eggs and bacon with cheese

bacon cradled baked eggs with jarlsberg cheese

looks great on a plate when serving to friends coming over for a sunday morning breakfast. essentially the same as the bacon cradles i made a few weekends ago, except with the addition of a little jarlsberg grated over the eggs for the last few minutes of baking

the soundtrack for this sunday morning breakfast:

puscifer
v is for vagina

down on the ranch

chris' awesome huevos rancheros

two cheddar topped fried eggs on a bed of tomatoey rancheros sauce, served on a crispy tortilla and a diced avo, cherry tomato and sliced spring onion garnish, with refried beans and sour cream on the side

the key is obviously the rancheros sauce, which needs to be thick and packed with flavour. a dash of olive oil, followed by a small onion and equal portions of red and green pepper go into a pan on medium heat with some sliced crimini mushrooms for about 3 or 4 minutes. next up is a teaspoon of cumin, a teaspoon of minced garlic, a pinch of cayenne and salt and pepper to taste, which is cooked for a minute or so before throwing in a big (540ml/19 fl oz) can of whole tomatoes. cook for 5 minutes then add a cup of vegetable stock (or chicken) and simmer on a low heat for as long as possible. our sunday mornings tend to be pretty chilled, so we did a bit of the crossword, called family back home and generally relaxed for about 30-45 minutes as the sauce thickened.

serve up as indicated above with fried egg, cheese etc. and lightly fried tortilla until crispy (only 30 secs a side) with garnish of your choice and as much sour cream and refried beans as your current diet allows.

a friggin' awesome sunday brekkie.

comfort food, the parisian way

croque madame with sauce mornay and spring onion garnish

my first experience of croque madame was as perfect a foodie experience as i can imagine. i was in paris with a miserable ex-girlfriend i was seeing at the time and having a suitably miserable time. not only was the company lousy, the weather was miserable too, drizzling the kind of rain that can't make its mind up what it plans to do with itself when it grows up. in the middle of the occasional cold, pathetic little shower, and with a grump of a person along for the ride, i stumbled upon a little piece of heaven. it was a tiny little bistro on a little side street i'll likely never find again, with a nondescript shop front and a dated and ever so slightly dingy interior. this unlikely setting laid the foundation for one of my favourite breakfast memories of all time - the incredibly warming, comforting, and distinctly french, croque madame.

this morning i made it as accurately as i could to my hazy memory of that breakfast a long time ago. the end result matched my memory almost to the t. except the company was a heck of a lot better.

croque madame is a croque monsieur (essentially a fried ham and cheese sandwich) with an egg on top. simple, but when a few little tweaks are made, such as the mornay sauce instead of slices of cheese and my use of prosciutto instead of black forest ham, the result can be superb.

mornay sauce is just a fancy name for a basic bechamel sauce with cheese added to it. gruyère is best, but having none in the house i settled for jarlsberg instead with great results, and cheddar would even suffice in a pinch (do yourself a favour and try it with gruyère at least once however).

the soundtrack for this sunday morning breakfast:

the national
boxer

eggs and bacon

baked egg in a cradle of crispy bacon, with red pepper julienne, and a little freshly ground black pepper

to make, simply fry bacon just short of crispy, then place bacon in a lightly greased ramekin or small bowl, wrapping the rashers around the sides and covering the base (i use 2 and a half rashers per ramekin) and crack egg into centre. bake in oven at 350°F/180°C until yolk is just set, about 7-12 minutes depending on your oven. thinly slice some red pepper and sauté. gently remove egg parcels from ramekin and serve with red pepper slices as a tasty garnish.

serving suggestion: serve with roasted cherry tomatoes (cherry tomatoes tossed in a little olive oil and a dash of lemon juice and roasted in the oven at 400°F/205°C for 20 minutes until just bursting. sprinkle with fresh basil leaves and a few drops of balsamic vinegar for a great looking side). it occurred to me when i began throwing this breakfast together that roasted cherry tomatoes would be perfect on the side, but i couldn't be bothered to go down to the store to get some

the soundtrack for this sunday morning breakfast:

radiohead
in rainbows



man it's great to have a functioning kitchen again

the timmy's brekkie

hey, i'm not proud of it, but at least we're honest

what do you do when your kitchen is in a shambles because you're in the middle of renovating it, and you have a day of sanding floors ahead of you? if you live in canada, you get a timmy's breakfast. namely a breakfast biscuit with either sausage or bacon (or no meat if you're mandy) on some kind of reconstituted egg patty with processed cheese.

it ain't pretty, but boy is it delicious in a disgusting, i'm-not-certain-this-counts-as-food kind of way.

on the side? what else but a double-double (a 2 milk, 2 sugar tim horton's coffee), and extra-large thank you very much, because we have a day of action ahead of us.

just a little continental

latte, delicate slices of brie, a big honking splooge of strawberry jam, artichoke and sundried tomato cream cheese and sliced fresh organic strawberries, all served with oven warmed croissants

simple, yet very tactile and involving, taking away the distance a knife and fork creates and gets the hands busy in the food

a great start to canadian thanksgiving

feeling greek

warm and toasty herb pitas with a thick layer of greek cream cheese (think olives and chives)
and smoked salmon scrambled eggs

yum.

i threw some monterey jack in with the eggs, but really should have thought of tossing in some feta instead
otherwise, it gets four out of five stars on the emery breakfast meter

so an italian and a mexican walk in to a breakfast bar...

lightly fried polenta rounds with poached egg, salsa, avocado and a cherry tomato

nice to look at and oh so nice to eat

this one's a no brainer, but if you really need a recipe, drop me a line and i'll be happy to oblige


let's see if i can get back on this horse shall we?

the double breakfast weekend

happy canada day weekend to one and all

and, introducing,

the monday morning statutory public holiday breakfast

eggs lola

There's a fantastic little sidewalk cafe called Lola's on the bohemian road named Long Street in Cape Town, South Africa. It's a great place to spend an hour with the paper, or to relax and watch the unique cosmopolitanism of the city at the southern tip of Africa pass you by. Not only is Lola's a cool place to see and be seen, but also a great place to enjoy a mean breakfast, and Eggs Lola is merely exhibit A on their menu of deliciousness. This is our reinterpretation of a hazy remembrance of a great meal, so don't hold us to it.

light and fluffy poached eggs on multigrain toast, weighed down by a mound of good cheese (we're in the middle of a love affair with jarlsberg), served with sauteed mushroom, onion and red pepper, good quality salsa, and fresh avocado


a note on eggs:

we only buy and eat free range organic eggs, not because we're a pair of crazy über-hippies, but because the insipid pale yellow yolks of battery hens cannot compare in taste to the flavour packed goodness of a quality free range egg. now to be fair we may not be crazy über-hippies, but we do however have access to a nest of crazy über-hippies who provide us with organic free ranges from the fields of their farm, but even the free range eggs to be found in your local supermarket are a trillion times better than that battery hen crap. and seriously, have you seen the inside of a battery hen farm? miserable.

you mean rabbit?

no. i mean rarebit.

welsh rarebit, with grilled tomato and parsley garnish

the inaugural sunday morning breakfast blog recipe:

add 2 cups of grated cheddar and jarlsberg cheeses and a splash of milk (around 3 tablespoons) - or same quantity of beer (preferably a brown ale) if you're a purist and the whole "beer for breakfast" thing works for you - to a small saucepan. simmer over a low heat until sauce is smooth and consistency is thick. add a teaspoon of mustard (i like a sweet mustard in my cheese sauce) and some freshly ground pepper to taste, and pour over buttered wholewheat bread. grill cheesy bread slices in a toaster oven until lightly browned, then turn to "toast" to get the underside nice and crispy.

sprinkle a pinch of dry herbs, a pinch of brown sugar, and salt and pepper to taste on a thickly sliced tomato, one slice per rarebit, and fry quickly over a medium heat, a couple of minutes per side. serve on bubbly, cheesy rarebit, with a pot of coffee and fresh orange juice

for the carnivores among us, i recommend a few rashers of crispy bacon beneath the tomato

quick, easy, and most importantly, delicious

the soundtrack for this sunday morning breakfast:

james morrison
undiscovered

breakfast al fresco

12 grain toast, black forest ham and poached eggs, topped with melted jarlsberg and a garnish of chopped fresh chives, served with slices of ice cold melon

fave cryptic clue of the week: symbol of resistance margaret found in middle of road (5)

may 13's answer: top drawer

the soundtrack for this sunday morning breakfast:

bloc party
a weekend in the city

scrambled eggs with benefits

herby scrambled eggs with red onion, red pepper and mushroom, served on fresh 12 grain toast, with bacon on the side

the soundtrack for this sunday morning breakfast:

duncan sheik
duncan sheik

the "maybe we should have left that party last night three hours earlier than we did" breakfast

you just know it's a hangover breakfast when perogies are on the menu

eggs, sausages, practically carbonised crispy canadian back bacon (mmm), fried tomato, sauteed mushrooms and onions, and perogies with sour cream

my waistline might not forgive me, but my stomach loves me right now

no crossword this week due to non-functional brain matter

the soundtrack for this sunday morning breakfast:

interpol
antics

the mascot for this sunday morning breakfast:

bob

getting our greens

four egg omelette with delicate gouda, caramelised red onion, and fresh asparagus
a little browned so not exactly textbook, but fantastically delicious nonetheless

fave cryptic clue of the week: upper class leading artist (3,6)

last breakfast's answer: yank

the soundtrack for this sunday morning breakfast:

joss stone
introducing joss stone

oh, that's really mature

happy, kiddified sunshine toast
simple and surprisingly delicious

eggs in achingly fresh white toast, served with bacon and herby sauteed mushrooms

fave cryptic clue of the week: american jerk (4)

last breakfast's answer: ant+elope

the soundtrack for this sunday morning breakfast:

silversun pickups
carnavas

that friggin' lazy eye track is like an (ear)worm in my head - i'll hate it in a week i'm sure but right now it's on repeat and i can't get enough of it

salmon 'n eggs

poached eggs (yes, again), wrapped in smoked salmon and drizzled with a light herb sauce, served on toasted croissants, with a cheesy, strawberry jammy croissant half on the side, and clichéd avo/tomato plate decoration

fave cryptic clue of the week: social worker secretly wed graceful runner (8)

last breakfast's answer: maelstroms

the soundtrack for this sunday morning breakfast:

feist
the reminder

sunday bagelling

poached egg, gouda, sauteed red onion and portabello mushroom on a bed of salad herbs, served on a multigrain bagel

fave cryptic clue of the week: smart moles wrecked whirlpools (10)

last breakfast's answer: you+th

the soundtrack for this sunday morning breakfast:

modest mouse
we were dead before the ship even sank

kings of leon
because of the times

crêpes for breakfast

scrambled eggs with mushroom, onion, peppers and bacon, spooned into fresh crêpes with slices of jarlsberg thrown in for good measure, served with salsa

fave cryptic clue of the week:
time's 2006 person of the year with most of the kids (5)

last breakfast's answer: elastic

the soundtrack for this sunday morning breakfast:

the arcade fire
neon bible

the sunday morning breakfast blog benedict

...try saying that five times fast

perfectly poached eggs, smoked salmon and sauce aux câpres, served on a toasted sesame seed bagel

fave cryptic clue of the week:

cat lies injured, stretcher required (7)

last breakfast's answer: m(ilk)y way

the soundtrack for this sunday morning breakfast:

zero 7
the garden

breakfast by request

julia, your breakfast is ready

blueberry pancakes with a raspberry and blueberry reduction, served with herby scrambled eggs, cappucino and orange juice

fave cryptic clue of the week:
candy bar variety written into classic sinatra tune (5,3)

last breakfast's answer: torn + ado

the soundtrack for this sunday morning breakfast:

amy winehouse
back to black

an indulgent sunday morning...

...aren't they all?

french toast and a mound of bacon, served with fresh strawberries and a piping hot cappucino

fave cryptic clue of the week:
home-wrecker conflicted over brouhaha (7)

the soundtrack for this sunday morning breakfast:

imogen heap
speak for yourself

the shins
wincing the night away

eggs emery

delicious.


the stalwart in our arsenal of comfort breakfasts, eggs emery

perfectly poached free-range eggs on a bed of gruyere cheese, diced and sauteed red pepper, and creamed corn on wholewheat toast, served with salsa and sauteed mushrooms


the soundtrack for this sunday morning breakfast:

the fratellis
costello music

the morning after the night before

the one pan "feeling kinda rough" breakfast
eggs, bacon, bison sausages, red pepper, mushroom, tomato and chopped spring onion

it's saved more lives than the red cross

as canadian as pancakes and maple syrup

maple breakfast sausages, pancakes and fresh fruit, drowned in maple syrup, for six

simplest is best

king of all breakfasts: soft boiled eggs and whole grain toast soldiers

will there ever be a better breakfast for one?

thinking outside the bagel

smoked salmon and cream cheese omelette with toasted sesame seed bagel

lazy breakfast at noon

poached eggs, emmental, and sauteed grape tomatoes and veggies on whole grain toast with avo