A Flavor for Life

I like to start off days at home with the entire family gathered around the breakfast table. But in those early morning hours, I face stiff competition by the way of soft down comforters, memory foam pillows, and mattress pads. So the only surefire way I have of getting everyone out of their beds is to have the scent of a hot breakfast wafting through the cracks of everyone’s door frames and underneath their blankets, prepping them for that call: “Breakfast!”

And then I wait. And sure enough, I hear comforters beginning to rustle, limbs reaching out to stretch, and eyelids opening to the light of day: the sweet sounds of success.

On most mornings, a simple dish like this frittata with the savoriness of the pancetta and onion permeating throughout is all that I need. But weekend mornings call for a bit more ammo. That’s when I’ll bake up some extra special breakfast treats, like this lavender brown sugar stuffed french toast (not pictured, but recipe below!).

Pancetta Frittata
Serves 4

3 whole eggs
7 egg whites
2 pinches of salt
2 pinches of pepper
handful flat leaf parsley, minced
4 strips of pancetta (or bacon)
1 small onion
1 medium tomato
1/3 cup of freshly grated parmesan

Set the oven to broil

1. Whisk together the eggs, salt, pepper and half the flat leaf parsley until combined
2. Thinly slice the tomatoes. Set aside for now.
3. Mince the onion and then the bacon
4. Saute the pancetta in an oven-safe pan over high heat until the fat is rendered. Add the onions and saute until the pancetta is crisp and the onions are caramelized.
5. Lower the heat to medium-high. Pour in the egg mixture. Lay the tomato slices on top and sprinkle the parmesan atop it all. Continue to cook over the stove top without disturbing until the edges are cooked and the top begins to cook (about 3 minutes)
6. Transfer into the oven and finish cooking (about 3-5 more minutes)
7. Garnish with the remaining half-portion of the minced parsley

Lavender brown sugar french toast
Serves 4

4 thick slices of brioche
4 tablespoons lavender brown sugar butter
1 cup milk (I use nonfat, but milk with higher fat content will be more rich and decadent)
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
A drop of vanilla extract
A pat or 2 of butter

Melt a pat of butter on a 10-inch, non-stick pan over medium heat. Until nice and browned. If the butter browns too much, remove from the heat.

1. Cut slits into the middles of each of the slices of brioche
2. Smear a tablespoon of the brown sugar butter into each of the cavities and close
3. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and cinnamon
4. Drench the slices of brioche in the milk and egg mixture and set on a cooling rack. Let sit for about 1 minute.
5. Place the slices on the hot pan
5. Lower the heat to medium-low* and let cook until golden on one side (about 2-3 minutes)
6. Turn and cook until golden on the other side (about 2-3 minutes)

Serve warm

* Cooking on medium-low heat will allow the lavender brown sugar butter in the centers to caramelize within the french toast