Have a crowd to feed for breakfast?
I heard a friend once comment that men inevitably serve scrambled
eggs when there are more than five people present for breakfast.
Breakfast on the morning after a late nighter is probably the most
important meal of the party. Here's how to do it in style. (Note that
Eggs Ackley was named after the 70's underground cartoon character.
Eggs Ackley, what you need the morning after.)
Since feeding a crowd is often an
inexact science, never knowing exactly how much each person will eat
or exactly who will eat, measurement is something left to judgment
and the size of the frying pan. Hence, I'm not going to give an exact
amount for any of the items. Use the estimation of personal taste of
the crowd you're feeding as your guide. If they like tomatoes, then
go heavy on the tomatoes, etc. Listed are the essential ingredients.
Figure twice the volume of eggs to the vegetables after sauteing, or
1:1 before sauteing. A little experience feeding a crowd helps the
judgment considerably.
Eggs (1-2 per person)
Onion
Tomato
Bell Pepper
Mushrooms
Cilantro
Butter
OPTIONAL:
Bacon
Ground pan sausage
Avacado
Grated cheddar
Flour tortillas (1 per egg)
The recipe starts with the meat (if any
is used), since it takes the longest to cook. For the bacon, cook it
on jelly roll pans in the oven, since it is the quickest and easiest
means of cooking quantities of bacon. Lay the strips out and rotate
pans, cooking until crisp. Drain and break into bits, place in a bowl
lined with paper towel.
The sausage is cooked on the stovetop
in a pan separate from the pan used for the eggs. Break into pieces
as cooking (like using hamburger in a sauce recipe, like sloppy joes)
for sprinkling. When done, drain well and place in a bowl lined with
paper towels.
Grate the cheese and peel and slice the
avacado. Place in bowls and refrigerate until serving.
The onion, tomato, bell pepper,
mushrooms, and cilantro is diced while the meat is cooking, then
placed in the skillet, hot and buttered. Saute until the moisture
from the tomatoes is cooked off. Press to the side of the skillet,
and crack and add the eggs, leaving the yokes intact initially. Cook
the eggs until at least half of the egg whites are firm, as if
intending to fry. Then break the yokes and scramble the remainder,
stirring in the sauted vegetables. Cook until firm.
Heat the tortillas in the microwave or
the still warm oven. Place all ingredients on a buffet table,
starting with the plates and napkins, then tortillas, then eggs, then
meat, then avacado, then cheese. Serve with sliced or peeled fruit
and juice and coffee.
The crowd will appreciate your efforts
as the meal brings them back to some semblence of feeling human
again.