Marion Cunningham passed away last week at 90 yrs. young. After reading several tributes from various newspapers ( NY Times, SF Chronicle and SF Gate Inside Scoop) I found out she actually checked out 5-7 years ago from Alzheimer's disease. I often wondered what she was doing but never got around to "Googling" her. Our paths crossed a few times when I was a member of the "San Francisco Professional Food Society" in the 1980's. It was a group of fun loving food and wine "professionals" and I use that term loosely as some of them were more professional eaters and drinkers than actually making a living in the culinary field. Anyway, the "meetings" were always held at different venues and were educational. We had olive oil tastings, Truffle hunts ( the real ones, not chocolate), imported cheese classes, trips to Greenleaf, a San Francisco produce company, cooking classes and more. That was quite a few years ago and I didn't keep any sort of journal, regrettably. It was a time of budding cookbook authors, Marion Cunningham among them. James Beard chose her to rewrite "The Fannie Farmer Cookbook". She then went on to write "The Fannie Farmer Baking Book" and "The Breakfast Book " a charming collection of traditional American recipes with her twist on them. She created the menu for "Bridge Creek", a breakfast restaurant in Berkeley, CA. I never got around to eating there but it was wildly popular. So I bought the cookbook instead, from a bookstore that was later shutdown and the owner arrested, accused of "fencing" books that were stolen. We all bought books there in the '80's and if he didn't have it he would get it for us. It makes me so mad now especially with the demise of small bookstores.
I loved this book as it was my fantasy to one day actually cook and eat breakfasts/brunches. My careers required me to work weekends so the only time I would indulge in brunchy foods were holidays, Easter and Christmas being the main ones. My husband's idea of breakfast was an English Muffin slathered with peanut butter and a beer or just the beer. Twenty years later when I stopped working on Sundays, I dusted off Marion's book and started cooking from it. It is now pretty dog eared and opens to the egg section on it's own. I honed my omelet making from her instructions, baked the "Featherbed Eggs" many times and the cream biscuits she learned in one of James Beard's cooking classes are sublime.
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| Look for this book and buy it. |
In memory of Marion Cunningham I decided to try her "Shirred Eggs". I wasn't in the mood for a huge brunch anyway so this seemed perfect. In the past this recipe didn't peak my interest. Maybe because it was too simple or I preferred other methods of baking eggs. If you have read my past blogs you can see that I love to get that chef's knife out and chop away as well as grate cheeses, cook breakfast meats, bake etc.
I chose the "Shirred Lemon Eggs" but added chopped bacon and a dash of Tabasco. These are eggs baked in ramekins with cream and cheese or other stuff as she points out and easily adjusted to one serving. It was amazing how yummy the lemon zest was with the eggs! The egg white melted into the cream, bacon and cheese with the yolk still runny. Unctuous! With a plate of composed summer fruits and cranberry-walnut bread, toasted, my brunch for one was served.
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| Shirred egg goes into the toaster oven |
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| Brunch is served |
It is a 14 point list of do's and don'ts when serving and partaking in breakfast. Among them "Clean up before you come to the breakfast table: wash your face and comb your hair", "You don't have to get dressed" and "Don't lick your fingers or stuff your mouth with food". All good advice but I choose to get dressed.
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| The book just opens to this page! |
Shirred Bacon and Lemon Egg for one
adapted from "The Breakfast Book" by Marion Cunningham
Butter for ramekin
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1/2 piece cooked bacon, crumbled ( I had this floating around in the frig. you could use ham)
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1 Tbsp. grated mild white cheese
1 egg
dash Tabasco
salt & pepper
1/2 tsp. chopped parsley or chives
Butter a 4 oz. ramekin ( I forgot to do this and it was fine but if you want to turn the egg out of the ramekin you need to butter it)
Pour 1 Tbsp. cream in the bottom, sprinkle the bacon, lemon zest and the cheese over the cream.
Crack the egg into another small bowl and gently tilt it into the ramekin. Spread the remaining 1 Tbsp. cream over the egg. Sprinkle a few dashes of Tabasco, salt & pepper and the greenery of choice on top.
Bake in a 325 oven ( for one or two the toaster oven is perfect). After 12 minutes the egg should be done with the yolk still runny.
