bear-eakfast of champions vs. 2.0 and 3.0: remix my mornings

As you probably know by now Betty and I like to do up breakfast on the weekends. I've started a new breakfast series called the bear-eakfast of champions (BOC) for the excessively hearty and delicious concoctions that I whip up. It all started with version 1.0. With out further delay ladies, gentlemen and fellow bear-ethren BOC 2.0 and BOC 2.0:


BOC 2.0: two slices of toasted Brownberry Health Nut bread topped with 2 eggs over medium with a layer of shredded WholeFoods salsa jack in between, a tomato, red onion, jalapeno relish, 3 slices of crispy bacon and breakfast potatoes seasoned with cajun seasoning topped with previously mentioned salsa jack and onions



BOC 3.0: ck remix on huevos rancheros meets chilaquiles: seasoned black beans with corn topped with pan grilled zuccini, squash and red onions, topped with jalapeno jack cheese, 2 eggs over medium all then topped with a scoop of sour cream and said tomato relish from BOC 2.0, accompanied with fried tortillas for dipping and of course el yucateco pasa doble to boot.

Both meals were fantastically delicious -- and no I didn't eat them both in one day. The only question is what should the next breakfast of champions feature? Holla' at me with your favorite hearty breakfast recipes because you know I'm game. Word is bear-log.

bear-eakfast of champions vs. 1.0: prescription for pancakes

I decided to try out a recipe for pancakes that did not seem too complicated from our folks at Allrecipes.com. This is a big thing for a bear who is all about culinary improvisation rather than prescription: :

Good Old Fashioned Pancakes
Ingredients

• 1 _1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 _1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 _1/4 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

unflattering picture of homemade blue berry pancakes, crispy bacon, one egg over medium and breakfast potatoes with cheese and onions

The pancakes were very easy to prep and bear oh bear did they taste soooo good. I suppose with as much butter in them as the recipe prescribed I could do no wrong -- but this was truly the breakfast of champions. Perhaps I could get used to this whole recipe thing...the link for the pancakes are below:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Good-Old-Fashioned-Pancakes/Detail.aspx

Betty gets back to basics and bakes a quiche....

Betty re-engaged with the kitchen and baked a bacon spinach quiche for breakfast. This was the first time a quiche had ever been baked in our kitchen even though we cook with eggs like its our job. I assisted with some usual freestyle CK breakfast potatoes with a rosemary seasoning. The meal turned out egg-cellent...no it was eggs-traordinary.


quiche to the left. potatoes to the right.


aerial close up of yummy bacon spinach quiche


plated quiche with onions + tomatoes topping the taters

Spinach & Bacon Quiche courtesy of Paula Deen
Ingredients:

• 6 large eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• salt & pepper
• 2 cups fresh baby spinich, packed
• 1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss Cheese
• 1 (9-inch) refrigerated pie crust, fitted to a 9 inch glass pie plate

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Combine the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender. (Betty just used a bowl.)
   
3. Layer the spinach, bacon, and cheese in the bottom of the pie crust, then pour the egg mixture on top.
4. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the egg mixture is set.
5. Cut into 8 wedges

The official link to Paula's recipe is here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/spinach-and-bacon-quiche-recipe/index.html

The quiche was so magnifique and easy to make that we will definitely be trying more of these out in the CK kitchen. Bear apetit!

John Hughes and Cholesterol King present Breakfast Club Brunch

Betty and I finally decided to implement our Breakfast Club Brunch get together. The idea -- we make brunch and watch the movie Breakfast Club. Nothing too original but it's one of my favorite movies coupled with my favorite meal. On the menu for the day:



scrambled eggs, home fries, bacon topped with green onions, tomatoes, served with a croissant and a fruit salad; El Yucateco duplex in the back; Stauf's house blend in the mug



butter braid bread purchased from Betty's co-worker: a chocolate eclair-esque bread with a Boston cream

A meal that Claire, John, Brian, Andrew, Allison, Betty and I all found nutritious and delicious.

...the bears at banana bean brunch before baseball..

I got a funny feeling that i been here before. Except this time we were meeting up with a friend at the Banana Bean located on Greenlawn before our first Clippers game. A much different vibe than the Whittier location. I liked the interior better -- now if they could transplant this place over to German village. I have acquired an anticipation and excitement for dining at Banana Bean because of its eclectic menu which always introduces some new taste to my palette. This would be my 3rd time there and all previous times I'd tried something new. Betty and I also observed from our last brunch visit the coupled strategy of ordering a sweet item and a savory item for brunch. We were all set to order and I was hankering for one of their special bloody mary's only to learn that Banana Bean does not have a liquor license on Sundays. No worries - I just saved myself $8.00.

Our friend started off with the sweet potato fries. I acted like I was not interested in them when he ordered but when they came out I was the official sweet potato fry groupie. Very yums in tums.


sweet potato fries with mysterious "spicy island" sauce

Betty opted for the Banana Fosters French toast with Berries topped with a Captain Morgan Rum sauce. This was pretty tasty...but there was room for it to be amazing.


bananas foster french toast w/ strawberries topped with rum sauce

I opted for the seafood fare as always that BBC specializes in and ordered the Eggs Del Mar described from their menu as "...2 Poached Eggs atop House–made Creole Cornmeal-Dusted Crab Cakes, Seared Spinach & Roasted Tomato Hollandaise..."


eggs del mar no flash out of focus

eggs del mar w/ flash overexposed...

I wanted to love this meal but it ended up just being pretty good. I'm a true believer that most foods would benefit from a fried egg over it -- so crab cakes with poached eggs were tasty -- but the hollandaise had to be the blandest most uneventful I've ever tried. Imagine my delight thought when I inquired about hot sauce and they had the red El Yucateco. Secretly i was hoping they'd bring out the ya ya sauce that normally accompanies their fried plantains but no complaints here.

At the end of the meal we were all pretty content and looked forward to the promise that the day would bring. Betty and I need to get back to basics at Banana Bean and try their fish tacos which were amazing last time we had them. Word is bean!

jolly huevos rancheros...

I love eggs. I love refried beans.
Put them together. Jolly I will be.

I fried up a blue corn tortilla until it was crispy and brown. Layered it with the leftover refried black beans. Used the remaining chicken from the previous day. Threw on some shredded chipotle cheddar cheese. Added some chili spiked tomatoes. Then covered it all with a fried egg over medium garnished with mother amounts of onions and cilantro and yeah you guessed it. El Yucateco trifecta.


plated huevos rancheros CK style


closer look at the huevos rancheros...

the goat cheese of breakfast morning...

Being sick for the week limited my cooking game and one of my biggest bear peeves is letting food go to waste. I squandered a yummy bag of fresh green beans this week and felt really bad. I was destined not to have the same thing happen to my precious goat cheese. This morning I was visited by the goat cheese of breakfast morning and I did something I normally don't do in Columbus as mentioned in previous posts -- I made an omelette. I did a 2 egg omelette with goat cheese, onions, and bacon. I plated them with a pepper tomato salad and rosemary seasoned potatoes. Hit them with my El Yucateco-trifecta and was in heaven. I love cooking breakfast! Betty missed out on this but I'm sure she's having good eats in Chicago.


B&W focus filter from picnik: goat cheese, onions, and bacon omelette, pepper tomato salad, rosemary seasoned potatoes; El Yucateco trifecta in the background; Seven Hills creme brulee blend in the mug.

UFC presents the El Yucateco breakfast throwdown

Finally got back to basics with breakfast Sunday morning. 2 eggs over medium on toasted white bread. One slice of toast had jarlsberg cheese the other had black diamond cheddar. 2 strips of crispy bacon along with a homemade tomato relish with onions to have on the side. This morning i was on a mission though to sample and try all the El Yucatecos. I recently added to my arsenal of El Yucateco hot sauces the Salsa Kutbil-ik de aka XXXTRA Hot Picante Sauce and the Caribbean Salsa Picante de Chile Habanero purchased from Jungle Jims.



Breakfast was delicious. At the end of the battle I still declare winner and still champion the El Yucateco green hot sauce.

BBC presents Banana Bean Craving 2.

You think i was kidding when I said Banana Bean was one of our best dining experiences eva eva eva eva in Columbus. We snagged some good friends and persuaded them that they should join us for lunch at Banana Bean on Saturday. That's right twice in less than 2 weeks...technically three times if you count when they were closed on Monday.


shrimp and grits

Described from the menu as "...Cedar Key Shrimp & Grits - Smoked Bacon Etouffe and Creamy Goat Cheese Grits"

Betty ordered the grits. The shrimp was tasty but the grits were pretty underwhelming and bland. They could have used more flavor in the form of bacon, more goat cheese, or even more tomatoes and green onions. I was a little disappointed that this meal did not quite pack the punch that our previous days dining had provided. At the same time I finished Betty's grits for her after eating the below.

Islamadora Fish Taco

The fish on this taco was the Red Stripe Beer Battered Cod. I could not taste much if any of the mango habanero ketchup this time around. In all honesty I really wanted to enjoy this and it was pretty good but I definitely enjoyed the shrimp version of the fish taco more. The battered fish overpowered the other elements in the taco.



Our friend ordered the fried oyster po'boy pictured above.

It was my first time trying fried oysters and I thought the flavor was strong but pretty tasty.

All in all Banana Bean cafe came down to earth in terms of flavor the 2nd time around. I am not sure if this was because we had not let enough time pass between our last visit or if perhaps the flavors/chefs that day were off. At the same time I did not regret trying the food we had. It was still tasty and better than your typical fare. I still want to try their crab cake burger along with some of their other brunch items and have no reservation about going back there.

hakuna frittata...or maybe more like unhakuna frittata...

I been cooking omelettes since the fourth grade thanks to my mom. Ever since then I've gone through many genres and style of omelettes through the years. For all the years of egg-cellent cooking i've never explored frittatas and quiches which are all close cousins of the omelette. I've done egg scrambles and a couple of months back i tried a corned beef hash and eggs and even 1 burnt stove top cooked frittata. I reviewed some recipes on-line and then did the usual cholesterolking improvisation:

1. pan fried and blackened yukon gold potatoes with diced onions seasoned with season salt and rosemary
2. chopped up chicken breakfast sausage
3. more diced onions
4. 1 diced jalapeno
5. 3 cloves of garlic

pre-stove-top


extreme close up pre-egg on the stove top.

all that cooked in a pan while i stirred up:

1. 6 eggs
2. some heavy cream
3. some nutmeg
4. various seasonings
5. a dash of flour
6. some habanero tabasco ...i just remember i forgot to put dijon mustard in it! :(
7. a dash of worscestshire sauce

multitasking

Poured the egg mix on top of the hash that was cooking in the pan. Cooked it 5 minutes then threw in some diced tomatoes, habanero cheddar, and green onions and let it cook for 3 more minutes -- then flipped it into another skillet so i could cook down the top of the frittata which has historically been burdensome to cook on the stove top. I wasn't trying to broil this guy this time. Cooked that for another 2 minutes and then took it off the stove to let it firm up.


frittata off the skillet and not runny!


sausage potato frittata with toasted garlic bread from Weilands and grapefruit la croix

I thought it was pretty good. Wasn't as tender as I would've liked but not as overcooked as my previous attempt. Betty loved it. We had 2 servings and i somehow persuaded Betty into baking another batch of orange vanilla chocolate cookies.

why i say no to mcdonalds and bk breakfasts...

because i can make the best parts of their menus at home my way.



egg mcmuffin cholesterol king style with eggs over medium + american cheese ore-ida crispy crowns browned to perfection.

heinz ketchup + el yucateco red sauce + green sauce.

certifiably yum.

Goat Cheese Breakfast Weekend...

As we have eased back into cooking...I seem to have a crucial ingredient each week...kinda like Iron Chef's secret ingredient. Normally it's something that I have that due to excessive quantity needs to be used in a number of recipes...looking back -- 1 week it was brussel sprouts and I was able to serve it in a number of ways throughout the week. Then it was zucchini, squash, corn tortillas, chorizo, and chihuahua cheese. This week it was goat cheese. I knew it could work in salads but what else? I didn't really get beyond salads but here is what i did with it over the weekend.


so check this for Saturday morning:

We have 10 Ore-ida mini tator tots. 5 on the side. 5 underneath an egg served over medium. There are some goat cheese crumbs between the egg and tator tots. The egg is topped with 2 lean pieces of bacon. On the side is a yellow tomato, orange pepper salad with onions, seasoning, lemon juice topped with goat cheese and green onions. I love tomatoes with eggs. This meal was for the books an all time favorite. Definitely going to be making this for my parents.



alternative shot, slightly out-of-focus but no flash so you can see the color better. It's beautiful!


Sundays breakfast:

Okay so not all my concoctions turn out amazing but since i rarely if ever use a recipe who can blame me. I'm just glad Betty eats it and supports my creative concoctions. The above meal consisted of Israeli cous cous browned in bacon fat and cooked in chicken broth topped with bean cakes consisting of: kidney beans, pinto beans, spices, green onions, bread crumbs -- then topped with an egg over medium. The accompanying goat cheese salad consisted of cucumbers, yellow peppers, onions, and seasoning with a vinegar base. Pretty eclectic and perhaps too ambitious.
The overall reviews were positive but this meal had a tough act to follow from the previous days. The cous cous was still bland even after being browned in bacon fat and chicken broth -- so in the future I'd probably not include it. The bean cakes were good but lost it's flavor with the bland cous cous. Salad was tasty though.