The history of breakfast foods in America reflects dishes whose ingredients range from simple to sublime. In early colonial days, hearty porridges (a template for our modern-day instant oatmeal) dominated the morning meal. By the turn of the 20th century, however, recipes like lamb chops and hominy grits, beefsteak pie, and oysters and celery on toast pulled from a 1901 cookbook entitled 365 Breakfast Dishes, signaled that breakfast was a full-on feast.

Decades later, the advent of television and advertising, the heightened importance of convenience, and feeding kids a quick meal — all coinciding with women entering the workforce — changed the breakfast landscape again. Pastriespre-mix pancakes, and boxed cereals became de rigueur.

In honor of the first — and, some might say, most important — meal of the day, we’ve lined up a dozen fantastic breakfast ideas that we think have big flavor, ease of preparation, and a feast for the senses.


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Author

Theresa Gambacorta is a freelance food writer, a veteran of New York City restaurants, and cookbook co-author to chef Joey Campanaro's Big Love Cooking (Chronicle) and James Beard-nominated chef Nasim Alikhani's Sofreh: A Contemporary Approach to Classic Persian Cuisine (Knopf). She is currently working on a forthcoming vegan cookbook to be published by Simon Element.

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