Rise & Shine

Killed Lettuce with Poached Eggs and Hot Bacon Vinaigrette

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Salad for breakfast? Is that a thing? It is now, and what better on a breakfast salad than bacon and eggs? Where I’m from in the Blue Ridge Mountains, when a salad is dressed with a hot bacon vinaigrette it’s usually called “killed” or “wilted” lettuce. The silky egg yolks mix with the vinegar in a way that always reminds me of the taste of béarnaise sauce. If you prefer semifirm yolks, cook them for 4 to 5 minutes; or for fully set yolks, cook them for 6 to 7 minutes. (See this page for more on cooking eggs in a multicooker.)

4 large eggs

8 cups lightly packed baby spinach, arugula, and/or sprightly spring leaf lettuces

2 spring onions or shallots, halved and thinly sliced (about ½ cup)

4 ounces thick-cut smoky bacon (about 4 slices), diced

6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, preferably unfiltered

1 tablespoon sugar

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1. Let the eggs sit at room temperature while preparing the other ingredients. Fill a large bowl with ice and water and set aside. Place the spinach and onions in a large salad bowl and have at the ready.

2. Cook the bacon in the pot on SAUTÉ MEDIUM until crisp and rendered, about 8 minutes, stirring often. Turn off the heat. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a small bowl, leaving the fat in the pot.

3. Carefully add the vinegar and sugar to the hot bacon fat. It will sizzle vigorously at first. Working quickly, drizzle the hot vinaigrette over the spinach and onions, tossing with tongs to coat it lightly and evenly. Some of the spinach will wilt a bit, but it shouldn’t be soggy. Divide among serving plates, season with salt and pepper, and let stand while preparing the eggs.

4. Rinse and dry the pot and return it to the multicooker. Pour 1 cup water into the pot. Place the eggs on an egg rack or in a steamer basket and lower them into the pot. Cover and cook on LOW PRESSURE for 3 minutes. QUICK RELEASE the pressure.

5. Immediately transfer the eggs to the ice water. Because you want to serve the eggs warm, remove them from the water as soon as they are cool enough to handle, no more than 2 minutes. Peel the eggs and place one on each salad. Sprinkle the reserved bacon over the salads and serve immediately.

Buttermilk Ricotta

MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS

One bite of fresh ricotta—warm or chilled—is persuasive evidence that it’s worth the milk required to make it, at least once in a while as an indulgence. Fresh ricotta is so delicious that you can eat it with a spoon, but you should consider spreading warm ricotta on thick slabs of crunchy toast, drizzled with honey. Lightly chilled ricotta is also fabulous on toast, topped with avocado and/or tomato, drizzled with excellent olive oil, and finished with plenty of coarse salt and fresh pepper.

As the recipe title says, this recipe requires buttermilk. You can, of course, use this recipe to make regular ricotta with 12 cups of regular milk (what some Southerners once called sweet milk to distinguish it from pleasantly sour buttermilk), but without the healthful, natural cultures that are the defining trait of buttermilk, it won’t be as tangy.

This recipe requires a multicooker with a YOGURT setting.

8 cups whole milk

4 cups whole buttermilk

Kosher salt

½ cup fresh lemon juice

1. Set a large, fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl and line it with a triple thickness of dampened cheesecloth, leaving a 3-inch overhang.

2. Stir together the milk, buttermilk, and 1 tablespoon salt in the pot. Cover, select the YOGURT function, and adjust to the BOIL setting. When the cooking time is complete (about 45 minutes), lift out the pot and set it on a trivet or towel on the counter.

3. Gently stir in the lemon juice. Let stand until the mixture separates into a thin, milky whey and very small white curds, about 10 minutes. Do not stir.

4. Ladle the curds and whey into the prepared sieve and let stand until the whey drains away, about 15 minutes. Lift the edges of the cheesecloth every few minutes to reposition the curds and encourage draining. When the draining slows to an occasional drip, gather all four corners of the cheesecloth and gently twist it into a bundle to compress the curds and press out any remaining whey. Taste the ricotta and add more salt, if desired.

5. Serve the ricotta while it is still a little warm, or let it cool to room temperature, cover tightly, and refrigerate until chilled. The ricotta will continue to firm as it cools and can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.

HINT
Different styles and makes of multicookers have slightly different procedures for using the YOGURT function. To ensure you are following the proper procedure for your pot, consult your user manual, just in case it differs from what’s written in this recipe.

BUTTERMILK IS THE SOUTHERN DAIRY QUEEN

High-quality buttermilk contains the natural, good-for-us, probiotic cultures that are found in other fermented dairy products such as natural yogurt, kefir, and crème fraîche. The cultures once developed naturally in fresh milk that sat at room temperature for a few hours before it was churned to make butter. These days, most dairies make buttermilk by adding active cultures to pasteurized milk. Those cultures (plus acetic acid, lactic acid, and other things found in buttermilk) are what work culinary magic in many recipes, plus they give buttermilk its characteristic tang.

Buttermilk is plentiful and inexpensive in most places, especially across the South, and it keeps well for weeks. It’s an easy, affordable luxury that makes a big difference in the success of recipes, so it’s a shame that so many recipes and cooks suggest that one can replace liquid buttermilk with milk that’s been curdled by vinegar or lemon juice. Other than being sour, there is no equivalence between cultured buttermilk and curdled milk. When buttermilk truly isn’t available, replace it with another cultured dairy product, such as kefir or plain yogurt (with live, active cultures) that’s thinned with a little milk to make it pourable.

Granola Porridge

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Steel-cut oats, such as Scottish or Irish oats, are whole oats chopped into granular bits instead of rolled into flakes. They stay a bit chewy, even when fully cooked, which mitigates the gluey texture that some people don’t like about standard oatmeal. A multicooker cuts the cooking time for steel-cut oats from about 1 hour to less than 10 minutes, and it eliminates presoaking, which means that making these hearty oats can be a quick fix on a busy morning. Stirring in a big handful of granola adds even more texture, intrigue, and flavor.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup steel-cut Irish oats

1 cup whole milk or buttermilk

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup granola

Serve with: butter, honey or sweet syrup (cane, maple, or sorghum), and flaky salt

1. Melt the butter in the pot on SAUTÉ MEDIUM. Stir in the oats and stir to coat. Cook for 1 minute while stirring.

2. Stir in the milk, 1 cup water, and salt. Cover and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 8 minutes. Let stand for NATURAL RELEASE for 5 minutes, then QUICK RELEASE the remaining pressure.

3. Stir well. Fold in the granola and serve hot with a little extra butter, a drizzle of sweet syrup, and a pinch of flaky salt.

Hummingbird Coffee Cake with Pineapple-Cream Cheese Glaze

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Hummingbird Cake (a towering cream cheese–frosted layer cake made with tropical fruits like crushed pineapple and mashed bananas) originated as part of an advertising campaign to draw visitors to Jamaica. After a popular regional food magazine published the recipe in 1978, Hummingbird Cake fever spread across Southern kitchens, making it one of the most beloved cakes of all time. In this recipe, Hummingbird takes the form of a pineapple coffee cake. Moist and tender, this coffee cake is great for breakfast, or as a snack cake or dessert.

CAKE

Unsalted butter and flour for the pan

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon kosher salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 small)

½ cup canned crushed pineapple, drained and juice reserved for the glaze

½ cup pecan pieces

GLAZE

½ cup powdered sugar

½ cup cream cheese, at room temperature (4 ounces)

2 to 3 tablespoons pineapple juice

1. For the cake: Butter and flour a 7-inch round baking pan. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer), beat the butter and granulated sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Quickly beat in the vanilla, then add the banana, pineapple, and pecans and beat on low speed just until blended.

4. Add the flour mixture in two additions, beating on low speed just until smooth, and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil.

5. Pour 2 cups water into the pot. Set the cake pan on a metal trivet with handles and lower them into the pot. Cover and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 50 minutes. Let stand for NATURAL RELEASE for 10 minutes, then QUICK RELEASE the remaining pressure.

6. Uncover the cake and cool in the pan on the trivet for 20 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edges and turn out onto a serving plate.

7. For the glaze: Whisk together the powdered sugar and cream cheese in a small bowl until smooth. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons pineapple juice (reserved from the canned crushed pineapple) 1 tablespoon at a time, to make a thick glaze. Drizzle half of the glaze over the still-warm cake.

8. Let the cake cool to room temperature. Drizzle the remaining glaze over it and let stand until the glaze sets before slicing. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Country Ham with Red-Eye Gravy

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Red-eye gravy is made by using strong black coffee to deglaze a skillet after frying slices of excellent, salt-cured, smoked, and aged country ham. It isn’t common throughout the South, but it’s dearly loved in some households, where it is traditionally served with grits (this page), eggs, and biscuits. For a milder gravy, replace the coffee with brewed black tea or apple cider; inauthentic, yes, but it sure is tasty.

4 large slices country ham, sometimes called biscuit cuts (about 2 ounces each)

½ cup strong black coffee

1 to 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

Pinch of cayenne pepper, a good shake of hot sauce, or both

1. Lightly brown the ham on both sides in the pot on SAUTÉ MEDIUM, flipping with tongs, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Turn off the heat to keep the browned glaze on the bottom of the pot from scorching.

2. Add the coffee and 1 tablespoon brown sugar to the pot and stir until the sugar dissolves.

3. Return the ham and any accumulated juices to the pot. Cover and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 3 minutes. Let stand for NATURAL RELEASE for 5 minutes, then QUICK RELEASE the remaining pressure. Taste and add more brown sugar, if desired. Season with cayenne and serve piping hot.

Coconut Rice Pudding with Ambrosia

MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

A multicooker works wonders with rice, including creamy rice pudding. The coconut milk in this recipe replaces the whole milk used in many traditional Southern recipes. Coconut is welcome in many forms on the Southern table, as is also seen in the ambrosia fruit salad, which makes a bright accompaniment to the creamy pudding. This recipe makes a fitting breakfast or brunch item, but no one will fuss if you serve it for dessert.

AMBROSIA

½ cup sweetened flaked coconut

½ cup chopped pecans

1 ruby red grapefruit

1 orange

½ pineapple, trimmed, cored, and cut into ½-inch cubes (about 2 cups)

PUDDING

1½ cups short-grain or risotto rice (such as Arborio or carnaroli)

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk, well stirred

2 large eggs

½ cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. For the ambrosia: Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Place the coconut and pecans on separate rimmed baking sheets and toast in the oven, shaking the pans once or twice, until the pecans are fragrant and the coconut is golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Immediately transfer each to separate plates to cool.

3. Use a sharp knife to cut just enough off the top and bottom of the grapefruit to expose the flesh. Sit the grapefruit cut-side down on a cutting board and slice off the peel and pith, following the curve of the fruit with the knife. Working over a large bowl, cut between the membranes to release grapefruit sections. Peel and section the orange the same way, adding it to the bowl with the grapefruit. Stir in the pineapple, coconut, and pecans.

4. For the pudding: Stir together 2½ cups water, the rice, and salt in the pot. Cover and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 3 minutes. Let stand for NATURAL RELEASE for 10 minutes, then QUICK RELEASE the remaining pressure.

5. Meanwhile, whisk together the coconut milk, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth.

6. Stir about 1 cup of the hot rice into the coconut milk mixture to temper the eggs, then stir this mixture back into the pot. Cook on SAUTÉ MEDIUM until the pudding thickens to the consistency of cake batter, about 4 minutes, stirring slowly and constantly.

7. Spoon the rice pudding into serving bowls, top with ambrosia, and serve.

Ham and Cheese Bread Pudding with Smoky Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Most bread puddings must be refrigerated overnight, but this one can go into the multicooker after just 1 hour of soaking. With a generous layer of smoked ham and melty cheese in the middle, it tastes a bit like a warm, oversize breakfast sandwich. The roasted red pepper sauce is ready in about 5 minutes because it starts with the convenience of bottled marinara sauce. Finish the dish in the oven to brown the cheese on top.

BREAD PUDDING

Unsalted butter

4 large eggs

1 cup heavy cream

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon mustard powder

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

8 ounces country-style white bread or baguette, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 6 cups)

6 ounces Black Forest ham, chopped

1 cup shredded Asiago or Italian blend cheese (about 4 ounces)

¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (about 1 ounce)

SAUCE

1½ cups bottled marinara sauce

½ cup drained and finely chopped roasted red peppers

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

1 teaspoon packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1. For the bread pudding Butter a 1½-quart round baking dish. Whisk together the eggs, cream, garlic, thyme, salt, mustard powder, paprika, pepper, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Stir in the bread. Let stand 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Spoon half of the bread mixture into the baking dish. Add the ham and Asiago cheese in an even layer. Top with the rest of the bread mixture and drizzle with any remaining liquid. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

3. Pour 1½ cups water into the pot. Set the covered baking dish on a metal trivet with handles and lower them into the pot. Cover and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 25 minutes. Let stand for NATURAL RELEASE for 20 minutes, then QUICK RELEASE the remaining pressure. Remove the dish, uncover, and sprinkle with Parmesan.

4. Position an oven rack 5 inches from the heat source and heat the broiler. Broil the bread pudding until the cheese melts and browns, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

5. For the sauce Empty and dry the pot and return it to the multicooker. Stir together the marinara, red peppers, sherry vinegar, brown sugar, and smoked paprika in the pot. Cook on SAUTÉ LOW until warmed, about 3 minutes. (Alternatively, warm the sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat.)

6. Serve the bread pudding warm, topped with a spoonful of the warm sauce.