breakfast blogger

During the holidays, our friend Kate suggested that we make Pannetone french toast, so we did.

We used fresh farm eggs that we got from our CSA farm, which is why these eggs are all different colours and sizes.

We also made home fries. We baked these, not only to make them less unhealthy, but to not have to stir them and/or tend to them constantly. It also frees up more real estate on the stove. We simply threw cubes of potato into a big bowl and tossed them with some oil (olive and veg), salt, pepper, and whatever herbs or spices were handy - oregano and rosemary this time. After about 20 minutes we mixed them around, trying to flip as many pieces as possible.

Here they are in the oven:

We also made an apple compote to eat on the french toast.

Here is some cheese we had with our meal. There was a Comte from France and a Manchego from Spain. We invited a few people for this brunch, and they didn’t show up empty-handed, so there was an assortment of fruit and cheese and other goodies to enjoy before, during and after the Pannetone french toast.

The Pannetone french toast:

Yummy!

For dinner that evening, the lady and I made Pannetone french toast peanut butter banana sandwiches, with maple syrup.

Decadent.

We made some soft-boiled eggs a while back . . . I had almost forgotten how good they can be.

I don’t think I had my first soft-boiled egg until I was well into my twenties, but it was definitely worth the wait. I grew up in a traditonal Jewish Montreal home with some finicky parents, who were not boring, but they were set in their ways. Even though we had no soft-boiled eggs, no poached eggs, or even any real omelets, we had some great scrambles - salami and eggs being my all-time childhood favourite. I am now glad my parents were such finicky eaters, because it has left me such a wide range of foods to discover in my adulthood.

We get our eggs from a farm just outside of Montreal, as I try not to buy industrially produced eggs anymore: Chickens are animals - not machines. When I am out of eggs before farm day, I will go to the Jean-Talon market and buy eggs from an old guy who says he has “organic” eggs which are not certified - I haven’t yet fully investigated his claims, but I plan to. If I am too lazy to go al the way to the market, I often pick up some Burnbrae Farms “Free run” eggs at our neighborhood grocery store.

Whenever I make soft-boiled eggs, I always use my ‘egg timer’, which I never really trust. It’s a fiberglass dome, shaped like half-an-egg, and you are supposed put it into the water when it is still cold and then start cooking your eggs. When the red color fades to the desired level of doneness, you take the eggs out. I don’t normally use these types of gadgets, but this one was a gift, so I use it, with a certain amount of distrust.

I always take my eggs out of the refrigerator as far in advance as possible, which is usually once we have decided that we want soft-boiled eggs. This is hopefully about 30 minutes before cooking, as I don’t want to shock the eggs and have them crack in the hot water. I fill a pot with water, add the eggs and the egg-timer, and then put it on the stove set to “high”.

Once a boil has been reached, I immediately turn down the heat to medium-high to keep the boil as gentle as possible, and wait about 3 minutes. In my opinion, the size, quality, and age of the eggs are all factors which may affect the cooking time. How can this little plastic dome know anything about my eggs? It can’t!

This said, I usually cook my eggs about 3 minutes. I have a 75% success rate, but I am satisfied with my margin of error because I am usually cooking for my lady and myself, and I will gladly eat any undercooked eggs while my lady will happily eat any overcooked ones. This is one of the reaosn I love her.

The best part about soft-boiled eggs is this little egg circumsizer I got as a Christmas gift a few years back, from the same people who gave me the egg-timer. I found this a funny gift seeing as I am Jewish and I got an egg-moyle to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus.

We enjoyed these with kamut toast points and some hunks of cheese.

Yummy.

This weekend we cooked up a real Jewish Montreal Breakfast.

Of course, when I use the term “Jewish Montreal”, I really mean to say ‘Hypocrydox’, which is the type of Judiasm that I, and most Montreal Jews, and quite possibly most North American Jews, tend to practice. We celebrate Hannukah by eating latkes and lighting candles for eight nights (except for when we go for Chinese food - another Jewish favorite), but we also happen to put cheese into our omeletes that may or may not contain salami. Of course, to make up for this transgression, we fast on Yom Kippur and are absolved for all of our sins - a lovely tradition.

I started out by sautéeing some diced onions until they were soft and transluscent, and then adding some boiled potatoes. Luckily, I had both of the diced onions and some boiled potatoes leftover from my turkey-pot-pie session the previous night, which I will eventually post on a website that is not fascistly breakfast-centric.

I then diced up some kosher salami. I am using the ‘Hebrew National’ brand of salami, which incidentally, is not kosher in Montreal. It is kosher in New York, as far as I know, and even in a few other places, but not in Montreal. This particular brand of salami, which I judiciously selected due to the fact that it was the only salami in my parents refrigerator when I raided it a few days earlier, is not certified by the Montreal Vad, which is the organization that charges exorbitant fees for kosher certification in the Montreal area. Fortunately, being a Hypocrydox Jew, I am allowed to eat this type of salami and still have the honor and privilege of being inscribed, and sealed, in the book of a happy life after abstaining from food for 25 hours every October.

While the salami is blissfully frying, and consequently secreting beef fat into my onions and potatoes, I crack and beat a few eggs. I like to use 5 eggs for a two person scramble to guarantee that each of us ends up with at least 2 whole eggs on our plates.

Once the salami bits are nicely browned on the edges, I pour in the eggs, which I have not slated due to the fact that thew salami has quite a bit of salt in it - I will salt to taste at table.

Let it sit for about 30-45 seconds, to let the egg start cooking. Once the egg mixture has begun to set, I start mixing it with a wooden spoon or some other such utensil. I’m sure even a pencil will do the trick. At some point, I added a heap of grated Parmeggiano-Reggiano.

I toasted our toast, challah - also part of the bounty from my raid on the family kitchen- and sliced up some greenhouse cherry tomatoes. I am trying to eat as locally as possible, so I am abstaining from buying tomatoes from California or Mexico or Pluto - have they started farming that yet? Maybe that’s why it lost its’ status as a planet….

Last year I didn’t buy any tomatoes in the winter as I was so endeared to the ones I grew myslef, as well as the ones that arrived in my weekly organic vegetable basket from La Ferme Cadet-Roussel. This year I already miss tomatoes so much that I will try the greeenhouse varieties, but I know I will be dissatisfied. You can’t have it all.

Now you see it:

Now you don’t:

Not every Breakfast Blogger breakfast is laden with Hollandaise sauce, nor do I start each day with a side order of bacon. I do try to lead a healthy lifestyle and should include those sometimes insipiring and greaseless meals in this blog.

That said, when I was in Toronto a couple of weeks ago to celebrate Hannukah with the family and friends of my VSL, I was given a few grapefruits from my VSL’s mother, who got them from her husband’s brother, who had just returned from Florida, the sunshine state.

I used my special grapefruit knife, which has a curved blade specially designed to carve out each grapefruit segment. Once this task is accomplished, i could enjoy each goegeous bite of grapefruit as an explosion of juice and pulp, minus the bitter, membranous walls which wereleft behind in the skin of the fruit. This is truly the best way to eat grapefruit.

I love the wake-up effect of the sweet/acid combination that just shouts at your palate, “W A K E U P , R I G H T N O W ! ! ! “.

Here is my bowl of grapefruit pieces, ready to eat:

And, after finishing the bowl, I love to squeeze the rind for all it’s worth and then drink a glassful of pure grapefruit juice. I was so excited that I forgot to take a photo of the juice. Sorry.

Since my latkes turned out so well last year, I thought I should post this recipe BEFORE the holiday begins this year.

If you are an avid reader of the Breakfast Blogger, you may well recall that last year I made latkes for a Hannukah brunch held in Toronto, where the guests were the extended family of my Very Special Ladyfriend. It was a high pressure situation and I pulled through with flying colors - I didn’t burn down their kitchen AND the latkes turned out fabulously. I am going to Toronto in a couple of days and will probably make latkes once again. I decided to post this thread now so everyone can make latkes before Hannnukah instead of after, not that you can’t eat latkes all year round. . .

Hannukah starts this Friday evening, so light your Hannukiah before lighting the shabbes candles . . . .and then eat your latkes!

I learned to make latkes from my mother, and we both use the recipe from a local cookbook that most Montreal Jewish homes seem to have sitting on their cookbook shelf. It is called Second Helpings, from B’nai Brith Women Montreal, 1977 - edited by Norene Gilletz, but almost all latke recipes are just about the same, so any will do.

The last time I made latkes, I used:

6-8 potatoes (Yukon Gold potatoes are best)
2 onions
3 eggs
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt and some pepper
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
oil for frying

You can multipily this recipe if you are feeding many people - I usually do. Also, feel free to add an extra onion if you like your latkes a little oniony, or omit an onion if you prefer your latkes bland. I usually adjust the recipe according to the size of the potatoes and onions that I am using.

Peel the potatoes into a big bowl of cold water, to avoid them turning brown.

Now you have to grate the potatoes. This should be done by hand, but can easily be done in a food processor. The important factor is the consistency. If grating by hand, I grate the potatoes using both the big and small sides of a box grater until I achieve a smooth consistency - just keep switching until it seems right. You don’t want to see too many big potato shreds, but you don’t want it to be a puree either.

If using a food processor, grate all the potatoes first with the grater blade, and then use the regular blade to puree a few handfuls and mix it back in until it looks right. Now grate the onion, either by hand or with the food processor.

Put the grated potatoes into a clean tea-towel (or cheesecloth) and wring it out until most of the water is gone. Then mix in everything else and you’ve got yourself some pretty decent latke batter.

Now set the stovetop to medium and heat up some oil in a frying pan. There should be enough oil to submerge the latkes halfway, so when you flip them, the other side will cook without burning the edges (too much oil) or leaving the middle raw (not enough oil). As you are cooking, you will have to add more oil every now and then as the latkes do absorb oil when they cook. It may not be the healthiest food in the world, but consider it a ‘mitzvah’ as it represents the miracle oil that burned for seven days. Hopefully your heartburn won’t last quite as long.

I usually use 2 or 3 (or even 4!) pans simultaneously, depending on how many latkes I am making - this time I used 2. Shape some of the mixture, about 1 tbsp or a small handful, into a ball and carefully place it into the pan and flatten it using a spatula.

Repeat until the pan is full - usually five or six latkes at a time. Let each latke fry until the underside is done and then flip it to do the other side. you can get a really good rhythm going so you are always adding, flipping, or removing, without too much worry or hurry.

Put a baking sheet in the oven on the lowest setting (warm). As each latkes is ready, place it onto a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the extra fat and then place the latke in the oven to keep warm.
Keep doing this until all the mixture has been used.

I made about 50 latkes.

Here is what one plate of latkes looked like:

We served them with apple sauce and sour cream.

I hope your latkes turn out great. Please let me know . . .

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. .

I only call this “The Girlie Brunch” as I was lucky enough to have shared a Sunday brunch date with my girlfriend Megan and 3 of her ladyfriends. It was truly exquisite.

The menu featured an asparagus/basil/parmesan frittata, accompanied by coffee, fresh fruit, baked sweet-potato homefries, assorted cheeses, avocado wedges, hummus, baguette, and a nut bread. The nice thing was that we didn’t go to a restaurant; we made the brunch ourselves - which made it cheaper AND allowed us to spend time together preparing the meal.

Note that the potatoes and frittata are baked in the oven, which means nobody has to stand over anything and stir it constantly - ideal for a social gathering.

Here is a shot of our groceries before cooking and eating them - all of it was purchased at Jean-Talon market:

The frittata recipe was courtesy of Marcella Hazan, whose cookbook I use on a regular basis. Anyone who cooks any Italian food should own this book - it is an amalgamation of her 2 well-known books from the 1970s, and I cannot live without it.

Basically, begin with some fresh, nice looking asparagus.

Crack and beat some eggs - I think I used a dozen - add a little cream, butter, chopped asparagus (which I had steamed for a few minutes), and plenty of parmigiano reggiano. Pour the mixture into a pan that be used in the oven and bake it at about 35 degrees - I am using a Creuset enameled cast iron classic. The recipe is straight from the book, with the exception of the basil leaves, which I added partway through cooking - strictly as an afterthought.

The girls did most of the work by chopping various items and setting the table. . .

We snacked on bread, jam, and coffee - and of course chatted and gossiped - while prepping the meal, as it was a pretty long process. Everyone pitched in, and it was nice to spend time with each other -especially since I wanted to get to know my girlfriend’s pals.

For the potatoes:

This is a dish that I make often as of late - for many reasons: it’s easy to make, it avoids frying, and it encourages creativity. We diced up a few yams and mixed them in a large bowl with olive oil and a variety of spices. This time around I used salt, pepper, turmeric, black sesame seeds and curry powder - but you can use whatever you want here - ex: oregano, garlic, etc…

Spread the cubes onto a baking sheet and bake in the over at a high temperature (about 450 degrees) until ready (you should take one out every 15 minutes to test. . .Mmmm..)

Finally everytihg is ready and set on the table:

Here is the Frittata:

Here is a beautiful shot of one of our plates, ready for eating:

And of course, the ‘money shot’

I’d like to thank Jen, Kate, and Corinne for the long, lazy sunday morning (and afternoon!)

Here I am , relaxing with another cup of coffee while the girls chatted it up.

Now I know what girls talk about!!!!! (sorry boys - I was sworn to secrecy)

I made latkes on New Year’s Day, which was also the last day of Hannukah - at a Hannukah party hosted by my girlfriend’s mother in Toronto.

I learned to make latkes from my mother, and we both use the recipe from Second Helpings (B’nai Brith Women Montreal, 1977 - edited by Norene Gilletz). Almost all latke recipes are the same, and here is what I used:

6-8 potatoes (Yukon Gold is best)
2 onions
3 eggs
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt and some pepper
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
oil for frying

Peel the potatoes into a big bowl of cold water, to avoid them turning brown.

Grate the potatoes: This should be done by hand, but can easily be done in a food processor. The important factor is the consistency. If grating by hand, I use both the big and small sides of a box grater until I achieve a smooth consistency - but not too smooth. If using a food processor, grate all the potatoes first with the grater blade, and then use the regular blade to puree a few handfuls and mix it back in until it looks right. Now grate the onion.

Put the grated potatoes into a clean tea-towel (or cheesecloth) and wring it out until most of the water is gone. Then mix in everything else.

Set the stovetop to medium and heat up some oil in a frying pan -I usually use 2 or 3 pans simultaneously, depending on how many latkes I am making - this time I used 2. Shape some of the mixture (about 1 tbsp or a small handful) into a ball and carefully place into the pan and flatten using a spatula. Repeat until the pan is full - usually five or six latkes at a time. Let them fry until the undersides are done and then flip to do the other side.

Put a baking sheet in the oven on the lowest setting (warm). As each latkes is ready, place it onto a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the extra fat and then place the latke in the oven to keep warm.
Keep doing this until all the mixture has been used.

I made about 50 latkes.

Here is what one plate of latkes looked like:

We served them with apple sauce and sour cream.

There was also a beautiful cheese plate:

Clockwise from top: Stilton, old cheddar, a really nice soft French cheese?, Chevre Noir, aged Gouda.

There was also some cakes and a nice array of sweets:

Brownies, Rugelach, chocolate chip toffee squares, etc.

My latkes, and the party, were a success.
I hope your latkes go over just as well.

I am a rebel.
Last night I crashed a 6-year old’s birthday party.

My friend and neighbour Trixie, who sadly did not invite me to her son Auggie’s party, was on her balcony with some friends as I strolled by on my way to another friend’s birthday party (that would be Findlay - Peabody should call or email him). I was the King of Kensington.

They invited me in and Auggie, who was bouncing off the walls wired on partial sugar-shock and over-tiredness, offered me a piece of cake.
I responsibly decided that it was past 11pm and far too late for me to be eating cake, chocolate cake at that.
I suggested that they save me some and I would return for my piece of cake the next day.
We improved on the notion and possibly invented a new breakfast.

So, this morning, I again strolled over to Trixie’s and we got out the leftover cake.

We cut it up into pieces and put it in a bowl.

. . . added banana slices and poured on the milk- 3.25% milkfat.

Here is Auggie and his sister Tellullah playing video games whilst I eat my cake cereal.

and of course, the money shot.

Tomorrow I will hopefully make up for this by starting my day with cottage cheese.