Ah, Breakfast

O.K., time for another food confession (albeit, a mild one): while I love dinner, I really, really love breakfast. There's nothing better to me than a big, leisurely Sunday brunch with great eggs, some potatoes, an English muffin, and great coffee. Yes!

I've been thinking about breakfast a lot of late, as it's the featured item in the October issue of Saveur magazine. One thing did pop out. I love peanut butter. But Nutella? Apparently, according to Saveur, this was introduced to the world in the 1940's by Italian pastry maker Pietro Ferrero. It was inspired by gianduja, a paste-like confection of chocolate and hazelnuts native to Italy's Piedmont region. Anyway, I'm now on a quest: to track down some Nutella, try it, and see if I like it more than peanut butter. I know, I know, not the most exciting thing to ever happen in Every Meal A Feast land. But this is about breakfast, man, and thus this becomes a worthwhile, even noble, quest. Stay tuned.

I'm waxing poetic today.... October -- and fall -- almost here. Soon, Mother's Apple Pie, holiday parties, New Year's Eve. Holiday meals with family. Menus being mulled right now (though they remain virtually the same every year). My personal wish now, as September leaves us: to not just find but create magic in every meal through these final three magical months of the year.

Viva la Tortilla! (my way)

As FROTB know, I'm big here at Every Meal A Feast on authentic. For my tortillas, for example, I'm not big on flour -- a little too fluffy for my taste. For me, give me corn tortillas, and cooked my way.

Which is? Toasted on a gas burner. That's right. I buy white corn tortillas, get the burner going low, and gently toast the tortilla on both sides. The heat gives the tortilla that charred flavor that feels so... well, so Mexican, and thus authentic.

A couple of tips, should you decide to do this:

1. Keep the gas low.

2. Don't drop the tortilla on the burner (it knocks out the gas)

3. Don't wander away; it only takes 30-45 seconds per side

4. Use tongs when changing the tortilla from side to side (tortilla will be hot)

Enjoy!

Food Confession: No. 1

With this blog, I’ve wanted to share with you my good and bad experiences with food and wine, as well as the funny and…well, sometimes, not so funny. But am I ready to share something a little deeper, a little darker, a little more, shall we say, twisted? Do I really want to sink into those places where we almost always only whisper about behind closed doors?

I think so. I wouldn’t be doing FROTB (Frequent Readers of this Blog) justice if there were food and wine topics I shied away from, for any reason. So here goes my first Food Confession (yes, there will be others—I think).

Deep breath, hold, now exhale…. Count to five. And….

I have a favorite set of dishes.

There, I’ve said it. Here they are:

It’s the “Cabaret” series from Sango. To me, these plates and dishes and cups and sauces epitomize fun and making “every meal a feast.” They remind me of the Belle Epoque, or “Beautiful Era,” that time between world wars when Paris was vibrant and spontaneous and very much alive. Anyway, I love these with Sunday brunch…and with Thanksgiving dinner. I drink my coffee every morning in a Cabaret cup. They help put a smile on my face, make food a little more fun. They’ll never show up in one of our garage sales, as long as I’m around and kicking.

Hey, that wasn’t so bad. In fact, I’m going to share ANOTHER food confession right here, right now: I have my eyes on another set of dishes (they’ll never replace Cabaret as my favorites, but man can’t live by one set of dishes alone). Here they are. They’re the “Black Forest” series created by the artist Bodo Sperlein.


These obviously are the complete opposite of Cabaret: black and white, starker, simplistic. I, however, happen to have a thing for bare trees. I just like the looks of them. And to me they also symbolize dormancy, that rest before spring’s big explosive growth. As a writer and creative marketing guy, it’s very hard to be creative EVERY SINGLE DAY. You need that rest, those "away" times to mull, to recharge the batteries, and to…well, do nothing.

Anyway, these are expensive ($82 per dinner plate plus tax and shipping) so I won’t be running out to get them soon. But I have my eye on them. And they will be mine one day. I just don’t know when.

There. Two confessions. That wasn’t so bad.

Now, what’s your favorite food/wine item? A favorite coffee mug? Set of wine glasses? A plate handed down by Grandma Betsy? It's O.K., you're among friends. It's alright to let it all out.