Today was the last day of eating at my used-to-be-favorite brunch establishment in Grand Rapids. After nearly a year of blissful eats, one dish more satisfying than another…today I suffered my last disappointment in a string of weeks of less than savory breakfast experiences. Today, I drank my last cup of lukewarm, yet burnt coffee and attempted to order my last item that is printed on the menu, but “we are out of that item at the moment” (how in the eff are you out of PANCAKES?). Today, I broke up with my weekly brunch joint.
As the events of my last brunch as a regular tumbled through my head, I was obsessed with three things:
1) How in the heck do I make lemon ricotta pancakes?
2) Will a breakfast tickle taste as good at home as it does here?
3) I must learn how to make a chipotle-jalapeno vinaigrette for Huevos Rancheros with scrambled cilantro eggs, pronto.
Here is my attempt at a Breakfast Tickle. I actually think that my version is a little bit more fresh after not sitting under a heat lamp waiting to get delivered to me by an incompetent server not interested at all with my level of hunger. I know it looks weird, but I promise this is like a breakfast party in your mouth.
Breakfast Tickle
as Interpreted by Veg BonVivant
- 1 whole poblano pepper
- 2 T natural peanut butter
- 2 tsp real maple syrup
- 2 slices cooked MorningStar Farm bacon
- 1/2 super ripe banana
- 1 piece regular naan bread
- 1 egg, fried, over medium, easy on the salt
Fire up the gas stove on high, place washed and dried pepper directly on flame (turn on the exhaust fan please, or face not being able to read the rest of the instructions here…the oil will consume you). Wait for skin to get black and bubbly, remove from heat and place into a paper bag, roll over the top and wait 5 minutes to handle. After cooling, use the bag, not your bare hand, to remove stem, seeds and skin of the pepper. This should leave you with a super floppy, charred, yet delicious specimen of a roasted poblano pepper. Save this gem for assembly.
Over medium heat in a lightly oiled skillet, “fry” your banana (cut in half length-wise) until caramely and delicious-at this point you can fry your egg too, over medium if you are funny like I am about the yolk or over easy if you like a gooey mess like Mr. Wonderful does.
While you are frying your banana and egg, in a 350 oven warm up naan bread until pliable, not hard. Remove naan from oven, spread with the peanut butter.
To assemble the whole Tickle: take the peanut butter coated naan put butter up on a plate, follow with poblano, banana, bacon, then egg. Drizzle with maple syrup and then devour. I use a fork and knife to avoid complete disaster, Mr. Wonderful goes rogue agent on it and crams it into his face in about four bites. This my friends is the difference between girls and boys.
Veg Bon Vivant 