Migas

I love Mexican food and Tex-Mex all day, everyday, but if I had to pick a favorite meal at which to indulge, it would have to be breakfast. No other type of cuisine does breakfast the way they do South of the border: in neat little tacos filled with eggs and meats, with fried tortilla strips mixed with cilantro and cheese, or wrapped up in delicious, portable burritos. Makes the standard plate of scrambled eggs and bacon look kind of sad, doesn't it?

When I read about migas, a dish that's a staple in parts of Texas (Austin being one of them), the description reminded me of what may be my all-time favorite breakfast--chilaquiles. Except migas had even more in it--milk, melted cheese, and tortillas that were fried to a crisp and then added to the pan after the veggies had softened. Dare I say? It sounded even better than chilaquiles. Of course, I had to have a go at it. Since then, I've done a bit of research, and it turns out that chilaquiles are traditionally made without eggs--just salsa, cheese, and fried tortilla strips as the base! So that mouthwatering breakfast I've been making all this time was actually technically migas. Go figure.

In any case, this recipe was absolutely, straight-up delicious. And easy. I whipped it up quickly on Sunday morning, and it started the day (and the week) off right. I love these on their own, but feel free to jazz them up with some homemade salsa, refried beans, any type of breakfast sausage you like, or a good dollop of hot sauce (my boyfriend ate his with some Sriracha). Happy eating. xo

Migas
Adapted from The Homesick Texan, by Lisa Fain 
Ingredients:
8 eggs 
1/4 cup whole milk 
1/3 cup peanut oil 
5 corn tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch wide strips 
1 small onion, diced
4 jalapeños, diced 
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack or cheddar cheese (or a combo of both!) 
1 cup cilantro, chopped 
Salt and peppers 

Directions:
Crack the eggs into a bowl and pour in the whole milk and the cilantro. Whisk until just combined. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Pour the oil into a large cast-iron skillet set over medium-high heat. When oil starts to shimmer, add the tortilla strips. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the strips are crisp, about three minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove and drain on paper towels. Remove all but two tablespoons of the oil.

Turn the heat down to medium, and add the diced onions and jalapeños to the skillet. Cook until onions are translucent, about three minutes. Pour in the egg mixture and add the tortillas. Spread everything out into an even layer, and then let cook undisturbed for one minute. Gently stir the mixture, and once again spread it out into an even layer. Sprinkle on the cheese and cook until it melts. Turn off the heat.

Season the mixture with salt and pepper and garnish with extra cilantro. Serve the migas with salsa, refried beans, flour tortillas, your favorite breakfast sausage, or a good dollop of hot sauce, if you like.

Breakfast Tacos

One of my favorite things to eat on weekend mornings are breakfast tacos. They're easy and delicious, and eaten with your hands--what could be better? Besides breakfast burritos, but that's a story (and recipe) for another day. These particular tacos combine eggs, bacon, a chopped green bell pepper for some crunch, and a healthy scattering of shredded Cheddar, all wrapped up in a lightly toasted flour tortilla. But one of the best things about tacos is the freedom and variety of them--you can use whichever ingredients strike your fancy that day to create your own personal taco nirvana. Although I tend to be partial to bacon, try mixing things up by throwing in some good chorizo or your favorite sausage. Throw in some chopped jalapeno for more heat! Vary the kind of cheese you use on top! It's almost impossible to go wrong here. xo

Breakfast Tacos
Makes 4 tacos 
Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

4 large eggs, beaten

4 pieces of bacon, cooked and sliced

salt and black pepper, to taste

4 flour tortillas

1 cup refried beans, heated

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Salsa (optional)

Directions:

Heat a large skillet, preferably cast-iron, on medium high, and melt the tablespoon unsalted butter.  When butter is melted, add the chopped pepper and saute until just soft, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and cooked bacon (or meat of your choice) to the skillet and gently scramble for about 3 minutes or until done to your liking.  Stir constantly for the best, fluffy, curdled texture. Taste and add salt and black pepper.

Heat up the flour tortillas either in a skillet or by laying them on top of a gas burner turned on to a low flame.  When a tortilla starts to puff (about 20 seconds) turn it over and cook for another 20 seconds. 

Take a tortilla and spread 1/4 cup of refried beans in the center of the tortilla.  Add a quarter of the scrambled egg mixture and top with 1/4 cup of cheese and salsa.  Fold in half and enjoy!

Pan-Fried Mochi

You may be wondering why I would publish a recipe for such an odd-looking dish, obviously meant for vegans and the health-obsessed, when I so clearly don't belong to either group. Don't get me wrong, I do try to balance my diet with a good mix of guilty indulgences and healthier fare, but I don't put a ton of thought or planning into it. I just eat what my body is telling me it feels like eating--and it rarely steers me wrong (well, not for too long anyway).

But back to this recipe. Yes, it's healthy. Yes, it's a smart carb choice. Yes, it's a whole grain and wheat free. It's all of that and even more. It's delicious. Mochi is a traditional Japanese food that plays a part in a large number of dishes in Japan, and I can see why. Cut up and pan-fried like this, it transforms into gooey, sticky pieces with a satisfyingly crisp exterior. It's good for both sweet cravings and salty ones. If you want it strictly savory, simply leave out the drizzle of brown rice syrup at the end. This stuff is great for a midday snack that won't leave you with that imminent sugar crash, and it's good for breakfast too. In fact, it's what I had for breakfast this very morning--and I feel great. xo

Pan-Fried Mochi
Adapted from The Kind Life, by Alicia Silverstone
Ingredients:
1-2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 package unflavored mochi, cut into 1"x 2" rectangles
Soy sauce
Brown rice syrup (about 1 tablespoon per serving)

Directions:
Heat the oil in a cast-iron or stainless steel frying pan over medium heat. Place the mochi pieces into the pan, making sure they don't touch. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for exactly 4 minutes. Flip the mochi, add about 2 drops of soy sauce to each piece, cover, and let cook for another 4 minutes. The mochi should begin to get gooey and puff up a little. It will be deliciously crisp on the outside and sticky on the inside. Don't be alarmed if they morph into funny shapes--that happens sometimes.

Transfer the mochi to serving plates and drizzle with rice syrup. Yum.

Perfect Buttermilk Pancakes

One skill that everyone in the world should acquire is the ability to make a perfect pancake. It's a trick that will come in handy for the rest of your life, after all--late Sunday mornings when the only things you want in life are the Sunday Styles section and a stack of hot cakes, the first weekend you spend with a new boyfriend (or girlfriend), or when you're just in the mood for a good, old-fashioned pancake supper, a la Friday Night Lights.

I found this particular recipe in Gwyneth's cookbook and then fiddled with it a bit to make it more to my liking (i.e. cutting it in half so that you only get around a dozen pancakes or so, instead of the 3 dozen the original recipe called for--I don't think there will ever come a time in my life where I'll need 36 pancakes at once). Also, the original recipe called for fine salt, but I used Kosher since it was all I had on hand, and the cakes came out absolutely delicious. I'd even go so far as to say these may be the best pancakes I've ever had. Try them out and let me know what you think. xo

Perfect Buttermilk Pancakes
Adapted from My Father's Daughter, by Gwyneth Paltrow
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 scant teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon Kosher salt or fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more butter for cooking
3 organic large eggs
About 1/2 cup whole milk, as needed to thin batter
Real Vermont maple syrup, for serving

Directions:
Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk the buttermilk, butter, and eggs together in another bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, whisking just enough to combine (small lumps are okay). Let the batter sit, covered overnight in the fridge. The next morning, heat up your griddle or favorite nonstick pan and slick it with a little butter. Add enough milk to the batter to thin it to the right consistency--the thicker the batter, the thicker and heavier your pancakes; the thinner the batter, the more delicate your pancakes--neither is wrong. Cook the pancakes on the griddle or pan, flipping them after bubbles appear on the surface of the uncooked side. Let cook 2-3 minutes more, then remove, and eat with lots of maple syrup.

Peach Compote

In lieu of going out, I spent Friday night curled up on my couch catching up on the August issues of Bon Appetit and Vogue, and making some headway in The Emperor's Children, by Claire Messud. Wild and crazy, it was not. But it was also exactly what I needed after a busy work week filled with meetings, appointments, and evening events. Bon Appetit has undergone a full makeover since the changing of the guard there, and I'm absolutely loving it--this issue may just be my favorite ever. Not least because I found a simple, delicious recipe for apricot compote in it, which I decided to make for breakfast this morning. I made a few tweaks (i.e. subbing peach for apricot since it was all I had, but a stone fruit is a stone fruit, right?), and it came out perfectly--sweet and glazed and slightly charred on one side. Served on a bed of full-fat Greek yogurt, it was a nice way to start the week. Recipe below serves one. xo

Peach Compote
Ingredients:
1 ripe peach, pitted and halved
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tablespoon white sugar
Full-fat Greek yogurt
Fresh tarragon leaves for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Combine peach halves, lime juice, and sugar in a large skillet. Cook over medium heat, turning occasionally, until peaches are glazed and syrupy, about 5-6 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and chill. Serve with the yogurt and garnish with tarragon leaves, if desired. I didn't have tarragon on hand (and don't particularly like herbs and fruit together) so I grabbed a baby spinach leaf and stuck it on purely for decorative purposes.

Avocado Toast

I've recently developed a serious addiction to avocado. Don't get me wrong, I've always loved it--I eat guacamole every chance I get--but this is something different altogether. Different as in, I've eaten an avocado every single day for the past month or so. So, yeah. It's a pretty intense attachment. It all started when I ordered the avocado toasts from the little juice bar at Great Jones Spa downstairs from the CA Creative offices. They were divine. Served on lightly toasted sprouted bread with a thin, creamy layer of tofutti, topped with sliced avocado, olive oil, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper, they were the very definition of the simple, easy, deliciousness I so love in my meals. And so, of course, I had to recreate it at home.

I bought a sprouted bagel from Whole Foods, a few just-ripe avocados, and went home to try to up the recipe--perfect perfection, if you will. And you know what? I think I just succeeded. The key is in the salt. I used Maldon sea salt, and although it will be just fine with regular sea salt or Kosher salt, the Maldon takes it to the next level. Best part is, this is some seriously healthy stuff. Some nutritionists actually recommend that you eat an avocado a day for all the cholesterol-lowering, nutrient-absorbing benefits it bestows. Sprouted bread is even better for you than multi-grain. And tofutti is the non-dairy, vegan's answer to cream cheese. Awesome. xo

Avocado Toasts
Ingredients:
Sprouted bagel or sprouted sliced bread
1 organic avocado
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Tofutti
Maldon sea salt
Black pepper (freshly ground, if possible)

Directions:
Slice the bagel in half lengthwise and toast. I don't have a toaster (takes up too much counter space), so I drizzled some olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat and toasted the halves face-down for a few minutes until they were nicely browned and crisp at the edges. Spread the Tofutti evenly on both slices. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Pit and thinly slice the avocado. Lay the slices gently down on both halves. Sprinkle with a pinch of Maldon salt and a few grindings of fresh black pepper. Enjoy.

Blythe's Blueberry Muffins

Breakfast has always been my favorite meal for several reasons. For one, it's the only time during which something as ridiculously decadent as an oozing, frosting-covered cinnamon roll can pass as an acceptable meal. Sweets as meal? Yes, please. See also: pancakes, scones, muffins, doughnuts, et al. Not that I would advocate going that route often, or even more than, say, once a month. But still, just knowing the option exists is strangely comforting.

Beyond that, the very act of wandering into the kitchen in your pajamas, sleepy-eyed and hungry, fixing yourself something good to eat, and huddling over the morning papers with a steaming hot cup of coffee or tea in hand, taking in the quiet of morning, the anticipation of a day that is just beginning—there's something so bracing and nourishing about it. It's one of my very favorite rituals.

And lastly, when you bake muffins for someone, or make pancakes for them, or squeeze some oranges into a bright, pulpy juice until their glass is full, it seems, to me, like the ultimate act of care and love and friendship. You're sending this person—this person whom you most likely love—off into their day with a full stomach to sustain them through whatever may come their way. Is there any better start to a day—for both parties?

In fact, I don't know why I don't post breakfast recipes more often. I made these delicious blueberry muffins on Sunday morning for my friend Matt and a slew of my doormen before heading off to a long day at the Veuve Clicquot Polo on Governor's Island. I figured the carbs would help with all the champagne consumption. They're incredibly simple and the dry ingredients can be preassembled the night before for an even speedier morning. Try them out and let me know what you think. xo

Blythe's Blueberry Muffins
Adapted from My Father's Daughter, by Gwyneth Paltrow
Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large organic eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large bowl whisk the cooled butter, eggs and milk until everything is incorporated. In a separate bowl whisk the flour, 3/4 cup of sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and stir everything together until the batter is smooth and creamy. Fold in the blueberries.

Fill each muffin cup about 1/2 full, dividing the batter evenly amongst all 12 cups. Sprinkle the muffin tops with the remaining teaspoon of sugar. Bake them for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. These muffins are best served warm.