Breakfast: A Simple Gesture

I've always enjoyed breakfast, especially when I go on a vacation. It's been several years, if not decades that I've even ate breakfast on a daily basis. Probably never. Breakfast for me is saved for the slow pace of a weekend.

Getting up this morning...an hour earlier because of Daylight Savings Time has ended for now, it's a perfect time to prepare breakfast for my youngest son and I. Being a self-proclaimed home chef, you'd figure that I would have all that I need to prepare a breakfast. Well it came down to having no eggs, something I forgot at the store last night. My son (13) and I went to the store this morning to get some large eggs for the blueberry muffins and of course to prepare a couple of hearty omelets! My oldest son wasn't here, so it was a great opportunity to have some one on one time with my other son.

I enjoy cooking. As I've said many times before, the kitchen is a place for fellowship with friends and family. Guess that is why many Baptists have a weight problem, too much fellowship in the kitchen! I can laugh because I'm Baptist and God knows I'm right. :) I'm sure other congregations have the same problem!

It's a nice quiet morning here, my sons always enjoy when I cook. Fast food and restaurants are never spoken here. We have a good time together and at times my kids will show me a thing or two in the kitchen. I'm proud that I have inspired my two teenage sons to cook when they are here. I'm sure it is rare these days, a father and his kids swapping recipes or "Let me show you what I came up with!" A great feeling of accomplishment to see a simple gesture of kindness spurs creativity in the kitchen of the younger head-phone wearing, Xbox playing skateboarding crowd.

My two boys have been picky eaters for years. I guess many kids are because baby boomers hardly take the time to cook anymore, which is sad. Frozen pizza and fish sticks isn't dinner, neither is fast food in a bag. I changed that about 6 years ago when I started cooking and introducing them to different foods...then it was onto seasonings and herbs. So far so good.

What I'm saying is several things in a short article. A simple gesture of breakfast brings families closer. A time for fellowship. Love and Laugh right? You bet. Taking the time to do something for some else speaks volumes.

If you haven't cook for someone in a while, try it. At times all it starts with is crack of an egg and the aroma of sizzling bacon.

Bacon Shrimp Omelet: Sunday Breakfast

I laugh when I see a drive-thru full of cars on a Sunday morning. It just kills me, that people think they are too busy to prepare breakfast for their family. Either they think they are that darn busy or just lazy, haven't figured out which one yet. I don't want to hear the excuse...talk to the hand! Mine has a spatula in it!

When it comes to a Sunday morning, why rush it? This past Sunday the sky was crystal blue, a light wind blowing and the temp around 65. SLOW DOWN AMERICA!...it's time to enjoy your family at breakfast!

This particular morning it was a omelet time! There is no science to making a perfect omelet, but I've been told I have the magic. So with that, I will share my magic.

I heat my 10" skillet to a medium-low heat about a 4 on an electric stove. I use a glass cooktop so cooking with gas is foreign to me. I'm stil waiting for Paula Deen to invite me and give me a private lesson on how to use one. While my skillet is heating up, I take two large eggs and crack them into a bowl...less shells. I add fresh cracked black pepper, mesquite seasoning (from Costco under the Kirklands brand), garlic powder, orgeno and whip it up! I spray my pan with a non-fat butter spray. Let it turn brown and pour your egg batter into the skillet.

Now before I actually pour my egg batter, I've got another small 8" skillet at a 5-6 (Medium) setting on my electric stove top for the shrimp. To prepare for three omelets, I cut up 9 medium to large size shrimp. Pour some olive oil in the skillet, place your shrimp in the pan and add some hot salsa, Worcestershire sauce, red crushed pepper, fresh cut garlic and toss them around. It's only going to take 2 to 3 minutes to cook them. By this time, I've poured my first omelet into the other skillet.

When the top of you egg stops doing the giggly dance, take a wide spatula and flip it over. Take a handful of Monterrey Jack cheese and spread across one side of the egg, add your fresh sauteed shrimp and don't forget the bacon! This time, I used the quick microwave bacon, 6 slices and then cut it up after it cooked for about 30 seconds. Liberally add the bacon, a little more cheese and fold over. Add a bit more cheese to the top, sprinkle some basil or oregano on top and place a large pot lid so it will help melt the cheese faster. I will turn my burner down to a 3 at this point or after the first flip.

Serve and eat! Add a glass of Cranberry juice and hot cup of coffee...you've got the perfect omelet. Takes less time than sitting in the drive-thru and yelling at the kids. Sit at the table before church and enjoy your family before worship or a Sunday day out.

How do you start a Sunday? With the perfect omelet. :)

Enjoy!

Week 5 Wine Review: La Noble Merlot 2004

Yes I've been behind on my wine reviews lately. Besides working alot on projects and for the main reason, I prefer not to drink alone, as wine is enjoyed with others!

The 5th wine out of my 13 Week Review comes from France, La Noble Merlot 2004. I decided on this red wine mainly because I had never tried it. As you see from my T-Bone Steak article this is the wine I paired such a wonderful meal with. I normally prefer a more robust Merlot, but the La Noble Merlot complimented my meal very well. It did not take away from the spicy flavors of the crawfish or the charcoal grilled steaks. A nice balance between them.

It's what I call a light and airy Merlot. Perfect those white wine drinkers who like it on the light side. With a nice aroma of plum and black cherries that fill the glass, slides down smoothly sip after sip.

It's inexpensive, about $9. Not corked but with a twist top. My juror is still out on twist top wine bottles.

It's a nice recommendation for those who do are not much of a wine drinker and like their wine on the light flavorful side.

Grilled T-Bone with Lemon Garlic Crawfish

I'm not much of a red meat eater anymore. Mostly because I can't seem to digest red meat like I use too. This doesn't mean I no longer eat red meat, it's not a weekly thing anymore. This past weekend was truly an Autumn day. After torrential thunderstorms on Thursday, it left us with a weather weekend to remember! The temps had dropped to the low 70's so it was a good day to fire up the old rusty and I mean rusty charcoal grill. By next summer I'll have a new one. What I have works just fine!

Normally I prepare steaks with lots of seasonings and marinade but this time I wanted to keep it simple. Grilling for some is an art. For others it's just to get it cooked and devour it. I prefer the art with a 'what-ever' attitude. What I mean is, I do not take my grilling too seriously. As long as I watch the meat enough and not burn it...it's a good day. I usually cook on the downside of the fire. Not at the height of optimum heat. I place my meats, whether steak-of-the-day, chicken, burgers or fish to the outer realm of the fire. I keep my bottom vents opened halfwa and my top lid vent opend about a quarter to a half. Enough to smoke the meat and bring the juices to the top. I prefer to only flip my steaks once. Keeping them on the grill till the top of the meat starts to turn brown.

While the steaks are on the grill, I went back inside to prepare the crawfish. Because I live in the suburbs it's rare to see a pickup truck parked on the side of the road selling shrimp or crawfish out of an Igloo cooler, so I had bought some frozen peeled crawfish at my local grocery store. Now before you go yuck, let me help you out here. Yes I prefer fresh, this is the next big thing. Because I prefer to eat healthy and at times hearty...one trick is to thaw the crawfish in a bowl of hot water. Take them out of the pack and then rinse them real good under coldwater to rinse away much of the saltiness.

I love crawfish. No it's not a Southern thing for me. I prefer crawfish over shrimp as it's much more tender and flavorful. I can't get enough of it! Okay, now back to cooking! I have my big skillet on the stove set to medium to medium high heat. Pour some olive oil in the skillet and let it get to temperature. With my crawfish in a bowl (yes, I'm running back and forth checking on the steaks!) I douse them with a bit of Worcestershire sauce (love the stuff), red crush pepper, black course pepper, basil and orgeno...and cannot forget a couple of splashes of hot sauce. Oh! We cannot forget Jim Beam's Garlic & Lemon Sauce. I used the whole 5 ounce bottle. I've cut up a few cloves of fresh garlic. With my olive oil to temp, I throw my fresh garlic in to get it roasted just enough, the throw my crawfish in stirring them around. I have to say, I rarely time anything on the stove, so I'm guesstimate would be around 5 minutes.

By this time, steaks are done. Now I only flipped them once on the grill. I prefer to try to slow cook my meat, saying betwee 20 to 30 minutes on the grill. This time around I dont think they grilled for no more than 15 minutes. I'm like Flash Gordon between my grill and my kitchen at times. If you notice, my steaks are cooked a perfect medium. Or shall I say, MY perfect medium! So tender, my steak knife was useless and lonely.

Now I'm sure you're thinking, what did he prepare for a side dish? Well, I do like to eat light, so I did prepare a pot of green beans. Doesn't matter if they are fresh or canned. Here is how you prepare green beans and keep everyone asking for seconds! This time around I used canned. I wasn't impressed with the local stores 'fresh' produce of the day. Rinse them and place them in a quart size pot, add water about 3/4 of the way up the beans. Cut up a few fresh cloves of garlic and add it in. Next I added some Tuscany seasoning, black course pepper and red crushed pepper...and if you have a bottle of chardonnay opened pour some in, then top off your glass. Turn the temp up to about a boil. They'll be ready when the steaks are done.

The three t-bone steaks were large enough feed six people. It's not quantity folks, it's quality! Top your steak off with the crawfish, add some green beans and pour yourself a glass of La Noble Merlot 2004 for a wonderful relaxing mid-afternoon meal.

...Don't forget to set the table! It's wear all the action is!

Enjoy!