Breakfast for Dinner

As I was making my grocery list this morning, I asked my daughters what they would like to have for dinner this evening. As per her usual request, my oldest shouted, "breakfast for dinner!" before her younger sister could even think of a particular food she would like to eat. Immediately following the first shout was, "bacon and eggs for dinner!" (My kids both could live on bacon alone.) I didn't even really have to hesitate before I agreed because, I too, love having breakfast for dinner. There is just something about flipping a meal on its head - particularly breakfast - that appeals to me. Apparently, I have, much like my own children, always loved breakfast for dinner nights. Ours usually was bacon and eggs with a little stack of toast that had always been freshly and generously buttered by my mother before she set it on the table. Ahhhh......the simple pleasures in life. In any case, since I am a chef and since I don't do anything, food-related at least, particularly simply, I asked my daughters if they would like plain, old bacon and eggs or if they would like.....wait for it.....breakfast quesadillas! I guess I sold it well, because they agreed quickly to the new menu item. Score!

Now, I have to give credit where credit is due here. I did not come up with the idea of breakfast quesadillas. I had breakfast with my dad a couple of months ago at Austin Java, a local coffee shop/cafe, and spied this on the menu. I thought it sounded really interesting, so I ordered it and ended up enjoying the heck out of meal. This is not a hard concept really - it is basically a potato, egg and cheese breakfast taco rejiggered into a....you got it....quesadilla! The tortilla was crispy, the eggs fluffy and hot, the cheese gooey and melty and the potatoes lightly caramelized. (By the way, Austin Java also has amazing salsa which was served with this dish. I am a bit of a salsa snob and I LOVE theirs.) Anyway, I decided to rip off their menu idea and try it at home.

I started by nuking a couple of red potatoes in the microwave for about two minutes per side. Basically, they were all but cooked when I took them out, scorching hot, four minutes later. I cubed them while I heated some canola oil in a skillet, then sauteed them for a couple of minutes until the cut sides turned a gorgeous crunchy brown. I pulled them from the heat, parked them in a bowl and used the same skillet to scramble a few eggs. While the eggs were cooking, I put some whole wheat tortillas down on a griddle, sprinkled them with cheddar cheese and then ladled the mostly set eggs over the top. I dotted the tops of the eggs with the cubed potatoes, crumbled some turkey bacon over that and finished them all with another dusting of shredded cheddar cheese. I pressed a second whole wheat tortilla over the top and....viola! Breakfast quesadilla! (Note: this all took a little bit longer than I had originally anticipated, so the bottom tortillas got slightly more browned and quite a bit crispier than I would have intended. Nevertheless, the end result was very tasty.) I cooked the first side, as I said, a little longer than I should have, but ultimately flipped them over easily since the cheese acted as a bit of a glue holding it all together, cooked the other side for a couple of minutes and served them cut into wedges. I even had some salsa (not as good as Austin Java's, but still) to eat with mine.

Verdict: the girls loved the breakfast tacos with a twist! Breakfast quesadillas were a hit tonight! As a matter of fact, my oldest kept saying, "mmmmm.....potatoes. I LOVE potatoes!" Apparently, that girl doesn't get enough tubers! So, another successful experiment this evening. I don't think it will take the place in my heart of that little buttered stack of toast, but it will probably come pretty close. Potatoes are delicious. Until next time, friends!