Not too long ago, I wrote about The Four Food Groups: Italian, Mexican, Chinese, and Cheeseburgers. Someone suggested, and I had to agree, that breakfast could have easily been among these chosen few. So today I am making it official. Breakfast is now the Fifth Food Group.
Ah, but what kind of breakfast? That is an important point. Because sometimes I eat very non-breakfast foods for breakfast, and other times I love having “breakfast” at very non-breakfast times. What to do, what to do…
To keep things simple, I shall divide breakfast into two categories: sweet and not sweet.
Sweet
This is the kind of breakfast made up of pancakes, waffles, muffins, cinnamon rolls, and toast spread thick with marmalade. I would also place Golden Grahams in this category (though I could eat Golden Grahams any hour of the day any day of the week).
The best time for this kind of breakfast is after you’ve been on a low-carb diet for six months. Though, and I speak from personal experience here, make sure your pancreas is tied down and fully secured before tackling the stack o’ griddlecakes and syrup.
The best time for waffles is when you’re on the road and staying at a La Quinta with those industrial-strength waffle irons. They pre-measure the batter, keep the iron constantly hot, and the best part? They do all the cleaning. What more could one want?
Not Sweet
Potatoes. That’s what more one could want. Nice though the sweet breakfast is, for me it doesn’t compare to the “not sweet” breakfast. Eggs, bacon, sausage, aaaaaaand … POTATOES. There’s really nothing quite like a perfect batch of pan-fried taters for breakfast. Highly seasoned, and very hot, you’ve got the makin’s for a great day here, I tell ya.
The real trick is the eggs. Everybody likes their eggs done a certain way and it’s not always an easy thing getting others to understand what “right” means when it comes to egg preparation.
For me? I call it “over hard” though I’ve never really been sure if that’s the right term or not. Here’s the trick. Get the pan very hot and greased up. Drop an egg in and break the yoke. Make sure part of the yoke spills over directly onto the pan. Let it cook good and long, then flip. Now let it cook more good and more long until all traces of runniness have gone beyond recall. Salt and pepper and eat while it’s hooo-hooo-haaa-haaa-hot.
Now that’s good eatin’.
So what’s your favorite breakfast? Sweet, non-sweet, or other? Describe below.
on April 14, 2009 at 5:54 am
I live in Rochester, NY, home of the “garbage plate” (homefries, mac salad, 2 cheeseburger patties all topped off with hot sauce, chili sauce, onions, ketchup, and mustard. Don’t forget the hardroll w/butter on the side). Naturally, there is a breakfast version of the plate that must be accompanied by a nap! It’s a layer of homefries topped with cheddar, a thick layer of eggs, more cheese, and then sausage gravy. There’s 2 buttermilk biscuits as well! It’s the ultimate diner breakfast around here.
on April 14, 2009 at 7:41 am
Duck eggs over easy, toasted sourdough bread, apple wood smoked bacon, and yes, cubed and pan-fried (spicy) potatoes along with just a touch of some “hot” red salsa.
Now that is a sweet breakfast!
on April 14, 2009 at 7:50 am
I like some of each, depends on my mood. There’s a great breakfast place near me that makes The World’s Best Pecan Waffles. The waffle covers an entire oval shaped plate. Yum. I also like their breakfast sandwich – many different combinations that you can choose from – served on a grilled kaiser roll. Then I get a side of grits and load ’em up with butter and salt. Yum again.
on April 14, 2009 at 8:44 am
I don’t really have one favorite. I like captain crunch, hotcakes, scrambled eggs and bacon… Mmmm.
on April 14, 2009 at 12:31 pm
It’s just like John to get all uppity and mention duck eggs! 😀 JK!
Me – herbed goat cheese scrambled eggs with baby spinach, corned beef hash that is all crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, all of the above sprinkled gingerly with Tabasco sauce, and Texas toast with grape jelly.
on April 14, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Usually, I have the same thing for breakfast during the week, cereal. I know, I know, it’s boring. But that way I don’t need to think about what I’m going to have. In the morning, I can barely get up, much less think. However, once in a while, I’ll have something really good, like pizza, for breakfast. Did you know that pizza goes well with a cold glass of orange juice? On Sunday mornings, though, we have traditional “sweet” breakfasts, such as Swedish pancakes or Belgian waffles, served with “not sweet” regular and vegetarian sausage.
on April 14, 2009 at 4:29 pm
I cannot believe you did not cover bacon. Bacon is the most important part of breakfast! 🙂 Ok, ok, maybe it’s just me.
My favorite breakfast is chocolate chip pancakes with butter and syrup (strawberry and maple mixed if I have the choice), crispy hashed browns, crispy bacon, and maybe some spicy sausage patties if I’m feeling gluttonous. My slightly less gluttonous favorite breakfast is an everything bagel with cream cheese and bacon, eaten like a sandwich.
I usually eat a piece of fruit and either oatmeal or a bar. Not as exciting, but also allows me to actually, ya know, eat food the rest of the day.
I abhor the taste and smell of all versions of eggs though it’s recently come to my attention that it’s probably the yolks I hate, so I plan to experiment with egg whites soon.
on April 14, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Hmmm! Definitely a mood thing, restricted by a diet thing! But in no particualar order: –
Poached eggs (runny) on toast.
Kippers on toast.
Cereal and dried berries/ banana slices.
fresh fruit salad and vanilla yogurt.
Fry up! Eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, toast. ( Definitely NO POTATOES!! lol…that must be an American thing?)
Mmmmm! Love brekky,
Tusc :o)
on April 14, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Cold chinese food … and you have to watch cartoons while eating …
on April 14, 2009 at 10:33 pm
cheese toast, a banana and a big glass of pineapple juice.
on April 15, 2009 at 7:46 am
Potato scones, black pudding, mushrooms, scrambled eggs and maybe a nice english sausage. But I can only manage that about twice a year!
on April 15, 2009 at 12:15 pm
All kinds of breakfast! My friends and I agree that breakfast is the best meal of the day. Hence, when we get together, we go out for breakfast rather than lunch or dinner. It’s tastier.
on April 17, 2009 at 8:25 am
Bacon, bacon, and more bacon.
on April 17, 2009 at 8:27 am
I’m with Tom! YUM!
on April 20, 2009 at 7:58 am
Late to the table here (hazard of saving it all up for long Monday reads)…
We like Breakfast…(wait for it)FOR DINNER! All the usual suspects food wise only for dinner rather than a start your day meal. None of us here are morning people, much less morning people capable of cooking/timing multiple dishes so we save the love for dinnertime. Eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, biscuits, potatoes, grits in varying combinations. Occasionally, French Toast. Yum.
on April 20, 2009 at 8:53 am
Breakfast for dinner is the best! One of my all-time favorites.