Breakfast Crepe Panini

Chain restaurants are so easily imitated and surpassed it's ridiculous. I know that it's part of the whole marketing brainwash that people run to chain restaurants but I still think it's ridiculous. We were paid a meal at Boston Pizza over the holidays and I'd rather have gone without eating for a week.

At Cora's Breakfast, a breakfast chain that specialises in nice fruit presentations, they've come up with what you see above: ham, eggs and cheese rolled into a crepe and grilled in a panini press. This is ridiculously easy to make. I don't even need to write it out for you.

All I do need to mention though is that you shouldn't make your crepes too sweet. A nice contrast of sweet and salty is good but not too much. Unless you want to pour maple syrup over the whole thing in the tradition of sugar shacks...but don't say I didn't warn you.

Busy Times

I've recently chosen to change waitering jobs from Cora's Breakfast to the Barn Yard BBQ. It's a smaller restaurant that's closer to town and because it's not a chain, it's more informal...hell, my uniform consists of a plaid shirt, jeans and a tool belt. Plus the food is really great. Everything is smoked for hours. Whole chickens. Pork ribs and roasts. Beef brisket. It all comes out beautiful. Plus I get to sneak some of my own food in if I catch the guys at the right time.

The unfortunate things about this move is that, being the nice guy that I am, I gave my old boss a 2 week notice and worked at both places for 2 weeks. So 8:30 to 5:00 at the day job, then working nights at the barnyard plus weekends at Cora's. I'm tired and had little to no time to myself which means that the food takes a backseat.

Pretty much the only time I had to make food was in the mornings. So I made loads of egg sandwiches, omellettes and fruit plates but really nothing worth writing about. The only good thing related to these breakfasts is that I've discovered the organic section of my grocery store. I now buy my coffee from the absolute best coffee company Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op. Their coffee is fair trade, organic, and the company is a co-operative. You can't have any less capitalistic and environmentally friendly than that. Also in this section of the store I've found soy cream cheese, soy milk, Bob's Red Mill products, organic cereals, hand crafted sodas, organic beans and pastas and so on. It's all a bit more expensive but worth it in an overall view.

Anyways, I'm back in the kitchen now. Like tonight I made a whole chicken in the crock pot with yellow cury paste and coconut milk. I've noticed that things cooked in the crock pot tend to loose any oomph they might have unless they're meant to cook for a long time like sauces or stews or soups. I mixed the chicken with some of the juice and couscous but the result was uneventful. Even the rice krispie squares I made were more exciting than this.

Cora's Skillet Imitation

Things have turned out for the best lately. Not only have I found a great job but the hours there have allowed me to take on another weekend job as waiter. And I couldn't be waiting at a better restaurant.

Breakfast at Cora's (or Déjeuner chez Cora as per it's original name) is a restaurant chain at the forefront of the all-day-breakfast trend...at least as far as Canada is concerned - see www.chezcora.com. Bacon and eggs only takes a small corner of the very colourful menu. They're...hum...we're cooking elaborate eggs benedict, omelettes, crepes, etc. etc. What's even greater, I get to see how a full service 140 seat restaurant operates. 5 kitchen chefs at their stations...one guy on the pass...7 waiters...three hostesses...and lineups of people waiting to enjoy fresh coffee and a great breakfast. But best of all, I get to work in a restaurant. Boo yeah baby!!!

So after a day's work, full of enthousiasm, I grabbed whatever I found in my fridge and made a quick imitation of a 10 on 10 skillet. My skillet was composed of sautéed brocolli, onion, celery, snow peas, tomatoes, garlic, ham, pepperoni, green tomato salsa, topped with melted mozzarella and an over-easy egg. In true Cora's fashion - they're famous for their sides of fresh fruit - I cut up some pear, apple, banana and served with a fresh slice of artisanal cheese. If you look at the above photo, you'll see the fancy way Cora's cuts their apples..fan like.

Anyways, the skillet was a great way to get rid of all the stuff in my fridge and made a great light meal. It's a great idea and just one amongst many I can easily imitate from Cora's. I'm that much closer to owning my own restaurant.

And now I know for sure that I want to work in a restaurant. Nay, I want to own my own restaurant.