A Skier's Breakfast
The only way to vacation in the middle of January is to go skiing. February
is for the Caribbean. So since you’ll be burning off all those calories you
need a hearty breakfast. A meal I try not to eat, unless I’m on vacation of
course. You can make the components of the rarebit the night before and prepare
the custard and refrigerate it before baking. The crumble should be made that
morning but it’s easy if everything is mis en place (prepared and ready to go)
Wesley’s Ski Breakfast
Rarebit Breakfast Reuben
Potato Custard
Cherry Almond Crumble
This menu serves 4
Rarebit Breakfast Reuben:
1 recipe Welsh Rarebit (recipe follows or just melt some cheddar)
2 cups sauerkraut, drained
1/2 lb cooked corned beef, thinly sliced
4 English muffins, halved and toasted
Minced parsley for garnish
Prepare the Welsh rarebit and hold it in a double boiler over low heat.
Put the sauerkraut in a nonreactive skillet and cook over medium heat just long
enough to heat it through and cook off most of the lingering liquid. Set aside
in the pan. Stack the slices of corned beef and shred them with a sharp knife.
To assemble, put 2 toasted English muffin halves on each plate. Scatter
some of the corned beef and sauerkraut over each half, then sauce the top with
the rarebit. Serve at once garnished with parsley if you want.
Welsh Rarebit:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large egg yolks
3/4 cup beer, or milk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Pinch cayenne pepper
3/4 pound sharp grated cheddar (about 4 cups loosely packed)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 small onion ,chopped
Melt butter in the top of a double boiler set over simmering water. In a
small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, liquid, mustard, Worcestershire, and
cayenne and add it to the butter. When the liquid is very hot, start adding
the grated cheese about a quarter at a time, stirring well after each addition.
As it melts, add the next batch of cheese, in each case stirring until it melts.
Once all is melted, continue to stir and heat for 5 minutes more; the consistency
will be like heavy cream. Mince the parsley and onion together and add.
Potato Custard:
4 tablespoons butter (plus extra for buttering the dish)
2 medium sized baking potatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lavishly butter a shallow 1-quart baking
dish. Peel the potatoes and slice very thin. Spread a layer of potatoes over
the baking dish in a single layer, sprinkle with salt and liberally with pepper,
and dot a tablespoon or two of the butter over the potatoes. Repeat layering,
salting and peppering and buttering until all the potatoes are used. Beat the
eggs and milk together until mixed. Pour over the potatoes. Bake for 30 to 40
minutes, or until the potatoes are just tender when pierced with a knife.
Cherry Almond Crumble:
1 pound Bing cherries, pitted
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons Amaretto (optional)
1 tablespoon flour
Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup rolled oats, instant or old-fashioned
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1/4 cup sliced almonds, coarsely chopped
Butter 4 individual ovenproof dessert dishes or one 9-inch pie plate and
set aside. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the cherries, apples, sugar,
Amaretto, and flour in a bowl. Divide the mixture evenly among the bowls or
pour all of it into the pie plate. Bake for 20 minutes. Put the individual dishes
on a sheet for easier handling.
Meanwhile make the topping: Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, and spices.
Add the butter and cut it in until the mixture is crumbly. Mix in the almonds.
Scatter the topping evenly over the fruit and bake on the top shelf of the oven
for 20 minutes more, until the fruit is bubbling hot. Cool the crumble on a
rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.