As I have gotten older, I have become much more of a morning person. Recently, I took advantage of waking up early to make two amazing dishes that are not only easy, but utterly delicious! One was for breakfast, and one was for lunch.
For lunch, I made Pad See Ew which is a super easy and super tasty stir fry noodle dish typically eaten in Thailand, but its origins are in China. I started this in the morning so that I could easily pull it together in time for a great weekend lunch.
Pad See Ew typically has wide rice noodles, but I used what was available to me at the time in the Asian foods aisle and they worked well. I soaked the dry rice noodles in water while I prepared the rest of the ingredients.
Earlier in the morning, I combined one pound of flank steak, cut against the grain into bite size pieces with white pepper, chopped garlic, and one quarter cup of thin soy sauce. I set it aside and made the sauce which consisted of oyster sauce, fish sauce, dark soy sauce, thin soy sauce, ponzu, sugar, and salt. I also cracked two eggs to scramble into the wok later.
I prepared my greens which consisted of broccolini and scallions, plus I also used my favorite jarred chili crisp.
I preheated my wok and added neutral oil until smoking. I added the beef mixture and cooked until medium rare, tossing constantly. I next added the broccolini and more garlic, cooking until the broccolini was wilted. I removed all of it to a bowl.
To bring it all together, I cooked the eggs in the wok, added the noodles, sauce, and the beef and broccolini mixture back, and stirred until everything was coated with the sauce.
I garnished with fresh scallions and chili crisp. So much flavor!
Another early morning saw the creation of one of my favorite breakfast dishes - Candied Bacon, Herbed Egg, Cheese, and French Onion Sliders. Yup, definitely a mouthful, but in the best possible way! And as this was for a large crowd (staff breakfast at school), I need to make a large amount. Fortunately, this recipe can be easily made in bulk to feed a large crowd!
I actually made the French onions the night before because they need to cook low and slow and I did not have that much time in the morning. I cooked the thinly sliced onions in butter with salt and pepper, over low heat until they were soft and caramelized. I added a splash of balsamic vinegar to finish and let them cool until the next morning.
Early next morning, I prepared the bacon by coating it in brown sugar, Old Bay, and black pepper on two sheet pans fitted with racks. I baked at 400 degrees for twenty minutes.
I put the bottom half of my slider buns into aluminum pans.
For the eggs, I used muffin tins which I preheated in the oven. Each well was coated in cooking spray. Once the tins were hot (fifteen minutes), I removed them from the oven and quickly cracked an egg into each well, topping with my herb mixture (garlic, thyme, parsley, rosemary, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper). Then back into the oven for fifteen minutes or until the eggs were cooked. You can cook them less or more, depending on how runny or firm you like your yolks. I popped them under the broiler for the last few minutes for a bit more color.
I added a dollop of onions on top of the eggs.
A sprinkling of Parmesan cheese cannot hurt, right?
Next up was a piece of the candied bacon. (I may have been drooling at this point.)
And finally, the tops of the slider buns.
I could have stopped there, but why stop when you can add even more flavor? So I brushed the tops with melted butter...
...sprinkled "everything" bagel seasoning onto the buns, and baked them for a few minutes until golden brown and warmed through - about ten minutes.
I made several trays just like this one and set them in the staff lounge with the rest of the spread set up by my department, and within thirty minutes, they were gone. Next time I will make more, and I assure you, there will be a next time for these!
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