If I only ever ate one breakfast food forever, it would be eggs. They are so versatile and perfect. Fortunately, though, I don’t have to pick just one breakfast food and neither do you. The important thing, as studies have shown, is to eat a good breakfast to start your day off right—fueled and nourished. Breakfast is also the perfect place to start cooking if you’re a novice and still learning the basics. I’m always surprised when I meet people who don’t know the basics of cooking, which is why I am writing this book. There is no shame in not knowing. In fact, I believe that life should be shame-free, especially in the kitchen. It’s one of the most intimate places in our homes, the place we can be our true selves, having just woken up with messy hair and not even brushed our teeth . . . it’s the place where our day begins.
The truth is, almost every recipe in this cookbook could be breakfast. Given their druthers, my kids would have soup every morning. Often, they prefer leftovers to traditional breakfast foods, or for that matter repurposing their leftovers into a breakfast dish, such as hard-boiled eggs in leftover marinara sauce. Having said that, we do love the classic breakfast stuff, too.
Ever since having really good buttered eggs at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont, decades ago, I have sought to re-create their delicious silkiness. This recipe is from that memory. I once made these for my daughter’s British future father-in-law and he assured me I was making them the proper British way, which made me feel rather good. But what makes me feel even better is that my whole family loves them. Serves 4
2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 to 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
Salt
Buttered toast, for serving
1In a medium cast-iron skillet, melt the butter over low heat.
2Pour the eggs into the skillet and let them set slightly, about 20 seconds. Use a spatula to gently and slowly lift and drag the egg across the skillet (no need to stir, just a gentle folding). Repeat until big, soft curds form.
3Cook the eggs slowly and stop when they are cooked to your liking. Some people like their eggs runny (but not me!), though make sure they don’t dry out. Season with salt to taste and serve with toast, if desired.
TIP: You can embellish your eggs any way you like. My former mother-in-law would sprinkle them with grated Romano cheese and chopped mint. You can sprinkle them with chopped chives or parsley and serve with smoked salmon, too.
My brother made this omelet for me once and I’ve never looked back. Think of it as more of an egg crêpe than an omelet. It’s how I make my eggs all the time. And it’s how my kids ask me to make eggs all the time. My favorite way to eat this is to fold it between two slices of soft (and preferably squishy) untoasted bread. Makes 1 omelet
1 tablespoon butter
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Salt
1In a medium cast-iron skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.
2Pour the eggs into the skillet, swirling and tilting it so the egg covers the bottom of the skillet in a thin layer. Cook for a few minutes until the egg has set and is cooked around the edges.
3Flip the egg and cook a minute more. Season with salt to taste.
TIP: You can fill this with anything you please after you have flipped it. Simply line one side with cheese, ham, or whatever you fancy and fold in half.
Before you can truly understand my philosophy on food, you must understand how I feel about the five important things about eggs: their color, their health benefits, how the hens are raised, storage temperature, and cooking style. Eggs are like a microcosm of my whole approach to food.
1.COLOR: When I was a kid growing up on an organic farm, eggshells were brown and the yolks were orange. But any time I went to a friend’s house, the eggshells were white and the yolks were pale yellow. So I developed an inferiority complex about my family’s eggs. It wasn’t until I was in my early 30s and I read Masanobu Fukuoka’s The One-Straw Revolution that I realized a truly healthy egg has orange yolks.
2.HEALTH BENEFITS: Remember when people used to demonize eggs? Too high in cholesterol, they said. Too much fat! Salmonella! Only eat the whites because the yolks are bad for you! I never bought into that. My theory is that if nature makes a chicken and that chicken makes an egg, and the egg has both yolks and whites and it tastes really good when cooked, then it must be good for you. Plus, eggs are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for you.
3.HOW HENS ARE RAISED: The only way to truly know if you are eating a healthy egg is to buy organic, raise your own, or buy from someone you know. Why pay more? Because you are paying for happiness—organic does no harm to people, chickens, or nature—it’s worth it. USDA guidelines guarantee that eggs that are certified organic come from cage-free, pasture-raised hens that have outdoor access and are treated humanely.
4.STORAGE TEMPERATURE: This may come as a surprise, but many countries outside of the United States do not refrigerate their eggs! Turns out refrigeration came from fear of salmonella. But neither way of handling eggs is right or wrong, it’s just different. An egg is laid with a protective coating, and as long as that egg isn’t washed, it’s safe to store at room temperature for about 20 days. If that egg is washed, the protective coating is removed and the egg must be refrigerated, where it will last up to 50 days.
5.THE COOKING STYLE: Here is where things get emotional. Everyone from chefs to home cooks have very strong feelings on how eggs should be cooked. Runny or well-done, over-easy or sunny-side-up. But it doesn’t really matter, does it? It’s what you like that matters. That’s why this chapter covers even the most basic ways to cook an egg.
Poached eggs are one of my favorite breakfast memories from childhood. The eggs were poached in water with a dash of vinegar and the toast still had lumps of butter on it that hadn’t melted yet. Plus, my mom would cut it up into little bite-size pieces. This is my re-creation of that memory. Serves 1
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 large eggs
Buttered toast, for serving
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped chives, for serving (optional)
1In a small saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and add the vinegar. (The vinegar will help the eggs set.)
2Crack an egg into a small bowl. When the water is at a simmer, slip the egg into the water and gently stir the water (this will help create a nice round shape). Repeat with the second egg.
3Cook the eggs for 2 minutes for cooked whites and runny yolks. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve the eggs on buttered toast and season with salt and pepper to taste. You can sprinkle some fresh chives on them, if you like.
If for some reason I had to choose one breakfast dish to live on forever, it would be huevos rancheros. I have a rule that when I travel, if I see huevos rancheros on the menu, I must order it. Consequently, I’ve eaten all styles and types, from a delicate diet version in one of LA’s boutique hotels (not my favorite) to the green salsa–slathered mess at an awesome diner in Wilson, Wyoming (now we’re talking!). Serves 4
Extra virgin olive oil, for the skillet
4 corn or flour tortillas
4 large eggs
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Colby cheese
Hot sauce and sour cream, for serving (optional)
1Lightly oil a large cast-iron skillet and set it over medium-high heat. Cook the tortillas on both sides until warmed through. Transfer to a plate and cover with a kitchen towel to keep warm.
2Lightly oil the skillet again, crack in the eggs and fry to your liking.
3Transfer the tortillas to serving plates. Divide the heated beans among the tortillas, sprinkle with the cheese, and top with an egg. Serve with salsa, guacamole, and, if desired, hot sauce and sour cream.
This recipe is a simple and easy way to get more greens into your diet. It works with kale, chard, wild mustard greens, spinach, collards, or any other good dark, leafy green you can think of. To turn this into green eggs and ham, just add some chopped cooked ham to the egg mixture before you pour it on the greens, or serve with some slices of cooked smoked ham. Serves 2
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup firmly packed fresh greens, chopped
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Buttered toast, for serving (optional)
Finely grated Romano cheese, for serving
1In a medium cast-iron skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the greens and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, or until wilted.
2Season the eggs with salt and pepper to taste and pour over the greens. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 8 minutes, or until the eggs have set.
3Flip the eggs over and cook 1 to 2 minutes longer, until puffed. Serve with buttered toast, if desired. Pass Romano at the table.
When my youngest was 3 years old, she would always ask for French toast with “makeup syrup.” That’s maple syrup to the rest of us! The good thing about French toast is that it’s just fine if the bread is a little stale, and whole grains get covered with so many other yummy things that kids never complain if you make it with hearty bread. Serves 2
2 large eggs
⅓ cup whole milk
2 tablespoons butter
4 slices whole-grain bread
Pure maple syrup and fresh berries, for serving (optional)
1In a shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.
2In a large cast-iron skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat.
3Dip half of the bread slices into the egg mixture, shaking to remove the excess. (Don’t let them soak too long, or they will be soggy!) Cook the bread 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden. Repeat with the remaining butter and bread. If desired, serve drizzled with maple syrup and sprinkled with berries.
My daughter Eve loves crêpes. She loves them so much that she is the one who always makes them. She procured this recipe at school during International Week. Of course, you can fill them with anything you want, but these usually don’t last past a sprinkle of sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice. Makes 15 to 20 crêpes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
4 large eggs
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted, plus more for the skillet
Powdered sugar and lemon wedges, for serving
1In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, milk, eggs, water, granulated sugar, and melted butter.
2In a small cast-iron skillet, melt a little butter over medium heat. Ladle in enough of the batter to thinly coat the base of the skillet and cook until set, about 1 minute. Flip and cook for another minute.
3Repeat with the remaining batter (you can keep the crêpes warm in a low oven). Dust with the powdered sugar and serve with the lemon.
My quest for a quick breakfast patty my teenager could heat up before school resulted in this recipe. I couldn’t find delicious, organic breakfast patties in our supermarket, so I made them myself. Being the forward-thinking, slightly lazy mom that I am, I make them in big batches and freeze them. I haven’t been able to perfect the flat, round shape of the commercial ones, but then these aren’t made by a machine! Makes about 24 patties
4 pounds ground pork
1 tablespoon dried sage
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil, for cooking
1In a large bowl, combine the pork, sage, salt, marjoram, thyme, and pepper and mix with your hands to combine.
2Shape the mixture into ⅓-inch-thick patties 3 inches in diameter. In a large cast-iron skillet, heat a little oil over medium heat. Working in batches, add the patties and cook about 5 minutes per side, until browned and cooked through.
TIP: To freeze the cooked patties, let them cool to room temperature, freeze them on a baking sheet, and then and pop them in a freezer container.
FROM THE BLOG
“Since I am trying to ‘watch it’ with the cholesterol, and I don’t eat pork anymore. I use turkey sausage meat already prepared, seasonings and all. All I have to do is bring it home, make the patties, and drop it in the pan. The source is from a sustainable farm in Maryland that treats its animals kindly and feeds them with organic feed.” —DONNA IN DELAWARE
One morning after a sleepover, my daughter’s friends asked for pancakes. I had run out of my usual organic mix and their parents were coming over in 25 minutes to pick them up. Shoot! So I pulled out The Joy of Cooking and made pancakes from scratch and it reminded me just how easy they really are, no mix necessary. I have since adapted the recipe. Serves 4
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1¾ cups whole milk
Butter, for cooking
Pure maple syrup and fresh berries, for serving (optional)
1In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the eggs and milk and whisk until smooth and combined.
2In a large cast-iron skillet, melt a little butter over medium heat.
3Ladle the batter by ¼ cup into the skillet (I can usually fit 3 pancakes at one time) and cook for 3 minutes, or until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip and cook about 2 minutes longer, until the bottoms are golden. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining batter (you can keep the pancakes warm in a low oven).
4If desired, serve with maple syrup and berries.
FROM THE BLOG
“Served these over the weekend for my nieces and nephew—they were a huge hit! Thanks for sharing. I second the use of real organic maple syrup—we grew up with the commercial stuff and the real stuff is so much more amazing.” —JEN
Sour cherry season is so short, you need to make the most of it. If you see them, grab as many as you can, and plan to spend the afternoon pitting them and making the most beautiful magenta cherry sauce, which you can use for pies, dessert sauces, or my favorite, breakfast. Pitting them is messy work, so grab your kids, pull a stool up to the counter, and make it a family affair. Serves 1
SOUR CHERRY SAUCE
1 quart sour cherries, pitted
½ cup sugar (or to taste)
PARFAIT
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
1 to 2 tablespoons slivered or sliced almonds, toasted
1To make the sour cherry sauce: In a saucepan, combine the cherries and sugar and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the mixture has thickened. If the pan seems dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Use immediately or freeze in small portions for future parfaits, or in a large portion for a pie.
2To make the parfait: Spoon the yogurt into the bottom of a small bowl or jar. Top with ⅓ cup of the cherry sauce. Sprinkle with almonds to serve.
VARIATIONS
For a banana-maple parfait, layer 1 sliced banana over the yogurt, sprinkle with 3 tablespoons chopped walnuts, and drizzle with 2 tablespoons maple syrup.
For an almost-apple pie parfait, spoon ⅓ cup applesauce over the yogurt, sprinkle with 3 tablespoons chopped walnuts, and drizzle with 2 tablespoons maple syrup.
TIP: For a Middle Eastern touch, add a splash of rose water to the sour cherries during cooking.
When I was a kid, codfish cakes were one of my favorite winter breakfasts. When I grew up and started craving them, I figured out how to make them myself and now it’s become a favorite family tradition to make them for Christmas breakfast. This recipe calls for salt cod, which you’ll find in a lot of stores around the holidays because of its special place in Italian and Portuguese cuisines. Serves 4 to 6
1 pound salt cod or cooked firm white-fleshed fish
1 pound potatoes (3 to 4), peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
¼ cup whole milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or unsalted butter
Ketchup, for serving
1If using salt cod, soak the fillet in 3 changes of cold water in the fridge for 24 hours to get rid of the excess salt. Drain.
2Place the fish in a saucepan, and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a simmer (don’t boil) over medium heat and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until flaky and tender. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.
3In a medium saucepan of boiling water, cook the potatoes for 12 to 15 minutes, until just
4tender. Drain the potatoes, return to the pan with the butter and milk, and mash with a hand masher until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
5When cool, combine the fish and potatoes in a large bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in the egg. Shape the mixture into ½-inch-thick patties 2½ inches in diameter.
6In a large cast-iron skillet, heat the oil or butter over medium-high heat. Add the cod cakes and cook for 3 to 5 minutes per side, until golden, crispy, and heated through. Serve with ketchup.
FROM THE BLOG
“I saw your recipe and had a taste memory from my childhood 50 years ago in Connecticut. I remember eating fried codfish cakes with ketchup for lunch, and look forward to replicating the recipe for old times’ sake. Thanks for evoking that memory!” —RONN
Around my part of Pennsylvania, go into any good diner worth its PA Dutch salt and you will see creamed chipped beef on the menu. It may sound strange, but it really isn’t. I’ve decided that it’s like the cousin of biscuits and sausage gravy. “Chipped” refers to the way the beef is cut: It’s delicately, thinly sliced. Because it’s salt-cured and then dried, it can be salty. You might need some help sourcing it through your butcher. Serves 4 to 6
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ pound dried chipped beef, coarsely chopped
2 cups whole milk
¼ cup all-purpose flour
4 to 6 pieces buttered whole-grain bread, toasted
Freshly ground black pepper
1In a medium cast-iron skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook, stirring, for a few minutes.
2In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and flour until smooth. Add to the beef and stir to combine. Cook until thickened, a few minutes more.
3To serve, spoon the beef mixture over the toast and season with pepper to taste.
FROM THE BLOG
“I’m a 63-year-old American who grew up in Iowa, is married to a Swede, and living in Sweden. When we visited the U.S. recently, my only request to my sister and Mom for food was English muffins and chipped beef!” —NIKKI
This dish is so named because we pick up most of the ingredients at the farmers’ market, especially in winter. It’s our go-to weekend breakfast that keeps us full until dinnertime. It’s also pretty easy to make and a great way to get a few servings of vegetables first thing in the morning. Serves 2
2 large potatoes, peeled and halved
4 slices bacon, roughly chopped
½ onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 mushrooms, sliced
Extra virgin olive oil, for cooking the eggs
2 large eggs
1 bunch leafy greens (kale, chard, or spinach), stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped
Grated Romano cheese and crushed red pepper flakes, for serving (optional)
1In a medium saucepan of boiling water, cook the potatoes for 10 to 12 minutes, until just tender. Drain and set aside to cool slightly, then cut into slices.
2In a large cast-iron skillet, cook the bacon over high heat, stirring, for a few minutes. Add the potatoes to the skillet and stir to coat evenly in the bacon drippings. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until the potatoes start to get golden.
3Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
4Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, for 8 minutes, or until browned.
5Lightly oil a separate skillet, crack in the eggs, and cook to your liking.
6Add the greens to the potato mixture, stir, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until just wilted.
7Divide the mixture between 2 plates and top each with an egg. If desired, sprinkle with Romano and pepper flakes.
I usually make quiche for dinner, but there’s something very satisfying about a piece of quiche for Sunday breakfast. You can make the pie dough the night before and simply roll it out in the morning to speed up the process. Think of quiche as a blank canvas for any additions you want, from cheese to veggies. Serves 4 to 6
Incredibly Flaky Pie Dough, omitting the sugar
2 cups shredded cheese (such as Colby, cheddar, or Monterey Jack)
1½ cups whole milk
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups add-ins: chopped broccoli, mushrooms, baby spinach or kale leaves, cooked ham, onions, or artichoke
1Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie dough to a 13-inch round about ⅛ inch thick. Use to line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Trim any excess dough and press the edges with a fork.
3In a large bowl, mix together the cheese, milk, eggs, and flour.
4Mix in the add-ins of your choosing. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie shell and place the dish on a baking sheet.
5Transfer to the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until golden and the center feels firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and stand 10 minutes to cool and set.
