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This dish started with my attempt to perfect the art of a beautifully poached egg. When I was at the Harvest Brunch at The Danforth Inn in Portland, Maine, and saw the poached egg that Chef Carmen Gonzales served us, I thought to myself, I must make a poached egg like that! Add leftover polenta from dinner the previous night, some roasted tomatoes and voila, breakfast was born!

The Polenta was simple – bring 5 cups of water, chicken or vegetable stock to a slow rolling boil, slowly add in 1 cup of polenta, making sure to whisk it in to prevent lumps. Continue stirring for about 20-30 minutes until it pulls away from the sides and has thickened. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan. Pour into a buttered 9×13 glass dish and refrigerate until firm, a couple hours.

Next, cut several Roma tomatoes in half, sprinkle with salt, pepper and a dash of sugar and roast at 350 for about 45 minutes. Add thinly sliced smoked Swiss cheese and keep in a warm oven while you work on the polenta.

Cut the polenta into triangles and pan fry in butter, a few minutes on each side, until browned. Keep warm in the oven with the tomatoes.

Now for the poached eggs. Bring a couple inches of water and a couple tablespoons of white vinegar to a boil in a sauce pan. Crack one egg per bowl and have ready to drop into the water. Lower the heat to barely a slow boil and with a whisk, stir very quickly to create a vortex, remove the whisk and carefully lower the egg into the center of the vortex. This helps keep the egg white from spreading and losing shape. Cook until desired doneness.

And the plating – always using a warmed plate, top with baby spinach (or other baby greens) a couple pieces of the polenta, top with roasted tomatoes and a poached egg on top. Salt and cracked pepper to taste. And you have a wonderful Italian inspired breakfast.

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The idea began when suddenly I found myself amongst a number of other foodie friends on Twitter. The word foodie needs no further explanation. Foodies understand one another; we’re obsessed with all things culinary. Foodies don’t eat to live, we live to eat. We plan activities around food. We plan vacations around foodie towns. At breakfast we talk about where to eat dinner. At dinner we talk about and photograph our food. In the morning we chat online about the food we ate for dinner. We post photos of our meals. Our partners and spouses often ask “can I eat now?” waiting for the end of the photo session. And not just photos, beautiful, artful photos. Food is art. Edible art.

And with my constant food-teasing habits, some Twitter friends would regularly ask when I was cooking for them. Thus our brunch tweetup was born. @kimswan decided she’d offer the venue and I (@danamoos) offered to cook (being a former innkeeper and present wannabe food writer/photographer). It was not long after our Harvest Brunch with Chef Carmen Gonzalez (who much prefers preparing dinner) that I said I’d do brunch, since it’s my favorite meal to prepare for entertaining. The hashtag #DanforthMaineTweetup was created. Realizing I could use the expertise of  event and party planner @LeslieCottrell and wonderful foodie friend and Cabot Creamery’s Consumer Lifestyle Commentator, @CandaceKaru, the “Danforth Divas” began planning. Hmmm, that could have been the hashtag…

We decided on a date – November 23, 2009.  We tweeted it, posted it on Facebook and ended up with a very nice turnout. It was a chance to meet new friends, face to face (or IRL, in real life). It’s also a way for Innkeepers to leverage the power of Social Media. Restaurants and bars host tweetups, why not inns? @RSHotel in New York has been uber-successful at it. Why not Danforth Inn with the Danforth Divas? And days later, we’re still talking about those Gorgonzola stuffed dates wrapped in bacon…

Our menu:

–Fabulous Horseradish-Heavy Bloody Marys

–Pomegranate Sparkling Punch

–Mango, Papaya and Strawberries with Basil and Lemon

–Grapefruit Brûlé with Vanilla Bean Creme

–Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

–Egg Roulade filled with Leeks and Parmesan topped with Lobster in Sherry Butter

–Steamed, Chilled Asparagus served with a Curry Aioli

–Cabot Clothbound Aged Cheddar, French Bread

–Potato Gratin Dauphinios “Danforth” with Cabot Private Stock Cheddar

–Gorgonzola Stuffed Dates wrapped in Bacon

–Chocolate Truffles

–Earl Grey Tea Cookies

–Coffee, Tea

Thanks so much to all of you who attended, it was great fun and wonderful to meet you in person, or I should say IRL or F2F. And @Sarah_Wallace, nice job on the video

Enjoy the eye candy tour…

p.s. Here’s a snapshot of the Twitter hashtag stream #danforthmainetweetup. Click on it to get all the search results!!

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Innkeepers are constantly looking for innovative ways to serve the same basic ingredients for breakfast. This dish was inspired by Scot Fuller, the innkeeper at Pomegranate Inn. Our Historic Homes of Maine course was held there a few weeks ago and those of us who stayed the night prior to class were awakened to wonderful aromas wafting from the kitchen. Sometimes the most successful breakfast entrees are the ones with the simplest of ingredients. This is a beautifully delicious example of that.

Here’s my adaptation:

2 slices thick cut bread (I prefer Challah but I didn’t have any so I used white bread) buttered and lightly browned in a saute pan

2 eggs (crack 1 each into a small ramekin) and set aside

Top each slice of browned toast with 2 tablespoons of  shredded Gruyere and Swiss cheese, then 2 slices Canadian Bacon (Prosciutto would be wonderful as well)

Add 1 thick slice of a ripe tomato (preferably heirloom or Ugly Ripe) and salt to taste

Top each with 2 more tablespoons grated Gruyere followed by freshly cracked black pepper.

Place in a 375 degree oven until the cheese is melted and begins to bubble. While waiting, heat some butter in a pan and gently place the eggs to cook, sunny side up. When the egg is cooked to your liking, remove the bread, cheese and tomato croute and place the egg atop, add a dash of salt and more pepper and enjoy!

I prefer to serve my egg dishes on a small bed of baby spinach. The warmth of the egg softens the tender spinach leaves nicely.

I often garnish my plates with steamed asparagus and sliced cucumbers (I use the cucumber peel as a garnish as well). Fan an apple wedge and you’ve got a very satisfying and simply elegant meal, for breakfast, lunch or a light dinner (paired with a nice Pouilly-Fuisse ).

Bon Appetit!