I wanted to make a special Valentine's breakfast for Dennis. What has been really challenging cooking for him are three things: portion control, having no to low sodium, and the infamous dilemma of meat or no meat?
IMAGINE, CREATE, & JUST MAKE DO. IMPROVISE!
Set the criteria:
1. Den loves meat. So I had an image of a sunny side egg with steak.
OK, so what kind of meat did I use? It was a simple, inside round steak that had been pounded.(value of $2);
2. Incorporate a heart. Since it was Valentine's day I remembered I had a cold gala apple: it's red, delish and cold. (almost free, $1);
3. Colour. Den loves oranges! oh! and green onion ($1) always makes things look pretty.
4. Carbs. Urgh. We ate all the breakfast potatoes yesterday... So at Metro grocery, they have this new limited edition by Gadoua (www.gadoua.qc.ca) Maple English muffins. Yup. That's better than potatoes again. Yum.
5. Technique. How do I cook a perfect steak for an ex-chef ? Hmm. Slowly and low heat for this thinly sliced meat, keeping the inside almost raw til later.
How do you toast english muffins without a toaster? Frying pan. Trust me it's better.
How do you add sodium to meat and give flavour when on a cardiac diet? Bagels on Greene's (www.bagelsongreene.com/) super awesome, special, magical dressing, that I saved from my mango salad and mixed in on high with au jus of the slow cooked meat, some butter and chopped, yellow onions.
Salt? Nah. There is already salt in the dressing. Mrs. Dash is actually both awesome and great on eggs. I cut three slices of a P'tit Québec very mild cheddar packet ( http://www.kraftcanada.com/brands/ptit-quebec ).
Sweet? OK maybe just a tiny drizzle of maple syrup on the meat.
6. Decor. There is a difference between "here's your breakfast!" and "I love you and here's your breakfast". So I always think to myself, if I would take a picture of this (which I always do) how would I want this to look?
7. Drink. Our new all time fav is the freshly pressed no sugar added 100% apple cider (Jus tradition - Vergers Paul Jodoin) with a cube of ice.
et Voila! Steak n' eggs @ casa de Carranza
