Hello! Chef Dad here! Chef Kayleigh has way too much on her plate this week, so before she turns to toast I thought I’d better make a menu substitution.
Being a chef is not all glitz and glam – don’t let the Food Network fool you. (I’m looking at you, Giada and Rachel!) It’s a lot of hard work. HARD work. Burnt fingers, shin splints, muscle pulls… Hey, it can be downright dangerous in the kitchen. It usually goes like this: 12 hours of tedious chopping followed by 15 minutes of pure terror during plating for service. Then it’s time to clean up. Kinda like this column.
Since this is my first “In the Kitchen” column, I thought I’d discuss some basics with you. And what better way to go back to basics than to return to the very first meal of the day? Today, I’m going to share with you how to make the perfect breakfast.
Coffee, some OJ and the Sunday Times makes me feel much more enthusiastic about having to go mow the north 40. If you can make breakfast, the rest of the day is easy.
To start, let me tell you a little secret about coffee: it doesn’t come in cans. Oh, I know they sell it that way in the stores, but it’s not really coffee. Trust me, avoid the can stuff. The best thing you can do is grind your own coffee beans every time you make a pot. I know that doesn’t work for everyone, but at least buy a bag of whole beans and grind it yourself. Keep it in an airtight container, don’t freeze it (that causes moisture in the beans to freeze and degrade the flavor) and you’ll be fine. Airtight is the key.
The first thing I taught my kids in the kitchen (and they all cook very well, thank you) was how how to cook an egg. So, that’s the first thing I’m going to teach you. My personal favorite way to make eggs is scrambled. On a roll. Cheese. Bacon. BS&P. (Butter salt and pepper.) This is New York; it’s how we eat eggs: a complete meal on a roll wrapped in tin foil.
I will not delve into the ketchup area, as I take my eggs sans ketchup. I know there are people out there who cannot envision an egg sandwich without a condiment, but I’m a purist here. No ketchup.
Now when I say scrambled, I don’t mean two eggs scrambled with a little cream and gently stirred in the pan to form soft curds of yellowy puffiness like in a french kitchen. When I say scrambled, I mean two eggs with a dollop of cold water that you beat with a fork and pour in to a hot non-stick pan that’s been thoroughly smeared with melted butter. And then, you wait. No, seriously, DON’T TOUCH THEM. I know, it sounds bad, but the butter will keep the eggs from sticking.
Wait as long as you can, usually about a minute, and then flip the whole thing over. It doesn’t always go nicely, but thats the beauty of it, they’re just eggs. They should be a little browned in spots, maybe almost dark brown here and there, let them set on the other side, and then slide the whole thing out onto that roll and let it melt the butter and cheese and warm the bacon.
If you don’t have any hard rolls or bagels laying around, an English muffin makes for a great egg sandwich. Here’s how to make your own:
English Muffins
Ingredients
4¼ cups all-purpose flour, more for dusting. (We’re gonna dust with cornmeal, so ignore the dusting part, ok?)
1¾ cups whole milk, warm(Not too HOT, you’ll kill the yeast!)
3 tbsp unsalted butter, (I always use salted, ‘cause I can never find the unsalted, and that’s how we roll in this kitchen.)
1¼ tsp kosher salt, (you can cut this down because of the previous, or not)
1 tbsp sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp instant yeast
cornmeal for dusting. (see?)
1 Tuna can with both sides cut out(don’t cut yourself, take the time to get rid of those sharp edges, or use a large mason jar top.)
Instructions
Heat the milk and butter until the milk has warmed and the butter melts
Sift together the flour,salt,sugar, baking soda, and yeast
Combine the milk & butter mixture with the egg and sifted dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms. This can be done in a stand mixer or by hand with a considerable amount of upper body strength. Watch out for muscle pulls.
Once dough comes together (it will be damp and velvety), transfer to a floured surface and roll out dough to a 1-inch thickness.
Using the tuna can, cut out rounds and transfer to a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal.
Dust tops of the muffins with cornmeal as well. Continue to cut out muffins, re-rolling dough when needed.
Cover muffins with a kitchen towel and allow them to rise for 20 minutes. Using a cast iron pan on low heat, cook muffins about 3-5 minutes on each side until brown and crisped
Transfer muffins to a 325° oven for 12-15 minutes so they can continue to dry out
Open muffins with a fork and toast before serving, just like grandma used to do.
