Breakfast at O'Rourke's. Brian O’Rourke
a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crispy. Put it on paper towels to drain, then crumble. Pour off most of the bacon fat, reserving about two tablespoons in the skillet. Sauté tomatoes in the fat over low heat until just cooked.
In a bowl, whisk the eggs thoroughly. In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and pour in the eggs. When the eggs begin to cook, lay the provolone, bacon, tomatoes, Guacamole, and hash across the middle of the omelet. (Envision your omelet being a trifold with your ingredients in the center.) When the eggs are cooked, fold each edge of the omelet over the hash. Flip the omelet over, so that the seam is on the bottom. Cook 1 minute more. (Avoid overcooking—the inside should stay moist.) Garnish with fruit.
HOME FRIES
Serves 8
There are so many variables at play when you are making home fries. Even at the diner, where we follow the same recipe and have made them a million times, they don’t always turn out the same. The outcome with home fries depends on the quality of the potatoes, the size of the potato when diced, boiling the potatoes to the proper texture, frying them with the right amount of onion and spices, and how busy it is at the diner.
| 6 | medium potatoes, any variety, cut into ¾-inch dice, peeled or not |
| 1 | stick margarine or butter |
| 1 | onion, diced |
| 3 | tablespoons paprika |
| 1 | teaspoon salt, plus more for the potato-boiling water |
| 1 | teaspoon black pepper |
| 1 | teaspoon garlic powder |
In a large pot, cover the diced potatoes with cold salted water. Bring them water to a boil, then turn off the heat and check the potatoes for doneness every 2 minutes; when a fork can easily be inserted and removed, they are done. Rinse and shock the cooked potatoes in cold water. Drain well.
NOTE Although it’s not necessary, I refrigerate my cooked potatoes overnight and grill them the next morning. I like the consistency that results with this method.
Melt the margarine or butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes, onion, spices, and salt. Cook until the Home Fries have a nice brown color.
IRISH BROWN BREAD “SCONES”
Makes 10 scone-size brown breads
Irish Brown Bread can be found throughout Ireland, and everyone’s grandmother makes the best, according to the family. There are countless variations of brown bread. Once you have perfected the basic recipe, explore different flavors and textures by experimenting with various grains and add-ins. You can also try different shapes by using a muffin pan or making round loaves. Be sure to adjust cooking times accordingly.
Our Irish Brown Bread was once served at the White House as part of a program to feed the hungry. What a thrill I had when the FedEx truck arrived at the diner to pick up my bread for delivery to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!
| 2 | cups whole wheat flour |
| 1¼ | cups all-purpose flour |
| 1 | cup wheat bran (crumbled bran flakes or All-Bran may be substituted) |
| ¼ | cup sugar |
| 1 | teaspoon baking soda |
| ½ | teaspoon baking powder |
| ½ | teaspoon salt |
| ½ | stick butter, plus more for greasing the cookie sheet |
| 2 | cups buttermilk |
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a cookie sheet.
Mix all the dry ingredients together into a bowl. Cut in the butter using a paddle blade on a stand mixer, or hand-cut into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender or your fingertips. Add the buttermilk and stir just until incorporated. Do not overmix! Using a large ice cream scoop (#20, which holds about 2 ounces), place the dough on the prepared cookie sheet about 4 inches apart. Place in the oven as quickly as possible from the time the mixture is incorporated!
Bake for 12 minutes. Rotate the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for about 5 more minutes or until the brown bread feels solid to the touch. Remove from the oven, let sit for 10 minutes, then cool on a wire rack. The scones may be split in half horizontally and grilled with butter.
Variation GUINNESS-OATMEAL BROWN BREAD
To make, substitute 1 cup of Guinness stout for 1 cup of buttermilk and 1 cup of old-fashioned rolled oats for ½ cup of all-purpose flour and ½ cup of whole wheat flour.
Add 1 cup of raisins or ½ cup of sunflower seeds if desired.
GUACAMOLE
Makes 2½ cups
Guacamole goes with so many things—eggs, chicken, seafood. You name it. Guacamole and tomato makes a great summer sandwich, as does guacamole and cucumber.
| 4 | ripe avocados |
| ¼ | cup diced red onion |
| ¼ | cup diced fresh tomato |
| ¼ | cup minced onion |
| ¼ | cup fresh cilantro leaves cut into chiffonade (see Note) |
| Juice of 2 limes | |
| 1 | teaspoon chili powder |
| 1 | teaspoon kosher salt |
| 1 | teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted |
Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits. Using a spoon, scoop out the avocado flesh into a medium bowl. Mash avocados and then stir in the additional ingredients. Let sit overnight, covered tightly, to allow the flavors to blend. (If the Guacamole is not tightly covered, the avocados will oxidize and turn brown overnight.)
NOTE Chiffonade refers to herbs or leafy vegetables cut into thin strips or ribbons. To make anything into chiffonade, stack the leaves, roll them up tightly like a cigar, and cut them crosswise into very thin strips.
Tri–Pesto Omelet
MENU
Tri-Pesto Omelet
Colcannon
Portuguese Sweet Bread
TRI-PESTO OMELET
Serves 1
When I first started experimenting with pesto, I made a roasted red pepper pesto with my neighbor’s ripe bell peppers. There is nothing like using fresh ingredients for a pesto! If you like a little spice, try adding some poblano peppers to the mixture.
This particular omelet started with a basic omelet filled with roasted red pepper pesto. Eventually, I got a little inspiration from the leprechauns and decided to add my spinach pesto. Eventually, I mastered a caramelized onion pesto, and the tri-pesto omelet was created!
| 3 | medium-sized eggs |
| 2 | tablespoons butter |
| 1 | tablespoon Onion Pesto (page 20) |
| 1 | tablespoon Spinach Pesto (page 20) |
| 1 | tablespoon Roasted Red Pepper Pesto (page 20) |
| ¼ | cup store-bought or homemade ricotta cheese (page 71) |
| A small amount of each pesto, for garnish |
In a bowl, whisk the eggs thoroughly. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, and pour in the eggs. When the eggs begin to cook, spread the three pestos across the middle of the egg, one next to the other. (Envision your omelet being a trifold with your ingredients in the center.) Spoon the ricotta across the top of the pestos. When the eggs are cooked, fold over each edge of the omelet over the pestos. Flip the omelet over, so that the seam is on the bottom. Cook 1 minute more. (Avoid overcooking—the inside should stay moist.) Use the remaining pesto to garnish the top of the omelet. Drawing the Italian flag would not be inappropriate! Serve with Colcannon and Portuguese Sweet Bread. (Home Fries, page 11, are also shown in the breakfast photograph on the preceding page.)
When scrambling, frying, or poaching eggs, the size of the egg is not important. I’ve found that medium-sized eggs seem to give the best flavor, and so that is the size I use.
COLCANNON