OMFG...It's Breakfast Time!

To start the day, I did what I always do.

Grind

Boil

Pour

Stir

Wait

Press

Pour

I'm talking about the wonders of a french press. In my mind, there is no other way to make coffee. It's thick, dark, and robust, and I'm not talking about you know what. If you like your coffee, then get yourself a french press. I swear by it.

Another thing that I'll swear by is the coffee made by the boys at Stumptown. I first fell in love with their coffee on a cross country trip a few years ago. On a recommendation from a friend/coffee roaster, I wound up at the foot of Mount Stumptown. It was in Portland, Oregon and no, it wasn't actually a mountain of any kind. It was a place of coffee worship. Nevertheless, the coffee made me mess my pants and I've been hooked ever since.

Luckily for me, the owner and paternal father of Stumptown just happened to move a neighborhood away from me in Brooklyn. He also opened up a roastery, which is located down the street from my apartment, but it gets better. Every time I buy a bag of Stumptown beans, I get to stare at the numbers stamped on the bottom of the bag, which let me know that I'm about to enjoy some f'ing awesome coffee that was brewed only a few days prior to my purchase. Can it get any better?

If you don't know already, I am a total meat whore, and even more so... a total pork whore, but why the hell not. Is there anything on earth that comes close to the taste of cured pork parts? I think not. When you crave a bit of cured pork goodness, there is nothing else that will satisfy that need. In more recent food porn times of my life, I've begun experimenting with curing pork. I've conquered bacon, guanciale, and now I'm working on coppa. It's really not that hard and it's extremely rewarding. You get to cut your bacon to any thickness you want. I like mine super thick, which makes it a bit difficult to cook. You've got to cook it low and slow, but isn't everything cooked that way so much better?

Egg time. These eggs were purchased just yesterday at the Grand Army Plaza farmers market, which means they are local and farmed responsibly. The price wasn't too bad either, only $4.

Some wonderful Vermont Cheddar Cheese from Cabot. Damn good cheese.

Now that you've cooked that thick bacon and removed it from the cast iron pan, crack a couple of eggs into the pan of bacon fat. Fry those babies, or what could have been babies, up. Add a little sea salt, cracked black pepper, and fresh rosemary. Remove from pan and place on a sliced open baguette, add a slice of bacon and cheddar cheese. Now go and enjoy the shit out of that breakfast sandwich, but don't forget that cup of coffee.