breakfast goodnessing

This is delicious. it really is. it's a little baked egg dish with a flour tortilla crust, a potato layer, and a topping with grated romano and zucchini, leek, tomatoes, and turkey bacon sauteed with balsamic vinegar and thyme. it hits you on a couple of levels, but the taste is subtle. i don't add garlic to eggs (too overwhelming), and the sauteed ingredients are just tasty, not powerful.
permit me another reason for why i'll be making this at least once a month: it made enough breakfast for four days, for both of us, and i used 1/2 real egg and 1/2 egg beaters, making it okay to eat it cold, with the fridge door open, with a bottle of ketchup in my other hand, right?


i made each of the elements separately and joined them all together in a silicone cake pan. this is something that is made for day-ahead preparation. actually, i had originally thought to do a three-meal post that utilized most of the same ingredients, but i got lazy after day two, and i had made so many substitutions to the enchiladas that it wouldn't work as a pair to this recipe.
i'm going to try and get a little bit more organized and come up with an ingredients list, broken down according to layers that you combine at the end, just before baking.

topping
4 slices turkey bacon, chopped
1 leek, chopped from white part to about where it starts flaring out, rinsing thoroughly. separate leek layers if necessary. these things are black holes for dirt
2 big handfuls of cherry tomatoes (about 1/2 of the container), cut in half
2 sprigs fresh/1 Tbsp dry thyme
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

egg
4 eggs, 1/2 carton egg beaters
liberal salt and pepper (white pepper is awesome for this)
~3/4 cup of shredded cheddar (big handful)
1/3 cup cream, half and half, or milk if that's all you've got
1/2 cup corn, drained really well using paper towels

other
3 small or 2 medium yukon gold potatoes
2 small flour tortillas or one large
oil and some extra herbs and whatnot

• pour a good amount of olive oil into the bottom of the cake pan. if you're not using a silicone pan, you should use a liberal amount of oil spray or brush oil around the sides and on the bottom.
• if your tortillas fit the bottom perfectly, throw one in, flipping over to coat in the pan's oil. mine did not, so i tore 2 into quarters and used it to kind of shingle the bottom of the pan, making sure that both sides of each piece were covered in oil and the tortillas were made to cover the bottom with some overlapping bits.
• cook potatoes in the microwave (i used the 'potato - 2' setting) in a covered bowl with a tablespoon of olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, and the water still clinging to the potatoes after washing. feel free to use herbs you have on hand. thyme, oregano, or dill would work well... i just love how the kitchen smells when rosemary is steamed. they should be a little undercooked or just cooked. they're going to soak up some of the cream and extra liquid from the corn. when they're cool, slice potatoes and set aside.
• combine egg ingredients while the potatoes are cooking
• heat a pan on medium to medium-high. add the bacon before waiting for the pan to get hot.
• when they start sizzling, add some oil, wait for the sizzle again, then throw in the leeks, tomatoes, salt, pepper, and chopped thyme and cook for five minutes
• drizzle a tablespoon or so of balsamic vinegar, let cook down while stirring
• take off heat and allow to cool, and turn the oven to 375 F
• start laying out the potato slices on top of the oiled tortillas. i went a little crazy and cut half-slices to line up onto the sides of the pan. what can i say? i didn't get these curves by being coy around complex carbohydrates.
• give the egg mixture a good, quick whisk, and pour on top of the potatoes. follow that by the topping, making sure to drop in any and all liquid as well. pat it down a bit with your spatula; you want some to sit on top and broil, but you also want some to mix into the egg.
• put the pan on a cookie sheet and into the oven for about 25 minutes. you can tell it's done by gently shaking the sheet. when it's only a little jiggly (the mixture, from the outside of the pan to 2" inside, should be firm), pull the sheet out slightly, throw on the shredded romano cheese (or parmesan, maybe smoked gouda), and broil for 2 minutes until the cheese gets browned.
• take out, let cool for a good 10 minutes.
• take an icing spatula or knife and run it around the edge of the pan, making sure it's not going to stick. turn it over onto a plate, then put another plate on top of that and flip back. you should be staring at edible perfection.