Cookbook Challenge # 11 - EveryDayCook

EveryDayCook by Alton Brown (2016) is the second Alton Brown cookbook I’ve drawn, this one focused more on how he cooks at home than his Good Eats repertoire. Out of many good choices, I settled on Breakfast Carbonara (though I served it for dinner) and Hot Saltine Hack. I’ll probably add the carbonara to my regular rotation, and I thought the saltines were interesting. I might try them again some other time with a different flavor than mustard. Chili powder or cumin might be nice, or you could take them in a sweet direction with a lighter hand on the hot sauce and a bit of cinnamon and sugar.

Breakfast Carbonara

• 1 T grated orange zest

• ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

• ¼ cup fresh bread crumbs (I used panko)

• 1 T kosher salt

• 8 oz dry linguine, regular or whole wheat

• 8 oz bulk breakfast sausage

• 2 scallions, thinly sliced

• 4 large eggs, at room temperature

• 3 oz finely grated Pecorino Romano (I used parmesan because I couldn’t find pecorino romano at the store)

• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine the orange zest, parsley, and bread crumbs in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Add two quarts water, the salt, and linguine to a large saute pan. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 4 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. (I just used my regular pasta into a large pot of boiling salted water technique. I know it’s starting to sound like I’ve substituted ingredients and technique to excess, but I swear it came out a lot like the picture in the cookbook, and I think I stayed true to the spirit of the dish.)

3. Meanwhile cook the sausage in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until brown. Add the scallions and cook until fragrant.

4. While the pasta and sausage are cooking, whisk together the eggs, cheese, and pepper.

5. Drain the pasta, reserving ¼ cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta to the sausage, tossing the pasta to coat in the fat. (I threw in a splash of olive oil because the sausage was super lean.)

6. Remove from the heat, add the egg mixture, and thin as needed with the reserved pasta water.

7. Serve immediately with a generous sprinkle of the pasta mixture.

Hot Saltine Hack

• 2 T clarified butter, melted

• 1 T hot sauce

• 1 tsp dry mustard powder

• 1 sleeve saltines (about 40 crackers)

1. Heat the oven to 350 F.

2. Meanwhile, whisk the butter, hot sauce, and dry mustard together in a large mixing bowl. Add the saltines and toss to coat.

3. Spread the crackers on a half sheet pan.

4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the saltines just start to brown.

Brown suggests serving these with a sardine pate recipe from the book, but I’m not a sardine person, nor indeed a fish person in general. They’d probably be good with any number of pates or creamy savory spreads, though.