New Years Eve Traditions

Bonus points to anyone who can immediately identify which movie this line is from, it’s one of my favourites of all time.

“It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses.”

Many people have food related traditions associated with New Years Eve. Unfortunately, when I was younger I frequently became sick around holiday time and would therefore miss out on the festivities. I recall quite a few New Years Eves spent feverish and lying on the couch. As a result, my New Years Eve tradition was not food related but rather an activity that was conducive to lying on the couch in agony. I would watch The Blues Brothers with Dad and count the number of cars that crashed during the chase scene. Even though we don’t own the movie, The Blues Brothers is one of those classic movies that is always on TV, (much to Mom’s chagrin) and it was regularly played on New Years Eve. Mom does not share our love of The Blues Brothers, but like with most other things, she puts up with it, (and us) with patience and grace and lets us watch our movie, time and time again.

One of my favourite scenes from The Blues Brothers, is when they play Everybody Needs Somebody to Love. Although I’ll deny it if you ask me later, this song makes me want to dance. Just hearing it puts me in a good mood and I especially like listening to it in the kitchen, preferably when I’m alone so I can dance when no one’s watching.

This year I’ll be working on New Years Eve so there’s no time to start any food related traditions but I thought I might offer a couple sweet and savoury suggestions in case anyone’s still looking for New Years nibbles.

Fantasy-ish Fudge from 101 Cookbooks. Heidi calls this fudge “so good, but oh-sooo bad” and I’d call it perfect for anyone with an extreme sweet tooth. New Years is always an excuse for gluttony before everyone resolves to lose ten pounds and hit the gym in January, so you might as well add fudge to the dessert tray. Cut the squares small though or you may end up in a sugar coma.

Chocolate Dipped Peppermint Marshmallows from Baking Bites. I had tried making marshmallows in the past, with varied success but Nicole’s recipe yielded consistently good results, (so long as you like marshmallows). I made a few batches of these, both dipped and plain and gave them away for Christmas. The chocolate dipped were always more popular than the plain ones and in case you happen to end up with leftovers, they keep extremely well. http://bakingbites.com/2008/11/chocolate-covered-homemade-marshmallows/

Spanakopitas from Gourmet via Epicurious. I don’t actually use a recipe anymore when I make spanakopita but this recipe from Gourmet seems about right. Basically any combination of spinach, feta, herbs, spices and maybe some nuts works for me. Phyllo dough is a pain to work with but it’s usually a guest pleasing appetizer so I guess that makes it worth the trouble.

Smoked Salmon on Potato Pancakes with Sour Cream and Dill. I made these one night when I needed a quick appetizer and although they weren’t the easiest things to eat, (unless you’re good at taking really big bites) they were pretty tasty. Next time I’d make them smaller.

Happy New Year everyone and please remember people, that no matter who you are and what you do to live, thrive and survive, there are still some things that make us all the same. You, me them, everybody, everybody! Everybody needs somebody to love, someone to love!

And food to eat! ;)

Chef Challenge III: Morels

A couple weeks ago when Dad got his annual deer I brought the liver into work with me for Chef who made staff meal out of it. What started out as a one time thing quickly snowballed into what I hope is a regular event whereby I bring in a ‘secret ingredient’ and Chef has to create something out of it. In the second week I followed up on the venison theme and brought in a couple chops. This past week, in an effort to bring in something other than venison, (although I could have continued that one for a while, we’ve got lots of it in the freezer) I brought in morels. They were picked and dried this past Spring in my backyard, the same place Dad got the deer. I have an interesting backyard.

Whereas venison can logically be made into an entrée since most entrées are based around a protein, it takes a little more effort to turn morels into the star of a dish. Not that they don’t deserve it though, I love morels. And although their flavour is wonderfully earthy, I’m sure part of my love for morels comes from childhood memories of hunting for them with my parents. We would go to the same spots year after year and Dad and I would always have to first acquire the perfect ‘morel stick’ to help us find the well camouflaged mushrooms. Once I found a morel I would call out to Dad to come see it and he would hand me his smooth silver pocket knife to cut the morel off at the base. I would then cup the morel in my hands and bring it up to my face to take a deep breath, convinced that once I had the scent of the morel, I could find more of them. But I digress, back to the challenge!

The finished dish consisted of a piece of halibut topped with diced morels and bacon, rolled up in thinly sliced beet painted potatoes, (beet powder and veg stock were combined to create the paint) cooked in duck fat, served with a morel cream sauce and garnished with a morel tuille and morel jelly. In order to make sure the morel featured prominently, Chef used it in four different ways:

1- Morel Jelly: Created by steeping morels in water and using the resulting liquid along with some veal stock, sherry and agar agar to create a firm morel jelly which could then be cut into cubes and used as plate garnish as well as in the morel cream sauce.

2- Morel Cream Sauce: A combination consisting mainly of morels, fennel, onions, cream and the above mentioned morel jelly.

3- Morel and Bacon filling: A small dice of morels and bacon, used to top the halibut before it was wrapped in the potatoes.

4- Morel Tuille: To appease my need to bake Chef demonstrated how tuilles could be used in the savoury world. Finely chopped morels peppered a wavy tuille, made by using a template.

I can easily say it’s the first time I’vc had morels used in so many different ways all on one plate. I’m pretty lucky to be working in a place where the Chef is willing to take the time to teach me new things. You might even go so far as to say he likes to teach, but if you ask him, he’ll probably deny it. He wouldn’t want anyone to think he’s becoming a softie in his old age. He’s got to act tough if only to keep the dishwashers fearful that they might lose their jobs at any moment. Chef can keep up the act as long as he wants provided he continues to teach me new things because if he’s willing to teach, I’m keen to learn. My only concern is that Chef will make good on his word to bring in a secret ingredient for me to deal with. As I’ve said before, indecision reigns supreme with me and being forced to think up a dish on the spot is never an easy task. It may very well borderline on torture, which I probably shouldn’t admit since last time I posted about not liking something, (namely shucking oysters) I found myself staring at a case of them the next day…

Ribs Are the Reason for the Season

Every year at Christmas my family gathers at my Grandparents house in Niagara Falls. There are a lot of us and it’s not unusual for holiday dinners to exceed 40 people. To accommodate the large numbers, we have our own set of restaurant style chaffing dishes and everything is served as a buffet. Christmas day is fairly traditional and you’ll find our plates full of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, veggies, salad, rolls, cranberry sauce and gravy. All of that is well and good but it’s not what I look forward to. In my opinion, the best meal to be had is on Christmas Eve when Sweet and Sour Spareribs are dished up to my heart’s (and stomach’s) content. I know that every year, without fail, when I show up at my grandparent’s house there will be a big pot of ribs waiting for me. If I show up on the 24^th, it will be bubbling away on the stove, a big pot of rice next to it. And if I’m late and don’t make it down to the Falls until Christmas Day then the pot of ribs will be chilling in the garage as it’s too big to fit in the fridge. This year I only had 2 days to get my fill of ribs so I had them for dinner Christmas Eve, lunch on Christmas day and then again for dinner that night, (along with turkey, ham and everything else, I was very full afterwards).

The recipe that I’m giving for these ribs is exactly as it is written in my Remember When… cookbook that was put together out of family recipes 17 years ago. The recipe seems like something’s missing, possibly many things. I asked my Aunt about it over the holidays and she claims it’s accurate but I’m not sure that she even refers to it anymore to make the ribs. One of these days I will have to make the ribs for myself to see if it’s possible that they’re really so simple. My only concern is that even if I make them perfectly, they will never be as good as they are when I’m at Grandma’s. Nothing ever compares to Grandma’s.

Sweet & Sour Spareribs

1 cup ketchup

¼ cup vinegar

¼ cup brown sugar

2-3 T oil

5 lbs pork side ribs

flour

1-2 eggs, beaten

Cut ribs into pieces. Roll in egg and then flour. Fry in heated pan that is lightly oiled, until golden brown. Season with salt, pepper, garlic and/or onion powder. Combine ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar in a large saucepan. Add ribs. Let simmer for several hours. Serve on a bed of rice.

These are always nicer the second day after more simmering. You may want to add more sauce, (ketchup, sugar, vinegar).

Genoise, Lamb Meatballs and Indecision

Indecisive. Uncertain. Fence sitter. You could probably use any of those words to describe me. My inability to choose between one thing or another is especially evident in the kitchen. For the most part people are either cooks or bakers but I seem to be planted firmly in the middle. At times I tend to lean toward the sweet side of things but I think it’s because working with pastry helps reduce my indecision. There are recipes to follow with baking, guidelines that not only should be followed, but must be followed if the product is to turn out properly. I don’t have to question whether or not baking powder should go into a certain batter, the recipe states that it belongs. Baking requires measuring, precision and accuracy because once a cake is in the oven there’s nothing you can do to fix the flavour if you didn’t combine the proper ingredients. That however, is also the downside of baking for me. If the cake I made turns out dry or not sweet enough, I can’t fix it once it’s been cut, layered and iced. That cake is always going to be dry and there’s never going to be enough sugar in it. When baking there’s no opportunity to pour in some more butter at the last second or to sprinkle on some sugar before serving.

With cooking on the other hand, you can taste and evaluate as you go along, noting immediately if a dish needs more salt and correcting it if there’s a little too much. There’s a lot more freedom in the savoury world to do what you want and try new things with a smaller chance of ruining an entire meal. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen. Some flavour combinations or cooking techniques simply don’t work the way you intended them to. Even when a dish turns out differently than you wanted it to though, it’s usually still salvageable, if not in its original form. Does that make cooking more enjoyable than baking? Not exactly. Just different. There I go again, waffling between sweet and savoury, unable to decide which is best or even to acutely define what it is I like and dislike about each of them.

Given my propensity for indecision, choosing what to make for dinner/dessert is never easy. So if you ask me to do this for you, please don’t be offended if it doesn’t happen immediately. It’s not that I don’t want to make you food, (quite the opposite in fact) I’m just overwhelmed by choice. While trying to figure out what to make I’ll open cupboards, look in the fridge and stare at ingredients for an inordinate amount of time. I’ll read blogs, food magazines and cookbooks for hours on end. It doesn’t mean anything will necessarily come together. At least not right away. Days or even weeks later when I’m cooking dinner or making a dessert I’ll remember seeing something and get a burst of inspiration to make it happen. That’s why I love to watch other people cook. I like to see their creativity come out as they mix textures and flavours together that I might not have thought of. I like to learn new techniques and I like to know why certain things work well together and others don’t. I file all of this information into my overstuffed brain, like a squirrel hiding nuts for the winter. I may not use the info right away, but down the road when I need it, it’s there.

Sometimes all I need is a little push to get started and then the decisions come easy as the little nuggets of information that I’ve gathered from all over the place come together. The two plates pictured above are examples of that. The first is a basic genoise that I made using the recipe from the Tartine Bakery cookbook. I made it on a day that I felt like baking but was unsure of what to make, (oh that’s pretty much everyday). As I flipped through my cookbooks and saw the variety of cakes that could be made using a genoise, I remembered being told that I should know how to make a genoise in order to be successful in the pastry world. So I went about baking the cake exactly as written in the cookbook and low and behold it came out as it should have. Once the cake was baked it needed to be dressed up before it could be served and that’s where I left my cookbooks behind. I decided to split the cake and brush it with a Kahlua simple syrup before filling it with milk chocolate ganache and glazing it with dark chocolate. I don’t know why those decisions were so easy to make but I can only surmise that these were flavours I had been thinking about previously and they just knew to come to the surface at the right time.

The second plate pictured is filled with orange-rosemary scented rice topped with lamb meatballs in a tomato and wild mushroom sauce. The inspiration for making lamb meatballs came from the restaurant I work at where those are occasionally served. The problem is, I’ve never made them at the restaurant, I just like how they taste. Once I had it in my head though that I wanted lamb meatballs, it was only a matter of time before it actually happened. But even as I stood in my kitchen with ground lamb in a bowl, waiting for other ingredients to be added, I wasn’t sure what to put in. Without the safety of a recipe like when making my genoise, I was left on my own to figure out what would go into my lamb meatballs. I was left on my own to make decisions. Nothing was measured and I couldn’t recreate the dish in the same way if I tried. I just started adding things to the bowl of ground lamb and a few minutes later I was frying up a bit of the mixture to taste and see if it needed anything else. It did, so I kept adding to the bowl until I was happy with the results. Once I had my meatballs I needed a sauce. Without knowing exactly where I was headed, the sauce was made in the same manner. I kept chopping, tossing and pouring ingredients into a pan until it looked and tasted the way I thought it should.

Two dishes: one sweet the other savoury, one with a recipe the other without. Both made in my kitchen by my own hands and both satisfying some urge I had to make something. So do I like baking or cooking more? I still don’t know. In my mind a choice like that is akin to asking which child you like best. Can’t I love them equally?

Brownies, Blondies and Bites

When I worked part time in an office, (hi Office People!) I got into the habit of bringing baked goods in with me for almost every shift. It got to the point where if I didn’t show up with cookies I might as well of not showed up at all. Staff from the surrounding offices also knew that when I came it there was a good likelihood that there would be treats and would wander over to see what I’d brought. Sometimes the supply of baked goods was smaller than other times, (there was always enough to go around but maybe not for seconds or thirds or fourths) and it was at those times that we joked that I was really running psychological experiments on my coworkers. They said I was gradually bringing in less and less so that I could observe their behaviour when forced to choose between being nice and getting the last cookie. Of course I’d first made them dependent on butter and sugar so that they really felt like they needed that cookie and would do anything to get it. It probably helped my cause that my shifts frequently started late in the afternoon when stomachs were starting to rumble and the desire for a snack was high. Unfortunately I moved away and left the office to start my current job before I could watch them in action on the day that I only brought in one cookie. It would have been a Vegas worthy fight.

Now that I’m working at the restaurant my baking has been severely curtailed. (The one thing I do bring in is ice cream, but that’s purely for selfish reasons as I’m trying to convince Chef that he needs to buy an ice cream machine.) It’s not that I don’t want to be baking, I do, but I’m currently running into two problems. The first is that I have a whole lot less time on my hands and simply can’t spend as much of it baking. The second is that I have nowhere for my baking to go, (apparently my stomach cannot be the only option). I’m less inclined to bring cookies or squares into the restaurant because we’re already surrounded by food so the interest is much lower than it was at the office. But how am I supposed to analyze behaviour if I can’t even get people to fight to the death over a cookie? Basically it’s the wrong environment to carry out my observational studies in, at least in their previous form. There’s plenty of weird behaviour to catalog, tons of it actually, it’s just not brought out by creating a cookie shortage, (and besides, they’re cooks, I figure they can make their own if they really wanted one). So my problem remains. To solve it I either have to bake less or deal with eating more treats than I should ever consume and still hope to live to see the next day. I even tried mailing some baked goods away but quickly decided that was a bandaid solution that caused other problems, namely a shortage in my wallet and smushed product that never arrived at its destination quickly enough. It’s an ongoing dilemma…

While I try to figure it out, feel free to enjoy four more Martha Stewart recipes from her latest book, Cookies. The Cappuccino-Chocolate Bites, are actually supposed to be sandwich cookies but I didn’t feel like making a filling for them and they were pretty good all on their own. The Brown-Butter Toffee Blondies are tooth-achingly sweet and are best enjoyed with a cup of coffee to cut the sweetness. The Gingerbread-White Chocolate Blondies were good but you’ll probably like them more than I did if you like white chocolate. I can only deal with it in very, very small doses. And finally, Chocolate-Ginger Brownies. I’m constantly buying candied ginger with the hope of baking with it but I usually end up eating it all before it ever makes it near a baked good. These brownies don’t even call for candied ginger but I felt the need to add some in, if only to prove that I could actually get the ginger into my baking before my mouth.

Chocolate-Ginger Brownies, (from Martha Stewart’s Cookies)

½ cup unsalted butter

3 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup all purpose flour

¼ cup unsweetened, Dutch process cocoa powder

2 large eggs

1 tsp grated, peeled fresh ginger

½ tsp vanilla

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp salt

1/8 tsp cloves

¼ cup minced, candied ginger, (my addition)

Preheat oven to 325F. Butter and line an 8 x 8 inch pan with parchment paper.

Melt butter and chocolate together in medium saucepan over medium low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the other ingredients.

Pour into the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Bake 30-35 minutes until a tester inserted into the centre comes out with moist crumbs. Let cool on wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool completely on wire rack.

Venison: Round II

In my last post I shared a meal made with fresh venison liver that came from a deer Dad had shot and cleaned that morning. The liver is only the first of many meals to be made from that deer so expect to see a few more venison posts… Like this one. After hanging the deer in the garage for a few days, Dad butchered it himself which means there’s a whole lot of venison in my freezer right now. Since I enjoyed bringing the liver into work last week and watching Chef create whatever he wanted with it, I thought I’d challenge him to make another venison meal, this time with some chops. I think challenge night needs to become a weekly tradition at work. It’s fun, I get to learn some new things and I figure it keeps Chef on his toes, I wouldn’t want him to get rusty in his old age…

So what’d he do with the venison this time? Poached it in olive oil and served it with apple cinnamon sautéed red cabbage, a bacon and veg hash and a foamed sauce (bonus points for using bacon). Although poaching meat in olive oil is something I’ve read about, I haven’t actually tried it before. Turns out it’s not hard to do, (or at least Chef made it look easy, I haven’t decided) and it yields pretty perfectly cooked venison. But I guess I have to say that now that Chef and the rest of my coworkers know I have a blog, (sometimes I wonder why I don’t keep my mouth shut). Hmmm, maybe I shouldn’t have made that old age comment either? It’s a good thing they have a sense of humour, otherwise I might find myself peeling bags and bags of onions or worse, shucking oysters or picking thyme for hours on end. Seriously though, the poached venison chops were quite nice and I’ll have to try making them at home so that Dad can enjoy some of the great venison he’s been providing me with.

Wondering what next week’s challenge ingredient going to be? That’s a secret. But I can tell you I’ve already got it picked out and it’s not going to be venison.

Liver and Onions

As I’ve mentioned before, Dad likes to hunt. Fortunately for him, (and me too) he doesn’t have to go far to find what he’s looking for. Our backyard supplies us with partridge, wild turkey and deer. Lately we’ve been watching the deer wander through our yard and trample down the snow beneath the apple trees as they search for remnants of Fall. However, deer watching can only go on for so long before one of them becomes dinner. And so, last week on a clear and sunny morning after a fresh snowfall, a young buck encountered more than he bargained for while searching for apples. After hitting the deer with his bow, Dad called me out to help him gut and hang it. As we crouched in the snow and Dad removed the insides we wondered what could be done with them. When in doubt, take it to someone who knows. Take it to a Chef.

I suppose at this point I should probably let you know that I’ve been working at a restaurant for the past 3 months so finding a Chef to bring venison heart and liver to wasn’t a problem. I simply packed them up and brought them into work with me, so fresh they were still steaming. Chef claimed the heart for himself but said he would make staff meal out of the liver. Before he could do so, the liver first soaked overnight in milk with a few bay leaves and juniper berries thrown in. The following day Chef had me remove the liver from the milk and attempt to clean it. After I struggled away with bloodied hands for more time than I'd like to admit, trying to remove the outer layer of skin, Chef took over and cleaned the rest. This was quite the production, garnering the interest of dishwashers, wait staff and patrons alike, (as it’s an open kitchen).

Once the liver was cleaned it was sliced, seasoned, dredged lightly in flour and immediately pan fried in duck fat and butter. Because really, if duck fat is available, why bother using anything else? Chef decided to plate the liver with some of the cassoulet beans, (that are usually served with duck confit) and onions. Liver and onions are traditionally paired together so that should come as no surprise, however when Chef added Kahlua to his pan of onions that was enough to elicit a raised eyebrow from me. Along with the Kahlua, he added butter, garlic, fresh herbs, bay leaves, red wine and maple syrup and this was reduced until it reached the consistency seen in the top photo. So how did it taste when it all came together? Well, one of the dishwashers who initially declared that liver was disgusting and refused to eat it, cleaned his plate and was left wanting more. It was really good.

Brownie Chunk Cookies

The grass is green and the sun is shining in the above cookie picture so clearly it’s not exactly up to date. Recent photos show only white snowy blobs where summer used to be. I made these Brownie Chunk Cookies way back in August when I got my September issue of Bon Appetit. Since then they’ve sat idly by while post after post goes up without them. No longer! Brownie Chunk Cookies are here and they’re the best of both worlds, basically a chocolate chip cookie that’s had the chips replaced with brownie chunks. You can’t go wrong with that. The glutton in me loves them. If two things are good on their own, then logically they would be better together and these cookies prove that. The brownie recipe makes more than you’ll need for the cookies, but they freeze very well and make excellent ice cream sandwiches or sundae bases. And as the incessant carols on the radio, masses at the mall and snow on the ground keeps reminding me, we’re entering/in the holiday season and a new addition to the sweet tray is always welcome.

Brownie Chunk Cookies (from Bon Appetit, September 2008)

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup walnuts, broken into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 recipe (1/2 sheet) chilled Old Fashion Brownies, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (generous 4 cups)
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Whisk first 3 ingredients in medium bowl. Beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients, then walnuts. Gently fold in brownie cubes (brownies may crumble).
Spray 1/4- to 1/3-cup ice cream scoop with nonstick spray. Scoop batter; drop onto prepared sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart and spraying scoop with nonstick spray as needed. Using moist fingertips, flatten mounds to 1-inch thickness.
Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until just golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets.

Poached Pears and Random Musings

The recipe for these spiced poached pears with ginger crème anglaise and chocolate sauce comes from Simple to Spectacular: How to Take One Basic Recipe to Four Levels of Sophistication by Jean Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman. I got this book out of the library, did not make nearly enough out of it before returning it and now I need it back. What that means for me is a trip to the library. What that means for you is that there’s no recipe today and instead I’m subjecting you to Random Musings…

• Just because I can complete Jessie’s Girl on expert on Guitar Hero does not mean I can play the guitar. Nor does it make me particularly good at the rest of the songs on GH.

• Snow would be so much more awesome if it weren’t so damn cold.

• I like using wooden spoons in the kitchen, especially homemade ones. Substitutions for wooden spoons are always inadequate.

• Backhanded compliments make me angry.

• No matter how good I am at tennis I will never be as good as a wall. (Ok, so that one belongs to Mitch Hedberg, but you can’t help but agree with him).

• Ducks are funny.

• Sometimes I like to drop random comments into conversation just to see if people are paying attention.

• Ice cream should totally be marketed as a breakfast food, especially if there’s fruit in it. Who doesn’t need a serving of dairy and fruit to start their day?

• I don’t always tell people I have a food blog because I don’t want to think about censoring my writing based on who I know is reading.

• Poached pears are surprisingly good. I will make them again. Maybe with red wine next time.

The floor is open, any thoughts?

Eggs

For quite some time now, I have been a BzzAgent. BzzAgent is a word of mouth media network. As a BzzAgent, I’m invited to participate in campaigns and sometimes offered product samples and promotional freebies. I can choose which campaigns to participate in and then opt to share my experiences with others if I liked the product. For the most part I only participate in food related campaigns as they’re what’s more interesting and relevant to me. Recently I was invited to take part in a promotional campaign for the Egg Farmers of Ontario. I don’t need any excuses to promote eggs, I go through them at an alarming rate. I’ve often said that I need some chickens in my backyard to support my egg habit, (and while we’re on the topic, a cow for my butter and cream habit). Luckily, (?) for me, I live in the boondocks where there are plenty of egg farmers and when I need an extra dozen for a baking spree, they’re not too far away.

After signing up for the egg campaign I was sent some brochures on the many health benefits of eggs, (did you know they contain 6g of protein?) some recipe cards, (quiche anyone?) and some seasoning packets, (I’ve always liked adding herbs to my eggs). I also received the cute little egg keychain you see gracing the above photo. Like I said though, I don’t need any encouragement to promote eggs, they’re infinitely versatile and probably one of the few things that can take you from breakfast straight through lunch and dinner to dessert. We used to tease my Mom that whenever she was making dinner it was going to be an omelet. Not that she couldn’t make other meals, but after coming home from work, it’s one of the fastest and easiest things to make. I prefer my omelets for breakfast though and the one you see here has been stuffed with fried onions, peppers, tomatoes, bacon and goat cheese. Another breakfast or brunch favourite of mine is an egg sandwich. Once again, you can really put whatever you want into your egg sandwich and dress it up or down according to what you have in the fridge. Because everything tastes better with bacon, I chose to make my breakfast sandwich on a cheese croissant with herb scrambled eggs, lettuce, tomato and strips of bacon. It’s the breakfast of champions. What’s your favourite way to eat eggs?