My Breakfast of Champions (and it’s not what you think)

I’m not sure about you, but I usually associate savory ingredients with breakfast – crispy, thick cut bacon paired with eggs over easy, medium rare steak and Eggs Benedict (or any other Benedict for that matter), sausage and biscuits with creamy Sawmill gravy – essentially anything pig and egg related is a good start.

An Autumn Starter

However, as the season changes to autumn, I get a hankering for a breakfast that some don’t think of and most probably haven’t ever considered…wait for it… apple cider and doughnuts.

I personally consider it a power breakfast during those cool autumn weekend mornings – and I’m not alone. This combination is gaining popularity, so much so that chefs and home cooks alike are actually combining the two to make  apple cider doughnuts.  All I can say is yes please (in a child’s voice), and please, go on…(in my serious psychiatrist’s voice).

If your interest isn’t piqued yet, you might as well stop reading right now, pack your bags and leave this country. I mean that. You don’t belong here (or there or anywhere for that matter).

Maybe that’s a little harsh, but I feel that this breakfast combination represents all that is great about this country:  apples (a fruit that is forever baked into the fabric of Americana) and doughnuts (the certain cause of the ever-expanding waistlines and smiles of our collective country). It is the fruity sweetness combined with a luscious yeastiness that makes for an intriguing combination – dare I say an updated version of the heralded apple pie?

It Gets Complicated

Now, let’s be clear, you can’t just drink any plain old apple cider and don’t even think about store-bought apple juice. That would be like replacing lobster with monkfish (which by the way is known as the poor man’s lobster).

Left: sweet cider. Right: apple juice. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

That being said, here are two important pieces of advice when attempting this combination:

1. It is vital to buy fresh, locally made cider from a producer as close as possible to your home. This time of year, farmers markets are a great place to source high quality apple cider.
2. Always eat raised, yeast doughnuts (think Krispy Kreme, no endorsement intended, though they make a good doughnut). Cake doughnuts are fine with coffee, but if you really want to experience the richness of the combination, yeast doughnuts it is.

 I leave you with this one last question…

Ok, so before I sign off, I’ll be the one to ask this question, and it’s a predictable one if you know me:  Is there any way to work pork into the equation?

 And the answer is simple. Yes. Why, yes you can. Have you ever heard of a maple-bacon doughnut? This takes it to a new level, because now we’re adding one of America’s great culinary contributions to the world – bacon (and I don’t mean the Canadian variety, sorry Canada), and maple syrup, which is almost as American as apples (sorry again Canada, but Vermont maple syrup is better).

Hopefully I’ve inspired you to try cider and donuts for breakfast this weekend. If you’ve never had this combination and you do try it, let me know what you think. If you like it, please don’t hesitate to send me a finder’s fee of some slab bacon or other delicious pork product. Just send it to Park City, Utah. They’ll know to deliver it to the guy with the pig tattoo. No COD please.

Thanks for listening.