What's for breakfast?

I made a nice breakfast out of on-hand items: crepes with asparagus and sauteed mushrooms and shredded cheese, with a medium white sauce flavored with a touch of cardamom; oatmeal scones; and a sliced-up banana with raisins, sprinkled with cardamom. A winner.

How 'bout you?

Stuff that's bad for me. Biscuits and red-eye gravy made with salty country ham, farm eggs scrambled with real butter, sage sausage, Canadian bacon or the European equivalent, American streaky bacon, home fries fried in bacon grease, cheddar in omelets, rye toast with lots of butter and bitter orange marmalade (not so bad), freshly squeezed orange juice (also not so bad), strong black coffee, champagne, maybe even wine made from Niagara grapes. In my defense, I only do it once a month or so.

A wedge of warmed Indian Spinach Bread, spread with Baingun Bharta, topped with a fried egg. A serving of pineapple chunks, strawberries, raspberries and watermelon along side.

Quesadilla.... wheat tortillas, extra sharp cheddar, sauteed onions and green chile.

[Robin Garr]

How 'bout you?

Today wasn't a typical example ... we went out for Sunday brunch at a nice Italian place and shared eggplant rotallini for an appetizer, followed by saltimbocca and an Italian-style variation on shrimp and grits (with polenta, of course!) for main courses.

Usually, though, I go light on breakfast. Either just fruit (seasonal, but typically something like grapefruit and bananas, maybe kiwis or berries), sometimes with one free-range egg gently butter-fried sunny-side up and perched on a piece of wheat or oatmeal toast, and coffee.

This is pretty standard. I save my creativity for dinner.

Sunday was the morning after my daughter's Senior Prom and so there were lots of kids over at the house for brunch. I made two simple "night before" breakfast casseroles

"Tahoe Brunch" - So simple and so good - although incredibly unhealthy - should be renamed "the widowmaker". I am at work and don't have recipe but basically you brown some mild Italian sauasge and set aside. Melt some butter(!) and saute some sliced mushrooms and sliced onion for 5-8 minutes and set aside. Take about 12 slices of white bread, chop off the crusts and butter (!) on one side. Then get a glass or ceramic dish (lasagna type shape), grease it down(!) and put in half the bread and cover with half the sausage and mushroom/onions. Lay on about 8 oz of grated cheddar. Repeat again for a second layer. Then you pour over that 10 eggs which have been mixed with whole milk and set in the fridge overnight before baking the next day.

"French Toast Casserole" - slice up a couple of loaves of soft Italian bread or Challah (not baguettes - you want this to be spongy). Then in a glass baking dish (again lasagna type size) you melt butter(!) and brown sugar and then cover with the sliced bread in two layers. On top of that you pour in an egg mixture that combines eggs, half and half, cinnamon, and vanilla. Set in fridge overnight and then fire it up in the oven the next day.

It was a scene of total devastation as only high school seniors are capable of!!!

I save my creativity for dinner.

Sunday's my creative day for breakfast. I like to treat my favorite wife.

Today must be rollup day. For dinner I made fajitas with skirt steak, sliced thin and marinated in lime juice, tequila, garlic, herbs, etc., covered with sauteed onions and yogurt, and rolled up in a flour tortilla. On the side, some asparagus. Not too bad, if I must say so myself.

A stop in at a local czech bakery for kolaches. (Basically, sausages & cheese baked into dough). Very nice.

Richard

Lots of great stuff around for breakfast, it's such a shame we reach for the cereal packet out of expedience.

The brains of the operation, does a really good wild mushroom and tarragon dish with a dash of cream. Goes well on toast or with cooked breakfast.

I've had curry for breakfast a couple of times on long-haul flights, including an excellent beef rendang.

One I look forward to in hotels is smoked haddock with a poached egg on top. Quite rich, but nlot too heavy.

I also enjoy Arancini, but tend to go for it more as elevenses than 1st thing in the morning.

I suspect we need to be more inventive with breakfast, but unfortunately at that time of day the really creative people are still asleep or nursing hangovers.

regards

Ian

[Jenise]

John F--your Tahoe Brunch has a name, that type of dish is called a "strata" if you didn't know and want to look around the internet for other variations.

Larry, our Sunday breakfast was melon and rolled up quesadillas that we call Larry-dillas, because they're made with the green chiles we got from you (everything made with green chiles gets renamed with your name in it). A Larry-dilla will be ham and cheese and green chiles scattered over a tortilla, which is then rolled up, brushed with oil, and baked until the outside is crisp and the center oozing. I then cut them into 1-inch lengths and put them on a platter we share on the sofa--very cozy.

I made a nice breakfast out of on-hand items: crepes with asparagus and sauteed mushrooms and shredded cheese, with a medium white sauce flavored with a touch of cardamom; oatmeal scones; and a sliced-up banana with raisins, sprinkled with cardamom. A winner.

How 'bout you?

Sounds good, but who has the time for that?

Me. The quid pro quo is well worth an hour or two.

Doesn't anyone care for porridge? I rather enjoy a mix of rye, wheat, barley and oat. Whether I want something a bit sweet or salty for breakfast, this provides a nice base for whatever flavour I feel like eating. Also, it only takes 5 mins to prepare. Of course I wouldn't want to eat it every day, but it still "graces" my breakfast table quite often.

-O-

I guess I would qualify as part of the boring breakfast generation. It's the same every morning I'm home: 3/4 cup thick-rolled oats, 2 T flaxseed meal, 1/8 t salt, and 1 cup water; brought to a boil; set aside to steep for 4 minutes. No fruit or other additives. High in fiber. I actually like the taste and miss it when I'm out of town. Plus I never have to decide what to fix for breakfast and he total cost is about 25 cents.

Welcome, Peter!