Homemade McMuffin

From the backlog: 6/14

Egg sandwich with a fresh English muffin, egg cooked with green onion, cheddar cheese, and mashed avocado.

Waffles

From the backlog: 5/25

Eggs in a Basket

From the backlog: 5/24

Blueberry Pancakes

From the backlog: 6/13

Scones

Scones from the North Fork Table and Inn, via Smitten Kitchen. I used dried cranberries instead of raisins.

Oatmeal with Strawberries

From the backlog: 5/30

Baked Doughnuts

From the backlog: 5/20
Baked Doughnuts from King Arthur Flour's website.

Pancakes

From the backlog: 5/16

Buttermilk pancakes from Smitten Kitchen, served with strawberries and blackberries.

Eggs Over Not-Easy-Enough

From the backlog: 4/26

Eggs with yolks set a bit too firmly for my tastes, homemade no-knead bread, and smoked salmon.

Egg in a Hole

From the backlog: 4/24
Egg in a Hole. Simple yet amazingly tasty breakfast.

French Toast Redux

From the backlog: Thursday 3/19

I had some challah left over and decided to whip up some more French toast for a quick breakfast before work. You'll have to trust me that this isn't just another photo from the last time I made French toast. But since I am also my readership, that shouldn't be too hard.

French Toast

The secret to great French toast is easy: start with good bread. Despite growing up with French toast made from regular sliced wheat loaves, I now decline to make the dish if I don't have good bakery bread on hand. Challah is best, French/Italian loaves work well too, just nothing too crusty.

Slice your bread and preheat the pan. Then just make the dipping mixture from eggs, a little milk, a dash of nutmeg, and a splash of vanilla extract. The staler the bread, the more mixture you need. Dip briefly (don't soak!), then plop in the pan and sprinkle the top with a little cinnamon sugar. Flip when the bottom is golden brown, and serve when the second side is done. Maple syrup, pecans, and raspberries work particularly well as toppings.

Optionally, you can spread peanut butter between two slices of bread and French toastify the whole sandwich. Childhood nostalgia aside, I don't recommend it. (Sorry, Dad!)

Apple Coffee Cake

Breakfast this morning was an adapted version of this Apple Coffee Cake from Simply Recipes. I made a few changes based on comments on the blog:
- used a smaller pan than the 9-inch square called for, since there were some comments that there wasn't enough cake batter
- used brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and walnuts for the topping (instead of white sugar and cinnamon)
- used half white whole-wheat flour, because I always try to sub some whole grains when I can


Here's a closeup of that luscious orange, direct from Florida. Boy, was it good.

Baked Oatmeal

Apparently baked oatmeal is a dish with a relatively small natural habitat, consisting of Lancaster County, PA, where I grew up. Which is a shame, because if an oat isn't fortunate enough to be steel-cut, the next best fate it can hope for is to be baked into this dish. (Oatmeal cookies sans raisins are their third-best possibility. Teaism's salty oat cookies might be their second-best outcome, but I think those cookies may call for steel-cut oats, too.)

Oats, oil, sugar, milk, egg, baking powder, and salt - these forces combine with the power of heat to form a relatively dry, cakey texture. Top with some warm milk and preferably some fresh fruit and nuts, and you've got a delicious breakfast. The leftovers reheat better than Irish oatmeal does, too.

Baked Oatmeal (from Lancaster County Cookbook)
1/3 c. cooking oil
1/2 c sugar (can easily cut back to 1/3 c.)
1 large egg, beaten
2 c. uncooked oats
1 1/3 tsp baking powder [who has a 1/3 tsp measure??]
1 tsp salt
2/3 c milk

Combine all ingredients, pour into greased casserole dish. Bake at 350∘F for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown.