Joy on the Plate

Awoke this morning recalling a recent breakfast shared with my son and Rocky.


Four eggs sunny side up, hash browns, well-done English muffin with butter and preserves. Oh, and 6 biscuits with sausage gravy, shared among the three of us.


Now, to some readers, this breakfast would seem over the top. Others will understand the pleasure such a feast brings to the diner. Let me explain…


First of all, the eggs. Four of them. Easily cooked, no singeing, pure white whites of the eggs, and orange-yellow yolks, perfectly formed and ready for cutting up and mixing with the whites. A little salt and pepper, and then the first bite. Pure lush egg yolk mixed with al dente whites. Runny yolks with rich, deep flavor. Moist and slippery morsels enticing the tongue and sparking the taste buds. Subtle flavors, but oh so rewarding.


The plate is awash in yolks and whites running together. Good just by themselves, but even better with some hash browns soaking up the runny-ness of the eggs. Some crunch from the top layer of hash browns, then more from the softer layers beneath. The potatoes are a perfect accompaniment to the eggs. Buttery potatoes, not of strong flavor, but of bland mask to soak up the eggs. A bit of salt and pepper enlivens the mixture. A small bouquet of taste that satisfies in a big way.


Why four eggs? Because that offers a prolonged period of mixing, eating, and tasting this wondrous joining of flavors. So good. So pleasing.


When it’s over, the muffins are pulled close. On top of the buttery slather I apply orange marmalade to one muffin half. Good Smucker’s marmalade, of course. Thick, rich, tangy and sweet.  A perfect complement to the salty, buttery taste of the muffin. The second muffin half is treated to a layer of either strawberry preserves, or blackberry jam. Either is wonderful. Sweet but not overly so, and full of tangy berry goodness.


A breather, then the biscuits and gravy. Oh man! This is special. This mouthwatering treat is the perfect cap to a terrific breakfast. Soft, sausage salty and savory, all the while the gravy lubricates the mouth to accept the biscuit as conveyor of the mouthful of flavor. Yum.


This is a breakfast. This is joy on a plate. This is a memory going forward until the next time.


And yes, such memories populate my head. If I’m on the road, this memory becomes the reward for the long drive towards the first stop of the day. Waitresses probably wondered why my gusto was so obvious. But a few hundred miles whets the appetite and pulls those special memories to mind.


Indeed. Joy on a plate. I’m ready for another plate!


October 30, 2019