TOAST MASTER
This week I'm sharing more, yes more, musings on toast and a couple of simple recipes for toast toppings.
Here at But First Breakfast, it seems I can’t shut up about toast.
I have spent the last few weeks trying to understand why. Why does toast rank highest on the list as my most favorite, must have breakfast item?
Assuredly, it’s not because childhood memories of toast for breakfast fondly surface. Breakfast used to be, from school age until sometime in my twenties, my least favorite meal. I have no idea how or why my hunger seemed to flip, turning me from a breakfast hater into a voracious breakfast lover. But flip it did. For decades now, my mornings begin with a solid breakfast which almost always includes toast.
I’ve concluded that the best thing about toast, aside from its crunch and yeasty smell as it cooks in the toaster, is the variety of foods with which toast can be topped.
Another key feature that makes eating morning toast non-negotiable, is that morning toast represents a clean slate, a fresh canvas, like the new day whose possibilities await.
In other words, I am the literal toast master when I create my morning toast.
Making morning toast is all about self-indulgence and self-care. Let’s face it. We don’t get to be masters of much in this world. Right now, when uncertainty and conflict are rampant, preparing morning toast is not only comforting but gives me a moment of hope. I’m asking a lot from toast in that moment. Toast is about how expectation tastes and most mornings toast reminds me to stay hopeful about the state of the world and the endless possibilities for resolution.
Morning toast actually begins the night before. I go to sleep imagining what kind of toast I might be in the mood for in the morning. Sometimes, when I have trouble quieting my mind before sleep, I brainstorm toast topping options. This nighttime ritual calms me down, lifting my spirits as I drift off to sleep.
I’m in good company here when it comes to nocturnal food musings.
Nigel Slater, who I’ve referenced previously from his book “Toast”, a memoir chronicling his growing up through food, dreams of the blackcurrant pie his father regularly brings home from the bakery:
“––he’s cut each of us a slice of blackcurrant pie, sliding the thin slices onto glass Pyrex plates. This is the pie I think about all week. The pie I lie in bed and dream about before I go to sleep. The fruit is sharp and sweet, the pastry pale and crumbly, like it is only just about cooked.”
See? I’m in really good company.
If you haven’t read Toast, published in 2003, I highly recommend it. The Guardian’s 20th anniversary article is linked here.
A recent nighttime using led me to mushrooms. Mushrooms are one of my favorite things to eat. I like all kinds of mushrooms. When I order or make pizza, it is almost always covered in mushrooms. However, not everyone in my family likes mushrooms. To protect the innocent, no names will be mentioned here. But it saddens me that making a batch of mushroom soup or a mushroom risotto is something I usually only cook and enjoy when I have company or it’s a holiday and there are plenty of other dishes to choose from.
To indulge my mushroom craving I decided to make a mushroom sauté to use as a toast topping for breakfast. You could also use this recipe as a topping for creamy polenta, fold the mushrooms into an omelet, or stir them through a risotto.
MUSHROOM TOAST:
Makes 4 servings
1 package dried porcini mushrooms, like Melissa’s
3 tablespoons butter
1 pound thinly sliced cremini or portobello mushrooms
1 package reconstituted dried porcini mushrooms
2 small cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
¼ cup light cream or crème fraiche
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon Diamond Kosher salt
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Slice of sourdough bread or your favorite toasting bread of choice
1. Boil enough water to cover the mushrooms. Let the water cool for 3 minutes before pouring it over the dried mushrooms which you’ve placed in a heat proof bowl. Let the mushrooms soak for 15 minutes.
2. Heat a large, wide skillet over medium-high heat and add butter. When butter begins to sizzle, add mushrooms and 1 of the crushed garlic cloves. Stir often and cook about seven minutes, until lightly browned.
3. Drain porcini mushrooms. Save the liquid for another use like…….
4. Add salt and pepper to skillet along with the light cream or crème fraiche. Allow to simmer for two minutes.
5. Remove mixture from pan and place in a bowl. Cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
6. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and porcini mushrooms to the now empty skillet.
7. Cook at medium heat for about 3 minutes.
8. While porcini mushrooms are cooking, toast your bread.
9. When toast is ready, rub the remaining garlic clove on the surface of the bread.
10. Place toast on a plate and top with the porcini mushrooms.
11. Spoon mushroom mixture from the bowl on top and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
I also wanted to make a sweet drizzle I could top some sub-par strawberries with. This is just the thing to drizzle on berries or even spread it on – you guessed it – TOAST! Thin it out with more light cream or milk if you want it to be drizzlier.
SWEET CREAM DRIZZLE:
Makes about 1/2 cup
2 ounces room temperature cream cheese
1 tablespoon brown sugar
¼ cup light cream, plus a bit more if necessary
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
A sprinkle of cloves
Juice from ½ lemon
Place cream cheese and light cream in a microwave safe bowl. Cook on high for about 30 seconds.
Remove from microwave and stir with a small whisk or fork until well combined and smooth. This is where you can decide if you need to add a bit more cream, a tablespoon at a time, to get a smooth consistency.
Add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and juice from the lemon.
Stir well and drizzle over strawberries, or fresh fruit of your choice.
Oooo, both of these sound delicious. I'll admit, I'm especially partial to the mushroom toast - I absolutely adore them.