There's no better way to start your day than with a hearty breakfast. And there's no better book about breakfast than A Real American Breakfast by the award-winning authors Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison.
"A Real American Breakfast" is a coast-to-coast feast of 275 breakfast recipes. You'll find everything from old favorites like waffles and homemade cereals to Charleston Shrimp and Grits, Mississippi Bacon Sandwich with Milky Tomato Gravy, Oregon Salmon Hash, the LEO (Lox, Eggs, and Onions), Bronx Matzoh Brei, and so much more. This indispensable collection of bountiful breakfasts adds new tastes and variety to the morning meal. Eggs Goldenrod, Brown Butter Scramble with Avocado, and Rio Grande Egg Puffs are just some of the food fancies guaranteed to help you break out of your bran flakes routine. Traditional breakfast fare is transformed into whimsical treats such as Crunchy French Toast, New England BrownBread Griddle Cakes, and Grits and Bits Waffles. The American melting pot heritage is also seen in our national breadbasket, from Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits and Herbed Popovers to Very Blueberry Muffins.
Breakfast doesn't have to be just for breakfast. These recipes can be enjoyed any time of day. Dishes such as hearty Salmon Croquettes and Portsmouth Salt-Cod Hash make nourishing dinners. Morning meats like Pan-Seared Iowa Breakfast Chops and a Prime-Time T-Bone are great for entertaining, any time of the year. Give brunch a boost with a creamy chicken casserole and cottage fries. Dairy delights like healthful fruit smoothies are invigorating and refreshing anytime. Filled with historical notes, old menus, and plenty of advice on ingredients as well as technique tips, this comprehensive breakfast cookbook is one that you'll want to begin your day-especially with sixteen pages of full-color photographs that show how many of the dishes will look. So make the most important meal of the day the best meal of the day with "A Real American Breakfast."
There are lots of really interesting ideas, and there are wonderful sidebars containing menu samples from the 19th century and early 20th century, as well as equally wonderful quotes about breakfast from many North American sources.
Alas, there is no equivalents table included. This book truly was designed for the USA....
As for the bread section. Oh my. We've come a long way since 2002 when this book was published.
Anybody, almost, can fry an egg wrong. [-Martha McCulloch-Williams, Dishes and Beverages of the Old South (1913)]
Ultimately, we were left wishing that the Jamisons had focussed more on the international quality of real Americans and the breakfasts they made, rather than sticking with a somewhat white-bread aspect that has sadly become too prevalent. The bran muffin recipe calls for using raisin bran cereal. "Biscuit Breakfast Pie" calls for a tube of Pillsbury dough! Goldrush Sourdough bread calls for - are you ready for this? - active dry yeast (because all of those Goldrush miners carried envelopes of Fleischmann in their packs...). The multigrain loaf calls for grapenuts cereal. The cinnamon rolls call for vanilla extract.
Also, it began to seem that almost every recipe called for "heavy cream". Even refried beans call for heavy cream.
Still, it has to be admitted that there are several very interesting looking recipes and ideas for the advanced cook to fix and enjoy. For instance:
» Rancho Tortilla Espanola, p.47 » Buckwheats (yeasted pancakes), p.86 » Paper thin Apricot Pancakes, p.92 » Blue corn-piñon pancakes with apricot piñon compote, p.102 » Baked apples with sausage stuffing, p.274 » Rösti, p.310 » Gingerbread cake, p.383
+++++++++++++++ If this book were only a book about bread, alas, the rating would be lowered to 2 stars, (if half stars were allowed: possibly 2.5)
Part history book, part social studies text and full of delicious recipes, this is a cookbook that you do not merely scribble a few recipes from and return to the library. This is on my Christmas wishlist as a volume that I will enjoy reading again and again as much I will enjoy cooking from it. What a treat to be able to teach myself and my kids about American culture through the most important meal of the day!
A compendium of recipes for well-known and less well-known traditional American breakfasts and regional specialties. The sheer variety makes for fascinating reading. To my taste, they range from "yum!" to "erk!", with enough tasty temptations to keep me busy with breakfasts for months to come.
Please Purchase! I love this book. I have bought them for presents as well. So well written. There are tons of wonderful recipes... and I love some of the history and some clips from menus from long, long ago so you can see what they ate for breakfast. A MUST Have book.
Imagine African-American women with freshly deep-fried fritters balanced expertly atop their heads in baskets, selling to hungry churchgoers, starved from fasting. Such scenes as this one in nineteenth-century New Orleans are vividly described in this treasury of authentic American breakfast recipes. So much more than a cookbook, this collection of quotes, menus, ideas for serving, and rich historical detail set the stage for inspiration and magic in the kitchen. For lovers of the classical breakfast as well as the occasional culinary surprise, this tribute to the morning meal will take you on a journey of regions and recipes. It is an education in authenticity as well as taste. I personally can't wait to try the Cherry Cream Muffins with my morning tea. - Tiffany J.