bacon, cheddar and caramelized onion scones of tender loving… or róny sconies for short

well friends, it’s time for baking to get savoury. yes? yes. ok, so today it’s the salty goodness of bacon; the tongue tucker of sharp cheddar; and the sweet yielding lilt of caramelized onions all nestled together in a flaky scone. it’s a collld blustery ought-to-be-spring day, but it’s clear and sunny and it smells nice… so logic dictates scones. plus, I had invited my mom over after work for tea and a snack.

out of the pantry will fly:

5 rashers of streaky bacon, cut into strips
1 medium onion sliced thin
2 C self rising flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
several cracks of black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp paprika
1 full tsp dry mustard
1/3 C cold unsalted butter
1 1/2 C grated sharp cheddar (or applewood cheddar if you’re feeling smokey and in the autumn spirit)
2/3 C buttermilk plus a bit more for brushing the scones before they hit the heat

. crank yer oven to 425
. get a frying pan on medium high heat. fry the bacon until it’s crispy. drain it and set aside to cool
. turn the burner down to low. when the bacon fat has cooled a bit, add the onion and stir to coat in the grease. put a lid on it and let slowly sautee until golden brown and translucent. you’ll have to stir it a few times, and it should take 15 to 20 minutes to get it done rightly. it’s worth it. when they’re done, take off the heat and allow to cool

. while the onions are going you can mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl
. add the butter to the flour mix. use your hands, not a spoon, to squish the butter into the dry stuff until it becomes a fine sort of crumble. it will be quite dry, but fear not, milk will save the day

. add the bacon, cheese and onions. again, with your hands get in there and make sure everything gets covered with the dry mix. you want to avoid clumps of bacon or onion, so be thorough and tender, it’s baking remember?
. add the milk and start squershin’ around in the bowl again to get everything combined. the consistency should be quite stiff, but not falling apart. if you need to add more milk, only do so a tablespoonful at a time to avoid getting it too mushy. of course, the more you work it, the tougher and less flaky they’ll get… so beware.
. lay out the dough on a cutting board and shape into a rectangle or circle that’s at least an inch thick. cut into crescents, wedges, squares, whatever, and put them on a baking sheet. give them a brush with some milk so they get nice and golden. I like to sprinkle a bit more paprika on top and some pepper too
. fire them into the oven for 10-18 minutes, until they’re goldenish and cooked through

if you would prefer a more savoury scone, forget about the onion and chuck in a couple diced scallions instead. if sweet is your thing, try adding 1/3 cup of frozen corn niblets. and of course you can experiment with flavoured butters too… but that’s a whole other blogg…

BREAKFAST SALAD – feb fifth fenty felve

this morning I stumbled upon something so obvious, but so, so good:

BREAKFAST SALAD

I turned this

(which is good as is, but please, try this take on it)

. chop two massive (or more smaller) potatoes into chunks roughly the size of hubbabubba squares.
. get them in a big pot of slated water and boil ’em until tender but not falling apart – we’re not mashing these.
. while the toes are wubbling away, get a big frying pan on medium high heat. when it’s hot enough to instantly steam a drop of water, throw down some thick cut, streaky bacon.
. season with garlic powder, paprika, and pepper. the bacon will be best if you only flip it once (something me ma showed me). when the bacon is at your desired floppy or crispy goodness, drain on paper towel and set aside, but SAVE the grease in the pan.
. when the potatoes are finished, drain them in a colander. allow the heat inside them to evaporate the residual water, then carefully slide them into the hot bacon grease in the pan. You may need or want to add some additional bacon drippings, or butter, or oil because we basically want to do a very hot and quick fry on these suckers. stir as needed, you know, to get good gold coverage.
.while everything is getting hot and bubbly, finely chop half an onion and a small handfull of fresh parsley.
. also get yet another frying pan, smaller this time, on another burner and on a medium heat, let it get nice and hot.
. thinly slice some tomato into those gorgeous jeweled discs, and then again in gummybear-sized pieces.
. when the soon-to-be hasbrowns are almost at that lovely golden fried state, throw the onions in along with a bit of salt and the same seasonings that went on the bacon.
. of course, you’re really on the ball and excited to eat, so you’ve also got a carafe of coffee on the go, perfectly timed to be poured just after you serve breakfast. (I reccommend ethical bean – classic roast… it’s like chocolate cake)
. crack one or two or five eggs into the smaller, super hot pan atop some butter. quickly crack pepper on them and put a lid on the whole deal.
. have a small amount of water on hand and near the stove.
. chuck the parsley in the potatoes, stir and turn off the heat.
. drop about a teaspoon’s worth of that water in the eggs frying and get the lid on quick. the steam will cook the tops of the eggs but in a way that you can still get that gooey yolk happening. don’t leave them long… the hot hot pan should cook them in under two or three minutes. (miss mia taught me this, and I’m forever in egg-debt to her)
. drain the potatoes in a colander inside a bowl or on paper towel.
. get them eggs out of the pan and onto two plates. dump on some of the now drained hashbrowns, the tomato gems, and crumble the bacon on top of that.
. pour the coffee.
. grab your favourite breakfast salsa, ketchup, hot sauce, whatever.
. cut up the eggs beneath all the other goodness and mix it about in a glorious messy fashion until most of the bits have coated each other.
stuff your eager, drooling face with it.

for a nice breaky for two you will need:
2-4 good sized potatoes
6 rashers streaky bacon
bacon grease
butter – for frying
2-5 eggs (free run and organic is always best)
garlic powder
paprika
fresh cracked pepper
salt
1/2 an onion
fresh parsley (it really does make a difference)
1 tomato

* if one were to be so bold, so hardcore, so good with multitasking,  as to make and add hollandaise to this…
one may kersplode at the table.