Mixed Plate: The Gospel of Breakfast

I hear it time and time again: Breakfast is the Best Meal. And you know what? It's 100% True. You may as well write that into every holy book out there, canonize it for future generations, not that they won't already know and accept this to be the gospel of meal enjoyment. And I know I can say that out loud, into the Bloggosphere, into the Inter-Webs and nary a peep of offense or complaint will surface. Because we know this simple fact to be true. So let us raise our hands and rejoice in the holy celebration that is Breakfast! Hallelujah!!

First there was darkness... then there was breakfast pastries from Essential Baking Co. - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Bring on the poisonous snakes for our ritualistic snake-handling dance and get ready to hurl those crutches aside, brothers and sistahs, it's time to revel in the glory and the power that is Breakfast. I'm not exaggerating on this, breakfast is really that good. I did a whole piece on it for my Sense Memory column for Honest Cooking months ago, and everyone had great reasons to share why breakfast is the bomb-diggety. They included wonderful things like: you can have it 24/7 at a lot of diners, it tastes good any time of the day, it's got the perfect combination of protein, starch and fat, and of course the most important reason -- you can drink in the morning and no one gives you a sidelong glance. It's the only reason Bloody Marys and Mimosas were created, to make morning alcoholism more fashionable. Plus there's fruit and vegetables in it, so it's like a serving of produce, really.

I have to think our idea of breakfast with eggs, bacon and hashbrowns is more of an American thing. I thought about this as I was getting breakfast with a group of friends after a particularly brutal night of Releasing the Kraken -- we all had visions of pile o' food dancing in our alcohol-pummeled heads. Our breakfasts are a distinctive mashup of European styles, English breakfast with French omelets and maybe some German sausage thrown in for good measure -- but it's all over-the-top. Mile-high pancakes covered in fruit, chocolate chips and whipped cream. Gravy piled on biscuits with cheese, egg and a mound of bacon. You never have just one egg, it's always four served at restaurants. Even though it's all one great cholesterol/fat bomb, we love it because it's got all the ingredients and flavors we crave. And it's a savior when you've got a wicked hangover.

Stare long enough, you'll get a sugar high - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Comedian Jim Gaffigan made a funny yet true observation: breakfast is the meal that allows you to have cake first thing in the morning. Don't deny it. A sweet cake full of chocolate chips or fruit is dessert, meant to be had at the end of any other meal, but no one bats an eye when you have that monster-sized chocolate chip or blueberry muffin, topped with sugary-sweet streusel crumbles. Or an icing-topped scone. Or some marvelously flaky, cinnamon-sugar-filled sticky bun covered with currants and chopped nuts. I'm the last person to complain about breakfast pastries, specifically because we're not obligated to call them "sugary sweets for breakfast." I was like a kid given the Golden Ticket to Willy Wonka's mildly disturbing Chocolate Factory when I was blessed with a wealth of pastries from Essential Baking Company. It was a true spoil of baked good riches, mostly breakfast sweets, like scones, muffins and flake pastries, but also their incredible monster-sized cookies, jammy thumbprint cookies and some of their fruit bars. 

I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille... - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Essential Baking Company is one of my favorite bakeries and I don't get to enjoy their marvelous goods nearly as much as I'd like -- and that's to my waistline's benefit, believe me. The fact that they've got a Bellevue cafe set up at the University Bookstore just adds more temptation every time I'm in that neighborhood. Fresh-baked artisan breads, sweet pastries, all the reasons you say Glory Hallelujah for Carbs and give up those supermodel almond-counting dreams. As much as I wanted to eat all my favorites in one sitting, I just saved my absolute favorites and packed the rest off with the Mister, so that he could share the wealth with workmates. I admit, I saved the best ones and hoarded it like Gollum, whispering My Precioussssss.... I gleefully rationed out the flaky butter croissant, cinnamon roll and sugar-dusted almond croissant across a few days, savoring each bite. I rarely have breakfast pastries, mostly because it's not worth the sugar crash and quite frankly, so few bakeries are as good as Essential, but when you get a chance to indulge, they are Top Gun, Best-of-the-Best, and will be your Wingman any breakfast morning. 

Perfect Sunday morning - latte at French Bakery, brunch at Trellis - Photos by Wasabi Prime

What I really love about breakfast is when it gets fancied up and becomes Brunch, which just makes breakfast a real event to soak up those last, precious moments of weekend freedom on a Sunday. I forgot how wonderful a true lazy brunch can be, but got a nice reminder a little while ago when I met some friends on a Sunday morning in Kirkland. We planned to meet up at Trellis, the restaurant below the Heathman Hotel, which has a fantastic breakfast menu full of locally-sourced seasonal goodies. I got there a little early and gave myself a little present of Me Time, getting a creamy latte at the French Bakery across the street. I was tempted to get one of their almond croissants, which is probably my favorite thing at The French Bakery, but knowing a proper brunching was the order of the day, I stuck with the latte, which is honestly a treat all on its own. To sit in a little cafe on a sleepy Sunday morning, sipping a latte while flipping through a magazine, it's a religious experience all its own. Very zen and just appreciating the present. Maybe not as zen as giving up all material possessions, donning a robe and living in an ashram at the top of a mountain for years, but hey, this is 21st Century Zen, complete with a pretty foam drawing. By the time I got to Trellis, I was fully in the mindset to enjoy the morning with friends, have that Bloody Mary, and have a hearty omelet stuffed with goodies like cheese and avocado. And their free mini-doughnuts are a nice touch, too -- cheers to you, Trellis.

The weekend tradition of the Skillet Breakfast - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Most breakfasts for us are enjoyed in our own kitchen. And they're hardly as eventful as a restaurant brunch. It's very low-maintenance, I don't dirty more than one skillet at a time, which is why I tend to call this mish-mash meal our usual Weekend Skillet Breakfast. As long as I have eggs, cheese and milk, I can make something. It's usually chopped up vegetables or leftover meat cooked up in a skillet that gets some eggs mixed with milk poured over it, and then the whole pan goes into the oven. I sprinkle cheese over everything, right before it goes in, and right at the end, I turn on the broiler to give it a quick crispy topping. It's not the prettiest meal in the world, as I can never predict what will show up in the mix, so the ratio of ingredients can be totally off the charts. Many times, it's a Green Eggs and Ham hot mess, because there's a bunch of kale or chard thrown in. But it's tasty, hearty and goes well with coffee as we curl up on the couch, still in our robes, and watch some craptacular television. For us, this is why breakfast at home is a marvelous thing.

The makings of a delicious Breakfast-Monster - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I will try to mix things up now and then -- I had a chance to play around with Demitri's Bloody Mary seasonings and I had a Lightning Bolt moment in my brain: Bloody Mary Breakfast Sandwich! I wasn't necessarily trying to figure out a way to spike a sandwich and get a booze buzz off of it, but I saw the dry Rim Shot seasonings meant to flavor the edge of a Bloody Mary glass and thought that would nicely season some ground pork for a homemade breakfast sausage. A couple of tablespoons will do for a half pound of plain ground pork, letting the flavors soak in overnight before forming small patties to fit in between an English Muffin. I used the Bacon Salt flavored Rim Shot seasoning, so I skipped adding bacon to the sandwiches -- sounds like heresy, I know, but this flavoring had its share of smokiness and I didn't want it to be overwhelming. I did add ham, so there was more Divine Swine added to the sandwich, along with a fried egg and a smear of sun dried tomato pesto, to give a little nod to its Bloody Mary origins. 

The Breakfast Sandwich of Champions, thanks to Demitri's Bloody Mary salts - Photos by Wasabi Prime

A fried egg on a sandwich the size of a burger is great, there should be enough layers and overall surface area to absorb the inevitable yolk runoff. On a breakfast sandwich the size of an English Muffin... not so much. I lost most of the precious liquid gold yolk to the plate, which was easily mopped up with the sandwich, but it was messier than I would have liked. Upon making the Bloody Mary Breakfast Sandwich a few more times, I cooked the egg yolk to a more solid, pudding-like thickness, so its texture could be enjoyed with the sandwich itself. There's really no science or recipe-magic to any of this, the main thing is making your own breakfast sausage patty by seasoning it with whatever marvelous flavors you can find. I heartily enjoyed this cocktail-inspired sandwich for Brinner, aka, Breakfast for Dinner, several nights in a row.

Baby quiche-cakes - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Breakfast inspires innovation, from cocktail sandwiches to individual hand-held quiches. The cupcake craze has resulted in all of us owning our share of cupcake tins. I have three different sizes: little bitty appetizer-sized tins, average just-right size, and Texas-sized muffin pans. These things have been dying to be used because no one wants cupcakes anymore, they're so sick of 'em. I was going to a brunch party at a friend's house and wanted to bring something easy to eat. This was also a housewarming gathering, so I didn't want to assume everything was unpacked. It wasn't a pastry-eating group, so I couldn't hit the Doughnut Button. I decided on little vegetable and cheese quiches, baked in cupcake tins for convenient pre-portioned eating; no nuts or gluten to keep it allergy-friendly and no meat in case there were vegetarians. All the food bases were covered. Everything worked out well -- I had eggs, a fresh bunch of chard, a mix of Parmesan and cream cheese to make it savory and creamy. The only hitch was I should have used muffin tin liners. Even if the quiches looked like weird, flat cupcakes in the liners, it would have kept me from soaking and scraping that damn cupcake tin fifty times, just to get all the little bits of egg off of it. Even with a spray of cooking oil, the egg stuck to the metal like glue. I was able to get the quiches out with a bit of finessing, but the eggy residue was like drywall spackle on that tin. Lesson learned, and let it be a lesson to you out there -- muffin tin liners ARE YOUR FRIEND.

Cheers to Breakfasts of all sorts, the meal you cannot judge, even with a bottle of bourbon - Photos by Wasabi Prime

So to sum up this Breakfast Bohemian Rhapsody, it is the ideal meal for any situation, be it festive, humbly prepared at home, or a food intervention after drinking your weight in boozeahol. I love how it's the Little Black Dress that fits for any occasion, can be enjoyed day or night, and that a lot of diners all over the country recognize this appreciation for the Perfect Meal, serving it every hour of the day, with love, honor and respect. So raise them hashbrowns high and praise them over-easy eggs -- Hallelujah for Breakfast!

FoodTrek: Drinkin' Around Town

Lest you think I'm a total hermit (more like a half-hermit), I do leave the house now and then to explore a little and see what my tastebuds find. My last wanderings brought me back to a favorite spot to try some spirits from a new distillery, and then to downtown Seattle, where a new brewery is making new things in an old space. Let the honorable pickling of my liver... commence!

Some very tasty bites at Trellis to go with the cocktails from Batch 206 Distillery - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I attended an Eastside Bartenders Association gathering at Trellis, one of my favorite places in Kirkland. It's not a typical spot, as it's a restaurant and bar below the Heathman Hotel. Don't brush off a place because it's "a hotel bar/restaurant." In and around the Seattle area, there's several great restaurants below hotels, like The Hunt Club at the Sorrento. Trellis is especially nice, as they take strides to serve dishes that feature ingredients that are locally sourced. For people living here, it's how we roll, but for visitors, it's an added experience for them to say they came to Washington and literally took a bite out of it.

On this occasion, Trellis prepared some really delicious pizzas and charcuterie platters to go alongside a couple of cocktails made from the spirits from Batch 206  Distillery. They're a partner of House Spirits in Portland, currently running their operation out of Oregon, but they're in the process of finishing their distillery in Seattle, as well as opening a tasting room. Their spirits, the Batch 206 Vodka and Counter Gin are available in a few Seattle bars, as well as in liquor stores. At the EBA event, the Batch 206 folks were on hand to pour tastes of the liquors so you could pick up the notes of the spirit by itself, and then they were serving cocktails to show how they stand up to other ingredients. The Batch 206 Vodka is very clean, super-filtered and crisp like a Grey Goose, but a little softer, and slightly sweeter to the palate. You wouldn't notice the nuance of the sweetness once it's mixed in a drink, but if you're a martini drinker, this would be a nice vodka to use -- twist of lemon, no olive. Brine would just bust up the taste, I think. I really enjoyed their Counter Gin. They really took time to mix and balance out the botannicals with care. Too many gins go for the juniper-forward flavor, as it's typical of the spirit, but then you feel like you're drinking Pine-Sol. Not sexy. Their Counter Gin has a lighter touch with the juniper and gives it a more rounded sweetness with things like cucumber, lavender, tarragon -- botannicals that all have their own strong notes, but blended with expertise, they become complex and fragrant.

Pizza, cocktails, sunshine - what could be better? - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I packed up my liver and headed west, to the South Downtown 'hood of Seattle to see what Epic Ales was serving and how their upcoming brewpub, Gastropod, was coming along. It's a new brewery in an old building, the cool R. R. Trigger Building, along First Avenue South. The brewer, Cody Morris, is on hand at their taproom that's open Fridays and Saturdays. I went to Epic Ales with several homebrewers and one professional brewer. Cody had started out as a homebrewer before starting Epic Ales, and the beers we tried run more towards the non-traditional, experimental side. Nothing crazy, just different ingredients and even different yeasts -- the ones we tried were brewed using sake yeast. The beers I tried were summery styles, citrusy like a Hefewiezen (but very tart) and light like a Belgian ale. But again, don't go in with the expectation of traditional styles; they're really playing around with things. I think for people who are really dialed-in to established beer styles and lean more towards a Northwest IPA, they may not fall in love with these beers, but if you go in with the mindset like you're tasting wine or trying something new, you'll be able to get out of your beer-head and appreciate that the brews are interesting.

Have an Epic beverage -- Fuji approves - Photos by Wasabi Prime

If you head over to their taproom, you'll likely be greeted first by Fuji, their resident brewer dog and fierce guardian. OK, so maybe not so fierce -- you'll get a few barks and then a wag of the tail with a pleading doe-eyed stare that begs for a scratching behind the ears. When we went on a Saturday, they were serving some food with the beer, testing out some recipes that will likely appear on their menu when the full brewpub is completed. It's a neat thing to try out a place early on; feels a bit like you're given access to a little clubhouse. The location really can't be beat, there's old neon signs in the main space and in the taproom, the bar is a boat. For reals. It's a decorative boat, you can't go fishing in it, but it's like the half of a big clipper, with the deck as the bar surface. The guys at Epic Ales were saying prior to them taking of the space, the taproom was actually an office and the ship bar was already there. Classy! And ironic that the bar sitting in an office, has now been turned into a taproom. It's like the boat bar knew it needed to just bide its time for the world to behold and admire its awesomeness.

A pretty cool place to have a drink in Seattle - Photos by Wasabi Prime

We finished our Saturday beer experience at a friend's apartment, where we barbecued and admired their crop of hops growing in their little personal "beer garden." We have hops growing in our backyard as well -- funny enough, at least one or two of our main vines were from rhizomes our friend gave us. It's a pretty spot to sit beneath, with twine strung towards their porch ceiling, to the large pots holding their hop plants, letting the long, leafy vines create a natural canopy over the walkway. The hop "cones" or blossoms were starting to bloom -- these are the things picked from the hop vines, which get dried and eventually boiled down in the wort, releasing the bitter, citrus flavors. It was a relaxing way to finish a full summer day, drinking beer and barbecuing with friends.

A true beer garden - Photo by  Wasabi Prime