In high school, an old boyfriend took me to a tiny, fancypants French restaurant in a neighboring beach city, named after a wine we couldn’t pronounce. Based on that fact alone, we knew it was going to be a worthy (and expensive) place to spend our first anniversary.

The two of us were completely out of place in this cramped dining room, tucked away from view in a corner nearest the bathroom. Other diners were either yuppies discussing business deals over elegantly plated dishes, or the retired crowd, with men in khaki pants and women dripping in jewelry. All of them carried on their conversations looking completely at ease, as if they knew the scene in the dining room was built for them to be part of it. I looked at my beau, who upon being seated, had immediately buried his face in his leatherbound menu. Though I sensed he was also uncomfortable, he said not a word about it.

It’s funny how totally unrelated things can trigger a memory. If you can believe it, that awkward memory surfaced after I sat through an IHOP commercial. The ad is for the restaurant’s all-you-can-eat pancake promotion where a man eats a stack that magically regenerates right before his eyes (see clip). He’s got this baffled look on his face that I’m sure I had when I was stumbling through those French words all those years ago.

The pancake guy’s good fortune stuck with me throughout the week. Who doesn’t have a meal they would love to eat all over again, either because of the food or company? I’d pay to relive the first date I had with my current boyfriend, where we wolfed down wood-fired hot dogs with bacon and mushrooms. Or when I sat down to a chicken roulade meal in my best friend’s new home with her new husband, an ocean away from where we met. Or even that awkward meal I had at that now-shuttered French restaurant, just so I could choose a dish based on something I liked, rather than through a meticulous system of tallying how many ingredients we recognized in each description. I bet that regenerating-pancake guy doesn’t know how good he has it. (Click on “Read the rest of this entry” for recipe)

Some cook’s notes:
This recipe is partly inspired by IHOP’s “Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity” breakfast. It’s made of poached eggs, brown sugar bacon with a bit of heat and some pancakes, all fashioned into a sandwich that you need to eat with a fork.

I originally added cheese to this dish, but found it better without. If you’d still like to include cheese, pick a mild one. The milder the cheese, the better.

While you are poaching eggs, place sausage, pancakes and compote into the oven to keep warm with its residual heat before you assemble the sandwich.

IHOP’S ROOTY, MY WAY

• Yield: 2 servings (can be doubled)
• 4 thick-cut bacon strips
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Alton Brown’s Instant Pancake Mix (or your own recipe)
• 6 ounces blueberries, picked, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
• 2 to 4 pork sausage links or patties
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place bacon strips in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar and cayenne pepper.
2. Place in oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until browned and crispy. Remove from baking sheet and place on a plate.
3. Prepare pancakes according to directions. Place in oven to keep warm.
4. Place blueberries, sugar and salt into a saucepan over high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat to medium and cook until blueberry compote is reduced and thickened, about 10 5o 15 minutes. Place in oven (turned off) to keep warm.
5. Cook sausages according to package directions. Place in oven to keep warm.
6. Crack one egg into a measuring cup or small bowl. Fill a small pot with water, add vinegar and bring water to a simmer. Using a wooden spoon, swirl water in pot until a whirlpool is created. Drop egg into center of whirlpool and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove egg from pot using a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain. Repeat with second egg.
7. To assemble: Slice one pancake in half. Top one half with sausage, poached egg and bacon. Sandwich with second pancake half. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve with a side of blueberry compote.

– Cynthia Furey

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 29th, 2009 at 4:56 pm and is filed under Breakfast/brunch, In the kitchen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.