Sidetracked … from the memory bank!

Frittata takes me back to the best breakfast I've ever eaten – in Jake's Grill, Portland, Oregon.

Admittedly it was a late breakfast – the ultimate indulgence – an omelette made with Oregon Dungeness Crab. Its season is December through to April – supplies are limited from then on. If you're ever in that neck of the woods treat yourself – it's still on the menu, served with breakfast potatoes.

Some may say it's extravagant to put crab in an omelette – hey, it's a treat and I say a little bit of what you fancy does you good!

I've also discovered that they serve a Dungeness Crab Benedict – what a glorious thought!

I wouldn't normally mention Christmas yet awhile but it has been such a strange year nothing is “normal” as we know it so anything goes! I'm suggesting “back-burner” ideas that might appeal when you want to push the boat out. A crab benedict sounds like a great place to begin.

Add a packet of buttermilk muffins to your shopping list - you can stash in them in the freezer - they don't take up too much space - ready to toast and butter – add the crabmeat, not forgetting a drop of lemon juice and a sprinkle of celery salt and black pepper and then drizzle generously with a mornay sauce.

As I've said previously a mornay sauce is definitely less stressful than Hollandaise and to serve it with fish is a marriage made in heaven. Not for nothing did Wheeler's, the famous fish restaurant include a mornay in their sauce list to accompany their fabulous fish dishes so why not over crab for a Christmas morning breakfast!

If you like the idea then you might want to check out your supermarket ahead of the game – most sell crab meat – white or a mixture of white and brown and some is suitable for freezing which would be a good idea. Crab meat is also available in tins. If you're feeling very extravagant then you could buy it direct from specialist seafood suppliers – from Orkney to Folkstone and Cornwall to Cromer (in Norfolk) there's so much choice out there!

The “back-burner” ideas list begins ...

A geographical guide to a bread roll …

… or when is a bread roll not a bread roll?

Do you ever come across bakery products and bread that you've never seen before? If you holiday in the UK then that's quite likely.

I grew up and worked in the Midlands and I'd pop to the local bakery to buy my lunch – usually a cheese cob – it could be soft or crusty.

Years later I moved to London to live and work. I followed the same routine for lunch and asked for a cheese cob – they did give me a strange look, clearly thought they'd misheard this funny girl with a weird accent and offered me a large uncut loaf – that they called “a cob”. Having translated my cheese “cob” became a “cheese roll”. I'm sorry to appear picky but – as far as I'm concerned – a roll is a shape that means just that . When in Rome and all that – I conformed and my bread education began.

From London I relocated to the North West, lived in Bolton and worked near Eccles, where they make the cakes – the smell on baking day was divine!

In the North West there's the muffin – not “roll shaped” at all – soft and flat. Then there's the tea cake – please note, not to be confused with a toasted teacake version that contains currents and sultanas – just plain.

The barm cake is from Manchester and the surrounding area. It's not much different to my Midlands “cob” but on reflection I don't think I've ever seen a crusty barm cake.

My favourite from the North West and North Derbyshire too is the oven bottom – flat as can be and so called because it is said they were baked on the bottom of the oven. It's more likely that they were made with the remnants of the dough when the loaves had been baked. I feel I should set the record straight – the oven bottom is a much later name – the original “oven bottom” originated in the North East and is called a “stottie” (or Stotty).

Most of us know the bakery Greggs which began as long ago as 1939. Its first shop opened in 1951 in Newcastle upon Tyne and is now the largest bakery chain in the UK. Greggs baked the best oven bottoms ever and I used to buy them freshly baked in bags of 6. Even when I'd left the North West I'd stock up when I visited and freeze them. Imagine my joy at the thought of an oven bottom when Greggs opened in the South – such joy was short lived. With the exception of the pasties Greggs bakery products are completely different – definitely in Northamptonshire and I now discover in the South generally. What a disappointment - they are missing a trick, as they say!

I can't say I'm up to date with bakery products in London but I wouldn't mind betting they still don't know of an oven bottom or, for that matter, a barm cake.

I felt I should set the record straight and if you're not confused now – my husband is a Lancashire lad. One of his favourite lunches is a currant teacake with cheese. There's nothing better than a fresh currant teacake, buttered and topped with thin slices of Crumbly Lancashire cheese - you can get a Creamy Lancashire version too. If you live in Lancashire or the North West you'll also be able to buy Lancashire Tasty cheese – it's exactly the same as the crumbly version but matured for longer and gives a more mature taste – yum!

I've recommended the currant teacakes with cheese to lots of friends and they love them – I say “them” one never seems enough!

Next, back to more mid week supper ideas