I’ve neglected a lot of things of late with this whole book writing process. One of them was the weekend breakfast. The breakfast, or more accurately, brunch ritual is a favourite of ours. I never thought that I’d meet anyone that liked to sleep more than I did until I married my own Rip Van Winkle. He literally has to be pried off the sheets at 11am or he will stay there until noon.
We have a little routine on the weekend where I wake up around 10am and make breakfast. By about 10:30 or 11am (it’s never a hurried affair and during this time I try and revive myself with a cup of tea and some internet) I get to wake him up with an excuse that breakfast is ready. Sometimes he is easier to rouse than others and once I had something exciting to tell him and I headbutted him accidentally in my enthusiasm. That really woke him up 
I try and make something different for weekend brunch but I do struggle for ideas sometimes. However Christmas is definitely the time for cookbook releases and with new cookbooks come new recipes. There are so many that I need to go through and review or cook from and there is an embarrassingly large pile sitting next to my desk. I received Poh Ling Yeow’s new cookbook called “Poh’s Kitchen” and flicked through it. She is really an example of a reality tv show runner up doing phenomenally well so I was curious to see what recipes she would have. I usually get most excited by flipping through the breakfast and dessert sections although most cookbook breakfast sections are a bit disappointing and just provide the usual kinds of offerings. One recipe in her book jumped out at me because the egg had a smiley face drawn on it. Yes I’m a sucker for packaging and I thought that the recipe with soft boiled eggs and parmesan soldiers would do nicely for Mr NQN.
One of Celia’s hens: Rosemary giving a death stare!
I used some lovely eggs that Celia kindly gifted me with and some thick, seeded, fruity Carême bread that I hauled back from my recent trip to the Barossa Valley (sadly we can’t get the bread here so I was very eager to try it). I substituted the thyme that Poh used for chives as I prefer them. While the soldiers fried they smelt deliciously beckoning and I couldn’t wait to try it so I popped one soldier in my mouth while the rest were cooking. The parmesan and chive worked fabulously with the garlic olive oil and being greeted with a smiling egg face wiped the disgruntled look off Mr NQN’s face as I woke him. And yes the front egg is Mr NQN asleep.
So tell me Dear Reader, what section do you turn to first when you open a cookbook? Dessert? Main? Breakfast?
Soft Boiled Eggs & Parmesan Chive Soldiers
Adapted from Poh’s Kitchen by Poh Ling Yeow $39.99 by ABC Books
Serves 2
- 2 free range eggs
- 1/2 loaf brioche or your favourite unsliced loaf of bread-a little stale is best
- 2 eggs whisked
- 80grams parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 1 teaspoon oil (I used Cobram Estate’s garlic olive oil which goes really nicely with eggs)
1. Firstly set the whole eggs to boil by placing them carefully in a small saucepan with boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Drain the water and replace with cold water to stop any further cooking.
2. Slice the bread into 2cm thick slices. Cut out six 2x10cm batons. Then cut out a square 6cms x6cms and cut out a little hole in the square about the size of a 20c coin (so that you fit your egg in snugly).
3. Place the beaten eggs on a shallow plate with a rim. Mix the parmesan and chives on another plate. Heat the frypan and place the butter and oil in a frypan and dip the bread pieces into the egg and then roll them in the cheese and chives and then fry on all sides ensuring that each side is golden and toasty. Serve with egg wedged in the hole of the square.
If you enjoyed this post, why not share it with your friends?
What is NQN up to now? 
NQN on Facebook
RSS
79 Comments | Add your own
The smiley face eggs got me too. So fun! A love breakfast. I’m always drawn to desserts first. xoxo Mum
Ooh those sound good. I saw a Jamie Oliver recipe that used asparagus wrapped in smoky bacon as soldiers.
might be good to try.
I tend to flip to the sides/lunch first. Often they get glossed over, and sort of run of the mill since people concentrate on mains and desserts. If there was effort put into the sides (or the lunch section) then the author (IMO) would have put in lots of effort for the other sections as well.
I wish I could sleep until 10am! My partner has no problem doing that but I’m always up super early!! Breakfast is definitely my favourite and this looks just divine
Those are fabulous soldiers! Perfect for dipping in the egg yolk.
Cheers,
Rosa
I love looking at the breakfast and dessert sections in recipe books, but I am not a big breakfast eater so I always end up cooking from the dessert section. I haven’t drawn faces on eggs for years, I will definately have to start again. I used to use coloured texta, love Mr NQN’s egg
I don’t have a special breakfast for weekends but I’d love to!
Those cute eggs look outstanding
Cheers,
Gera
Those eggs are adorable!
I don’t go to any particular section first – A good lick through the whole thing quickly. Then a little slower flick through – then a pore over page by page when I have more time!!
Oh, so here I am reading this thinking, “fantastic, Lorraine’s posted an egg recipe, I’ll go out and see if the girls have laid yet”..and there’s Rosemary giving me the death stare! Hahaha! So glad you enjoyed the eggs, and thanks for the recipe! xx
Hi Lorraine…I’m like you, a stack of cook books to get through and read!!! Usually if I’m looking at a new book I start at the beginning…flip through and then rip in to it everywhere!!!
Weekend brunch is a favorite at my house too, and this would defintely be something worth waking for! What a beautiful meal, Lorraine. Love the cute little faces on the eggs, what a great touch. Lol, that is quite the death stare from Rosemary!
Celia scares me! I always turn to dessert first
oh my – that looks like a wonderful breakfast! Mr BBB and I love our weekend brunch too – although we have been going out to cafes of late. Once we move into our new house I expect that there will be a revival of the homemade weekend brunch I am sure!!!
I usually cook me eggs for 4 minutes instead of 3. I should try 3 minutes next time
your egg faces are cute lorraine hehe and usually i flick through front to back but slow down around the desserts pages
Oh my! Those little faces are so sweet. And there’s something so incredibly soothing about googey eggs for breakfast. But when it comes to cookbooks, I start at the very beginning and read them like a novel. Though I do keep some post it notes handy to flag the stuff that deserves special attention
I love the faces on your googie eggs – very cute! And Rosemary sure looks like a chicken on a mission – I’d be staying out of her way. Did you fruit brioche for your meal here?
With a cookbook I also look at the mains first – I look to see if the meals are easy. Too many ingredients listed and I freak out.
PS. Sleepy Mr NQN had Bertie’s egg – she always lays the lighter coloured ones!
Yum!! These are so cute
I love Poh, I will be buying her cookbook. She is such a delight!
I tend to flick to mains first, to get a feel for the book. then breakfast. THEN desserts. I think it is a lack of confidence with them. I tend to gravitate towards the other areas first.
Heidi xo
Just reading this at work – do you think second breakfast would be allowed – I just love the sound of this and how simple yet scrummy, yum.
Haha
I LOVE the faces!
I def go to the mains first. Although my cookbook collection seems to be turning more to baking of late. I guess it depends on what mood I am in. I do find myself fantasising about my cookbooks while at work though. Thats when you know you have a problem lol
That is the cutest looking breakfast I’ve ever seen! I’m a dessert section first girl. I even do that with menus when I’m out. First I choose dessert then the rest of the meal fits around it.
Lorraine how can you possibly neglect your weekend breakfast! Its the best meal of the week! Adorable little eggs there, and i think the best thing about this is that you can whack in into a bowl and still have brekky in bed!
Do you mean Rip Van Winkle rather than Rumplestiltskin? I love looking at breakfast recipes too but alas rarely cook from them…
I loved Poh on Masterchef, and was gutted that she didn’t win. So pleased that she’s done so well though.
First thing I do with cookbooks is to flip through all the pages, and see how good the photos are. I’m a prime example of “judging a book by it’s cover” – or in this case, by it’s photos. Hehe.
I love brunches. When I get a new cookbook, I read it through front to back like a novel. I hve hunbreds of cookbooks, but thankfully there are always new ones to read!
Oh, those are the sweetest eggs!! I’m definitely going to be drawing more faces on food, me thinks
Where do I turn to when opening a new cook book? Is that a trick question?! Desserts, naturally – doesn’t everyone?!
xxx
What is it with guys who waste away the weekend by sleeping in? A gorgeous brekkie like this will certainly get them up, I think. Soft boiled eggs are fab with truffle salt, too.
Main course – followed by dessert.
How cute does this look??? I am definitely doing this on Sunday!
I enjoy flicking through from start to finish, and deciding which recipe to try first!
I’ve been looking for a special but light breakfast for my husband’s birthday this weekend. Perfect timing thanks!
Must get the book.
Dessert or Breakfast… but mostly because there are often sweet dessert-like things in teh breakfast section
And hurrah for finding a fellow sleepaholic in your husband!
I’m with you on the breakfast recipes, I always flip through to find that special something as I love the Sunday morning late easy rituals of sleeping in, the quiet house, a little internet, a cuppa or two before a brunch lunch (either at my fave local or sometimes from my kitchen). Yep…, I’m definatly a breakfast recipe perv
Gotta love Rebecca’s death stare huh
For me, cookbooks have to be pretty and have lots of pics of the finished dishes, otherwise I won’t give them a second glance.
Love having brunch but it doesn’t happen very often at my place, too much mayhem with my eldest daughter and grand-daughters living with us atm.
I love Celia and am very excited as my brother is building a chicken coop and soon we’ll have gorgeous, yummy, free-range eggs from our very own chooks
I’d love to have this for breakfast! So… breakfast at yours this weekend?
I always flip to the desserts and work my way backwards… the sweet tooth in me.
Love the eggs Lorraine
I like cookbooks that have pictures of the finished products so at least I have an idea what it will look like before deciding to cook it or not.
I always read from the front, glanced thru all the pages first then read it properly from the front again hahaha …
Sleeping until 10am – I remember those days only 7 years ago, followed by a late brunch at some groovy cafe in Adelaide. But a child arrived. We’re lucky as she sleeps until 8am or so on weekends but I yearn for a proper sleep in.
As to cook books – I start at the beginning and do a quick graze across all sections to determine if it is worthwhile. Have a bookcase exclusively for cookbooks and magazines so I guess I should become more selective.
And Poh’s recipe inspired me to try soft boiled eggs again. I hated them when I was a kid, but now (many many years later) adore soft poached eggs so the boiled ones were a natural progression – and they were absolutely delicious!!
<3 Rosemary!
Noon isn't too bad, I used to sleep through till 2pm on weekends (and that's without a hangover..!)
Those eggs look delicious! I didn’t realise Poh’s cookbook was out, I’ll have to sneak a look at the bookstore on the weekend.
How adorable! Just the thing to put a smile on my toddler’s faces this coming weekend. I’m inspired….I’m thinking Humpty Dumpty for the little ones. And coincidently I just bought greek style yogurt and a can of blueberry pie filling meant for the little tykes.
Regarding cookbooks, I go straight for the dessert section. It’s a little like having your dessert first.
I love the idea of adding Parmesan to an old-school breakfast fave. And are those blueberries with yogurt I spy? Lovely!
I never used to flip through the dessert section of the cookbook as I thought I could never bake. but this is slowly changing
Brunch for me is a MUST on weekends!
Tres cute!!!
That looks delicious – and I love that indignant-looking hen -great shot! I go to the mains and work out how many vegetarian options there are – if there’s only one or two, my browsing is finished. Yes, I’m a tough woman…
I love me some breakfast for dinner… I can’t stomach it in the actual morning.
I gave away all my cookbooks. I don’t need them anymore… not since I found Delicious. And YOU are featured heavily.
Ha, Rip V W,sounds as cute as u, i loveee to sleep too and this sounds so good for those late sleep ins!!
Oh these egg cups sure will wake me up though!!
Looks delicious might try the cute egg faces for my hubby and son this Sunday as we will have a nice quiet day! I always look at side dishes as they are the ones that I love as they make any simple dish extra special!
I love weekend breakfasts! This is adorable with the faces.
I can recommend one of our favourite egg dishes, eggs en cocotte with truffle oil: http://thefoodarchive.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/oeufs-en-cocotte/ Soo yummy!
Very cute! The bread you used really looks fantastic.
I love getting up around midday and having brunch! I saw Poh do this recipe on her show and funnily enough, that’s how we always do our French toast!
i am definitely a dessert first cookbook reader! I love the dozing egg MR NQN! LOL
Lorraine, if you drew on my eggs and served me those cheesy, herby toasts each morning, why, I would have no problem getting up in the morning. I might not even need my alarm clock!
The sleeping egg is so cute! And, the parmesan chive toasts sound delicious. Oddly enough, I’m always curious about salads in new cookbooks.
Yum yum yum! Eggs & fried bread sound like a great start to the day!
Those egg soldiers look so tasty!! I love the eggs presentation too! I always look in the desserts section first!, allways! MMMMM,..a lovely breakfast to wake up too!
Lucky Mr. NQN!
i love the idea of the parmesan soldiers, a really original idea. When i get a cookbook i go straight to the soups section – i absolutely love making soups and judge a good cookbook by the quality of its soups!
i am really loving this presentation..it is so pretty:) thanks for sharing this.
I was looking at Poh’s book the other day and thought it looked great. She seems like such a lovely person on TV too.
Another book I really want to get is Jamie’s 30 minute meals. I love books that give you ideas for complete meals. I always go to the middle of the book and flip backwards!
Oh good lord I am struck with a sudden urgent need to become unsingle or have an insta-child so I have someone to draw eggy faces for right away!
I’m a dessert and breakfast person tooo… Though you’re right- breakfast is usually same-old. I like looking at veggie sides for new ideas, and appetizers- though I don’t try nearly enough of them.
This breakfast looks adorable and delicious. Nutritious too
I am sure that E could give Mr NQN a run for his money – he once told me he kept his youthful looks by sleeping so much – not even breakfasts cheer him up when he has to rise
Have you ever looked at Vegan Brunch by Isa from post punk kitchen – it has lots of great brunch ideas
I love the eggs with faces! I share Mr NQN’s love of sleeping, I used to sleep 13 hours a night every weekend!
heheheeh those eggs are soo cute!! … gosh i havent gotten up early enough on a weekend to make breakfast in like forever… may give this one a go this weekend
Desserts! I was just watching a replay of the masterchef australia and they made a sweet version of soldiers and soft boiled eggs!
Oh I must start drawing faces on eggs for Ted, why didn’t I think of this?!
I usually read through from front to finish, although more often than not my cookbook would be purely dessert or baked treats. Cute little egg faces
Yum – soft boiled eggs & soldiers is our favourite weekend breakfast! This version looks delicious.
I rarely pay attention to the breakfast section of a cookbook, only because I’d rarely have something for breakfast that would need a recipe!
I love cute food.
The Parmesan chive soldiers look yummy too. I have to confess that I look at desserts first.
yuuuuuuuuuuum, sure beats my special k. would you please share where you got the little milk bottle, I’ve been looking for one for a while! sooooooo cute!!!
corrie:)
LOVE LOVE LOVE EGGS! I think I’ll like this recipe too – thanks for posting it up! Do you think Poh’s book is actually worth buying?
soldiers, eh? what a fun name–i’ve not heard that before! good eats, lorraine. good eats.
I love your egg faces, very very cute
I am a flip the the entree section myself.
It’s very easy to just do the same old cereal for breakfast. Weekends, no matter how crazy busy they are, are perfect for the tiny bit of extra effort. happy faces all around! cheers kari
Hmm that looks amazing
I will definitely have to try this recipe. I can hear my stomach growling already. I’m the same as you, my favourite two sections are breakfast and dessert – and the baking section if they’re seperate.
I like chocolate cake for breakfast.
In my life,from family to spouses, the men always make the
breakfast.
In cookbooks,I look for sauces,
appetizers, and desserts.I hate to admit it, but, if the photos aren’t quality I don’t buy the book, even if I know the recipes are worthy. Photos provide inspiration and spark interest in trying that food.
I always want to have a special breakfast for weekends due to some time schedule but after reading this I’d love to!
2 Trackbacks/Pingbacks
[...] recipe, Soft Boiled Eggs with Parmesan and Chive Toast Soldiers is going onto our regular weekend breakfast list. I think it took twenty minutes, tops. We did have [...]
[...] Poh’s Kitchen in quick succession as they were the right mix of wow and quirky. I made the egg and parmesan chive soldiers which Mr NQN has now repeatedly requested and the attention grabbing “Fettuccine” Crepes [...]
Post a Comment