Lucas - Sunny side up: more than 100 breakfast & brunch recipes from the essential egg to the perfect pastry

WAYLYNN LUCAS

is an award-winning chef celebrated for her unique creations as executive pastry chef at such famed restaurants as the Bazaar by Jos Andrs and Joachim Splichals Michelin-starred Patina, and can be seen as a judge on Food Networks television hit Cake Wars. She recently left Los Angeles for Park City, Utah, to start her own modern homestead with chickens, ducks, horses, and dogs (goats and cows coming soon!).

PREP TALK FOR A SUNNY KITCHEN

Remember my number one simple secret to successful breakfast and baking in general: treat it with love and attention and handle with care.

That being saidthere are ways to make your experience more successful and more fun. For example, taking the time to properly measure out your ingredients and having them and your equipment ready and accounted for before you start is what chefs call mise en place. Do this! Also, please read through the entire recipe and instructions before you start, even if you do so super quick. Get an idea of whats aheadyoull be glad you did. I hate doing this, too, but after enough mistakes, Ive learned to just do it! The last thing you want is to be scrambling to find the baking soda while youre in the middle of mixing your batter or, worse, to forget an ingredient entirely. Trust me, it happens to even the best of us. Your mind wanders, you get overwhelmed, nervous, flustered, your kids are yelling at you, and before you know it, youve messed up your recipe. Try not to let this happen. The kitchen should be a sunny zone. Dont go to the dark side of chaos and angst.

If I told you how many cakes Ive eaten on Cake Wars that were missing the sugar, oil, spices, baking powder, or other ingredients, you probably wouldnt believe me! Take my word for it: its not fun and nobody ends up happy. The cake doesnt taste good, and the bakers feel like they wasted all that time and energy thanks to a forgotten teaspoon or two of some essential ingredient. So save yourself the anxiety and prepare your ingredients and equipment with care ahead of time. MISE EN PLACE is one of those professional chef secrets that is really, REALLY easy for even a newbie to do. Enjoy the experience and feeling of measuring and laying out your ingredients. You are setting yourself up for success, so you are already winning.

Take your time. Patience is a virtue in life and in baking. Certain things cannot and should not be rushed. The process of cooking and baking is just as magical and enjoyable as eating the finished product. It is its own journey, so enjoy it. Whats that obnoxious but true saying you see everywhere? Its not the destination, its the journey? Well, in our case, it definitely IS the tasty destination, but the journey is where the magic happens, and I am a true believer that you can undoubtedly taste the love that goes into any recipe.

I have few rules in my life, but one of them is Never cook or bake in a bad mood. Lucky for me, cooking and baking can turn even my worst moods around, which is why I love it. If you are not a morning person, making breakfast could even be the key to starting your day in a better place. Play music, sing, dance, drink a mimosa, drink another mimosa, talk to yourself, pretend you are the host of your own cooking show HAVE FUN!

Everything about food is an experience: shopping for it, preparing it, cooking it, eating it, going out to eat it, even remembering it. How you approach this experience is up to youit could be with worry and hurry or it could be with care and love. Food has the ability to create the most impactful memories we have in our lives. A dish, a spice, a flavor, a smell can transport you to past places in your life in an instant. Food IS life. Food is fun, joy, happiness, and food is extremely intimate.

When I was a young cook just starting out, I worked for a very noteworthy chef who pulled me aside and explained the importance of what we were doing, to make sure I truly understood the gravity of it. He told me that every person who ate our food, every guest who came into the restaurant, was placing all their trust in us, that we were creating something with our own two hands that eventually they would place in their mouths, into their bodies. There are few things more intimate than that. I will never forget his words or how humble they made me feel. Keeping them in mind has given me the utmost respect for everything about food and cooking and what I have been so fortunate to do as a career.

Now, to reiterate one of my most important points about cooking, dont be intimidated by this responsibility of creating something other people will be putting into their bodies. Simply handle the process with care. Give it your attention and love, and it will be received in the exact same way. Whisk, scramble, and serve with love, and youll always be on the sunny side of the kitchen.

HELPFUL HARDWARE

Theres not one piece of equipment that is absolutely essential on this list, so dont be sad if youre missing anything. I get itkitchen gadgets arent always cheap. But these are the tools Ive found most helpful for creating my favorite breakfasts and brunches, so you might want to think about adding some of these to your kitchen wish list.

STURDY METAL WHISK This is essential for whipping air into eggs, especially for perfect fluffy scrambled eggs and frittatas.

RUBBER SPATULA Heatproof is best, so if you leave it sitting in a hot pot or pan, it doesnt melt or burn your hand when you go to grab it.

FOOD PROCESSOR These can be expensive but are sooo key in the kitchen. They do it allchop veggies, shred cheese, make pie and quiche dough, quickly mix sauces, pure things. You can even use it instead of a blender. This is one piece of hardware I highly recommend.

STAND MIXER with PADDLE, WHISK, and DOUGH HOOK ATTACHMENTS For bread making, a stand mixer is essential. I have made bread dough by hand, and trust me, its not something you want to do. Making batter is so much faster and easier with a stand mixer. Its an investment, but a staple. I, of course, love my KitchenAid.

SILICONE BAKING MAT This is the best solution when youre baking cookies or breads, anything where youd otherwise have to use parchment paper to line a pan or something to grease it. I do not like wasting paper products when I dont have to, and I really do not like washing all that yucky grease off my baking sheets. You can wash and reuse a silicone baking mat for a lifetime as long as you take care of it, so dont scrub it with harsh sponges, and dont ever cut on it!

WAFFLE MAKER Cant make waffles without one. Good thing they sell em cheap.

ICE POP MOLDS You can get creative and make ice pops in plastic cups or other household items, but good molds make it fun, cute, and easy.

A GOOD BLENDER A good-quality high-speed blender will get the job done in half the time with half the effort and not leave you with chunks or lots of air bubbles. I love my Vitamix.

JUICER Juicing can be a pain. Theres lots of cleanup. The juicers are kinda heavy. But its so worth ittry it if you havent. I love my Breville juicer.

OFFSET SPATULA This under-the-radar tool is great for spreading batter and for serving.

THREE GOOD KNIVES Heres what you need: paring, bread (serrated), and chefs.

KITCHEN TIMER A kitchen timer is a must, as even the best chefs get distracted and forget to check their baking goodies. Time is crucial for a perfect baked good. Even one minute too long in the oven can make a big difference. I like to use a magnetic timer that I keep above the oven so its right there. I always set my timer for just under half the total estimated bake time. This is when I will rotate the pan, then reset the timer for the rest of the bake time. During the last few minutes of baking, I will check the pan frequently. You can always keep baking, but you cant un-bake something.