The Return of the Revenge of Ridiculous Eats, Part 2: Eating Eggstravaganza!

Not long ago a fellow food fiend posted this how-to slide show for Grilled-Cheese-Eggie-in-a-Basket. Take a moment to follow the link and click through. It’s cool, I’ll wait.

Back? Drooling? Me too. Her posting of this was totez ironic, and by “ironic” I mean completely coincidental, as I had just recently posted my suggestion to dip, not toast, but grilled cheese into a sunny-side-up or over-easy egg yolk. My one had just been upped.

Graciously accepting my second-place trophy I headed for the store for supplies. A dozen eggs and pack of cheese later I was ready for action. (Of course I already had bread and butter, how else am I supposed to make praline cinnamon toast? Duh.)

Back to matters at hand. With all the fixins and hardware in place it dawned on me that cooking two whole slices of bread and their centers separately in my modestly sized frying pan wasn’t happening. So I improvised. If you have been graced with an outsized frying pan, by all means follow the Serious Eats method, if not I think I finally got the medium-pan-method down after five tries.

Ingredients:

- Butter

- Cooking Oil

- Two Slices Bread

- Two Slices Cheese

- Two Eggs

Make it Happen:

- Place your well oiled, modestly sized frying pan on oven and begin heating to the medium range
- Assemble sandwich in traditional grilled cheese fashion, but don’t butter yet.
- Using a pastry ring, cup, or some sweet, sweet eyeballin abilities excise the center of the sandwich.
- Butter top and bottom of both parts of the sandwich.
- Place all parts in pan and allow side one to fry at medium for about a minute-and-a-half to two.
- Increase heat to high and flip sandwich parts.
- After a minute crack two eggs into the hollowed out center of the grilled cheese.
- Continue to cook on this side until the bottom of the egg has completely cooked and is solid enough to flip without running or leaking.
- Flip sandwich and center again, still on high and cook for thirty seconds to a minute to ensure both sides are sealed.
- Check the center cut-out for doneness and remove from heat if necessary, then reduce heat back to medium and cook the outside for two to three minutes.
- Plate.
- Enfuckingjoy!

This method has worked great for me once, really well for me twice, just “OK” once, and too runny once when I was rushing, hence the extra minute or two at the end which is dependant more on your runny-whites preference level. I like them pretty firm, but even the longest cook time I gave this never solidified the yolks, which is key. Without a pastry ring or round cookie cutter I found that eyeballing it and cutting out a square center was easier and more effective than trying to cut around the mouth of a small drinking glass, and buttering after cutting ensures that the butter and bread don’t stick to the cutting board/plate/counter.

And in a best-of-both-worlds coincicurrance chopping out the middle leaves a mini grilled cheese behind for yolk-dipping satisfaction. Like Paul Giamatti would say: “Win. Win.”

The Beauty Is In Its Simplicity

As I'm sure I've mentioned on this blog before, I love breakfast. Save for oatmeal there aren't many breakfast dishes I dislike, but eggs in almost any form rank right at the top of the list, often in sandwich form. So, it was some surprise to me a month or so ago when I was contemplating a bacon'n'cheese sandwich a realised I didn't really want one. I wanted all the components of it, for sure, but not in the way I ususally constructed and consumed it.

I took a minute to think about it and began deconstructing the sandwich: eggs, cheese, bread. Simple. How could I reconfigure these in an equally delicious way, that sounded more appealing than the old-standby? Thankfully the answer struck me within a minute or two, and it was so obvious that I couldn't believe I'd never thought of it before. Take the egg out of the sandwich, use the cheese and bread to make grilled cheese, fry the egg over easy, dip the grilled cheese in the lovely, runny yolk, then enjoy some fried egg and grilled cheese. Simple, delicious, and absolutely satisfying, especially when doused with a little hot sauce.

I'll assume the average reader has grilled at least one cheese in his/her life so I'll skip that, but if you've only got one decent pan to your name I like to pop my grilled cheese in a 250 degree oven for a minute or two while I fry the eggs. Now, the only hitch is making a proper over easy egg, which I finally, after years of broken and over cooked yolks, discovered the secret to: a well oiled, screaming hot frying pan, non-stick if you got it. Crack the eggs into the hot pan and allow them to cook until they're set just enough to flip them. Once they've reached this stage quickly, but carefully, flip the egg and kill the heat. The pan is certainly hot enough to cook the top of the whites and lightly seal the yolk without totally cooking it. Let them sit this way just long enough to pull the the grilled cheese, then halve the sandwich and plate. Again, hot sauce is a nice addition, but completely optional. I think provolone and/or Swiss make for great grilled cheese, but Muenster and/or pepper jack are excellent, too. And a few strips of bacon couldn't hurt either right? And if one were to fry the grilled cheese and eggs in the rendered bacon fat, that wouldn't be too terrible either, right? Right.

Brunch at the TapHouse: Epic Win!

It should come as no surprise that one of Cleveland’s best West Side bars boasts one of the city’s best brunches. Or maybe it does. Should a bar with an impeccable beer selection also offer some of the best late morning meals in the city? They certainly have the audacity to try, but what right do they have to offer excellent drink options AND tongue blowing meals?

I’m speaking of the Tremont TapHouse, of course, where Nicole and I brunched this past Sunday.

After a long, hot day of beer tasting in the sun at Blues and Brews Saturday afternoon and partying all night for Paul’s 30th that evening, we needed a good hearty meal to help undo some of the damage inflicted in the last 24 hours. Having recently been to the TapHouse for drinks and perusing the brunch menus on the tables we were excited to have the chance to take brunch there this past Sunday—until recently we both worked every Sunday. And after a long night of sleeping it off we headed over to TapHouse for some much needed eats.

The often crowded TapHouse was lively but not packed when we arrived and we were quickly seated. Water, coffee (mine), and a Bloody Mary (hers) arrived within a few minutes. Things were off to a good start. And then we started looking at the menu. A problem only in as much as there are quite possibly too many good options on this wonderfully appointed menu. Its opening salvo is oysters on the half shell (oyster power!) with Bloody Mary cocktail sauce, a bold gambit. Antes are upped and re-upped as the menu continues, with a knockout of a grilled cheese and burger. Things are escalated further with a breakfast pizza (eggs + bacon + boursin + tomatoes + mozzarella!), eggs Benedict (with or without crab), a Kentucky style hot brown (look it up), a trio of excellent sounding omelets, and another trio of griddle goodies, just to name a few.

The choice was tough to say the least, and I seriously considered the pizza for a long time, as well as the biscuits and gravy. Ultimately I decided on Chef James Mowcomber’s update on the corned beef hash. The TapHouse’s hash subs out the pickled Ruben fodder for slow braised beef (short rib or shoulder? It’s more or less the same when it’s that tender and beefy!). Mowcomber then steers this down a dusty, vaguely Southwestern path with poblanos, crispy tortilla strips, and salsa. There were also sweet and tender onions, smoked cheddar, and two of the best fried eggs I’ve ever eaten. All this is served over a bed of the TapHouse’s gorgeous potato hash. Gathering a little of each component on my fork, the whole thing is beyond delicious. Succulent, tender beef, sweet caramelized onions, potato crisp and starchy, smokey roast pepper, tender, yolk soaked egg, and just the right amount of crunch from the tortilla bits. A stunning, wonderful celebration of food, assembled beautifully on my plate, and more delicious than it looked.

Nicole chose wisely, if a little safer, as well. Opting for the biscuits and gravy, she received a plate nearly overflowing with tender buttermilk biscuits, rich gravy loaded with chunks of sausage, and two more of those perfect over easy eggs. Having long been averse to the biscuit/gravy pairing and only recently come around my yard stick for good biscuits and gravy is served at Vine and Bean Café on the East Side. The TapHouse’s offering is easily the best I’ve had since. The primary difference being this gravy was more heavily spiced and darker in color as opposed to the white gravy that’s usually ladled on top. But color matters little when food tastes this good. Presented as elegantly as biscuits and gravy can be and in very generous portion, this was an excellent way to get a late start on the day.

Not to completely gush about the greatness of the TapHouse, there was one small aspect of the meal that could’ve been better: the coffee. I suppose there always has to be some flaw somewhere. And it’s not like it was bad, but rather just good. Better than the coffee at most diners, but really nothing special. And I only mention this because it’s a surprise when considered next to the superlative beer selection, brilliant brunch board, and amazing dinner options.

My hat is off to Chris, Jason, James, and everyone else at the TapHouse! Please, continue all this excellent work.

http://www.tremonttaphouse.com/

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/16/334758/restaurant/Tremont/Tremont-Tap-House-Cleveland

Coming Out of the Cupboard

One the stranger eating habits I’ve developed over the last few years is a taste for healthy cereal. I always liked Cheerios growing up and once I had enough teeth to actually chew it I grew to love Grape-Nuts. I’ve had Shredded Wheat fazes and Wheaties fazes and Corn Flakes fazes. And up until now these cravings for actual nutrition were punctuated by massive binges on the sweet stuff, Luck Charms, Cap’n Crunch both with and without Crunch berries, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch being my chief sugar cereal vices.

But now I don’t feel the pangs, the itchy cravings, the gnawing desire to chow down on these waxy, sugary, marshmallow studded treats. I mean, I’d happily polish off a box or two were they presented to me, but when I’m in the cereal aisle I tend to pass by the brightly colored boxes, emblazoned with cartoon animals and punctuated only by exclamation points, and head towards the area where the floor is heavily scarred by un-tennis-balled walker legs and reeks of Polident and prune juice. That baron wasteland where the fiber is high, taste is low, and texture is somewhere between gravel and wet sawdust; a terrible, emotionally scarring place I swore to never visit.

Or so I thought. A few years ago I started tempering my sugary cereal intake with the healthy stuff. If I ate a bowl of Grape-Nuts there was a bowl of Froot Loops waiting for me, like a morning dessert course. When the Wheat Chex were gone I could dive into a milky, chocolaty bowl of Coco Puffs. It seemed reasonable and assuaged the very small voice in my head that was always clamoring on about how bad these cereals might actually be. But after a while I realized that I was less hungry later on when I ate more healthy cereal and less sugar frosted heaven. A brief scan of almost any health and diet rules will confirm that foods high I dietary fiber are more filling.

Spinning off from that point I began skimming the Kashi and Fiber One and All-Bran boxes, furtively at first, while shopping. A feel of near embarrassment washed over me on those first trips to that musty, old portion of the cereal aisle. Like I was harboring some long hidden secret that was waiting to burst out. Something called out to me from those boxes. Was it the lure of the most fiber? Perhaps the promise of a healthier heart? A desire to explore that which I most despise? Whatever the reason I had to do it. I had to come out of the cupboard.

I am a healthy cereal fan and I’m not afraid to admit it.

It started with granolas and Grape-Nuts, but after comparing nutritional information on those boxes with others in their neighborhoods, I soon realized that I could be doing so much better. My first real foray into this not-even-remotely deviant lifestyle was a box of General Mills’ Original Fiber One. With an extremely low calorie count (60), 0 grams of sugar, and high fiber content (14 grams/57%) per ½ cup serving, surly this had to be one of the least appealing foodstuffs in the world. Surprise, surprise it’s not. In fact it’s actually quite good. With a firm, crunchy texture and subtle sweetness without sugar, Fiber One is an enjoyable bowl in the morning. It’s not going to win the most exciting cereal of the year award anytime soon, a good, strong wheaty flavor is about all it as to offer, but contrary to popular opinion this cereal is infinitely better than the box it comes in.

No, that dubious distinction goes to Kellogg’s All-Bran, the epitome of bad tasting, unappealing health cereal. Where Fiber One resembles those crispy lo-mein noodles that accompany Chinese soups, All-Bran looks like a mix of twigs and dried bugs. It has a bland, sodden taste I’m sure is similar to chewing on raw stalks of wheat. And it becomes soggy almost instantly when milk of any origin is added. And nutritionally it doesn’t quite stack up. All-Bran matches Fiber One’s 60 calorie count, but contains 6 grams of sugar, compared to none, and only 10 grams (40%) dietary fiber. An all around loser and surely root of all jokes made at the expense of other healthy cereals.

But, the All-Bran line isn’t without a saving grace. Last week when my neighborhood grocery store was out of that wonderful manna, Fiber One, I discovered All-Bran’s Bran Buds. Crispy little bits of bran, All-Bran’s Buds have an interesting texture and appearance that rests somewhere between Rice-Krispies and Grape-Nuts. Not as naturally sweet as Fiber One, but flavorful enough to leave patriarch All-Bran in the dust, Bran Buds became a welcome substitute; especially when I considered the 13 grams (51%) of fiber and 70 calories per serving.

As good as some of these twigs and buds are, there’s a lack of variety in both flavor and texture after a few boxes of these breakfast goodies. The ever changing stock of Kashi cereals in the aisle always seemed appealing, despite their hippie overtones, so I compared some side panels and began the taste tests. My first choice was Kashi Vive in the Toasted Graham and Vanilla flavor. With a calorie count in the low hundreds, a fiber content around 10 grams, the promise of “probiotics for healthy digestion,” and the possibility of some outside flavoring I was willing to give it a shot. Vive is comprised of three components: Fiber One-like bran sticks, broad flakes, and little Kix-esque bits. The whole mélange has a pleasing toasty taste, though little discernable vanilla, and stays pleasantly toothsome in milk. A wholly enjoyable bowl and I’m sure a good bridge ceral between the regular world and the healthy… were it not for the fact that it was recently discontinued by Kashi. Boo-urns.

With Kashi Vive seemingly gone forever I had to branch out. Kashi offers so many options that surely one must satisfy mouth and stomach in a similar fashion. But what? Kashi’s GOLEAN seems to be a popular choice as it takes up a good portion of shelf space and seems to be one of their more heavily advertised products. The GOLEAN Crunch with toasted bits of graham, wheaty puffs, and bran twigs is a lightly sweet, crunchy mix, with my only complaint aimed at the toasted graham bits which become soggy very quickly and are so small that they become lost in the mix of the other components. I’ve also been experimenting with Kasha’s Good Friends cereal in its original formulation as I try to abstain from raisins. A similar ménage of cereal bits and pieces Good Friends combines granola clusters, flakes, and those wheaty puffs that come to mine whenever I hear the word “Kashi.” While Good Friends loses to GOLEAN in the taste department, it kills in the texture field by remaining crisp throughout the bowl; even the flakes.

While all cereals I’ve sampled so far have been mostly excellent, if I were forced to rank them, which, let’s face it, I love to do, the standings would look something like this:

1. General Mill’s Original Fiber One
2. Kasha’s Vive (R.I.P.)
3. Kasha’s Original Good Friends
4. Kellogg’s All-Bran Bran Buds
5. Kasha’s GOLEAN Crunch
And, at a very distant 6:
Kellogg’s Original All-Bran

Where once I was ashamed to admit my secret longings for hippie-dippie, twig-n-berry healthy cereal I now embrace this love whole heartedly. Not because it makes me healthier or somehow better than other cereal enthusiasts, but because it’s just fucking delicious and right.

I’m here. I’m regular. Get used to it.

Driving to Dives and Diners

The band scored an out-of-town gig this weekend, so Friday night we loaded up the car and made the trek up to Detroit for a show with our friends the Sons of Adray. The show was at a cozy little dive called the New Way Bar. The New Way was the perfect spot for our bands’ reunion: dark, hot, and smokey with Elvis and British heavy metal serving as the between band soundtrack and on of the coolest sound guys ever. The beer selection at the New Way is almost exclusively domestic bottles and cans and the liquor shelf was comprised mostly of whiskey. You could pay a few dollars more for a Heineken or a Corona, but then again you could also pay some one to punch you until you felt tipsy. Basically what I’m trying to say here is that the New Way is the quintessential dive bar with an uncharacteristically clean rest room. After playing and sweating and partying into the night and sleeping it off on chairs and couches and floors and the Adray’s drummer’s house we headed back to Ohio sometime around 12:30 or 1:00pm. Our mission for the drive home, besides a safe return, was sweet, sweet sustenance.
http://www.myspace.com/newwaybar
http://www.myspace.com/sonsofadray

We began our cruise down 75 South on the lookout for signs of food. Freeway-side signage only pointed the way towards Bob Evanses, Burger Kings, and Big Boys, but when you’re out of town why eat what you can eat at home. We needed something local and new. And that’s when I saw it: “Beef Jerky Unlimited, Exit 6.” That sign was all I needed to remind me of the last time we hit the D for a show. On our way back we stopped for breakfast at an amazing little diner somewhere between the Motor City and the Glass City, but all I could remember about it was that it was next door to the beef jerky store. So we pulled off 75 at Luna Pier and made our way to Gander’s Family Restaurant.

I have no idea how long Gander’s has been in Luna Pier, but the building and hand-painted sign suggest a long time. The inside, however was updated at some point; the late 80s would be my guess, but it’s a bright, friendly space with booths lining the walls of the small dining room, a few tables in the middle, and a counter that serves as the (gasp!) smoking area. We seated ourselves and ordered water and coffee. The coffee at Gander’s is exactly what a diner should serve: dark, rich coffee that tastes like coffee. No fancy roasts or blends just flavorful, rejuvenating coffee. And thankfully, too, as it seems like it’s harder and harder to find a good, simple cup anymore. Sure, there are a number of excellent local boutique shops in the area and chains like Starbucks offer a great brew, but sometimes a simpler cup is what the doctor orders. Anyways, I’m digressing. Gander’s menu is exactly what one would expect from such and establishment, burgers, hot sandwiches, chicken/steak/meatloaf in the entrees, and breakfast served all day.

I couldn’t remember for the life of me what I had last time, but I knew it was breakfast and it was good. I looked over the breakfast page a few times and ultimately arrived on the Southern Sausage Omelet. Filled with cheese and hash browns the Southern Sausage is an excellent foundation for the generous helping of sausage gravy ladled on top. Now, sausage gravy is something I’ve only recently warmed to, but if every restaurant made theirs as well as Gander’s I’d probably be ordering it on everything. Thick, rich, and creamy, the gravy was jammed full of bits of spicy breakfast sausage and the whole thing created a symphony of simplicity when tasted all together. The slight tang of the American cheese and spiciness of the sausage counter-pointed the creaminess of the gravy with the potatoes and perfectly cooked eggs serving as the melody to the more flavorful components’ harmonies. A breakfast at Gander’s comes with a side of hash browns so I go to sample them by themselves, also delicious; brown and crispy on the outside, firm but yielding on the inside. But does such deliciousness and opulence come with a hefty price tag? Not at Gander’s it doesn’t. My check for my food, Joe’s Western Omelet (their most popular item) and two coffees was just a few cents north of $16, not a bad price especially considering I didn’t feel the need to eat again until about 9:30 that night.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ganders-family-restaurant-luna-pier http://www.cityoflunapier.com/LocalBusinesses/tabid/5463/Default.aspx

Gander’s is certainly light on flash and flare, but they more than make up for a lack of fanciness with excellent food, friendly service and a damn fine cup of coffee. This restaurant is absolutely worth the hour’s layover in Luna Pier, plus it gives you an excuse to visit the pier and Beef Jerky Unlimited which offers way more flavors of jerked animal flesh than I could ever imagine (gator or buffalo jerky, anyone?).
http://beefjerkyunlimited.com/site/index.php

What's YOUR Favorite Breakfast Spot?

A recent article from MSN's "Delish" blog features 57 of the nations best breakfast stops. While the list is certainly interesting and definitely mouth watering it does, of course, come a little short. I mean how could it not? There are innumerable restaurants serving up breakfast in every state so naming them all would be an exercise in futility.

http://www.delish.com/recipes/cooking-recipes/best-breakfast-restaurants

That said, I thought I'd open up the discussion to you, the readers! So what'll it be? What is your favorite breakfast joint and why? Send your pick(s) to whatweeatislaughable@gmail.com with the subject line "Best Breakfast!"

Here are a few responses already:

Erik P.:
The corned beef hash at the Best Breakfast and Sandwiches in Westerville, Ohio is a thing of beauty.

http://www.thebestrestaurant.info/

Jessica H.:
uh. they had me til bob evans and holiday inn express. even though bob evans DOES have good biscuits. and FUCK YEAH WAFFLE HOUSE.

http://www.wafflehouse.com/welcome/

Lindsey E.:
The Inn on Coventry. Yessir.

http://cleveland.citysearch.com/profile/7975292/cleveland_oh/inn_on_coventry.html

And me? Well, in Cleveland I'm with Lindsey and the Inn on Coventry, I also like Vine & Bean, and if I want to go chain I like First Watch. In Columbus it's a toss up between Tip-Top and the Blue Danube. And certainly one of the best places I've ever started the day while out of town is the Pancake Pantry in Nashville, TN.

http://www.thepancakepantry.com/

Let us know! We'll post a full write up of your picks in a few weeks!

Cheers!

Jon

Breakfast Befit the Betrothed

So check this out: I'm going to get married. Yeah, your fatty foodie friend popped the question right after preparing a rack of smoky babyback ribs, baked beans, and sauteed zucchini and yellow squash. That was the last day of our vacation, so on the way back to civilization the next morning we were naturally looking for a local breakfast spot. What we found was the Windmill Restaurant in Holland, Michigan.



Some cursory internet research tipped us off to this place, a cozy greasy-spoon-type place, tucked into the quaint downtown area. This is the kind of joint where you'd expect the service to be as buttery as the food, and I'll be damned if it didn't deliver on both counts. It's pretty clear that they're known for their breakfasts, even though they do have a lunch menu as well.

Words to live by: "Breakfast Served Anytime." This is how you know you're about to eat well and hearty.

Standard diner breakfast fare abounds on the top half of the menu page, but things start to get interesting around the house specialties. I'm intrigued by something called a Bird's Nest: a pile of hash browns and bacon bits, topped with cheddar cheese and two eggs:



I got my eggs over medium because I didn't want a yolk-y mess. Props to the short-order cook for nailing that. As great as that looks, here's the best part:



A BIG FUCKING CINNAMON ROLL!!! Actually, they give you the choice of this, a muffin, or their homemade toast (as in, they bake their own bread, then toast it). I had to put the quarter there to give you a sense of scale, but even that's misleading. This thing was huge. Like, eat it with both hands huge.

As amazing as my breakfast was shaping up to be, I could not have been prepared for what landed in front of Erin. She ordered a little something called the "Hashbrown Omelette," which I assumed would be a traditional omelette stuffed with hashbrowns, which seemed like a nice convenience for those of us who tend to combine our breakfast foods. Wow, was I wrong...



THE OMELETTE IS INSIDE THE HASHBROWNS!!! I'm honestly not sure if there's even eggs in there. I do know that it's a greasy melange of cheese, sausage, and onions inside what appears to be about a pound of hash browns. This sucker is huge too - luckily they offer a half size for patrons who don't want to die of an immediate coronary. Take a look inside. How could you not want to put this in your taste hole?



If you ever find yourself in southwestern Michigan, get thee to the Windmill. Don't be upset by the lack of an actual windmill: the food will more than make up for it.

Postscript: After breakfast Erin told me that I'm never allowed to eat a hashbrown omelette, for fear that the imminent and inevitable cardiac arrest would spell the end of our marriage. 'Til death do us part indeed...

Ms. Jones Gets Inspired by a Friend's Twitter Update About French Toast

Memories from childhood remembered Schwebels on the griddle on Sunday mornings, drenched with syrup...then no syrup at all as I got older. Sadly, when @BillReiniger's tweet about FT came through my phone, I couldn't even remember the last time I'd had it. Probably when we were running the 'Schnite' special at A Voce for one of the prix fixe regional lunch menus. House made brioche with an egg batter, winter fruit compote, and lemon gelato (i think...or fior di latte...) Since I've had it Italian style and the most recognizable 'French' style, I scoured my fridge and pantry for a toasting medium. Cinnamon-Raisin bread? Boring. 9-grain wheat? Mundane. Rice Cakes...impossible. Mini-pitas? Cute, but too thin. Then the culinary gods shined a latin light on the left side of my refrigerator. AREPAS! I had to try it.

Arepas originated in the Andes and is extremely prevalent in Columbian and Venezuelan kitchens. Its basically a cornmeal bread patty (think pancake thickness) that can stand alone, or be stuffed or topped. I've seen them in stores in white or yellow corn and filled with things like cheese, coconut, chicken or beef, etc. My personal preference is unfilled, yellow corn. But that particular day I was in the C-C-C-Town, they only had unfilled white.

Batter was simple. 1 egg, 1 yolk, a splash of unsweetened soy milk, a pinch of cinnamon, 2 tsp of sugar and about 1/8 tsp of vanilla. The key I've learned to great french toast, is soaking time. With the brioche I was doing a few months ago, I had it soaking for at least 10 minutes so it could absorb all the way to the center of the slice. With arepas, they are kind of dense....not very porous. They may have soaked better of they were spilt in half, like an english muffin...however, that move would have taken away from their perfect thickness...So i soaked each for about 5-10 minutes just to coat them thoroughly.

Into the hot skillet went the first one....sooo then I walked away and got distracted by my iPod and over cooked half of one side. Down, but not out. In my defense, said burned side needed more batter. The next side was a moderate improvement. Frying time = @5min.

For the second arepa, I poured a small amount of batter in the pan before putting the arepa in. Then, I poured a small pool of it over the arepa, too. First flip...GORGEOUS! (minus a piece that fell off, haha). Second flip - Not as nice, BUT still looked like legitimate french toast! The taste was great, too. The addition of cinnamon, vanilla, and sugar made a world of difference. I would have liked the crust to be a bit more crunchy. however, having toasted plain arepas in skillets before in more savory dishes...like eggs, avocado, peppers, and onions...even when the outer skin snaps, its still a little chewy in the middle. The center of the patty never really heats as much as you'd like them to. I think dredging them before battering might make a huge difference next time?

Final conclusion. Arepas for savory vehicles, awesome. Arepas for sweet vehicles, good with great potential.

Next for Ms Jones...more her forte...Malt blondies and Gluten Free Brownies.....

Easy Peasy Applesauce Pancakes

I won a bet this weekend, and it was that vegan applesauce pancakes are not only easy to make, but also damn delicious. Someone (of the boyfriend variety) tut tutted me when I wanted pancakes, "No eggs! No pancakes!" he cried. "Ah, but you're wrong," I said, slyly bringing the cinnamon applesauce out of the fridge. He turned up his nose in disbelief and 30 minutes later he was gobbling up mouthwatering, dairy free pancakes like they were going out of style. No fear of that though, like a strand of pearls, this breakfast is a classy staple that will always be in fashion.

Before you get out that sweet sweet maple syrup, make sure you have these few necessities:

• whole wheat pastry flour
• baking powder (aluminum-free recommended)
• salt
• soy, rice, or almond milk (I think soy tastes the best, esp. if you're going with flavored applesauce)
  
• applesauce (I highly endorse using a cinnamon applesauce for the most unique and distinct flavor)
• real maple sryup
  
• hand or stand alone mixer + large bowl
• cast iron pan (the best option, but a regular pan would work also)
• ladle
• spatula
• dry and liquid measuring cups
  

Dry Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Liquids
3/4 cup of the dairy free milk of your choosing
1/4 cup cinnamon applesauce

Combine the dry ingredients in the large mixin' bowl and in the liquid measuring cup combine the applesauce and dairy free milk. Pour the liquids into the dry ingredients and use your mixer to combine the ingredients into a thick paste consistency.

Once your batter is ready it's time to oil and heat up your pan and start makin' the pancakes! This next part can be done in the way you prefer, as different cooks have different styles. I am still working on my pancake making technique, but what worked well for me this time was using a ladle to scoop up the batter and pour it into a perfect pancake circle on the pan. This takes some practice for sure, as you wanna make sure they are not too thick, and doughy in the center. Sometimes using a spatula to help spread the batter out in the pan helps. If you have any other suggestions for this part, feel free to leave them in the comments! Also, you have to have patience for pancakes, don't try to be a hero and cook more than one in the pan, it never works out well for anybody. One at a time, and have a plate handy to stack the done ones on. You can always heat the oven up just a smidge and put the plate in there to keep your flapjacks firey warm. Make as many as the batter will allow (I made 6 with this recipe, well, technically 7, but one was too burnt for mouths and got tossed), and then top them off with some Earth Balance Vegetable Oil Butter (also dairy free), and real maple sryrup.

This is a great recipe to show off to your anti-vegan friends who think any food made w/o eggs and cow milk will taste like shit.

breaking the fast

Food wise there are few things as perfectly simple as the sandwich and no meal tastier than breakfast. Ipso facto the breakfast sandwich is quite possibly the world’s perfect food.

My love for breakfast between bread started early on in life when my mom would take my brother and me to McDonald’s for breakfast some mornings before school. A sausage McMuffin with egg, hash browns, and hot cocoa was quite possibly the greatest thing my young pallet had ever wrapped itself around.

As nice a treat as this was I yearned for that goodness regularly until my mom started making homemade variations for my brother and me. Kicking things up a notch or two, mom constructed ours on bagels with real cheese and fresh cooked bacon.

As I learned to cook for myself more and more this was a dish a quickly added to my repertoire and one I have been tinkering with ever since.

Herein is my preparation method for the most currant, and so far favorite, permutation of the breakfast sandwich. Enjoy!

Hardware:
Frying pan, preferably non-stick
Toaster or toaster oven
Microwave
Pan lubricant
Plates

Software:
One large egg
English muffin, split
1 slice or small hand full of cheese
Morningstar Farms breakfast patty
Salt and pepper

How to do it:
Start by heating your pan over medium-high heat (7 on our cook top), splitting the English muffin, get cheese from the fridge, assembling seasonings, and finding plates.
Once pan is reasonably hot spray liberally with non-stick cooking spray (if you’re using butter or oil add it while the pan is still cold)
Break one large egg into hot pan and season with salt, pepper, and any other herbs or spices you might be using.
Starting the toaster sometime now is a good idea so your bread is ready the same time your egg is, but use your judgment based on your toaster’s speed.
When the egg just begins to set break the yolk and scramble the white for a few seconds the reshape your egg to fit the bread.
Allow the egg to continue cooking this way for a minute or two, or until the sides set.
Once the egg is solidified enough to flip with out running all over the pan turn off the heat, flip the egg, and add your cheese.
After a minute or so in the hot pan on the burner remove the pan from heat. Residual heat from the pan will finish any cooking that needs to be done, melt the cheese, and prevent your egg from becoming too dry or firm.
Cook your breakfast patty in the microwave per the box’s instructions, 30 second per side I believe.
By the time the patty is cooked your cheese should be sufficiently melty, and your English muffin toasted, assemble, season to taste and enjoy!

Notes:
A good seasoning combination I’ve been using a lot lately, in addition to the salt and pepper, is chipotle powder and some cayenne pepper. Smokey, spicy, and delicious!
I prefer cooking the breakfast patty in a skillet, it tastes a little better but takes much longer so I usually don’t.
I usually use non-stick cooking spray for convenience but if you use butter or oil sautéing some garlic in it is definitely a good thing.
If you love bacon—and I know you do!—fry up 2 pieces of bacon in your pan until they’re cooked slightly below the doneness you desire. Once they’ve reached this state remove them from the pan and cut into bite-sized pieces. Return the bacon to the pan and cook the egg as suggested above. Almost anything cooked in bacon drippings is immediately 10-to-15 times better!

simple, tasty breakfast

Breakfast may or may not be the most important meal of the day, but it's certainly the tastiest! I love the cuisine of breakfast almost completely across the board and unlike lunch and dinner breakfast is good anytime of day (save, of course, for cold pizza).

However, I must constantly reconcile my love of a.m. eats with my severe hatred of getting up too much before 10 or 11. What's a boy to do?

Anyways, I thought I'd share one of my favorite, and simplest, breakfast treats today: the honey nut English muffin!

For this application you will need:

• 1 English muffin
• butter or margarine
• honey
• about 1/3 cup of raw nuts, coarsely chopped (I like a mix of pecan, almonds and walnuts)
  
• toaster oven
  
• small piece of foil

Directions:

• split your muffin and place it in the toaster
• chop nuts and place them in a small vessel made from folded foil (I like a square, play pen shaped device, but anything walled with an open top will do)
• start your toaster!
• after a few minutes toasting, about 2 on mine, but use your judgment based on knowledge of your own toaster, place the foil container of nuts in the toaster oven.
• when the nuts just begin to smell toasty and take color remove them.
• butter the English muffin, top with the toasted nuts, then drizzle honey over top

This is an amazing flavor combination, a little salty from the nuts and butter, sweetness and a touch of gaminess from the honey, and the texture of the toasty muffin and nuts is amazing. Plus it takes about four minutes to make with very little clean up!

If you don't have a toaster oven gently toast the nuts in a small skillet on your range over medium-low heat. Whatever heating implement you use keep an eye and nose on the nuts as they go from toasty and delicious to burnt-to-a-crisp in just a few moments due to their high oil content.

Enjoy!