Happy Monday everybody!  I am out of the office today but still wanted to post something special and fun. I posted this 3 1/2 years ago and received a very good response as to what people liked on their toast. So I thought, readers have changed, tastes have changed – let’s ask again? What does everybody like on their toast?

Quite a title for this post… isn’t it?  Well I am hoping to have an interactive post about toppings for your toast.  Now of course there is plain butter but I thought I would share with you some of my all-time favorite toppings for toast.  In return, I would love for each and every reader to post their favorite topping in the comments section.  I think this will be fun!

Let’s keep in mind that the options are endless and it’s very difficult to narrow it down to just ten.  It just so happens that I have a couple of different loaves of bread on hand so here are some of my favorites and a couple pictures.

Top Ten Toast Toppings

1. Apple Sauce (homemade), Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Dash of Brown Sugar – A simple dessert like toast that can be enjoyed anytime of the day.
2. Peanut Butter, Nutella (or any chocolate spread) and Banana – This stick to your ribs favorite will get you going in the morning.
3. Butter, Strawberry Jam, Sharp Cheddar Cheese - Possibly one of my all time favorite…. i love the combination of cheese and homemade jam from Mom.
4. Bacon, Tomato, Cheddar Cheese - A quick BLT without the lettuce… you can add lettuce if you want but I prefer without.
5. Almond Butter, Honey and Granola - The sweet goodness really fills you up in the morning. great combination of flavors here.
6. Butter, Garlic, Parmesan and Mozzarella Cheese - The old fashion garlic bread… can you really beat it. Serve this up with a big dish of Spaghetti
7. Tuna Salad, Celery, Havarti Cheese - A simple lunch that really fits the bill and is so delicious on a thick slice of multigrain bread in the toaster oven.
8. Butter and Poached Egg - The breakfast classic and oh so good with a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice or even a berry smoothie



9. Brie, Cranberry Sauce and Bacon – Killer snack and even great for parties on mini toasts.
10. Chicken Salad, Walnuts and Diced Granny Smith Apple - One of my favorite open faced sandwiches.

Zesty Tip: When cooking toast, always try and add the topping as soon as the toast is popped and at it’s hottest point.  Also if you are adding a fairly heavy topping, I like to brown the toast a little darker than normal to avoid the bread getting soggy.

So there you have it, my top ten toast toppings!  I am sure that there are hundreds of combinations out there, so let’s hear them.  This is a great opportunity for you to share your crazy toast toppings.  You just may realize that it is not that crazy after all.  Have a great Tuesday everybody.  Keep Smiling.

zesty

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Good morning All!  I am writing this from the lovely Northern Virginia area in the hotel prior to some meetings today.  Lately I have been eating a lot of eggs and one thing I find with eggs is that they are very versatile.  Which is a good thing… but you have to keep it fresh and real!  Make eggs fun.

I wanted to walk through the way I cook an omelet.  This is something I talked about three years ago but I wanted to freshen it up and share a few things I have learned along the way.

Omelets: They’re easy to cook, right? We’ll see.

The first thing to remember is that you need the right size of frying pan. This is more important than you may think. Too large, and the omelet will dry out; too small, and it will not cook through.

As a basic guide, you need a 15 centimeter pan for a two-egg omelet and a 25 centimeter pan for a four to six egg omelet. That is, 6 in. and 10 in. respectively. Which, handily enough, is pretty much the size of pans you should have in your kitchen anyway.
The second most important thing is not to beat the eggs. I’ll repeat… do NOT beat the eggs like they stole your iPad from you.

Instead, abandon the habits of a lifetime and stir the yolks into the whites using a knife blade. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Warm your empty pan through on a moderate heat, add a good knob of butter, turn up the heat and swirl it round to coat the bottom and sides of the pan.  When the butter is foaming pour some into the egg mixture, stir it in and then immediately pour the eggs into the pan.

Shake the pan to spread the mixture evenly. Now, using a fork or thin spatula, draw the cooked egg away from the edge of the pan and let the uncooked liquid run into the space created.

When the omelet is almost cooked, but the surface is still soft and liquid, flip one edge of the omelet towards the center of the pan so that it folds over. Then slide the unfolded edge onto a warmed plate, rolling the folded edge over the top of it as you do so.  An omelet cooked in this way requires no filling, except perhaps some fresh, chopped, herbs added to the egg mixture about 15 minutes before cooking.

So just to recap, by all means you can add extra ingredients to your omelet, whether it be cheese, vegetables or meat.  It will not really change the cooking time just be careful not too add to much extra “stuff” as it will dry out the mixture.  For the one above I added some baby spinach and a little cheese.  It was excellent and sometimes I have been even getting in the habit or serving a little salsa with it.

I have a question for you!  How many people eat beans with their eggs?

Can’t wait to hear from you.  I will check the comments and I will be back Wednesday for another post.  I am working on getting the brussel sprout recipe from last week to post for everyone to enjoy.

Take care

zesty

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Happy Monday!  Life seems to be back to normal, holiday season is behind us, regular work days are back in order.  How is everyone doing?  Hopefully everyone’s new years resolutions are still on track – I feel I am having a pretty good start to the new year so all is positive.

Remember last week when it was all about pork?  With the pork chop pot roast and the old fashion baked beans?  Well, it is hard to have homemade beans without some sort of homemade bread to dip into them.  With that said, I whipped up a batch of whole wheat biscuits with butter that worked just fine.

Pretty simple recipe and the flavor of the whole wheat flour was very nice.  Usually for biscuits  – I am a white flour kind of guy but I will be honest, these biscuits were really tasty.

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Whole Wheat flour
• 1 Tbsp. Baking powder
• 1 Tsp. Salt
• 1 Tbsp. White sugar
• 1/3 Cup Butter
• 1 Cup Milk

Method

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually stir in milk until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
3. Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead 15 to 20 times. Pat or roll dough out to 1 inch thick. Cut biscuits with a large cutter or juice glass dipped in flour. Repeat until all dough is used.
4. Brush off the excess flour, and place biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet.
5. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges begin to brown.
6. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Warm the milk in the microwave before adding to the dry ingredients ( Momma zesty told me that). I always like to rub the tops with some left over milk as well prior to cooking to help the tops become golden brown.  If you have buttermilk… even better.

Another biscuit story…  Have you ever heard of frozen butter biscuits?  Apparently Michael Smith does a recipe with frozen butter where he shaves it into the batter and they turn out amazing.  These are next on my biscuit list!  Did I ever tell you I love biscuits?  Have a manic monday and I will see you all for the hump of the week.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty