Late night eggs

Eating eggs late at night has been something of a tradition in my family, driven mainly by my dad since I was a kid. I've always been a late night person; I'd rather stay up late than get up early.

My dad was the same way, and at night - usually around midnight - he would be in the kitchen crafting a plate of scrambled eggs and sausage. And not just any sausage, Portuguese Linguica. Eggs in my dads house were always served with a huge side of this spicy, garlicy sausage.

Linguica is a smokey, pork sausage seasoned strongly with garlic and paprika that and it is the perfect complement to eggs covered with a little bit of american or swiss cheese. The love of linguica and eggs came from my dads early life in New Bedford, MA. There is a large portuguese population there and linguica is a staple of breakfast.

I wrote this post while eating a plate of those eggs, reminiscing about the past and relishing the fluffy texture of the eggs and the crispy, salty porkyness of the bacon. Unfortunately for me, linguica is hard to come by in central Texas.

Perfect "Late Night" Scrambled Eggs with Bacon

Ingredients

• 2-3 eggs

• 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream

• salt & pepper to taste

• 1/3 cup swiss cheese, shredded

• I've also used gruyere or american cheese here but use whatever you like best!

• 1 jalapeno, sliced

• 6-7 slices of bacon

• 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter

• 1-2 tablespoons of cilantro, chopped

Equipment

• Saute Pan
• Mixing bowl
• Sheet tray
• Yer mitts

Directions

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line the sheet tray with non-stick aluminum foil, then line up the bacon on the tray. Once the oven is heated add the bacon and cook for 20 minutes (check after 15 to ensure it is done correctly).

Once the bacon is done, remove it from the sheet tray and add it to a plate covered with a paper towel (to help drain the grease). Now that the bacon is draining, let's start the eggs.

Crack the eggs, into the mixing bowl and add the cream, salt and pepper. Stir like crazy until it all comes together. Now heat up the pan low to medium at first, let it sit for a minute then add the butter.

Once the butter melts turn the heat up to medium and wait for the butter to start sizzling. Add the eggs (make sure to get every last bit). The eggs will cook pretty quickly so start stirring them right away - this will help keep the fluffy texture.

Once the eggs firm up a little bit, add the shredded cheese and keep stirring a bit more. Move the eggs to a plate, cover with the jalapeno and cilantro, add the bacon and serve.