put in a variety of ingredients such as: cheeses, ham, onion, green pepper, tomato, hash browns, salsa, etc..

Make sure to get the air out of the bag and zip it up. Place the bag(s) into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes. You can usually cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot.

Open the bags and the omelet will roll out easily. Be prepared for everyone to be amazed.

**EDIT** And here’s a video on making one here.

**EDIT 2** I sent an e-mail to the Ziploc people asking about using this method to cook. Here is the reply I got this morning:

Mr. Peabody,

Thank you for your email regarding the safety of ZIPLOC® Bags.

Regarding your inquiry, ZIPLOC® Bags cannot be used to boil food. Unfortunately, we do not manufacture a “boilable” bag.

We do not recommend using any ZIPLOC® Bag in boiling water, or to “boil” in the microwave. ZIPLOC® Bags are made from polyethylene plastic with a softening point of approximately 195 degrees Fahrenheit. By pouring near boiling water (water begins to boil at 212 degrees) into the bag, or putting the bag into the water, the plastic could begin to melt.

If you have additional concerns, we recommend you call our Product Safety Department at 1-866-231-5406. They will be happy to address any questions you may have.

Best regards,

Megan

Consumer Relationship Centre
SC Johnson
Toll free number: 1-800-558-5566
www.scjohnson.ca

Reference Number: 012700037A

—————-

Yikes, that’s kinda scary. You have been warned!

—————-

This reminds me a bit of the trick I read about over on B3ta a while back. Rob Manuel, while putting together a page dedicated to the best way to poach an egg, got an e-mail tip from someone called VashTheStampede.

Vash’s suggestion? Use clingfilm to poach your egg. Put some clingfilm in a cup, spray a tiny bit of oil so the egg won’t stick, crack an egg into it, wrap it up, toss it into boiling water (make sure it doesn’t touch the bottom; when I tried this, I suspended the egg-bag in the boiling water using a wooden spoon), and voila. Perfect poached egg. Go here to check it out and scroll down.

I guess I should write the cling-film people as well and see what they say about this.

I have no doubts that I will be hit of the neighbourhood when my kiddo gets older. The kids are gunna love me.

After watching an odd chinese cooking show on mute where they were soaking boiled ducks eggs in all kinds of crazy saucy stuff, I got a brilliant idea. On this show they used a technique where they cracked the eggs shells before they soak the eggs in the sauce, leaving the shells on l. After an overnight soaking in the brine, the eggs were peeled and there was a pretty pattern where the cracks had let a brine seep through. Having watched it on mute, I had no idea what was in this mystery brown liquid, but I couldnt help but think that it would be just as easy to make eggs like that at home, but using food coloring, making bright pretty crackled eggs. So I tried it.

Step 1:

Boil eggs for 8 1/2 min. While eggs are boiling, fill a couple glasses with water and add a different color food coloring to each glass.

Step 2:

After eggs are cooked, run them in cool water till you can handle them and dont burn your finners. I learned that the hard way. I was too excited and didnt consider that something that just came out of boiling water might be hot. Ouch.

Step 3:

Crack the egg shells by hitting it with a spoon or cracking it on the counter. Just be gentle and try to keep it in one piece. The magic is all about the cracks.

Step 4:

Put one egg in each glass and let it soak. The longer you leave it in, the more color will be on the egg.

Step 5:

Remove from the food coloring and peel the shells off. Stand back for a moment and let the awe sweep over you, then eat. MMmmMMmm Dino-licious!

This was my first attempt. I only let it soak for about 20 min. The colors are there, but I was hoping for something a little more vibrant.

Attempt number 2 was more successful. I let it soak for about an hour and used more food coloring this time. More is definatly better in this instance. Either way, I thought it was a fun way to add some color to breakfast. Add some fosselized grain toast, some jurassic orange slices, a monsterous McCain hashbrown patty and a bowl of molten oatmeal and you have a perfectly prehistoric brekkie!

Enjoy!

*burp*

With my trusty bag of Krusteaz by my side,

I have set out to make ordinary pancakes extrodinary! Im willing to try just about anything (within reason) and am totally open to suggestions.

This mornings brilliant idea was to add a couple tablespoons of Ovaltine

And some frozen strawberrries the I threw in the food processor to make frozen strawberry powder (handy for mixing in pancakes, muffins, yogurt and the like)

Mix mix mixity mix….

Add some scrambled eggs with cheese, some apple juice and orange slices and voila! You have some kick ass eggs accompanied by some rather uninteresting ovaltine pancakes.

Im not really sure what it was about them, they weren’t bad by any means.. just not nearly as good as I had invisioned. But after a quick repair of plain yogurt, banana slices and a little brown sugar, they were most scrumptious.

Im not sure if I would be in a hurry to try Ovaltine in my pancakes again, but after the quick patch job, they did go down quite nicely.

Ca-Ching!

*burp*