Pan-Fried Eggs w/ Mixed Mushroom Sauté on Toasted Sourdough + Sunday Brunch by Betty Rosbottom {cookbook review}

Sunday Brunch: Simple, Delicious Recipes for Leisurely Mornings

author: Betty Rosbottom
publisher: Chronicle Books
photos: yes
soft cover: 129 pages

chapters/sections:  Introduction - Eggs, Eggs, Eggs - All-In-One: From the Oven - Hot off the Griddle - The Bread Basket - Fruits for All Seasons - Breakfast Complements - Drinks, Classic and New

fun features:  Tucked in the back of the book is The Brunch Planner.  It's just one page, but it combines recipes from the book to make menus for Holiday Brunches (Christmas Morning, New Year's Day, Easter Morning, Thanksgiving Weekend), Brunches for Every Season (self explanatory - seasonal menus), and Brunches with a Purpose (Kids in the Kitchen, Brunch for a Crowd, Brunch in a Hurry, Healthy).

(a few of the many) recipes destined for my kitchen:  Espresso-Scented Coffee Cake, Spicy Shrimp and Grits, Poached Eggs Asparagus and Chorizo, Sausage-Studded Cornbread, Poached Apricots and Greek Yogurt w/ Pistachios

my thoughts/review:  Although a small book, it packs a punch.  It has photos good enough to eat and menu-planning suggestions.  The chapters/sections all have an introduction page with notes and tips and teasers to get you excited for the recipes within.  Each recipe has a great introduction and an easy-to-use guide down the side that states serving size, prep time, start-to-finish time, and any notes (such as able to make ahead).  All of the ingredient lists are medium in size, but with fairly readily available ingredients...many of which may already be in your pantry.  I'm a fan of brunch, so I enjoyed this book. I think it would make a great hostess gift.

recipe(s) I have already tried:  The cover shot.  Pan-Fried Eggs w/ Mixed Mushroom Sauté on Toasted Sourdough.  As soon as the hubs laid eyes on it, he insisted on me making it.  Fine by me.  The kids don't like mushrooms, so it was a brunch for just he and I.  The earthiness of the mushroom and rosemary with that golden yellow yolk flowing through it was SO good.  The toasted sourdough was the perfect vehicle.

Pan-Fried Eggs & Mixed Mushroom Sauté on Toasted Sourdough

by Heather Schmitt-González

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Keywords: saute breakfast entree vegetarian bread eggs mushrooms

Ingredients (serves 4)

Mushroom Sauté:

• 1¼ oz. (35 g) mixed dried mushrooms
• 1½ c. (360 ml) boiling water
• 3 Tbs. olive oil
• 8 oz. (225 g) crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. dried crushed rosemary
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Toast and Eggs:

• 4 (½" / 12-mm thick) slices sourdough bread
• olive oil
• 2-4 Tbs. butter
• 4 eggs
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

for the mushroom sauté:

Place dried mushrooms in a bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Let stand until softened, ~20 minutes. Line a sieve with a double-thickness of paper towels and set it over a clean bowl. Strain mushroom mixture, reserving liquid. Lift the mushrooms out and coarsely chop them. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a medium-sized, heavy frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add criminis and sauté, stirring often, for ~6 minutes. Add reserved mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, and some salt (~½ tsp.), stirring for about 1 minute. Add about half of the reserved mushroom liquid and cook, stirring until it has evaporated, ~5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper, as needed. Cover and set aside.

for the toast and eggs:

Set a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Brush both sides of the slices of bread with olive oil. Add a pat of butter to the skillet, then set in the slices of bread once they melt. Toast until golden on one side, and then flip and repeat. Set toast aside, covered to keep warm.

Add ~2 Tbs. butter to the empty skillet set over medium heat. When butter begins to foam, break the eggs in (do this in a small bowl first, if you like, then slide into skillet). Reduce heat to low and cook, basting the eggs with the butter until whites are firm and yolks are soft and runny, ~3 minutes.

to assemble:

Set one piece of toast on each of four plates. Divide the mushroom mixture amongst the plates. Top each with an egg. Season with salt and pepper, if you wish. Enjoy!

slightly adapted from Sunday Brunch

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photo by Pete Perry circa 2008

about the author: Betty admits to being a picky eater "without an ounce of interest in food" as a kid.  But while in France with a French major planning to study the works of Molière, Rousseau, and Baudelair, she did what I would do - fell in love with the FOOD!  At the suggestion of her husband, after college she took cooking classes and studied cookbooks.  She then decided to teach cooking, herself.  She founded La Belle Pomme Cooking School in Columbus, Ohio and taught the majority of the classes along with great guest teachers (such as Jacques Pépin, Giuliano Bugialli, and Nina Simonds).  Today she is director of classes at the Different Drummer's Kitchen in Northampton, Mass.

Her teaching career led her to writing about cooking.  She's written for a nationally syndicated column called That's Entertaining, contributed to Bon Appetit Magazine, and written 10 cookbooks.  She is also the host for the PBS cooking show, On the Menu. For more, check out About Betty on her website (where I garnered these tidbits).

further info: website | blog | facebook

*I received a free copy of this book to review from the publisher.  All thoughts and opinions stated in this post are 100% mine.

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