World’s Greatest Breakfast
We’ve been eating a lot of eggs lately. It goes something like this:
- Wake up, check blog stats to see if Mark Bittman has decided to endorse In Praise of Leftovers (sadly, not yet)
- Set four eggs in a saucepan, cover with water, bring to a gentle boil
- Check Facebook to see if someone, somewhere, might be thinking about me
- Remove my egg after four minutes
- Open it over buttered toast, sprinkle coarse salt and aleppo pepper, ponder how I might engineer more provocative Facebook posts to attract a flood of comments
- Call the kids to eat their hard-boiled eggs six minutes later
- Notice again how eating an egg in the morning keeps me full until lunchtime and makes me feel retro in an MFK Fisher kind of way (who didn’t have Facebook and was the better for it)
I’ve had seasons. Months of granola for breakfast, not an egg in sight. Spells of fried eggs, especially sandwiched between an English muffin with sharp cheddar and lots of ketchup. And poached–I even have a special egg poacher that produces glossy white pucks, all squat and predictably shaped.
But this is the Season of the Soft-Boiled Egg, and it might just last forever.
What’s your story with eggs? How are you eating them these days?
I’m not a big fan of runny eggs but I love hard boiled eggs. My favorite way to eat them lately is to mush a hard boiled egg and mix it with one light Laugh Cow Cheese, a little salt and pepper and spread that on a whole wheat English muffin. It’s kind of like egg salad but better.
EVERY morning these days:
step one: toast one slice of “european” (that’s what it says on the package) whole grain bread
step two: cook three egg whites (they shrink, i swear) and place on top of the toast (i’m maturing a bit, so every once in a while i’ll have a little yolk)
step three: arugula with basic lemon vinaigrette (or sauteed spinach) on side, but that gets mixed in with every bite
step four: salt + peper
step five: LOVE!!
Always scrambled and with any kind of cheese.
Your morning rituals especially the part about facebook made me chuckle.
I have been making one egg omelets almost every morning. Start by sauteing bunch of spinach, garlic, shallot…throw in a few halved cherry tomatoes and about 4 chopped kalamata olives. Remove spinach mxture, add my one well-forked egg, add back filling and grate a touch of whatever cheese sounds good. This breakfast makes me happy!
I don’t like runny eggs, but I love putting a cracked egg on a breakfast pizza - the yolk is slightly firm but still tender - and of course splashed with generous amounts of Tabasco!
I’m in an over-easy phase. I am often found around these parts tossing tater tots (<< food of the gods) with whatever veggie I have handy and an over easy egg on top. It’s a bit like your blasted broccoli bowl except the trashy, ghetto kind. I’m kind of proud of that.
I too love eggs.
Any which way, hard boiled, scrambled, runny, firm, soft boiled, egg salad.
This a.m. I had a frittata for breakfast.
The incredible edible egg. Thank goodness my cholesterol is fairly low!
O.k. I don’t like eating eggs by themselves, but I love making them for other people. I will add this method to my repertoire for hosting. I love your unabashed, not so subtle requests for comments and facebook messages. I hope you are flooded with both.
xoxo
I’m a sucker for a scrambled egg taco - morning, noon or night! Flour or corn tortilla, salsa, maybe a smear of sour cream or a slice of avocado if I have it… or just a splash of hot sauce, it all works for me.
But everyone else’s egg ideas sound so good I’m going to have to try them!
And don’t worry - I’ll call Mark (my own personal kitchen god) and tell him to start paying attention
To summarize a life of egg love: as I grow older, my yolks get softer. Don’t read too deeply into that one.
you’re a lady my own heart. I was just telling Veronica (don’t know if she was truly listening) how after she was born her Grandpa (Ben’s father) made two eggs over easy with two slices of buttered toast for me…the verdict: Heavenly! Although I have always enjoyed eggs, it was in those moments of postpartum insanity that the egg became a whole other culinary playing field. And as I tell people, it’s because of the egg that I could never be a vegan.
P.S.
Yes on all accounts of Facebook and yes about eggs filling me up till lunch (see it has magical powers).
My egg addiction started during my pregnancy… 3 fried eggs for breakfast, made by my Mama, every morning for 9 months… it’s a wonder I still love them!
Three?! That’s the beauty of pregnancy, isn’t it?
I love eggs anyway anyhow. And funny that I was just discussing them earlier today. And my love for them. It’s incredible and edible!
I have always loved over-easy eggs, smashed into whatever else I have on the plate.
Otherwise, I love cream cheese with my scrambled/omelette eggs. I met this combo at Salmon Bay Cafe in Ballard, where we ate 2-3 times a week at least during the three years we lived on a sailboat at Shilshole Bay Marina. Their Ballard Omelette has egs folded over bacon, cream cheese, and green onion. If I get to choose my last meal, this would be it. I sometimes try to simulate this other places by ordering and egg breakfast sandwich with all of those ingredients.
Salmon Bay Cafe is, by the way, one of the only “real” diners I know of in Seattle. I say this with authority based on my years of living in the Midwest. It’s not diner theme — it’s the real deal. It’s all about the food and not about the duct tape patching over the cracks in the booths. No one matches their eggs benedict. Or their grilled turkey supreme. Or their choice of a big pile of fresh cut fruit instead of fries/homefries. Or their club sandwich. Or their strawberry freezer jam on the table. Dang, I need to get back over there sometime.
I love runny eggs, with lots of salt, and toast. Unfortunately, I’m of an age and a DNA thread that prohibits both the egg and salt. Dang! To think I wasted my youth running away from runny eggs.
I am loving this barrage of egg stories! I hit a protein-rich nerve, I guess.
Jordan, I remember you eating egg whites on toast when we worked together at NHM.
Beth, you are hilarious. I am with you on the softer yolks.
Kamille, love that story. My first postpartum meal was a BLT and chocolate shake. Nothing ever tasted so good.
Naomi, I used to get that omelette at Salmon Bay, too. Heaven.
PDS, tater tots are illegally good. Have you ever had them in Georgetown? Is it 9 lb. Hammer or Jules Maes? So good.
tots @ jules mae. yum.
And here I thought I was unique in my morning egg routine. Two dropped in a just big enough pot. Timed to 3 minutes after a rolling boil. Mine out at exactly 3 minutes. Peggy’s left in the water for about one minute longer. She gets breakfast at bathroom counter most mornings, served in a dinky dish, just big enough for her medium egg with more salt than most humans can tolerate, and even more pepper, not to mention red pepper flakes. Mine runnier, over a piece of substantial toast well buttered. A trick: crisply crack then clean out the shell with a rounded spreader - the perfectly shaped edge for a clean scrape. It’s nice to know I’m in good company. Solidarity triumphs over individuality.
i love my 5 days a week breakfast, soft boil for 3 plus min. served to me by yours truly.
breakfast doesn’t get much better than this does it?
I’ve been on a poached egg kick for a while now… served over toast, which has been buttered and cut into small squares. Plus some kosher salt on the top. SO good. And my three-year-old says, “I don’t WIKE this” when I put it in front of her, then eats every bite.
I have been eating eggs in the morning as well. I agree. It does keep you full longer than other breakfast foods. I usually cook mine over easy but I will definitely try it this way!
I’m addicted to poached eggs on toast with salt & pepper. Seriously addicted. As in I can’t stop. I’d like to make other breakfasts, but when it comes to the weekend, it’s 3 poached eggs, two pieces of toast and my happy face.
I’ve been eating eggs all the time lately, especially for quick dinners, and I basically always make them the same way, my classic way, which is a cross between scrambled and omelette.
1. chop up whatever vegetables I have on hand (I like arugula and green peppers lately)
2. lightly beat two eggs in bowl and add some milk.
3. heat butter on stove and add eggs and then vegetables.
4. grab handle and shake pan while eggs cook
5. go do something for a minute
6. huh. it’s like an omelette. shake it around some more.
7. fold it over, stir a little
voila! scrambled omelette! just to prove that i am sooo original, i will also tell you: I don’t always have regular toast on the side. sometimes, I saute a whole wheat pita on the stove. crazzy, right?
Toad in a hole! Also called bird’s nest. Cook egg sunny side up or over easy -whichever your preference - inside the hole of a piece of bread buttered both sides -toasted in pan (like a grilled cheese). Delish. Plus have we mentioned the whole secret of cooking an egg is the low gentle temp?!
We always called those “One Eyed Bandits” as kids…
Toast an english muffin. Place a slice of cheddar on each half. Top with a scrambled egg cooked on low heat, flipped and folded in 4. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds. Place before my child who begs for this daily. He calls it a “McMommy”.
I’ve had years of eating soft-boiled eggs. That’s definitely my favorite way to have them. I crack the shell in half and eat it right out with a spoon.
Lately we’ve just come out of a scrambled phase because my son prefers them that way, and it’s usually just easier not to fight with a toddler. I don’t mind them scrambled, though.
Scrambled eggs was the first meal I learned to cook completely by myself, as a kid. Thus, I made myself scrambled eggs for like a year…just because I could! Nowdays a few fried eggs with some diced up canadian bacon, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper hit the spot.
I’m with you, I like an egg for breakfast precisely because it keeps me satisfied for longer than carb breakfasts do. Lately I either have a fried egg on toast, or a slice of frittata. For the past couple of weeks I’ve been making a frittata with feta, mushrooms, greens and onions. I cut it into portions, and wrap individually so that I can take them to work on the morings I don’t have time to eat at home. Soft-boiled is a great idea. I think I’ll try that later this week (plus my kids love them).
Wow, I’m getting a lot more breakfast ideas from reading all the comments! My favourite egg based meal is an over-easy egg on a piece of toasted olive bread, strategically eaten while hovering over a plate of greens so that I can savour the crumbs and yolky drippings.
I love eggs. All those ideas sound delicious. Lately, i have been getting eggs from my brothers hen house. Over easy with awesome whole grain (no butter until the last bite or i would definitely use too much). On some days, I put something like broccoli or mushrooms or anything in the fridge with a little extra virgin olive oil in a cereal bowl, microwave a minute, pour egg whites over, cook a few minutes, flip, finish cooking and put just a little sharp cheddar over - quick and filling.
I rarely eat eggs. My mornings are PB toasts, coffee, Facebook & my blog.
Sally Schneider gave me this idea for what has become a favorite dinner: pasta with an egg(s) on top, runny yolk necessary, lots of parm cheese, a sprinkle of bacon if we have it. (usually don’t) The warm egg and pasta melt the cheese, creating a quick and super easy “mock carbonara.” Delicious!
poached egg on toasted oat bran bread with salt and pepper and sometimes cilantro and a squeeze of lime. yum! i miss my mom’s fresh eggs. they taste so much better.
who would have known a plain soft boiled egg would get so much attention?
P.S. Are you suprised?
Poached on top of buttered toast! Almost every day for the last two weeks. Can’t get enough. Need chickens in the backyard.
Love coming back and seeing all these comments!
I forgot to mention I have special little egg holders for when Sara and Leo visit. xo.
i LOVE that you are getting so many comments on eggs!!! maybe this will all transfer to facebook soon.
i haven’t met an egg i didn’t like and i especially like them fried, runny yolks, over re-fried rice or re-fried paella. oh, with sriracha. i had eggs for breakfast and dinner yesterday. that’s my confession for today.
I love all the eggy meals! I love eggs with runny yolks. Especially when I can dip a strip of toast into the runny yolk and eat it bit by bit. YUM!
Do you have an open facebook page?
I also go in phases with what I eat for breakfast! Sometimes oatmeal, bagels and cream cheese with avocado and tomato, granola, honey and yogurt, waffles or whatever else is deemed the “flavor ” of the week!
I do love eggs though- for their versatility and convenience…and I always have them!! They also keep me full until almost lunchtime.
My latest way to have them has been cooked in the microwave in a ramekin, then placed on a toasted english muffin with ham and/or cheese (depends what I have in the fridge-cheddar, swiss, provolone) or both. I am usually in a hurry so I wrap it in foil and then take it with me and eat it when I get to work..3 minutes away.
I love “breakfast for dinner” meals too! I love fried eggs when I make it but my favorite way to eat eggs is always probably scrambled with and egg poached hard coming in a close second. My husband always has his eggs over easy and if he has a boiled egg it is always runny- mine is always cooked hard. My kids used to call the soft boiled eggs “dip eggs” because they would dip strips of toast into the egg yolk!
Hello everyone! So many great ideas here. I get hungry reading about all your egg creations.
Seeing all the comments this little posting has provoked reminds me that simple is often better.
And, if I’m looking for a conversation starter at a cocktail party, there’s at least two questions that are sure bets. 1) How are you eating your eggs lately? and 2) What’s your relationship like with Facebook?
just need to say that i followed your timing this morning on my soft-boiled egg and it turned out PERFECTLY!!! i grew up eating hard-boiled eggs for sunday breakfast, every sunday. my parents still argue about how and how long to cook the eggs so they are properly hard-boiled. now, i don’t need to participate in that conversation anymore because i know how to cook them perfectly.
thanks.
I always think of your parents, Bethany, whenever I make HB eggs. I’m glad you have been saved from the debate. xo
s - i am commenting since i said i don’t comment : ). i love eggs any style (but especially soft-boiled on buttered/jammy toast with salt & pepper). this morning we had them scrambled and wrapped up in markouk with labne and feta. xo
Hi Abra!! Wish I could have been at your house for breakfast this morning. Give that sweetest little baby a kiss for me. So glad we got to see you last weekend.
Hi
I am new to the culinary blogsphere. I admire all the chefs but found so many recipes to be completely un-earthly. I am so glad for a blog like yours which is warm and easy…a great take on all the snootiness.
More power to you
Love the post. Very funny. I eat my eggs scrambled in a little extra virgin coconut oil, topped with sliced avocados and a little salt. Mmm eggs are the best. And great for keeping you full.
Eggs are the best for keeping you full.. I like a slight variation of your dish, although I may have to try yours. My husband makes an egg sandwich with the middle of the bread cut out and a slice of cheese.. salt and pepper and I’m in heaven. To die for!
-Sylvia
tried this, but i melted a little mozzarella cheese under the egg. It was delicious!