A Breakfast by Any Other Name Would Taste as Good

What to cook, what to cook? I always ask myself what I want to cook, and every time I brainstorm, I come up with all sorts of new options I (1) haven't tried before, or (2) tried before, loved, and want to repeat. So last Saturday, when I tried coming up with ideas, I thought of a few items I wanted to cook, and then realized a theme: Faux Breakfast!

The appetizer was the start of the inspiration. I love creating cheese plates with meats and cheeses and sauces and toppings, often creating brie and gruyere and sunflower seed and whole grain mustard combinations to wash down with great wines. But by far, my favorite flavor combination is smoked prosciutto with brie and whole grain mustard. After years of experimenting, it still remains my favorite, though some French and sheep cheese combinations with fruit jams have given it a run for its money. So Saturday, I decided to do something creative--put them in a roll form, with the prosciutto wrapping slices of brie and the whole grain mustard. I had to get the combinations of each one just right, but when I did, it took all the work out of the actual enjoyment of the flavors. This was my "bacon and cheese". (It looks like bacon, doesnt' it?)

For my entree, I wanted to cook Korean BBQ, but if I was having rice, I wanted the egg on top. (I'll always want an egg on top of my rice. My cholesterol levels are normal, thank you very much!) So here came the inspiration for "Asian steak and eggs". I found a couple choice pieces of tri-tip, and remembering them to be tender, I wanted to try a Korean BBQ marinade on them. I broiled them for 10-15 minutes, as instructed on the Trader Joes label, but they still came out a little overcooked and only mildly pink. I sliced it in advance so I wouldn't have to slice at the table, then I realized this was a critical mistake. Apparently tri tip dries out very quickly, and regardless of how tender the meat was when it was first sliced, when pieces with fat marbling would turn out to be dry and flavorless. I tried brushing on more of the marinade and meat juices, only to realize it would dry out a couple minutes later. Note to self: ALWAYS go for the rib meat or leave the slicing to the dinner table right before you eat it.

Dessert was simplest, with very little preparation. I had "toast and chocolate". For this, I sliced up a couple pieces of Sara Lee pound cake (forever a classic!) and a piece of chocolate chocolate mochi. Mochi, for those of you who are unfamiliar with it, is a flavored tapioca wrapped around a morsel of chocolate, so you can hold it with your fingers and bite into it. The chocolate chocolate is my favorite because not only do you get the two different textures, the tapioca and the ice cream, but you also get chocolate chips in the ice cream! Mmmm! It served as a sugary counterpart to the pound cake, which is typically sweet enough on its own. I don't have a picture of this, but you know how Sara Lee pound cake looks--like a loaf of bread and slices of toast!

The whole meal made me miss having people over for dinner and reminded me I need to invite more people over to entertain as guests. I was born to be a hostess in my home!