Reading Nook

Asked why she wrote the cookbook Breakfast for Dinner (Ryland Peters & Small, $19.95), author Carol Hilker admits that the morning meal doesn't always get the time and respect it deserves: "We skip breakfast a lot. We don't always have time in the morning to stop and cook, but you can do it at dinner."

While that bit of practicality sort of explains the impetus for eating breakfast foods at dinner, it doesn't completely account for the allure. Hilker says that's easy: "We all need to indulge every once in a while."

And indulge you can with a collection of egg-topped, syrup-drenched and bacon-filled recipes. The publishing company, Ryland Peters & Small, is based in London, and Hilker says that it was attracted to the "American gluttony" of some of the dishes. Just check out these names: chorizo breakfast nachos, beer and bacon pancakes, triple meat and cheddar breakfast quiche, chilaquile burgers. One recipe features a whole fried Cornish game hen plopped on a cornmeal waffle.

It's not all overkill. She includes a brothy bowl of shio ramen and even a couple of salads. But you can tell where the heart and soul of the cookbook rest.

As Hilker says, she worked "within the norms of eggs, pancakes and maple syrup -- things we do enjoy -- but taking them out of their comfort zone."

One great example is Hilker's play on Russian blinis. Instead of the traditional small, yeast-raised pancakes, Hilker calls for fluffy buttermilk pancakes topped with salty smoked salmon and creme fraiche. As you can imagine, no maple syrup comes anywhere near this, yet it felt like breakfast as I ate it at 7:30 p.m.

Hilker agrees that many of these recipes can be enjoyed at any time of the day, but if you're looking to "eat a little more decadently," breakfast for dinner is always there for you.

Food on 05/04/2016

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