Probably the most popular item on any fastfood morning menu is the breakfast sandwich.
All kinds of good things can be snuggled between the two halves of your chosen sandwich receptacle, be it an English muffin, a bagel, a biscuit or toasted bread. I haven’t included instructions below for poaching eggs or making biscuits (you can find instructions online, or check out the nsnews.com website for my Poaching Eggs
Not That Hard column and the recipe for Back Bay Cheddar Biscuits from my column Chowder is a Real Charmer.
Breakfast Bacon Cheeseburgers with Maple Mayo
1 lb lean ground beef
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 slices havarti cheese
8 slices of bacon, cooked until crisp
4 eggs, fried (sunny side up or over easy)
4 English muffins, toasted
Maple Mayo:
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tsp maple syrup
2 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix together the ground beef, salt and pepper. Form beef into four thin patties about one inch larger in diameter than the English muffins. Cook the patties in a hot skillet until no longer pink in the centre, about four to five minutes per side. About a minute before the patties have finished cooking, top each one with a slice of cheese.
While the patties are cooking, whisk together the maple mayo ingredients in a small bowl until well blended. To assemble sandwiches, spread both halves of the English muffin with maple mayo. Place a burger patty on one half of each muffin, top with a fried egg, then two slices of bacon then the other half of the muffin. Serve immediately. Makes four sandwiches.
B.A.T. On A Biscuit
4 eggs, poached
8 slices of bacon, fried until crisp
1 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
1 ripe tomato, sliced
1 cup fresh baby spinach, washed and dried thoroughly
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 large cheese biscuits, purchased or homemade (you can substitute toasted bagels or English muffins)
Room temperature butter
Wrap the biscuits in foil and place in a 300° F. oven until warm. Cut each biscuit in half and spread each half with butter then top each bottom half with several spinach leaves, tomato and avocado slices, two bacon slices and the poached egg.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, then add the top half of the biscuit. Makes four sandwiches.
Grilled Monkey Nut Sandwich
8 large slices of artisan-style bread (such as Italian, French, or ciabatta)
4 Tbsp chunky peanut butter
4 Tbsp chocolate-hazelnut spread
2 large firm, ripe bananas, sliced
Room temperature butter
Preheat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat (or use a panini press). Spread four pieces of bread with the peanut butter and the other four with chocolate-hazelnut spread.
Top the peanut buttered bread slices with sliced banana and invert the slices with chocolate-hazelnut spread on top to make a sandwich.
Butter the top of the sandwich and place it buttered-side down in the skillet then butter the piece of bread that’s now on top. Cook the first side of the sandwich until golden brown then flip the sandwich over and cook the other side. Serve immediately. Makes four sandwiches.
Brie ‘n’ Apple French Toastwiches
8 thick slices of day-old French bread
8 oz of Brie cheese, cut into quarter-inch thick slices
2 Gala apples, peeled and cored and cut into thin slices
3 eggs
¾ cup milk, preferably homogenized (don’t use skim)
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
½ tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp butter
Warm maple syrup for serving
Top four slices of the bread with half of the sliced Brie then with sliced apples then the remaining sliced Brie. Place the other four slices of bread on top and press down firmly.
Whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl then pour mixture into a shallow dish large enough to hold one sandwich. Melt butter in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat; dip both sides of two sandwiches in the egg mixture just long enough to saturate the bread without making it soggy.
Place the sandwiches in the skillet and cook until golden brown on the bottom then flip over and cook the other side. Repeat process with remaining two sandwiches. Serve immediately with maple syrup. Makes four sandwiches.
Angela Shellard is a self-described foodie. She has done informal catering for various functions. Contact: [email protected].
