Breakfast

Breaking a Fast



When I was growing up Dad was in charge of breakfast during the week. Mom taught at the university and in those days that meant she had to dress up with a dress (and girdle) and full makeup. Dad was a scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratories and didn't even have to wear a tie to work (he was a white collar worker who didn't wear a white shirt - an odd circumstance back then). So while my mother had to go through the dressing ritual Dad was making breakfast for us kids.

Oatmeal was common — particularly in the winter — as was cream of wheat. Sometimes he'd make us egg in a basket (one of my favorites — I've always loved fried eggs), and canned soup was actually a pretty common breakfast. Sometimes after a busy Sunday Mom or Dad would make breakfast for supper and the next day we'd have leftover biscuits, buttered, drizzled with syrup, and lightly broiled for breakfast.

On weekends we might get pancakes or bacon/sausage with eggs. Waffles were sometimes featured and my parents favorite big breakfast was SOS — Shit On a Shingle. This is dried beef cooked in a cream sauce and spooned over toast or baked potatoes. I've no idea why they liked this so much (we kids didn't, though we ate it), but it was a significant breakfast dish in my childhood.

I'm featuring breakfast at my Cooking for Two site next week and thought I'd do the same here today.

Apple/Ricotta Coffee Cake: I had some leftover ricotta from something I'd made and was casting about for a way to use it and some how or another ending up whacking several recipes together to produce this coffee cake. It's wonderfully moist, packed with appily goodness, and delightfully spiced. The ricotta keeps it moist so you can easily make it the night or day before serving it and it will still taste fresh.

Welsh Rabbit: I've loved Welsh Rabbit since I first had it at Chowning's Tavern in Williamsburg, Virginia when I was about 11. I typically make it for supper because I typically don't make breakfast, but when I do I make sure I have leftovers because it makes an outstanding breakfast poured over a toasted English Muffin. And by the way, I highly recommend Bays English Muffins. You'll find them in the dairy section and they have a marvelous chewy texture.

Cinnamon Buns: These are another breakfast food you can make the day before - in fact you need too. I have another cinnamon bun recipe and when I published it I got a note suggesting I try making cinnamon buns using a brioche dough. Seemed like a good idea to me so I developed a new recipe. Frankly I like my other recipe slightly better, but I love the fact that this is made a day in advance so I don't have to get up and do anything as complicated as making bread.

Spanish Bread Pudding: This isn't actually a Spanish dish but instead is a dish based on Spanish cuisine. Also, it's a savory bread pudding and not a sweet one. But it's easy to make even if you're only on your second cup of coffee, filling, and includes eggs, cheese, toast, and sausage in one dish which you park in the oven while you enjoy your third cup of coffee - or a Bloody Mary.

Shrimp and Grits: Shrimp and Grits is a common breakfast in the Carolina Low-Country and it's just what it sounds like - you cook up a mess of grits, cook some shrimp in a sauce and pour the latter on the former. Toss in some cornbread or (my preference) biscuits and you've got some food that'll get you out on that shrimp boat ready to haul in the nets filled with wriggling crustaceans. Gooooood tucker.

Fried Green Tomatoes: Another weekend breakfast dish when I was a child. Most of the time we had these at supper, but they'd appear at weekend breakfast during the summer months. In case you didn't know, tomatoes are a fruit, not a vegetable, and their fruit-like nature is most apparent in green tomatoes where the acidity is reminiscent of green apples. A couple of fried eggs, toast, sausage, and fried green tomatoes make a breakfast fit for a king.

Pancakes with Cornmeal: American pancakes are, perhaps, the ultimate breakfast food. They're quick and easy to make. The sugar in the form of syrup provides a quick energy boost and the carbs a longer-term source of fuel. Paired with bacon, sausage, or ham you get the protein component. Growing up, we typically had that fake maple syrup on them, but my preference back then was either molasses or sorghum syrup. These days I like real maple syrup and always have a bottle of Grade B in my fridge - which is not to say I've quit pouring molasses or sorghum on my flapjacks.

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