Just Cook It: Hot breakfast
I love February. Not just because it is the month of the Super Bowl or because of Valentine’s Day either. I love February because it is National Hot Breakfast Month.
In case you’re unaware, breakfast foods happen to be some of my absolute favorite foods. God bless the person who came up with the idea of serving breakfast 24 hours in certain restaurants.
I love all sorts of hot breakfast foods. From the obvious breakfast meats of bacon, sausage, ham, Canadian bacon, and others to hot cereals such as oatmeal, cream of rice, cream of wheat, and more.
Breakfast is a grand meal, and if you have the pleasure of actually enjoying it in the morning, then it’s not such a bad thing to eat a few extra calories since you’ll have the rest of the day to burn them off.
I love eggs, and they can be prepared in more ways than we can talk about in one column. Complete books exist that are solely dedicated to the miraculous food that is the egg. It really is a miracle food, and if you ever have the pleasure of doing some scientific research you will learn why.
Of course we are going to discuss my favorite preparation in this column, especially since I believe it to be a very underrated preparation and way of enjoying eggs.
My favorite way of preparing and enjoying eggs is, believe it or not, soft-boiled. I like soft-boiled eggs because they are extremely easy to prepare, still contain that delicious runny yolk that we all know and love, and are healthier than eggs fried in butter or other types of fat.
I find that most people are either unaware that soft-boiled eggs exist or are actually a bit intimidated to prepare them. Soft-boiled eggs can be tricky. If you cook them too long they turn into hard-boiled eggs, if you undercook them they will be on the too runny or raw side. There’s a fine line to preparing soft-boiled eggs that that can only be mastered through experience – or a cool trick that I will reveal later in this column.
Everyone is familiar with the hard-boiled egg. Most of us make hard-boiled eggs every year when we celebrate Easter. Soft-boiled eggs, though, don’t receive the same notoriety as their hard-boiled cousin.
Soft-boiled eggs are similar to hard-boiled eggs with the exception that their yolk is still runny much like the traditional over easy or sunny side up egg that you are used to enjoying.
Soft-boiled eggs are boiled in their shells and then peeled the same way as hard-boiled eggs. In fact, you really wouldn’t know that the egg is actually soft-boiled until you cut into it and the delicious yolk begins to run on your plate.
I have a nifty little trick for preparing both hard and soft-boiled eggs perfectly. Instead of actually boiling the eggs, I prefer to steam them.
Steam holds a constant temperature and makes timing the cooking process much easier. Since steam encompasses all of the eggs at the same temperature regardless of how many eggs you are cooking at once, the cooking time remains the same whether you are making two eggs or 12 eggs.
The way I make my hard-boiled and soft-boiled eggs works like this: Place your eggs in a single even layer in the bottom of a heavy bottomed pot. Add about one to one and a half inches of water to the pot.
Place the eggs over medium heat and as soon as the water comes to a boil place a lid on the pot and start your timer – 13 minutes for hard-boiled eggs and 6 minutes for soft-boiled eggs.
When the eggs are finished cooking immediately place them under cold running water to stop the cooking process. They should remain in the cold water until they are cool enough to handle with your hands. Peel the eggs while they are warm, season with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper, and serve immediately.
I like to enjoy two soft-boiled eggs with two slices of Ezekiel toast buttered with Kerrygold butter.
Add a small side of oatmeal with some fresh berries or fruit and you have yourself a delicious and nutritious breakfast.
There are many other ways to celebrate National Hot Breakfast Month, but the above happens to be my personal favorite at the current moment.
I don’t just enjoy this meal for breakfast either — it also makes a fantastic lunch.
Mario Porreca of Belle Vernon is an entrepreneur, author, lifestyle solutions expert, and the host of Just Cook It Radio. He can be reached via his website at: www.MarioPLS.com. Twitter: @MarioPorreca