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Overview
John Currence is one of the most celebrated and well-loved chefs in the South. Among his string of highly successful restaurants in Oxford, Mississippi, Big Bad Breakfast holds a special place in diners' hearts: It is a gathering place where people from all walks come together to share the most important meal of the day, breakfast. Southerners know how to do breakfast right, and Currence has elevated it to an artform: dishes like Banana-Pecan Coffee Cake, Spicy Boudin and Poached Eggs, and Oyster Pot Pie are comforting, soulful, and packed with real Southern flavor. Big Bad Breakfast is full of delicious recipes that will make the day ahead that much better--not to mention stories of the wonderful characters who fill the restaurant every morning, and a meditation on why the Southern breakfast is one of America's most valuable culinary contributions.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781607747376 |
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Publisher: | Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed |
Publication date: | 09/13/2016 |
Sold by: | Random House |
Format: | eBook |
Pages: | 272 |
Sales rank: | 971,240 |
File size: | 179 MB |
Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF BREAKFAST
1. THOU SHALT EMBRACETH THE DAY.
First, accept that every day is new, fresh, and unique. Position yourself in the kitchen with an attitude that reflects your solemn purpose: you are about to prepare THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY, likely for someone you care for (otherwise you would not be up and at ’em at the stove).
2. THOU SHALT HOLD NO MEAL HIGHER THAN BREAKFAST.
Commit to raising this disregarded meal from the depths of neglect to the place of honor it deserves. Pledge to put the same effort and passion into preparing breakfast as you would lunch or dinner. In other words, make something other than just a plate of eggs.
3. THOU SHALT GET THY MIND RIGHT.
This is fun, damn it. Plan ahead so you don’t stress yourself out early in the morning: shop the day before, stock strong coffee, prep certain items in advance, and find some music that gets you going in the wee hours. All of these will make the chore at hand a little easier.
4. THOU SHALT SLATHER WITH BUTTER.
It will not kill you (consumed in quantities within reason, that is). Just let go for a few minutes and enjoy life a little. No fat tastes better on toast with jelly or when cooking eggs (bacon fat included).
5. THOU SHALT ANOINTETH WITH BLACK PEPPER.
Whenever pepper is called for in an ingredients list, use freshly cracked black pepper. (The only exception is when I specifically call for white pepper.)
6. THOU SHALT MAKE FROM SCRATCH.
It will certainly take more time and effort, but the essence of Big Bad Breakfast is scratch cooking. It’s what made grandmother’s cooking “grandmother’s cooking.” As a matter of fact, I am certain that if my grandmothers and great-grandmothers had not succumbed to other, more natural afflictions, shame over what we accept as food these days would certainly have consumed each of them.
7. THOU SHALT USE RESTRAINT WITH INGREDIENTS.
Lots of folks get the wrong idea about recipes and lean toward “the more flavors and ingredients I add, the more complex the end product.” This could not be farther from the truth. The best cooking celebrates the elemental beauty of ingredients. You want to be able to taste everything in the dish, not create something that is just a muddle.
8. THOU SHALT SEEKETH LOCAL WHENEVER POSSIBLE.
Honey, eggs, grits, bacon, sausage, jellies, coffee, flour—whatever it is, a local product is more often than not going to have a more singular character. Visit farmers’ markets, bake sales, local farms, and locally owned grocery stores.
9. THOU SHALT NOT OVERCOOK.
I am fascinated with the American worry about “undercooking things.” Food can always be cooked more if it is not cooked enough, but YOU CAN’T FUCKING UNCOOK IT if you cook it too long. Granted, we shouldn’t rub raw factory chicken on our toast right before we eat, but I have been making fresh mayonnaise and Caesar dressing with raw eggs for thirty-five years and nobody has ever been sick. Trichinosis is not carried by domestic pigs, and a piece of cooked pork that’s still a little pink beats the crap out of a well-done, dried-out offering. Try the yolk runny, people. With a little salt, it transforms dishes from good to resplendent.
10. THOU SHALT REMEMBER THE SABBATH, BUT COOK FROM THIS BOOK EVERY DAY.
You can make pancakes for your kids, freeze them, and rewarm them later. You can make a breakfast casserole or assemble sweet rolls the night before and just turn on the oven the next day. Breakfast is a fun meal, and most of the time, it doesn’t require a ton of effort or mess. More often than not, it’s just about clearing your eyes and committing to loved ones. Remember, breakfast is a joy, not a chore, and the possibilities are endless. It just comes at a weird time of day. And if that’s the deal breaker for you, well, shit, make breakfast for dinner.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Foreword John Besh xi
Foreword David Chang xii
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 The Welcome Basket 6
Sausage Cinnamon Rolls 9
Buttermilk Cake Doughnuts 10
Banana Pecan Coffee Cake 13
Sourdough English Muffins 14
Dried Fig Calas 16
Honey Buns 18
Blueberry Muffin Tops 19
Rum Raisin and Orange Scones 21
Monkey Bread 22
Baked Cornmeal and Buttermilk Doughnuts 24
Chapter 2 The Incredible, Edible, Omnipresent Egg 26
Fried Eggs Master Recipe 30
Scrambled Eggs Master Recipe 31
Poached Eggs Master Recipe 31
Big Bad Breakfast Egg Bake 32
"Broiled" Tomato Benedict 35
North Mississippi Eggs Benedict 37
Big Bad Breakfast Quesadilla 38
Louisiana Crab Cake Benedict 40
Chorizo Migas 43
Double-Boiled Eggs with Black Truffle 45
Shrimp Breakfast Enchiladas 46
"Double Oyster" Hangtown Fry 48
Summer Vegetable Quiche 51
Tugboat Galley Eggs and Dirty Rice 52
Eggs Sardou 55
Spicy Boudin and Poached Eggs 57
Hillbilly Eggs Hussarde 61
Shakshouka 62
Chapter 3 Omelets and Frittatas 64
French-Style Omelet Master Recipe 66
American-Style Omelet Master Recipe 66
French Omelet with Gruyère, Asparagus, and American Bacon 68
Big Bad Breakfast Chili and Cheese Omelet 71
The "J.Y.D." An American Omelet 73
Pepper and Chorizo Frittata 74
Roasted Potato and Adobo Frittata 77
Open-Faced Stewed Okra and Tomato Fritt-Omelet with Swiss Cheese 79
Herbolace, aka the Original Fines Herbes Omelet 83
Shrimp and Bacon Omelet with Soft Cheese and Pesto 84
Shrimp Fried Rice Omurice 85
Low Country Cast-iron Skillet Scramble 87
Creole Skillet Scramble 91
Roasted Mushroom Skillet Scramble 92
Yard Work Skillet Scramble 93
Chapter 4 Pancakes, Waffles, Crepes and other Things "Bready" 94
Silver Dollar and Short Stack Buttermilk Pancakes 96
Belgian Waffles 98
Peanut Butter and Banana Pancakes 99
Shrimp and Pickled Onion Crepes with Mornay 101
Multigrain Pancakes 103
Hoecakes 104
Toasted Oatmeal Pancakes 107
Fresh Corn Arepas 108
Mamie's Favorite French Toast 109
Brioche French Toast 110
German Pancake 113
Big Bad Breakfast Pain Perdu 114
Homemade Pop-Tarts 115
Chapter 5 BFO: Breakfast for Dinner (and Vice Versa) 118
Shrimp and Grits 121
Bruléed Grapefruit 122
Breakfast "Succot-hash" 124
Shrimp Gravy Biscuit Sundae 125
Crawfish Cakes 127
The Pylon 129
Roasted Tomato Cobbler 130
Crawfish Étouffée 132
Sautéed Trout, Soft Scrambled Eggs, Chanterelle Mushrooms 134
Oyster "Potpie" 137
Pork Tenderloin 662 with Crabmeat and Pecan Butter 138
Creamed "Chipped" Mushrooms on Toast 140
The Egg Bowl 143
Huevos Cocineros 144
Chapter 6 Cereals, Grains, and Other Pseudo-Virtuous Things 146
Homemade Vanilla and Double Almond Granola 148
Cinnamon and Citrus Oatmeal with Dried Black Mission Figs 150
Homemade Frosted Cornflakes 151
Homemade Grape-Nuts and Fruit Parfait 152
Grits and Collard Soufflé 155
Italian Sausage, Spinach, Hominy "Risotto" 156
Pork Posole 159
Creamed Toasted Barley with Nuts and Dried Fruit 160
Homemade Crispy Rice "Elvis" Treats 161
Chapter 7 Breakfast Sandwiches 162
Fried Chicken Cathead 164
With Signs Following 167
Monte Cristo 168
Mountey Crisco 169
Egg and Rice Burrito 171
Chicken Sausage Pancake Sandwich 172
Breakfast Croque Monsieur 174
Grilled Ham and Pimento Cheese Sandwich 176
Country Ham Egg Muffin 177
Egg Salad 179
Chapter 8 Sides, Condiments, Meats, and Extras 180
Black Pepper Buttermilk Biscuits 183
Garlic Cheese Grits 187
Cayenne Pepper Sauce 188
Louisiana Satsuma Jelly 189
Black Pepper Honey 191
Spicy Bacon Onion Jam 192
Fig Preserves 195
Pontchatoula Strawberry Jam 196
Red-Eye Gravy 198
Sausage Gravy 199
Tomato Gravy 201
Saucy Black Beans 202
Pimento Cheese 204
Mayonnaise 205
Strawberry Cream Cheese 206
Apple Butter 207
Raspberry Butter 208
Blackberry Mascarpone 210
Comeback Sauce 211
Breakfast Sausage 213
Chicken Sausage 214
Chorizo 215
Livermush 217
Gravlax (Lox) 218
Chapter 9 Eye-Openers 220
Grapefruit Mimosa 223
Michelada and a Shot 224
Ojen Frappé 227
Big Bad Breakfast Bloody Mary 228
The Idiot's Champagne Cocktail 229
Bloody Bull Shot 230
Advantage: Connors Celery Soda 233
Eggnog 234
Dad's Milk Shake 237
Peach Lassi 238
Uptown Express 241
Decatur Street Gutter Punk 242
11:00 a.m. Kickoff 243
Falling Down Brown Cow 245
Donkey Punch 246
The Vacation Wife 248
About the Author 251
Index 253