M. Suzanne Terry

If I had to choose a last meal, it would probably be fried eggs on top of some type of fried potatoes (and a strawberry shortcake sundae from Braum’s for dessert, but I digress). If I have these two ingredients at home, there is approximately an 86% chance that it is what I will make for dinner any given night or on Saturday morning. It is my favorite comfort food and – if I’m the one cooking – my favorite breakfast.

[If I’m not the one having to make it, Eggs Benedict is my breakfast of choice. Every time. In fact, I change my answer from above. If it’s my last meal, bring on the hollandaise.]

[But also I want hashbrowns on the side because I will be dragging them through that eggy goodness.]

[And I also require the perfect cup of coffee to go with it, but really, doesn’t that go without saying?]

It’s hard for me to pick a favorite breakfast food. I like most of them. I mean, I’m picky about scrambled eggs, but for the most part? There’s hardly anything on most breakfast menus that I just will not eat.

Eggs and potatoes are the stars of the show for just about any breakfast at the farm. It’s one of the meals that reminds me of home. Bacon, sausage, ham, or steak – toast, biscuits, or tortillas – these choices vary. But there are usually eggs and potatoes.

I don’t often make them for brunch, though. If I’m serving a crowd, I want things that stay good for a while and can stand to sit out a little. That is not the case with fried eggs. Brunch is usually waffles or a variety of pastries, savory scones or biscuits, bagels and assorted schmear. Maybe muffins (both sweet and savory). If I make anything egg-based, it’s typically quiche or frittata bites that I take out of the oven just as everyone is arriving.

Of all the parties to host, I enjoy hosting brunch the most. I think it’s because brunch feels like mine – like something that sets apart the home I’ve cultivated over the years. We didn’t often have company for the first meal of the day at the farm, and all my favorite brunch recipes come from times I’ve fed people in the various places I’ve lived since I’ve been in Denton.

I also think it’s one of the meals I am best at making. It’s certainly the one in which I’m most confident.

What is your favorite meal to host? What’s your signature dish when you do?

I’m writing about not only the food I grew up with but also the food that helped me grow as a cook this month.