Good Morning, Darlings!

I have quite the treat for you today. My guest blogger is none other than my perfect husband, Eric! Take it away, Honey!

Good morning, and hello, everyone. I’m lucky enough that I get to eat what you read about here – or most of it, anyway. Patti is a wonderful cook and a joy to cook with, but I also like to cook for her. When it comes to what to cook, I like to keep my recipes simple, tasty, and if I may admit, pretty big — well, not too big. Good-sized. On weekends I love to cook breakfast, and every lady loves breakfast in bed, which is a lovely start to Valentine’s Day.

Surprise your favorite this Sunday with an easy and yummy breakfast of an omelette , hash browns, english muffin, and juice. It goes together quick and sticks to your ribs till dinner.

If you buy pre-packaged shredded potatoes at the store (fresh, never frozen, make sure there’s nothing funky in there), they work great, but prepping them by hand isn’t hard at all. For two people, one large potato or three small ones will do fine: julienne them and boil unsalted for five minutes – they cook fast, and they’ll cook more in the skillet. While they boil, mince 1/4 onion. Heat up a skillet to medium and add one tablespoon of vegetable oil (olive oil is a waste in this dish) and one tablespoon of butter. Turn the pan to coat the bottom, then add the onions to the pan, and stir every 30 seconds or so to keep them from getting too brown. Time to drain the potatoes and that means it’s time for the oil and water song: On some paper towel, pat them dry/ To avoid splatter in your eye/ These little guys are gonna fry. Put all the potatoes in the pan and toss them to coat, spreading them evenly across the pan. Salt and pepper to taste. I use a big pinch of salt here, about 1/8 tsp. Now’s the time to add diced tomatoes, if you like. If you can flip a giant potato pancake, then you could have skipped this paragraph; if you can’t, stir the hash browns every minute or so, letting them get nice and crusty. When they’re golden brown, it’s time to start on the easiest omelette you’ve ever made.

Put the english muffins into the toaster.

In a nonstick pan, melt one tablespoon of butter over medium heat. When it’s melted, crack four eggs into the pan, spaced evenly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then jab a spatula into each yolk and stir it all together. Shake the pan to fill any gaps with liquid. Over the half of the pan opposite the handle, spread 1/4 cup shredded cheese and 1/2 tsp of herbs. Use her favorites – Patti’s are Jarlsberg and sage. Let the eggs mostly set, turning the pan if new gaps appear, watching for moist peaks. Shake the pan gently to loosen the omelette; if it slips and tears, let it set again. Once it slides freely, flip the omelette. It’s a lot easier than the potatoes. Flip it back over after 30 seconds! If you’ve done it right, the cheese is gooey melty and a couple strands may be stuck to the bottom of the pan, and the eggs look just solid. Take it off the heat, it’s time to serve it up. To fold the eggy side over the cheesy side, grip the pan with the handle away from you. Slide your spatula under the omelette right at the handle, lean the pan toward you, and lever it over. It should make an audible “flop” as it folds over; from there, cut it roughly in half with the spatula and the halves will slide out onto plates.

Pour the o.j. and butter the muffins, plate the potatoes, this battle is OVAH. Elapsed time? 20 minutes or so, depending on the strength of the coffee.

So that’s how I was going to start Valentine’s Day, but then I went and gave away the surprise. I wish for you a lovely and romantic weekend. Now I’m off to come up with a new plan…

Cheers!