Resolution Recap 2012: Breakfast Recipes

I made four new breakfast recipes in 2012 including: Green Poached Eggs**, Sauteed Potatoes with Chorizo*, Breakfast Skillet**, and Pumpkin Pancakes - NO.

** = yum, will make again

* = pretty good 

OK = not worth effort but not terrible

NO = did not like or recipe failed

Technique note - two of these recipes call for putting raw eggs into indentations in the cooking food.  Most recipes will suggest breaking eggs one at a time into a bowl before transferring them into the indentations to avoid getting shells into the main dish and also to avoid breaking the egg yolk.

The Green Poached Eggs recipe came from More magazine. This was one of their breakfast for dinner ideas but we actually had it for breakfast.  I made a few modifications such as halving and using just two eggs, omitted the chives and held back on the chile flakes (because it was for breakfast).

Green-Poached Eggs**
(Prep time: 38 minutes; Cooking time: 12 minutes; Serves 4)

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 fat scallions, sliced (white and light greens separated from dark greens)
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh chives
• 10 ounces fresh baby spinach
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 4 large eggs
• Chile flakes, coarse sea salt and buttered toast for serving

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the foam subsides. Add the white and light-green scallion slices and the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the chives. Toss in the spinach, a handful at a time, letting each batch wilt slightly before adding more. Add ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the cream and lemon zest; let simmer until the spinach is very soft, about 3 minutes.

Using the back of a spoon, make four indentations in the spinach. Crack the eggs into them. Lower the heat to medium low, and sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper. Cover the pan, and let the eggs cook until almost opaque, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, and let the eggs rest, covered, until done to taste. Carefully scoop the eggs and greens into bowls. Sprinkle with chile flakes, sea salt and dark scallion greens. Serve with the toast.

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The Sauteed Potatoes with Chorizo recipe came from Marcela Valladolid of the Food Network.  I initially made this as a side for dinner one night but found we enjoyed it more reheated with eggs over easy for breakfast. We get our Chorizo delivered from Papa Spuds from Rainbow Meadow Farms in Snow Hill, NC. My only modification was to use olive oil because we don’t normally have regular cooking oil in the pantry.

Sauteed Potatoes with Chorizo*
(Prep time: 10 minutes, Cooking time: 25 minutes, Serves 4-6)

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 10 ounces Mexican pork chorizo, casings removed (can be salty, be careful with seasonings)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 pound red skinned new potatoes, cut into small (1/4-inch) dice, and boiled
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook, breaking up the clumps, until dry and crisp, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chorizo to a paper lined plate to absorb any additional oil. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan and heat the pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and boiled potatoes and saute until brown, about 12 minutes. Stir in the cooked chorizo and season with just a little salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

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The Breakfast Skillet recipe came from a Penzey’s Spice catalog sometime over the last two years. I did not note the original submitter of the recipe and cannot find it online. I do not recall the prep or cooking time and there is a very good chance I condensed the instructions versus keeping the original verbiage. I did not make any modifications that I recall and used raw potatoes not hash browns. I did cut the recipe down for two eggs.

Breakfast Skillet**

(Serves 4-6)

• 1 pound bacon – cut into small pieces
• 1 cup onion – chopped
• 2 pounds potatoes – diced or thawed frozen hash browns
• 1 teaspoon salt (eliminate if use frozen hash browns)
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 8 eggs
• 2 cups Colby cheese – shredded
• 2 tablespoons parsley flakes

If using raw potatoes, boil till almost fully cooked, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain well. In large oven safe skillet cook the bacon till halfway done over medium heat (about 10 minutes), drain off excess fat. Add onion and cook till translucent about 8-10 minutes. Add potatoes, salt and pepper and cook, stirring and turning every few minutes until toasty brown. With back of spoon make 8 indentations for the eggs, crack eggs into indentations, lower heat, add lid and cook 5 minutes until the eggs start to set. Top with cheese and parsley. Transfer to oven under low heat broiler and cook until cheese is melted and eggs are desired doneness (3 minutes). Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

The Pumpkin Pancake was also a Penzey Catalog find. I had real problems working with the batter versus the recommend cooking temperature. The pancakes were getting way too brown before they were any where near done. Since I am not normally a pancake person I saw no reason to try and figure this one out and am not going to bother to post it.