We spent nearly every summer with my grandparents on Long Island and although my grandmother did nearly all of the cooking, my grandfather would sometimes make us a special scrambled egg dish for breakfast that we referred to as Norman scrambled eggs. It started simply: he would add bacos (crunchy fake bacon bits that are popular in some places as a salad topping) to his fluffy, moist scrambled eggs. One year he started a vegetable garden and we began to add his homegrown cherry tomatoes to the eggs at the very end of cooking.
When I went away to college I would often make “Norman Scrambled Eggs” to combat bouts of homesickness. Over the course of my schooling I began adding onions. I made it for him with onions that next summer and he proclaimed it delicious. With Norman scrambled eggs on my mind I added some Heirloom Tomatoes to my farm share box. Because I’m fancy and because I had some to use up, I’ve subbed out the bacos for bacon (see notes) I felt the eggs were silkier because I then used the rendered bacon fat to cook them.
I served mine with a potato rösti made with schmaltz and some fluffy blueberry pancakes for dessert (blueberries were also in my farm share box). Dinner for breakfast is popular in our family.
Norman Scrambled Eggs
Serves 3
6 jumbo eggs
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
3 slices bacon, chiffonaded
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
1 medium Heirloom Tomato, diced
Small pinch of salt
Pepper, to taste
1. Whisk together eggs, cream, milk and salt. Season with a small pinch pepper.
2. In a pan over medium high heat, fry off bacon until thoroughly crispy. Remove bacon from pan and set on a paper towel lined plate to drain. There will be some rendered bacon fat in the pan. Turn the heat to medium and add the onions and cook until they are soft and translucent.
3. Add the eggs, stirring or whisking constantly. When eggs have started to set, remove from heat for a few seconds, long enough for it to stop cooking somewhat. Return them to the stove, still whisking constantly. Add the tomatoes. Repeat the process until eggs are set but still moist; you’re going for a fluffy but creamy consistency (a little like custard).
Serve with breakfast potatoes or a side salad.
Notes: If you don’t eat meat or don’t eat pork I think McCormick sells the fake bacon bits and they’re called something like bac’n pieces. You’ll want to use about 1 Tablespoon of butter in place of the bacon fat to saute the onions and cook the scrambled egg.
