Le Special de Petit-Dejeuner

I love falling back into routine, and today was my regular Tuesday: run with Karinne, 6 hours of class, dinner with Annie (we made Chakchouka-- points to anyone who can figure out what it is. I ate it and I still don't know-- although it was excellent), email and blog catch-up time. So, here is a slightly bizarre anecdote...

In Quogue (the village on Long Island where Zach spent his summers as a boy, and the place he now calls home) the most reasonably priced item for Hampton mile after Hampton mile is the breakfast special. Zach loves them, and stuck up his nose at me the first time I timidly asked, "I feel as if I should know this... but what exactly is a breakfast special?"

A breakfast special Long Island style is a toasted kaiser roll topped with scrambled eggs, a meat of your choice (sausage, bacon, or ham), cheddar cheese, and ketchup. Sounds simple, and it is. They are really, really good, especially when made at the Quogue Market. Three years later with Zach as a boyfriend I am fully versed in the breakfast special ways, and have many a time made some for Zach and myself.

So, too a seemingly unrelated point: I am a college student on a major budget here in France. I've allotted myself the bare minimum for eating, as I feel it is the most disposable thing in my French life (traveling being the least disposable). In Barcelona on Sunday, I was out of funds, so I survived the day on a butter and jam sandwich, two muffins, and two bananas stolen from the complimentary hostel breakfast. I should go pro in cheap eating.

Hence: the French breakfast special. Cheap, delicious, and mostly just cheap. It is my daily lunch here in France, and I thought I would share the recipe, as it just might be better than the Long Island classic.

1/4 toasted baguette
2 scrambled eggs
a couple slices of brie cheese
turkey
raspberry jam

Toast and "jam" the baguette, melt the cheese on the eggs, and add the turkey. Tres magnifique!

For simply 8 euro for a week of lunch, I'm reminded of Zach and sufficiently stuffed until Annie and I venture into the French cookbook for dinner. Not a bad deal.