College Kitchen: Valentine’s Day Breakfast

Story by Kayla Kohn, Graphics Editor|February 10, 2015

Supplies:

Eggs
Heart shaped cookie cutters
Pancake mix (I prefer Krusteaz mix because you only have to add water and I think they taste great)
Whisk
Food coloring – red
Squeeze bottle
Bacon strips – make more buds than you may have stems, in case there are any mess-ups
Tooth picks
Wire rack & rimmed cookie sheet
Rose flower stems (petals removed)

This breakfast is, not going to lie, intensive in preparation, but I have a few pointers based on my attempt at making the breakfast

When I attempted to cook the eggs in heart-shaped cookie cutters, I experienced a lot of spreading under the bottom edges of the cookie cutter and uneven cooking, so in the end I would recommend simply frying the egg as flat as possible (white and yolk separate) and then cutting it with the cookie cutter after it has cooked.

When you are ready to start baking, make the Bacon-rolled rose buds first before anything else since they take longer to cook.

Good thing you’re probably not going to be trying to take pictures of bacon while in the process of handling and rolling it! (can we say greasy cellphone?)

I bought my fake roses at a dollar store. You can also buy long-stem fake roses at a craft store. You could lay the roses with the buds on the plate for a different setting than the one pictured. Look for fake roses that are not made with hot glue. They should be pieced together so you can easily separate them.

I suggest reading all the directions first before starting this project.

Before any cooking, separate your fake rose-bud petals from the stems. Keep the small piece that may be holding the petals in the stem and place it back in the stem once you have removed the petals.

Make the bacon rose buds first.

ROLLED BACON ROSES

Step 1 Take a strip of bacon and lay it out.Roll from one end to the other, creating one side that sticks out on the roll

Step 2 Place 2 or 3 toothpicks through the rolled-bacon strip

Step 3 Set on wire rack

Step 4 Repeat with all bacon strips

Step 5 Place wire rack on a cookie sheet that has a lip on the edge so the grease doesn’t go over the sides while baking.

Step 6 Place the bacon in the oven

Step 7 Bake 25-35 minutes at 400 degrees. Since this is for aesthetic purposes, I suggest cooking for the longest period of time.

Step 8 Once the bacon is done, let cool for a short time.

Step 9 Remove toothpicks and place rolled-out side of bacon bud onto the stem, trying to get the stem to stick through the bottom

Step 10 Repeat until all roses are complete

Make Pancakes and eggs while the rose buds are baking.

COLORED-WITH-LOVE PANCAKES

Step 1 Prepare pancake mix according to package directions and how many you would like to make.

Step 2 Take a small amount, maybe a half cup, of pancake mix and put it in a separate bowl. Add a tablespoon of water. You want the mix to be runny so it comes out of the squeeze bottle easily when you’re creating your design. Add a very small amount of food dye to the watered-down mix and whisk the color into the batter.

Step 3 Once you have a desired colored pancake mixture, pour the colored mix into a squeeze bottle.

Step 4 With your squeeze bottle, write out a sweet message and draw some hearts onto a hot griddle. This will cook rather quickly and is for decoration. While the designs begin to cook, pour out pancake batter onto other areas of your griddle as you normally would when making pancakes.

Step 5 Place your cooked designs into your pancakes that are currently cooking.

Step 6 When the pancakes are ready to turn, flip them with the designs on the top side and continue to cook until done.