Breakfast From Leftovers

IMG_2309Every so often we hit a restaurant that offers us outstanding quality and enough leftovers that I know I am going to get inspired for the “morning after”.

After a recent visit to the Precidio Social Club in San Francisco for some birthday celebrations –I ended up with some of my meal as a “doggie” bag. They have on the menu an oven roasted ribeye steak for two (30oz), which while on the expensive side ($48 per person) is also some of the best beef I have ever eaten and comes with a huge amount of crisp seasoned fries

 

 So what to do with those left overs for Sunday breakfast?

Then I remembered a dish I had done some years back that vas a variation on Shepard’s Pie that hadIMG_2323 a potato base that crisped up.

  •  Preheat the oven to 350 or 375 degrees ( I used both and they work fine affect the cooking time)
  •  In a clear glass casserole dish (I stress clear here since when I have made version in metal pans they tend to not crisp as well)
  • Spray well with oil cooking spray
  •  Layer the French fries and gently press into place. You may want to add salt, pepper, herbs, etc if your fries aren’t spiced. (hint: Tator Tots right from the freezer work great for this recipe too!)IMG_2322

In this case I had leftover steak so spliced it up into fork sized pieces (chicken, grilled hamburger, etc all work fine – the idea is meat needs to be cooked or smoked previously) and spread them as a layer over the potatoes.

  • IMG_2325 Break up 5 – -6 eggs. I have used as many as 12 depending on the size, the number of people eating and how dense I want the dish.
  •  Add dried or fresh parsley (chopped), salt, pepper, cayenne, fine grated parmesan chees. Fork whip until incorporated.

Pour egg mixture evenly over the meat and potatoes. The way I prefer to make this is the have the egg mixture just barely hit the top of the solids. I adjust accordingly sometimes here –adding more vegetables or less egg etc.

Top with cubed or shredded cheese that you have a round – in this version I used chedder and a gouda, then sprinkle ½ – 1 cup more of grated cheese. The chees is to taste – it forms the cover of the dish as the eggs cook and the potatoes crisp.

IMG_2327 IMG_2328 Tap the dish a few times to settle any air pockets out. Add any other herbs or last minute leftovers you think will complement it.

Bake for 40 – 60 min. You want it fully set in the middle so a stick comes out clean from the egg part. Smaller portions can do this in 30 mins.

Remove from the oven, let cool a bit.

 

You can serve this hot from the oven or warm. I have even used this as a “go to” brunch dish and made it in glass brownie pans, making it as a savory “brownie” served more at room temp. When I do that I often like to have a salsa or pesto sauce to serve over it as a “sauce”. Once I even used left over gravy from the night before and added cheese to it while reheating to thicken it