Seasonal breakfast recipes a family treat

The meatball recipes kept rolling in, and some of you asked about the ones with the blue cheese in them, so clearly we have to “do” meatballs again, and now I have a pile of fig bars to work on, too. So while I am dubbing around with that stuff, I thought I would tell you about a couple of other things I make this time of year that you might enjoy, too.

When there is basil and spinach to pick, we fix eggs two different ways at our house as a real seasonal treat. One is eggs with basil. Years ago, I first ate this at a little caf? where I think they were named something like “Italian Eggs.” The other is eggs with spinach which I suppose we can call “Eggs Florentine,” because if it has spinach in it, it is named Florentine, right?

The eggs and basil recipe comes from our urge to pinch back basil so it won’t bloom right way. You don’t need much basil for this, so just go along and take out the top two or three little leaves to use. And you need garlic. I know some people probably wouldn’t like the idea of starting out the day with garlic on their breath so for them this might be better for brunch or a quick supper. But if all you breathe on is a computer keyboard or table saw all day, go for it.

Eggs Florentine helps us get on top of the spinach situation when the stuff threatens to bolt (like it did this week). Spinach really melts down when you cook it; a huge pile becomes a pathetic little wad in no time. If you wanted to make Eggs Unflorentine, you could use chard, broccoli rabe, slightly overgrown mesclun, or tender young kale. Dill is good in this dish, so is basil or tarragon.

As you will see in the recipe below, the only other thing to think about very much is the time the eggs are under the broiler – just watch them so they don’t get hard and dry. The recipes are for one person, though usually I only want one egg for myself. It is easily multiplied for more people.

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Italian Eggs

Serves one

1 tablespoon each of butter and olive oil

Clove of garlic, sliced

Three or four leaves of fresh basil

2 eggs

Salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese

Heat a saut? or omelet pan (or your favorite frying pan) and put in the butter, oil, garlic slices. Cook the garlic for a minute or two, then add the basil. As soon as it is wilted, drop in the eggs. Reduce the temperature to low, and put a lid on the pan. When the white has set, sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste and the parmesan cheese and run it briefly under the broiler merely to firm up the white on top of the egg. Slide onto a plate or a slice of toast.

Eggs Florentine

Serves one

1 tablespoon each of butter and olive oil

a chopped shallot or small onion

three or four handfuls of fresh spinach (a whole bag if you have four people.)

dill or basil or tarragon

2 eggs

salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese

Heat a saut? or omelet pan (or your favorite frying pan) and put in the butter, oil, and shallot or onion and cook it for a minute or two, then add the spinach and herbs. Turn the spinach over from time to time, and when it is all wilted, cook off some of the liquid by pushing the spinach to the side of the pan and allowing the liquid to boil away. Push the spinach back to the bottom of the pan, making a couple of dents in it, and drop the eggs into them. Reduce the temperature to low, and put a lid on the pan. When the white has set, sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste and the Parmesan cheese and run it briefly under the broiler merely to firm up the white on top of the egg. Slide onto a plate or a slice of toast.