Cheesy Zucchini and Olive Bread — For Breakfast or Dinner
A decidedly not-sweet zucchini bread.
If given the choice between sweet and savory, I will almost always veer at full speed toward sweet.
But a dinner four years ago at San Jose’s The Table had me backpedaling.
That was when I had Chef de Cuisine Anthony Jimenez’s take on zucchini bread.
It wasn’t served for brunch or dessert, but as an accompaniment to roast chicken. The slab of zucchini bread had been sliced, then griddled until it was slightly crisp on the exterior. Its sweetness had been remarkably dialed down. It was tender with some parts soft, some crispy — and it reminded me very much of Thanksgiving stuffing.
Who knew zucchini bread could be enjoyed quite like this?
Katie Sullivan Morford, for one. A Bay Area food and nutrition writer, she’s written a new cookbook, of which I received a review copy: “Rise and Shine: Better Breakfasts for Busy Mornings” (Roost Books). The lovely photos are by Bay Area photographer Erin Scott.
It’s filled with 75 inventive recipes for the most important meal of the day. Some can be made in a flash, such as “Orange Almond Date Lassi.” Some are remarkably time-saving, such as “Better Than Boxed Instant Oatmeal” and “Make-And-Freeze Buttermilk Waffles.” And some are designed more for weekends, such as “Big Joe’s Huevos Rancheros.”