Straight from 19th-century American cookbooks, these big chunks of ripe beefsteak and green tomatoes get bathed in a warm, garlicky, sweet-sour dressing. They stand on their own, top greens, or make a good potato-tomato salad. Bacon fat was favored 150 years ago; olive oil works well today. Out of season, this recipe still works with supermarket tomatoes on the vine.
The Lazy Front Porch Supper menu includes: Pickled Red Onions with Cilantro, Corn and Haricots Verts in Lime Shallot Butter, Heirloom Tomatoes with Bacon, Blue Cheese and Basil, Shellfish Watermelon Ceviche, Grilled Steaks with Red Chile Sauce, and Fresh Fig Tart with Rosemary Cornmeal Crust and Lemon Mascarpone Cream.
Ingredients
Ingredients
This combination of sorrel, smoked salmon, and eggs makes one of the best brunch dishes I've ever eaten. When sorrel leaves are shredded and cooked in butter, they wilt dramatically and quickly turn into a puree, almost as if they melted. Add some cream, and you have a lemony sauce that complements the smoked salmon more keenly than a rich hollandaise. Just remember it takes a lot of sorrel leaves to make a little bit of sauce, so make this dish when you have plenty to harvest or can buy big bunches at the market, usually in the spring or early fall.
When peaches arrive in the market, Lynne likes to whip up a Bellini, the refreshing drink made with fresh peach puree and champagne, said to have originated at Harry's Bar in Venice in the 1930s.
Shellagh Connelly, chef/owner of Mildred Pierce Cafe in St. Paul (and a woman who understands breakfast food down to her soul), created the dish for her breakfast menu. For me, my version illustrates an important point—cream cheese is one of the most underrated ingredients in the market.
A wonderful onion tart variation of quiche Lorraine that is full off flavor Trust me, you won't miss the bacon.
I call this "Challah French Toast à la Peter Pan" after the restaurant where I first had it as a child.
Deviled eggs are a must at Southern church dinners-on-the-grounds and camp meetings. This is a little more sophisticated version, with lemon zest and a touch of vivid red caviar.