My Favorite Breakfasts by Alison Roman

One question I receive frequently is, “what is Alison really good at?” My answers always include a rambly list about things like roast chickens and middle eastern spices, before I usually arrive at “breakfast!” 

She’s really good at breakfast. Like me, she prefers savory over sweet. No pancakes or waffles (I know she released a pancake recipe in a newsletter recently, but her cookbook has none of that). I find myself craving and returning to her breakfasts almost more than any other type of recipe. And no one seems to mind. 

All of her breakfast recipes (found in Dining In) are worth making. I plan to eat all of them again. Some of them I've even made three or four times each in the past year. While every breakfast recipe deserves its moment in the sun, these three are bound to show up in my kitchen many more times in the years to come. 

1. Baked Eggs with Crushed Chickpeas, Chorizo, and Bread Crumbs. I’ve tried it with chorizo and spicy italian sausage, and chorizo easily wins the day. Or should I say the dish. Spicy sausage is just a little too spicy. Chorizo hits the perfect balance of salt to spice. There’s a lot more I have to say about this recipe, but I’ll just leave you with the link to my blog post about it (above). 

2. Crispy Kimchi and Cheddar Omelette. It’s as simple as a scrambled egg omelette with cheddar and kimchi (don’t you love obvious recipe titles?). But who else has thought to put kimchi in an omelette? Right. Exactly. 

3. Matzo Brei. Matzo crackers come in a box of 10, which left me with a pleasant dilemma after my first go at matzo brei. What to do with the leftover 8 crackers? More matzo brei, of course! I haven’t strayed from the matzo breaking and soaking methods I tried initially (read more in the link), but I continue to turn the heat down more and let the onions spend even longer time over the stove to truly caramelize. The reward is absolutely worth the wait.  

Cripsy Kimchi and Cheddar Omelette by Alison Roman

Lately, I’ve come home from long days at work and felt like I have very little energy left to cook, much less write about my cooking. It has nothing to do with a lack of desire – I’m genuinely interested in cooking. I long to do it! And yet, my body, my mind, my heart feel so tired. It’s true that cooking often gives me energy and life; but not in this season. I just want to sit on my couch and feel mesmerized by the cars that fly by on the Dan Ryan Expressway. 

Last night, I came home from the train station, got dressed in my workout clothes, and walked to an exercise class. I know I just said I don’t have energy, but sometimes my mind can forget that and override feelings of exhaustion for just the amount of minutes it takes to get from my apartment to the gym. Once I’m at the gym, I might as well take the class. You get it. 

After I returned home, I had even less energy to cook dinner. So what did I make? Breakfast food. An omelette with cheddar and kimchi. All it took was beating several eggs, topping them with shredded goat’s milk cheddar and chopped quick kimchi, and then frying it in an even layer in a large pan. Since I made the kimchi the night before, the whole process took a total of ten minutes. And wow, it was delicious. 

Alison nails the ratio of egg to cheese to kimchi, so none of the ingredients dominates the dish. Each one plays an equally important role in flavor and texture. As I mentioned before, the quick kimchi is rather mild. Which in this recipe, works well so as not to overpower. I love a good runny egg, and Alison suggests frying the bottom while keeping it runny on top. You can cook it longer if you want to, but the eggs could quickly turn hard and rubbery. This omelette paired really well with ketchup. The heat from the kimchi makes hot sauce unnecessary. 

142 recipes cooked, 83 to go.