Last year, we attended a Chef Panel Discussion event presented by the Asian Culinary Forum (Andrea Nguyen is one of co-founders). The panelists included Charles Phan (Slanted Door), Eric Gower (The Breakaway Cook) and a several other respected Bay Area chefs.

Hungry Bear and I were really impressed with Eric. He was by far the most entertaining and passionate person on the panel. Through his commentary, Eric sold us on his "breakaway" cooking style. The simplicity of his cooking really resonated with us. The ultimate clincher was the way he enthusiastically described his poached eggs with matcha salt.

We bought a copy of his book that evening and got it signed by Eric. He wrote in the book...

"May you have many years of maccha happiness!"

Well, we started out the year by finally making Eric's signature dish. It doesn't get any easier than this... a poached egg with matcha salt sprinkled on top. As far as how it tasted, I think the picture speaks for itself! We look forward to trying out more breakaway cook recipes.

To my Vietnamese peeps, Chuc Mung Nam Moi! Hungry Bear says, "Gong Xi Fa Cai!" And to everyone else, Happy Lunar New Year!

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I'm a big fan of peanut butter and honey sandwiches (PB&H). Forget about the jelly, it's better with honey. With peanut butter, I prefer the simple sweetness of honey over fruity jams and jellies.

One of my favorite breakfast items is an open-faced peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich, a PBB&H if you will. It's open-faced because I use a thick cinnamon swirl bread from Trader Joe's. It's a hearty wheat bread with a great cinnamon flavor. For breakfast, I usually toast a piece of bread, spread it with creamy peanut butter, slice a banana and drizzle a little bit of honey on top. Two open-face PBB&H sandwiches are very filling and keep me fueled up during long bike rides.

The funny thing is, I refused to eat peanut butter for almost fifteen years. My disdain for peanut butter started during nursery school. My family and I just immigrated to the States and I was literally fresh off the boat. Well, we took a boat from Saigon to Hong Kong, and flew the rest of the way to a small Pennsylvania town, New Cumberland.

Each day after nursery school let out, I would go to a classmate's home, whose mother baby-sat us until my mom finished work. This is were I was first introduced to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I recall it wasn't too bad initially, but I was used to savory banh mi, pho and rice plates.

Unfortunately, every day for the rest of the school year, my classmate's mom would ask her daughter what she wanted for lunch. Her answer was always a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I was a shy 4 year old, who barely spoke English (I'm the kid holding the flag in the picture below). Her mom would ask me what I wanted and I would respond timidly with "uh, same." I didn't know what to say and I knew she didn't know how to make bánh xèo, a Vietnamese sizzling crepe.

PB&J, ugh! It was always PB&J on white bread with the crust cut off. It was a cruel Groundhog Day scenario for a foreign-born, food loving four year old! Over and over for four or five months, it was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. Man, oh man, did I wish my classmate would answer with anything but PB&J! Every blue moon she would ask for something different, but the only thing I can remember eating at her house was PB&J.

On the last day of nursery school, my mom picked me up and asked me what I had for lunch. I answered simply with "peanut butter and jelly." Of course, I had told my mom that I didn't like peanut butter, but I didn't tell her why. Surprised by my response, my mom asked me, "I thought you didn't like peanut butter?" And I answered, "Yes."

Learning for the first time that I didn't like peanut butter, my classmate's mom was horrified. She asked me why I didn't say anything. I shrugged my shoulders and responded with "don't know", thinking to myself, I don't know how to tell you that I hate peanut butter!

From that day onward, I refused to eat anything with peanut butter. Reese's peanut butter cups... no. Peanut sauces... no way. PB&J... hell no! Fifteen years later, I rediscovered peanut butter as a starving college kid at Penn State. At that time, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich suddenly tasted so good!

As you can see, I've had a love-hate relationship with peanut butter. I love it now, and really enjoy PB&H sandwiches, peanut sauces and peanut butter frosted cupcakes. Currently, Trader Joe's organic peanut butter is my preferred brand. I go back and forth between creamy and crunchy. I'm on a creamy kick right now.

So, that's my peanut butter saga. Do you love peanut butter? What's your favorite food with peanut butter? What's your favorite brand?

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Do you love French toast? Looking for a different twist on this breakfast classic? Then give this baked French toast casserole recipe a try. It's a great brunch dish that you prepare the night before and bake in the morning.

The baked French toast dish has three distinct layers. The top layer is a crunchy, caramely praline topping. The middle layer tastes like traditional French toast and the bottom layer reminds me of bread pudding. All together, it's a fantastic and decadent dish for breakfast or brunch.

We made the casserole last Friday while visiting our NYC friends, Jeff and Aimee. It was Aimee's turn to bring breakfast in for her co-workers. Typically, her co-workers bring in bagels or donuts, but Jeff raised the bar and made delicious fritattas the last time it was Aimee's turn. To keep the bar high, I suggested making a baked French toast casserole. Jeff, Hungry Bear and I made three casseroles — a large one for Aimee's co-workers and two smaller ones for us to enjoy.

The French toast casserole recipe is by Paula Deen, so of course, there's a lot of butter, half-and-half and sugar. The praline topping is made with two sticks of butter and a cup of brown sugar. I would recommend not using the entire amount of praline topping, or the casserole may be too sweet and buttery. We used the topping quantity in the recipe across three casseroles. The sweetness was perfect and didn't require any maple syrup. One last tip is to allow the butter to soften before making the praline topping.

The baked French toast casserole was a big hit with Aimee's co-workers. It's a great dish that's easy to make. Serve it with some fresh fruit and your friends and family will be raving about it for a long time.

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I'm a big fan of breakfast sandwiches. My favorite breakfast sammy only takes five minutes to make. The sandwich consists of whole wheat bread, scrambled eggs, pepper jack cheese and avocado.

Last week at the Serramonte Farmers' Market, we picked up a hearty whole wheat bread with sunflower, sesame and poppy seeds. It's called Dakota bread and is made by the Great Harvest Bread Co. franchise in Oakland. The Dakota bread has a great texture from all the seeds and makes a great base for sandwiches. Any type of bread will do, but fresh bread from a local baker makes the breakfast sammy even better.

It doesn't get any better than toasted bread, melted pepper jack cheese, scrambled eggs and a ripe avocado... simply scrumptious. A little sprinkle of kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper over the avocado enhances its flavor even more. There's also a great contrast of textures between the crunchy bread, melted cheese, fluffy eggs and creamy avocado. Since I love spicy food, I top my eggs with a few shakes of a good hot sauce. One of my favorite hot sauces is Crystal Extra Hot hot sauce. 

I love this breakfast sandwich because it's super easy to make and a delicious way to start any day.

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