Brown-Butter Scramble with Avocado

I approached our latest challenge with some trepidation; the idea of tackling one cookbook had excited me when Rachel proposed our new blog challenge, but the actual reality of selecting and executing a recipe was surprisingly scary. I'm still grappling with the root cause of this fear- I have a big, beautiful cookbook, The American Breakfast, full of glossy photos and yummy-sounding recipes, but still the anxiety was there.

While my breakfast philosophy aligns more with Rachel and Marion (see previous post), the Jamisons have dug their heels in and share the whole range of American breakfast tradition. My latest self analysis (staying safely in the zone of food neuroses) has made me realize that I have a definite breakfast comfort zone - a daily bowl of oatmeal and blueberries, getting a little crazier on the weekends with pancakes, scones, and muffins. These are baked goods that I can produce with only one eye open, usually with the help of a scattering a handful of dried cereal on baby's highchair tray to keep her hunger at bay. This demand for new recipe creativity - exotic sausages and complicated hollandaise sauces- at such an early hour seemed daunting.

So I need to confess, my first contribution was made as a lunchtime enterprise. No, actually, that's not true. My first try was a breakfast attempt - but I have deemed it not postable, I tried making the Jamison's variation of a Dutch Baby pancake - hoping for glorious airy deliciousness. The pancake was suitably puffy, but had the taste and texture closer to an omelet than a pancake. I don't blame this entirely on their recipe, I am going to give it one more attempt. But in the meantime I needed to produce a post-worthy creation. My next attempt, the brown-buttered eggs and avocado were scrumptious. Browning butter, swirling in eggs - adding copious amounts of avocado - just easy enough, and exotic enough, for me to tackle before nap time.

Brown-Butter Scramble With Avocado
(Source: A Real American Breakfast, Cheryl Alters Jamison & Bill Jamison)

6 large eggs
3 T whipping cream or half and half (I used half and half)
2 minced garlic cloves, roasted in a dry skillet until soft
Splash of hot sauce (Optional)
Salt and freshly milled black pepper to taste
4 T unsalted butter
2 medium avocados, cut into bite-sized chunks

Crack the eggs into a bowl and add the cream, garlic, hot sauce (if desired), and salt and pepper. Whisk just long enough to combine, you should still see large bubbles. Set aside.

Warm the butter in an 8 to 10 inch skillet over medium-low heat. Cook until the butter turns from pale yellow to light nutty brown, about 5 minutes. Immediately pour in the egg mixture. Cook, frequently stirring up from the bottom with a spatula, until the eggs form soft curds and are lightly set but still look a little runny, 3 to 4 minutes. Do not overcook. Fold in the avocados and remove from the heat. Stir an additional time or two to cook through before serving immediately.

Options: You can add 2 to 3 slices crumbled bacon, or perhaps some grated cheese.