A daily ritual I indulged in was stopping at a deli nearby work and ordering a breakfast sandwich and coffee to have at my desk as I prepped for the day. In case you'd like to know, I'd had two different jobs in NYC, both for many years....a Controller for a theatrical lighting company associated with Lee International UK (Star Wars, James Bond movies, to name a couple); and then the head bookkeeper for a photographic company that specialized in advertising photos. I have to admit that the Controller job was my very favorite as I was lucky to be able to meet producers, directors, film and music stars. Anyway, back to the food talk...
The breakfast sandwich consisted of two fried eggs, cheese and bacon on a buttered roll; if you wanted salt, pepper and ketchup added, you had to ask for it. You could order scrambled or over easy, but the completely fried eggs made it easier to eat at your desk and not have egg get all over you or the desk. Coffee was made up for you as you liked it; no going to another counter to add sweetener, cream or milk; and none of those fancy lattes and such. Coffee was pure, real coffee!
...and so today I'm going to give you some breakfast food porn. Since I'm at home, I can make those over easy eggs, cut into them and have the luscious yolk ooze out and down along the rest of the sandwich. The roll, toasted, is firm; dipped into the yolk, it sops up that lovely liquid which then coats the lips of the mouth with eggy goodness. Hot for a New York Deli Style Breakfast sandwich now? Lets make one....
The best kind of roll for this sandwich is the Kaiser roll; plain, or with poppy or sesame seeds, doesn't matter as they're all good. Cut the roll open so you get a top and bottom half. Now you can either butter the insides and toast them on a griddle or inside a skillet; or pop the halves in a wide mouth toaster and then butter them. You definitely want a slice of American cheese on both sides though.
Melt a little butter in a skillet, put the eggs in and listen to them sizzle as they give up their liquid to that heat. Fry them up "hard", so the yolk is totally cooked; or go for the "over easy" and those luscious yolky centers. Scrambled eggs tend to squeeze themselves out of the roll, as if they're trying to escape and then require a utensil to capture them off the plate. You want your hands and that entire sandwich to dance together as partners.
Lay those fried eggs down on that Kaiser roll bed and cover them with a blanket of crisp bacon. As your teeth crunch on the bacon, your senses come alive from the released smoky sensation. Oh, don't forget to add salt, ground black pepper and/or ketchup to your tastes, or should I say to what your senses desire?
...and there is your breakfast food porn for the morning. Enjoy, I know I did. *wink*
Mary Cokenour
