A Real American Breakfast: The Best Meal of the Day, Any Time of the Day
by Cheryl Alters Jamison, Bill Jamison
from William Morrow

Editorial Review:

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 breakfastcookbook 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.

What's the best meal of the day? For many of us, it's breakfast. Saluting that fact is Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison's A Real American Breakfast, a collection of 275 traditional and innovative recipes that cover breakfast comprehensively and in the best taste. Breakfast often competes with a tight morning schedule, which the book acknowledges by offering recipes that can be prepared the night before; regional, café, and bed-and-breakfast favorites are provided, as well. Dishes range from familiar eye-openers like waffles and cinnamon toast to less conventional fare like Salmon Croquettes and the Maple-Glazed Ham, Cheese, and Leek Sandwich--food that can also be enjoyed throughout the day.

Among other outstanding chapters, "Break an Egg," "Heavenly Hashes," and "Home-Crafted Cereals" score with exemplary recipes for fried eggs and bacon, red flannel hash, and crunchy granola, as well as "new" delights like Poached Eggs on Creamy Grits, Capitolade of Chicken, and Toasted Wheat with Caramelized Bananas. Other sections offer stratas and breakfast casseroles like Calabacitas Tortilla Casserole; dairy specialties, including lassi, an on-the-go chilled yogurt drink; and sweets, such as Raspberry-Cream Cheese Coffee Cake, Brown-Butter Apple Cake, and Chocolate Bread Pudding. With historical notes, old menus, and technique advice, the color-photo-illustrated book is the last word on the day's first meal. --Arthur Boehm

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0

• The Best Cookbook Ever
  This is the best cookbook I have ever had. I purchased this cookbook about 2 years ago, and I have already made about 50 of the recipes. Every recipe is as good as it possibly can be. Using this cookbook, I've made the best coffee cake I've ever had, the best muffins I've ever had, the best french toast I've ever had, the best cereal I've ever had, and breakfast sandwiches and breakfast meats that I didn't even know were possible. Anyone who loves making good food and especially anyone who enjoys making... more info

• The Day's Best Meal
  I'm a long time breakfast lover. I love breakfast at 8 AM and I love breakfast at 8 PM. And they're all here in one book. Even more pleasing, most breakfasts are a snap to prepare. The Jamisons are particularly strong on Southwestern favorites, so if you like to start your day with a few jalapenos or some beans, this is definitely the book for you. The other regions of the US are not neglected and then there are the surprises, meals I'd never dream of but are quite wonderful. It's a huge book, a compendium... more info

• Because no matter how much you like cornflakes...
  ...you're going to want something else once in a while.
  This is a really good book. It was on Food and Wine Magazine's 25 best list a couple of years ago, and it's full of all kinds of breakfast delicacies, both familiar and unusual.
  Breakfast (the American way at least) is an interesting meal, as it's appropriate any time of day -- the buzz created in September '06 by McDonalds' consideration of serving breakfast all day shows that much. The Jamisons take full advantage of that, starting out with... more info

• A lively, fun cookbook.
  A Real American Breakfast: The Best Meal of the Day, Any Time of the Day packs in a coast-to-coast feast of nearly three hundred breakfast recipes, offering up a centerfold of color photos and including historical notes, old menus, and variations on themes as well as traditional fare. The mix of innovative dishes such as Spinach Bread Pudding and Mixed Vegetable Hash and old standards such as Apple Fritters makes this a lively, fun cookbook.
  Diane C. Donovan
  California Bookwatch