Big Bad Breakfast: The Most Important Book of the Day

by John Currence

Overview

From the James Beard Award winner, Top Chef Masters contestant, and acclaimed author comes this fun, festive, and highly caffeinated ode to the joys and rituals of the Southern breakfast, with over 125 recipes inspired by the author's popular restaurant in Oxford, Mississippi.

John Currence is one of the most celebrated and well-loved chefs in the South. Among his string of highly successful restaurants in Oxford, Mississippi, Big Bad Breakfast holds a special place in diners' hearts: It is a gathering place where people from all walks come together to share the most important meal of the day, breakfast. Southerners know how to do breakfast right, and Currence has elevated it to an artform: dishes like Banana-Pecan Coffee Cake, Spicy Boudin and Poached Eggs, and Oyster Pot Pie are comforting, soulful, and packed with real Southern flavor. Big Bad Breakfast is full of delicious recipes that will make the day ahead that much better—not to mention stories of the wonderful characters who fill the restaurant every morning, and a meditation on why the Southern breakfast is one of America's most valuable culinary contributions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607747369
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	09/13/2016
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	1,070,650
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

John Currence opened City Grocery in Oxford, Mississippi in 1992. Since then, the City Grocery Restaurant Group has opened a number of restaurants, including Ajax Diner, Nacho Mama’s, Kalo’s Tavern, Big Bad Breakfast, Bouré, Lamar Lounge, The Main Event, and Snackbar. Currence is the recipient of the 2009 James Beard Award for Best Chef South and the Southern Foodways Alliance Guardian of the Tradition Award. He has appeared on television programs such as Parts Unknown, Mind of a Chef, Bizarre Foods, Treme, and Top Chef Masters and his writing has appeared in Food & Wine and Bon Appétit, among many others. He is a contributing editor for Garden & Gun magazine, a board member of No Kid Hungry (a project dedicated to eradicating childhood hunger in the United States), and an organizer and past board member of the prestigious annual Southern Foodways Symposium.

Read an Excerpt

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF BREAKFAST
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Big Bad Breakfast"
by .
Copyright © 2016 John Currence.
Excerpted by permission of Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Foreword John Besh xi

Foreword David Chang xii

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 The Welcome Basket 6

Sausage Cinnamon Rolls 9

Buttermilk Cake Doughnuts 10

Banana Pecan Coffee Cake 13

Sourdough English Muffins 14

Dried Fig Calas 16

Honey Buns 18

Blueberry Muffin Tops 19

Rum Raisin and Orange Scones 21

Monkey Bread 22

Baked Cornmeal and Buttermilk Doughnuts 24

Chapter 2 The Incredible, Edible, Omnipresent Egg 26

Fried Eggs Master Recipe 30

Scrambled Eggs Master Recipe 31

Poached Eggs Master Recipe 31

Big Bad Breakfast Egg Bake 32

"Broiled" Tomato Benedict 35

North Mississippi Eggs Benedict 37

Big Bad Breakfast Quesadilla 38

Louisiana Crab Cake Benedict 40

Chorizo Migas 43

Double-Boiled Eggs with Black Truffle 45

Shrimp Breakfast Enchiladas 46

"Double Oyster" Hangtown Fry 48

Summer Vegetable Quiche 51

Tugboat Galley Eggs and Dirty Rice 52

Eggs Sardou 55

Spicy Boudin and Poached Eggs 57

Hillbilly Eggs Hussarde 61

Shakshouka 62

Chapter 3 Omelets and Frittatas 64

French-Style Omelet Master Recipe 66

American-Style Omelet Master Recipe 66

French Omelet with Gruyère, Asparagus, and American Bacon 68

Big Bad Breakfast Chili and Cheese Omelet 71

The "J.Y.D." An American Omelet 73

Pepper and Chorizo Frittata 74

Roasted Potato and Adobo Frittata 77

Open-Faced Stewed Okra and Tomato Fritt-Omelet with Swiss Cheese 79

Herbolace, aka the Original Fines Herbes Omelet 83

Shrimp and Bacon Omelet with Soft Cheese and Pesto 84

Shrimp Fried Rice Omurice 85

Low Country Cast-iron Skillet Scramble 87

Creole Skillet Scramble 91

Roasted Mushroom Skillet Scramble 92

Yard Work Skillet Scramble 93

Chapter 4 Pancakes, Waffles, Crepes and other Things "Bready" 94

Silver Dollar and Short Stack Buttermilk Pancakes 96

Belgian Waffles 98

Peanut Butter and Banana Pancakes 99

Shrimp and Pickled Onion Crepes with Mornay 101

Multigrain Pancakes 103

Hoecakes 104

Toasted Oatmeal Pancakes 107

Fresh Corn Arepas 108

Mamie's Favorite French Toast 109

Brioche French Toast 110

German Pancake 113

Big Bad Breakfast Pain Perdu 114

Homemade Pop-Tarts 115

Chapter 5 BFO: Breakfast for Dinner (and Vice Versa) 118

Shrimp and Grits 121

Bruléed Grapefruit 122

Breakfast "Succot-hash" 124

Shrimp Gravy Biscuit Sundae 125

Crawfish Cakes 127

The Pylon 129

Roasted Tomato Cobbler 130

Crawfish Étouffée 132

Sautéed Trout, Soft Scrambled Eggs, Chanterelle Mushrooms 134

Oyster "Potpie" 137

Pork Tenderloin 662 with Crabmeat and Pecan Butter 138

Creamed "Chipped" Mushrooms on Toast 140

The Egg Bowl 143

Huevos Cocineros 144

Chapter 6 Cereals, Grains, and Other Pseudo-Virtuous Things 146

Homemade Vanilla and Double Almond Granola 148

Cinnamon and Citrus Oatmeal with Dried Black Mission Figs 150

Homemade Frosted Cornflakes 151

Homemade Grape-Nuts and Fruit Parfait 152

Grits and Collard Soufflé 155

Italian Sausage, Spinach, Hominy "Risotto" 156

Pork Posole 159

Creamed Toasted Barley with Nuts and Dried Fruit 160

Homemade Crispy Rice "Elvis" Treats 161

Chapter 7 Breakfast Sandwiches 162

Fried Chicken Cathead 164

With Signs Following 167

Monte Cristo 168

Mountey Crisco 169

Egg and Rice Burrito 171

Chicken Sausage Pancake Sandwich 172

Breakfast Croque Monsieur 174

Grilled Ham and Pimento Cheese Sandwich 176

Country Ham Egg Muffin 177

Egg Salad 179

Chapter 8 Sides, Condiments, Meats, and Extras 180

Black Pepper Buttermilk Biscuits 183

Garlic Cheese Grits 187

Cayenne Pepper Sauce 188

Louisiana Satsuma Jelly 189

Black Pepper Honey 191

Spicy Bacon Onion Jam 192

Fig Preserves 195

Pontchatoula Strawberry Jam 196

Red-Eye Gravy 198

Sausage Gravy 199

Tomato Gravy 201

Saucy Black Beans 202

Pimento Cheese 204

Mayonnaise 205

Strawberry Cream Cheese 206

Apple Butter 207

Raspberry Butter 208

Blackberry Mascarpone 210

Comeback Sauce 211

Breakfast Sausage 213

Chicken Sausage 214

Chorizo 215

Livermush 217

Gravlax (Lox) 218

Chapter 9 Eye-Openers 220

Grapefruit Mimosa 223

Michelada and a Shot 224

Ojen Frappé 227

Big Bad Breakfast Bloody Mary 228

The Idiot's Champagne Cocktail 229

Bloody Bull Shot 230

Advantage: Connors Celery Soda 233

Eggnog 234

Dad's Milk Shake 237

Peach Lassi 238

Uptown Express 241

Decatur Street Gutter Punk 242

11:00 a.m. Kickoff 243

Falling Down Brown Cow 245

Donkey Punch 246

The Vacation Wife 248

About the Author 251

Index 253

Editorial Reviews

06/06/2016
If the title is not enough of a hint, the very first recipe in this mega-hearty Southern-style collection tells you all you need to know about what chef Currence has in mind: it’s sausage cinnamon rolls, a salty-sweet belly bomb topped with cream cheese icing. Big Bad Breakfast is also the name of a Currence restaurant, one of six he oversees in Oxford, Miss. Though Currence later settled in Mississippi, his New Orleans upbringing is evident throughout the 75 recipes presented here. Across nine chapters, covering everything including omelets, breakfast sandwiches, and morning cocktails, Currence brings on the flavor and forgoes the calorie count, with choices such as a Creole skillet scramble, a cheese-and-fried-chicken biscuit, and the Decatur Street gutter punk, with equal parts gin, heavy cream, and espresso. The section on pancakes offers two extremes side-by-side: peanut butter and banana pancakes, and shrimp and pickled onion crepes. Perhaps the ultimate gastronomic collision, though, comes in the Breakfast for Dinner chapter, in the form of a meal called the pylon (for pile on). It’s a Belgian waffle, topped with hot dogs, chili, sweet slaw, cheddar, and a squadron of condiments. As filling as the foodstuffs, the pages themselves feel stuffed, with ingredient lists, directions, and the chef’s entertaining stories all thrown together. This approach leaves room for the irresistible full-page color close-ups of each dish from photographer Ed Anderson. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Big Bad Breakfast is a book you’ll want to read from front to back. John’s humorous stories, from both in and out of the kitchen, plus his approachable Southern-style breakfast recipes, make this a killer cookbook that is not to be missed.”
– Emeril Lagasse

“I am not a breakfast person, yet no food memory will live up to my experience at Big Bad Breakfast. I was in desperate need of comfort (from a hangover and a long flight), sustenance (when you’re in the South, your belly knows it must be fed), and warmth (okay, maybe I’m being dramatic), and Big Bad Breakfast delivered. Was it the sweet, savory, gooey Sausage Cinnamon Rolls or the deeply dirty and delicious waffle-topped Pylon? Or maybe it was the indescribable power of true Southern hospitality. I revel in that meal, and any meal with John at the helm.”
– Christina Tosi, chef-owner of Milk Bar and author of Momofuku Milk Bar
 
“They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. With Big Bad Breakfast, John gives you 137 reasons why that’s true, and shows you that breakfast is not only the most important, but also the most delicious meal of the day. Get ready for some of the best breakfast foods you’ve ever had.”
– Aarón Sánchez, chef-partner of Johnny Sánchez and costar of Chopped

“Mr. Currence won a James Beard award in 2009 for best Southern chef, and it’s possible to eat brilliantly in Oxford for weeks, without repeating a course, in his restaurants alone. In fact I’d recommend this experience . . . . He’s pushing the notions of what Southern food can be, pulling off impressive feats with a casual air of embarrassment.”
– New York Times

“Venerable food writer John T. Edge once told us we couldn’t leave Oxford without stopping by Big Bad Breakfast—and boy, are we glad we listened to him. Chef John Currence is a great cook with a lot of soul.”
– Serious Eats

"Chef-ruler of Oxford, Mississippi, John Currence is here to make the case for breakfast. With recipes from the restaurant that gives this book its title, Big Bad Breakfast offers a vision of mornings spent with Southern heavyweights like oyster pot pie and banana-pecan coffee cake. If you love Eater's Breakfast Week, biscuits, the idea of cinnamon rolls baked with sausage filling, and/or restaurant cookbooks that actually seem cookable, this one's for you."
- EATER NATIONAL

"If you’re the sort of person who gravitates toward diners, whose favorite restaurants serve breakfast all day (we are not talking about McDonald’s), who makes breakfast for dinner at home and whose idea of a good time is making frosted flakes from scratch, then here’s a cookbook for you. Big Bad Breakfast is the new book from John Currence, and it’s a big, bad book of a cookbook. . . . Ed Anderson’s hunger-inducing photography includes repeating plates of pancakes, lots of cast-iron skillets and eggs in various compositions, pouring coffee, Elvis Presley tapestries, biscuit step-by-steps, shots of a baseball-hatted Currence at work in the kitchen or bellied up to a crowded counter. Flip through all this, read the chatty anecdotes (in praise of MSG, the emu egg in the parking lot), and the handy tips from someone who’s worked in many kitchens, both other people’s and his own, and you get a growing sense of comfort — and that’s not just because many of the recipes are for comfort food."
- LOS ANGELES TIMES

"This is a book that earns a spot on your shelf. It is a cookbook of substance, put together with care. Currence has things to teach us: the amount of knowledge on eggs alone is worth the price of the book, ditto the biscuits."
- LUCKY PEACH

 

From the Publisher

★ 08/01/2016
James Beard Award-winning chef Currence (Pickles, Pigs, and Whiskey) owns several acclaimed restaurants in Oxford, MS, including City Grocery and Big Bad Breakfast. Recipes inspired by the latter establishment fill this exciting new collection, which features substantial dishes such as sausage cinnamon rolls, roasted potato and adobo frittata, Louisiana crab cake Benedict, and "The Pylon" (a Belgian waffle topped with hot dogs, chili, oyster crackers, and more). There are some basics—such as black pepper honey and fried eggs—but these are far outnumbered by creative entrees, sides, condiments, and beverages. Similiar to Lindsay Landis and Taylor Hackbarth's Breakfast for Dinner, this cookbook works for any time of day. VERDICT Essential for those who love hosting hearty breakfasts and brunches.

Library Journal