Now to get to the good stuff. Since this is my first post, I feel it's appropriate to start with the meal that "breaks the fast," the first meal of the day: breakfast.
Mac’s Irish Style Breakfast
Ingredients:
2 eggs/ person1 small potato/person
3 slices of bacon/person
Unsalted butter
Salt and Pepper
Bread
- If you decide to use a healthy alternative to butter, make sure it is olive oil based. If it isn't, it will not prevent the eggs and potatoes from sticking to the pan - a tragedy in this delicious meal.
- If you decide to make scrambled eggs instead of sunny side up, you will need 3 additional ingredients: milk, sliced American cheese (Kraft of course, but cheddar cheese is also delicious), and crushed red pepper.
Bacon:
Bacon is quite possibly one of the easiest things to cook and it can take an average breakfast and make it great. Just like the movie Waiting taught me, in cooking, “the difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little bit extra.”
Directions:
- Preheat a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat.
- When it is hot (you can test it by splashing a little water and listen for the sizzle), place about 3 slices of bacon in the pan.
- The crispier you like your bacon, the longer you want to let it cook on each side. As bacon cooks it shrinks in size much more noticeably than other meats. I like to use the size of the bacon as a measurement as to when it is cooked to my liking. Typically, I cook the bacon for about 6-8 minutes.
- Remove bacon from the pan when finished; let the oils drain by placing the slices on several-layers of paper towels (either on a plate or on aluminum foil so the grease doesn't seep through to the counter top).
- Place the bacon on a baking sheet and put in the oven on a warming setting (usually about 175 degrees or 200 degrees) until you finish cooking the rest of the meal.
Hash Browns:
Directions:
- Wash and peel the potatoes completely; shred them using a cheese grater using the biggest size.
- Preheat a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat (you may use the same skillet from the bacon if you prefer); add enough butter to melt and coat the pan.
- Add the shredded potatoes into the pan 1 serving at a time (1 patty); use a spatula to shape the potatoes into a thin patty; add salt and pepper.
- Cook the patty on each side for 5-10 minutes (or until they brown and have a nice crisp to them); make sure to make thin patties so that they'll cook evenly.
- Place the finished has brown patty on a baking sheet and put them in the oven on the warming setting (with the bacon) to keep them warm while you prepare the rest of the meal.
Sunny Side Up Eggs:
With this style of breakfast I prefer to do sunny side up eggs because when you break the yolk over the hash browns, it adds a delicious rich flavor. However, my sister would disown me and probably never let me contribute again if I didn’t share my scrambled egg recipe that has been my “specialty” since I was 5!
(I will put that at the end of the post--promise!)
Directions:
- Using the same medium skillet over medium to low heat, add enough butter to cover the bottom of the pan
- Crack the eggs (be careful not to drop any shells in!) and drop them right into pan; leave enough space for however many other eggs you want to cook at the same time (typically the limit is about 3).
- Once the egg white turns white and the yolk begins to slightly firm up, then you are ready to serve.
Serving Suggestions:
Serve the eggs over the hash brown patty with bacon along side. Serve with a glass of orange juice or a nice glass of Irish tea (or coffee if you're my mom or my sister) and enjoy. Toast some bread (I like Italian bread, especially from the previous night's dinner) and dip it in the yolk and put some hash browns on top - it's awesome!
For breakfast, this is a pretty work intensive meal. It's perfect to impress at a family get-together, but if you have the time on just a typical Sunday morning, then it is well worth it!
Scrambled Eggs:
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the eggs, splash of milk, dash of salt, and a pinch of pepper; to kick it up a notch (which I always do), add a pinch of crushed red pepper.
- Whip them together vigorously until you have a consistent yellow color throughout the mixture.
- In a medium skillet over medium-low heat, add butter to coat the pan; pour in the egg mixture when the pan is hot.
- As the eggs start to scramble, tear the American cheese (or cheddar) into pieces and add it directly into the pan.
- Once the cheese is melted, the eggs should begin to stick together, and you're ready to serve! The eggs will still be a little bit moist, but they will continue to cook even after you take them out of the pan.
...a note from K...
**I don't normally like eggs and don't typically crave them, EXCEPT when I go back home to New York to visit and my brother is making his scrambled, sunny side up, over easy, or any other egg concoction he makes. They are amazing; I always recruit him to make them for friends and family and they have yet to disappoint. Definitely a K&A fave!**
I hope you enjoyed this week’s post. I will be trying out some new recipes and revisiting some old ones this week for dinner in anticipation for next week. See you then.
Remember, there's no such thing as too much garlic (except for breakfast)!
Mac
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