Saturday, August 6, 2011

The Breakfast Book

I hastened down to the local library book sale this morning, trying to be there when it opened at 9:00am, but arriving about 10 minutes past nine.  To my astonishment, people were streaming in and out in large numbers.  This is a relatively small town and it seemed strange on a Saturday morning that so many citizens would be shopping at the library.

I went, as is my wont, directly to the cookbook table and there were slim pickings remaining.  Nevertheless, I found three treasures which I hurriedly took to the paying table--it was now 9:15 and almost all the cookbooks were gone.   The other categories of books were similarly disappearing.  Never let it be said that the Kindle has replaced the book.

The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham was the best find in a long time.  Marion Cunningham is best known for the 1990 revision of the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, but has a long list of cookbooks of her own, including this wonderful small volume with 288 recipes for breakfast delights and even more delightful philosophical nuggets about food and life.

Cunningham has appeared on 70 episodes of her television series, Cunningham and Company on the
Food Network.  Add to that the 11 years she assisted James Beard in his cooking presentations and the 1993 Grand Dame award from Les Dames d'Escoffier.  She also was a food writer for the San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times as well as a frequent contributor to Bon Appetit, Food and Wine and Gourmet magazines.  Quite an impressive pedigree.

But the charm of this book on breakfasts is the simplicity and homeyness it exudes.  To quote her in the introduction:  "The honest simplicity of breakfast is so captivating.  The most delicious breakfasts usually derive from the humblest of ingredients (money alone does not buy good food)...Gathering at the table for breakfast allows us to weave our lives with others--and that should be a daily pleasure."

Her most recent endeavor has been teaching a series of classes on "Learning  to Cook with Marion" and she published a book with the same name.  This series brought groups of 6-8 people to her Walnut, California home kitchen to talk about the lost art of simple home cooking in an environment that encouraged the questions of adults who really are intimidated by the simple, but unlearned "kitchen tricks."  The students then make three dishes which are basic; after successfully completing them, the students feel confident to branch out and experiment. 

Cunningham uses the following tips to help new cooks. (These "Marion-isms" are based on a list prepared by cooking student Jamie Jobb). 

   When cooking, there is one main rule:  Taste, taste and taste again."  Problems with a recipe often can be remedied while preparing a dish.  It's much harder, if not impossible, to tweak afterward.

   "The oven is our friend.  You don't need to watch over something if it's in the oven.  Use the time to enjoy your dinner guests."

   "With each dish, try to achieve one taste. Too many ingredients result in a culinary cacophony.

   "Your hands remember things because they're closer to the ingredients.  Don't be timid about touching the food you cook."

   "Butter will smooth out sharp tastes and rough edges."

   "No matter what the recipe, things can change.  Slight differences in ingredients, room temperature, humidity, lunar gravitational pulls, solar flares or other unknown conditions can affect how a dish turns out.  So always taste as you go and make note of any changes." 

A few of her better known recipes from The Breakfast Book follow:

Bridge Creek Heavenly Hots

"These are the lightest sour cream sliver-dollar-size hotcakes I've ever had--they seem to hover over the plate.  They are heavenly and certainly should be served hot."


4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
12 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup cake flour
2 cups sour cream
3 Tbsp sugar

Put the eggs in a mixing bowl and stir until well blended.  Add the salt, baking soda, flour, sour cream and sugar and mix well.  All of this can be done in a blender, if you prefer.  Heat a griddle or frying pan until it is good and hot, film with grease and drop small spoonfuls of batter onto the griddle--just enough to spread to an approximately 2 1/2-inch round.  When a few bubbles appear on top of the pancakes, turn them over and cook briefly. 

Lemon Zephyrs

"These small free-form souffles are light as clouds and sweet as the west wind.  Breath carefully or else these fluffy zephyrs may blow right off your plate.  Serve with a slice of buttered, toasted pound cake."

4 Tbsp. (1/2 stick) butter
2 Tbsp milk
7 Tbsp confectioners' sugar
6 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
3 egg yolks
1 tsp flour
2 tsp grated lemon rind
1 cup fresh raspberries (or any fresh berries)
Sugar to taste for berries

Preheat the oven to 425.  Use a shallow (about 2 inches deep) 14-inch oval baking dish; or use a rectangular dish that is an inch shorter.  Have a 8 or 9-inch round paper plate at hand.  Combine the butter, milk and 1 Tbsp confectioners' sugar in the baking dish.  Heat the mixture until the butter has melted, stir, and set aside.
Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy, then gradually add the remaining 6 Tbsp sugar and beat until stiff but moist.  Beat the egg yolks thoroughly and add the flour and lemon rind to the yolk mixture.  Gently fold the yolk mixture into the beaten whites.  Now you are going to shape the batter into four balls. Using the paper plate as a scoop, pile in a football shape one quarter of the souffle mixture at the end of the baking dish.  Scoop up three more equal portions and drop next to each other.  There should be a row of four balls of approximately the same size in the baking dish.  Place the dish in the preheated oven and bake for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the peaks of the souffles are slightly golden.  Sprinkle the berries with sugar if they need some.  Remove the souffles from the oven and sprinkle the berries all over the zephyrs.  Bring to the table and serve.  Or serve on four individual dessert plates, with a little of the sauce from the bottom of the baking dish spooned over each serving.