Culinary Poll #57: Inspirational Breakfasts

[Daniel Rogov]

Many of us grew up with mothers who were convinced that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day". Personally, and despite the advice of many dieticians and medical sources, I have never been convinced of the benefits of breakfast for my well being but I do know that I can enjoy a fine breakfast no less than I can the finest snack, lunch or dinner.

Let's find out where we stand on breakfast by describing, in detail, anywhere from one to four of what you consider your favorite breakfasts. In addition, thoughts on how often you eat such breakfasts (or any breakfast at all), where you enjoy eating them, at what hour you generally eat breakfast and anything else breakfast-related will be most welcome.

Best
Rogov

[Francois de Melogue]

I grew up with French parents... for me, breakfast is toast/croissant, butter and fruit. This is the breakfast I eat 90% of the time. I am also a diner junkie and absolutely love ham and cheese omelets for breakfast. If I am camping I like buckwheat pancakes with.without blueberries real maple syrup and bacon. Oh, when I have fresh eggs I adore soft boiled eggs. I never understood how most of my fellow americans eat sugar cereals, sweet rolls, etc for breakfast... with that I would like to say that my number one breakfast of all time occured just three days ago... we woke up and found out that we are pregnant! No news came more well received, no meal more fulfilling... and to tie that back in with food/wine/life... we are making one barrel of wine that will be named after our baby when she is born this winter... I am also making a few cheddars to age for ten years or so...

Grimod, smiling from ear to ear

[Francois de Melogue]

let me add: breakfast of toast/cafe au lait is upon waking... diner breakfasts usually occur either at 2 am after I closed a bar or late morning on a day off. The diner/camping breakfasts tend to be more celebratory...

Grimod

[Daniel Rogov]

Francois, Hi....


First of all warmest of congratulations. Second, please let me correct you...."we" are not pregnant. Your wife is pregnant. We men have the honor of donating nothing more than a single sperm to that pregnancy. True, you may give love, comfort, support and caring to that pregnancy but no matter how you look at it you ain't pregnant.

Very best
Rogov

[Francois de Melogue]

Rogov... blame my wife. She started that and to be honest, I like it. So I guess I am a socialist! Grimod

Thanks for the kind regards! Champagne is flowing in my glass!

Grimod

[Tim OL]

New Year's Day... Panettone French toast with Champagne and freshly squeezed orange juice.

Old Favorite (southern influence)... Homemade terrific biscuits with butter and a southern type white syrup(similiar to karo). Also same terrific biscuits with sausage gravy.

When I can find it in a restaurant... corned beef hash and poached eggs. Alas, this may be forever gone as I do not go to restaurants anymore and have not for about five years now.

Once in a great while... a salmon cheesecake.

Most of the time now I settle for a croissant. I have always enjoyed breakfast and don't have it nearly enough.

Tim

[Daniel Rogov]

... a salmon cheesecake.

A salmon cheesecake? Please describe....

Best
Rogov

[Karen/NoCA]

When going out for breakfast and corned beef hash is on the menu, I ask if they make it on site. If yes, I order that, it must come with hash browns or country potatoes. That is all I want...no eggs, no fruit..just corned beef hash and coffee. Oh, and Tabasco is a must. This is always a chance I take. One time they said it was made on site and it was....with corned beef lunch meat. Ghastly!
At home, I eat fresh fruit, in season, a glass of Very Veggie juice, with a wedge of lemon, and one of lime, with various hot sauces sprinkled over the top. My fave right now is Tabasco Chipotle. Sometimes, I add some Greek yogurt with honey drizzled over the top.
In the summer, when tomatoes are in my garden, I make a tomato/basil pizza out of 1/2 a flour tortilla.
I make various breakfasts for us on Sundays, usually a Tex Mex type of dish, home made salsas, bacon and eggs, French toast, etc.
There is always home made muffins, scones, and blueberry pancakes frozen in our freezer because my guy likes those things, a lot! I also keep lemon curd and an orange spread that we use on our scones.

[Shlomo R]

Most of the time, breakfast consists of coffee - a 16 ounce cup with sugar, no milk.

One of my favorite breakfasts, and one that I have rarely, either rye toast or a toasted bagel with butter (and salt).

[Tim OL]

Note: This is Emeril's recipe: Smoked Salmon Cheesecake
It is really quite tasty and always seems to get good comments.

I used a packaged thin sockeye smoked salmon and shreded it in the food processor

* 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
* 1 cup fine DRIED bread crumbs
* 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
* Essence (this is Emeril's spice mix that he
puts in EVERYTHING-see recipe below)
* 1 T olive oil
* 1 cup finely chopped onion
* 1/2 cup EACH brunoise yellow and red peppers(thin strips)
* 2 t minced garlic
* 2 Lbs cream cheese-room temp
* 4 eggs
* 1/2 cup heavy cream
* 2 t salt
* 1 t black pepper (you know I added more)
* 1 cup grated SMOKED Gouda cheese
* 1 Lb Smoked Salmon
* 1/4 cup chopped italian parsley

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine Parmesan, bread crumbs and melted butter, season with essence,
press into bottom of 10 inch springform pan.

Heat olive oil in saute pan over med heat, add onion and peppers.
Season with more essence. Saute for 2 minutes, stir in garlic, remove
from heat and cool completely.

In food processor, add cream cheese and process until smooth.
With machine running, add eggs one at a time. Add cream, salt and
pepper. Process until well incorporated.

Put mixture in bowl. Fold in vegetable mixture, Gouda, salmon and
parsley.

Pour/scrape into springform, place in middle rack of oven and bake
for about 1 hour and 15 minutes until set in center. Cool before
removing springform.

Optional:

His plate garnish is creme fraich, lemonjuice, chives, salt and
pepper to make a sauce. Lay slice on top of sauce, sprinkle with
capers, chopped egg yolk, chopped egg white, brunoise red onion,
caviar and parsley.

It may bake a little longer than the recipe calls for. I chopped some fresh dill
to go with this


Essence
2 tbls salt
2 tbls garlic powder
1 tbl black pepper
1 tbl onion powder
1 tbl cayene
1 tbl dried oregano
1 tbl dried thyme

Tim

[ChefJCarey]

I can go for this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_breakfast

or, like Francois, croissant, butter, fruit or preserves and coffee (black as black can be). Very flexible meal for me.

(Note Edward Bernays - Freud's nephew. He is the ORIGINAL spin doctor, conducted campaigns to get people to eat bacon for breakfast and to get women to smoke cigarettes).

[Tim McG]

I'm Old School when it comes to breakfast.

Hot black coffee; strong, stronger, strongest...and in a cup
Bacon, saugage or ham
Two eggs over medium
Hash Browns [Traditional style]
Two fresh baked biscuits
Orange juice
Water

Condiments:
Salt and Pepper
Tabasco Sauce
Jam and butter [for the biscuits]

[Jeff Grossman/NYC]

On Sundays I go for a diner breakfast: French Toast and bacon, or sometimes eggs and bacon.

On Saturdays I go to my local French bakery for a croissant and a latte (two shots, please).

Weekdays, I just have coffee. If I'm feeling snacky, I'll get a salt bagel (nothing on it) or a doughnut (glazed chocolate).

[Tim York]

Having had an English upbringing in the 40s and 50s("the Empire was built on a good breakfast"), I regard breakfast as an important meal. Indeed I can often do without luncheon. Dinner at about 19.00 hours is the main meal of the day always with wine.

My favourite breakfast is the traditional English one with bacon, eggs, sausage and mushroom followed by toast and home-made English marmalade washed down by strong coffee but, for obvious dietary reasons, I only have it about once a year, last time on Easter Sunday, or when visiting England. Having such a breakfast every day, as some Brits still do, is boring and favours a premature death from coronary thrombosis or stroke.

I regret to say that I have descended on most weekdays to a breakfast of müsli and fruit but at weekend branch out into a brunch consisting of rolls with, for example, ham, shrimps and smoked salmon followed by croissants and light jam. I don't need luncheon after that.

There seems to be some convergence in Europe in breakfasting habits. More and more Brits go for a "continental" breakfast (roughly the French one, not the more copious German one). French hotels and B&Bs also seem increasingly to offer meat, cheese and eggs, etc. but I haven't paid much attention to whether French customers indulge in these.

[Daniel Rogov]

In France – if I wake early to stroll to one of my favorite cafes or to a newly discovered café, to take a place at the bar, there to have several espresso coffees, two croissants (a bit of butter and jam can be appreciated) and, if the mood is right a small glass of marc.

In Italy – again if I wake early, to find a café that beckons, to start off with a large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice (if it is not squeezed in front of me I do not want to drink it), to go on to two, perhaps three macchiato espressos and with those a sweet bun. And, again if the mood strikes, a small glass of grappa.

In Weisbaden or Vienna – never to breakfast too early but to find one of those cafes full of gemutlichkeit for two medium-boiled or poached eggs on buttered toast, to follow that with a large cup of kaffee mit schlager (sweetened whipped cream) and with that either croissants or Danish pastries. If in a really fine mood in Vienna, that might be a slice of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, Linzertorte or Dobos Torta.

In the United States – orange juice (must be freshly squeezed), three eggs (sunny-side up) six or eight slices of bacon, three slices of toasted white or rye bread, jam, butter. At times, especially in Boston, New York or Atlanta I will yield to steak and eggs for breakfast. And, if leaving the Los Angeles airport I won't hesitate to do a hot pastrami sandwich or a reuben sandwich with side orders of potato salad, coleslaw and kosher pickles.

At the Bardrutt Palace Hotel in St. Moritz (the hotel I love most dearly in the world), as many as four scrambled eggs, those grated over lightly with black truffles and as much of their superb fried bacon as my heart desires. With that an abundance of strong coffee.

In Tel Aviv – two or three cups of macchiato aroch (long macchiato), a croissant or two with butter and jam.

At Café de Paris in Monte Carlo – three eggs (easy over), a plate of breakfast sausages, another plate of bacon, thick slices of country-style bread with an abundance of butter. And of course, many cups of espresso.

One might gather that I enjoy breakfast. I do …. orgasmically so.

Best
Rogov

[ChefJCarey]

And I'd say at least once a week I do breakfast for dinner. Could be pancakes with fresh fruit, omelettes, eggs over easy with bacon or sausage. Pain perdu. Poached eggs on good, locally made wheat bread. I may not be in my salad days, but age has not withered nor custom staled the infinite variety of choices.

[JC (NC)]

1. Hard to beat a croissant or cinnamon roll right out of the oven (or a flaky biscuit)

Other breakfast favorites are 2. French toast with bacon and/or sausage and hash browns or fried potatoes
3. potato pancakes topped with sour cream (or maple syrup on buttermilk pancakes)
4. Western omelet

Coffee with milk or hot tea with lemon

Fresh orange juice

I eat breakfast nearly every day but it's more likely to be a bowl of Cheerios or spoon-size shredded wheat with 2% milk or whole wheat toast with butter and jam than the above. Sometimes I throw in a thin slice of cheese.

[Michael K]

Italian Style, a small pastry and a deep dark coffee. Or else its a bowl of cereal.

[Matilda L]

Breakfast is a meal I struggle with. I am convinced my stomach doesn't wake up for at least an hour after the rest of me.

The best breakfasts I can think of were the plates of grilled wild-caught salmon and crispy bacon served up at a little guest house in Lochinver, in north-west Scotland, when we were there a couple of years back.

Breakfasts I like to eat at home: Greek yoghurt with honey; bircher muesli; the occasional warm croissant with lemon curd; fresh peaches in season, warm from the tree; thick oatmeal porridge in winter, with brown sugar on top.

I've just got back from a three week birding safari in Bhutan, where we were offered eggs for breakfast every morning. The locals don't eat eggs for breakfast, they eat rice. But they serve eggs to westerners who are visiting. I'm egged out. No more eggs for me for at least a month!!!!

[Gamliel K]

I don’t know if breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it is often my favorite.

These days my favorite breakfast consists of two eggs poached in Pinot Noir, served on a toasted everything bagel, topped with a slice of sautéed sweet onion, and a sauce made from reducing the wine, thickening it with a tan roux, and seasoning it with a bit of nutmeg, paprika, grains of paradise, and a bouquet garni. And, assuming that peaches are in season I like to serve it with a Bellini cocktail (peach puree and Prosecco).

Now I am making myself hungry . . .

All the best
Gamliel

[ChefJCarey]

I don’t know if breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it is often my favorite.

These days my favorite breakfast consists of two eggs poached in Pinot Noir, served on a toasted everything bagel, topped with a slice of sautéed sweet onion, and a sauce made from reducing the wine, thickening it with a tan roux, and seasoning it with a bit of nutmeg, paprika, grains of paradise, and a bouquet garni. And, assuming that peaches are in season I like to serve it with a Bellini cocktail (peach puree and Prosecco).

Now I am making myself hungry . . .

All the best
Gamliel

Do you do the two-hour breakfast seven days per week?

[Bill Spohn]

Every weekend - omelette aux fine herbes et champignons (and variations) with either bacon or interesting sausages (often Italian fennel) and croissantes.

[Charlie Dawg]

I am a simple man, so I like simple diner for breakfast. Starting with soup and good piece of bread, then second course of meat with good side dish, and then desert, desert could be as simple as a fruit/compote drink. I rarely get to have such breakfast, mostly because I am in the hurry all the time, but I do like it when I do have a chance.
My second favorite breakfast is boiled potato (that’s Russian in me) and herring.
And third is soft boiled egg (is there name for it?), farmers cheese and lox.

I have to say I loved breakfast that was served in hotel, when I was in Israel. Eggs, hearing, cheese, sour cream (yum), good bread. None of the serial and milk junk.
The breakfast described by Grimond is also good, when I am in a decent hotel and can have room service that is usually what I order.

Oh, yeah, Rogov, I really think Grimond is correct when he uses “we”. It was always “Us” when “We” were pregnant. Not even to mention that man’s job is the hardest and most important in the birthing process.
Oh, and Grimond, congratulations. There is a saying in Hebrew Be shao Tova. It means in the good hour, Rogov am I correct? That is usually what people tell somebody who just found out that they are pregnant. Meaning that everything should be good. Rogov, correct me on that one, please.

[Daniel Rogov]

Charlie, Hi....

Ba sha'a tova indeed literally translates to "in the good hour", an idiom implying that "this is a good thing" or "let this serve as a good omen". Sometimes used before the fact (on learning that someone is pregnant or has just attained a new job) or after the fact (on returning alive from a battle during war).

Best
Rogov