TheCompanySheKeeps

When it comes to breakfast during the week, I tend to stick with one thing for long periods of time until I tire of it and move onto the next. Those items over the last several years have included the following, served always with a cup of coffee: scrambled eggs with cheese, 2 Babybel cheeses with Wheat Thin crackers, granola with or without yogurt, breakfast sandwiches, hardboiled eggs, a banana with peanut butter, old fashioned oatmeal with fresh blueberries and walnuts, and most recently, 2 soft boiled eggs with a slice of sourdough toast.

I love the texture of soft boiled eggs and the simplicity of the meal.

The key to making soft boiled eggs is an inch of boiling water, a lid to cover the saucepan, 6 minutes of boiling time for the eggs and then prompt removal from the pan, and 15 seconds of cool water to run over them to help stop the cooking process.

Just before peeling the eggs, I cut a slice of sourdough bread in half and pop in the toaster. To peel the eggs, I use the side of a spoon to crack the eggs around its diameter, and once peeled, I run under warm water to ensure I’ve removed all the specks of shell. About that time, the toast is done. I butter it up and place an egg on each halve of the toast and with the side of a fork, I slice through it and lightly smash and smear the egg against the toast and season with just a touch of fresh ground salt.

It never ceases to amaze me how one modification to an ingredient can completely alter the taste. Take butter for instance. On its own, it’s good, multi-purposeful, and enhances just about everything that it’s combined with,  whether baked or cooked. Butter browned takes it up to a whole new level, kicking it up a major notch, and sets it apart from its original state. Browning a stick of butter makes for a rich, nutty, caramel-y kind of taste that can transform waffles into waffles! It’s that hint of something extra, something good.

A few weekends ago, the girls had friends sleepover and the request for breakfast was waffles. Along with the waffles, I made scrambled eggs, and bacon and when my daughters’ friends say things like, “These are so good” and “I love your cooking”, it simply makes me smile.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsps. brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 3/4 cups butter = 1/2 cup browned butter*
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preparation:

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally until it turns a warm, amber color and little, dark bits start to form on the bottom of the pan. *The interesting thing about browning butter is that you have to use more from the get go, because once melted, a stick of butter no longer measures to a 1/2 cup of butter, but less. Or in this case, do like I did, and since I’d forgotten this tid bit of information and only used a stick, I found that I was adding tablespoons of solidified butter to the melted part to get it back up to 1/2 cup.* Allow to cool somewhat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, and baking powder; set aside. In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, browned butter, and vanilla extract. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined.

Cook on a pre-heated waffle iron until waffles are browned, about 3-5 minutes as waffle irons vary. I sometimes like to make a double batch so that I can freeze the extras for another day. Once the waffles are cooled, I add to a Ziploc bag and place wax paper between the layers so they don’t stick. Place in the freezer for a later use. When ready to use, take 2 out, pop it in the toaster, heat, add butter, if desired, drizzle with syrup and eat. Or, what I like to do is omit the butter and syrup and add scrambled eggs between the two for a waffle sandwich.