Earn an End-of-the-Year Breakfast Bonus with Hearty Potatoes by Lisa Messinger on Creators.com

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Earn an End-of-the-Year Breakfast Bonus with Hearty Potatoes

Although few probably would call the common breakfast potato dishes of hash browns and home fries lightweights, they are considerably less hearty than the specialties you could be serving if you think outside the potato crate during cold-weather mornings. Most of us serve lots of sophisticated potato side dishes with dinner, but when it comes to breakfast, the imagination often gets stymied.

If you need your morning coffee first, enjoy a swig and then get creative. Here are two choices that show the wide range of potato dishes you could be preparing:

— Put a memorable spin on the popular Mexican breakfast of huevos rancheros by serving fried eggs atop spicy, black bean-filled, baked potato nachos that have been smothered in salsa, guacamole and sour cream.

— Why not sauce your breakfast potatoes just as you might at dinner, like the way some traditional egg dishes, such as eggs Benedict with Hollandaise sauce are prepared? Pan-frying keeps the following fingerling potatoes down to earth while a wild mushroom sauce creates elegance at the same time.

PAN-FRIED FINGERLING POTATOES WITH WILD MUSHROOM SAUCE

2 tablespoons butter

11 / 2 pounds fingerling potatoes (any shape, size and color), halved lengthwise

2 cups sliced mixed wild mushrooms (such as small portabella, crimini or shitake)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large shallot, thinly sliced

1 cup store-bought or homemade chicken broth

1 / 4 cup chopped dried mixed wild mushrooms (about 1 / 2 of a 1-oz. package)

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

3 / 4 teaspoon herbs de Provence

1 / 2 cup crŠme fraiche or heavy cream

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Chopped fresh thyme

Yields 8 servings.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes; cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. (Tenting with foil will speed up cooking.) Stir in fresh mushrooms, garlic and shallot; cook for 10 more minutes.

Add broth, dried mushrooms, mustard and herbs; cook over high heat for 5 minutes or until most of the broth has cooked off. Stir in creme fraiche and cook for 5 more minutes. Season with pepper and fresh thyme. Good served with scrambled eggs.

-PotatoGoodness.com

HUEVOS RANCHEROS DE BAKED POTATO NACHOS

1 1 / 2 pounds russet potatoes

1 1 / 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 / 2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon Mexican seasoning blend

1 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese

1 / 4 cup rinsed and drained canned black beans

1 / 4 cup diced tomatoes

1 / 4 cup sliced black olives

1 / 4 cup sliced green onions

3 tablespoons canned, diced green chilies

8 large eggs

Salsa, guacamole and sour cream (for garnish)

Yields 4 servings.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Scrub potatoes and cut into 1 / 2-inch thick wedges. Place potatoes into a medium size bowl with the oil, garlic salt and Mexican seasoning. Stir well to coat potatoes with oil and seasonings. Transfer to a large baking sheet and spread into a single layer. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring several times, until crisp and golden brown. Top with cheese, beans, tomatoes, olives, onions and chilies. Bake for 5 minutes more to melt cheese. While baking, fry eggs in a nonstick skillet that's been lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray. Serve baked potato nachos with salsa, guacamole and sour cream on top and then top each serving with two fried eggs.

-PotatoGoodness.com

CNS photo courtesy of PotatoGoodness.com

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "Cooks' Books" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.