14 New Ways To Use Breadcrumbs. Make A Batch Tonight!

Leeks absorb the sweetness of honey and the sweet tartness of cider to make a side dish that is good enough to take center stage. The leeks cook slowly in their own juices, the flavors enhanced by just a small amount of honey. Then the dish gets another layer of bee-magic with a scattering of crisp spicy breadcrumbs enriched with pollen. You don't need to make the breadcrumbs; the leeks are good without them, but they look and taste great. With some soft goat cheese or feta scattered over the top, these leeks make a good vegetarian supper. Otherwise, I love them alongside lamb, pork or fish.

This is a simple sort of inversion that surprises: spooning toasted bread crumbs over your scrambled eggs instead of putting your eggs on top of toast. It's the same bread — though it can easily be about half the amount you might eat at breakfast — and, while I didn't have this in mind when I first starting preparing eggs this way, the buttery, crisp crumbs do fill the desire for something crunchy. One slice of bread will suffice for two servings, but you might also make two slices into crumbs if the pieces are small. Use whatever bread you like — a sturdy whole wheat, a white sandwich bread, a gluten-free bread, ciabatta, and so forth. I especially like Ezekiel sprouted whole-grain bread for these crumbs. I also like a thin sliver of goat's milk Gouda set over the eggs, but that's entirely optional.

Missy Robbins has an instant hit on her hands with her new restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Located in a former auto body shop that's been given a minimalist design makeover, Lilia features a menu of irresistible pastas, grilled meats and seafood. One of the standout dishes is grilled clams with Calabrian chili and bread crumbs, a spicy spin on a beloved Italian-American shellfish dish infused with smoke from the crackling fire. The flavor-packed clams are among the reasons why Lilia has attracted a stylish and vibrant crowd since the doors opened — even before the raves, including a three-star review from Pete Wells in The New York Times, came pouring in. Watch Robbins prepare the dish in the latest installment of Food Republic's Plate Deconstruction video series.

The Reuben sandwich is one of life's great culinary treasures, and for good reason. Piled sky-high with more corned beef than one should consume, it's impossible not to consumed by all the Swiss, pickles and sauerkraut in the most pleasurable of ways. For a fun new spin, we take all those delicious components, including breadcrumbs made from rye bread, and fry them into Italian rice balls called arancini, complete with Russian dressing for dipping on the side. Serve 'em for your next party, or keep them all to yourself, we won't tell.

Eggplants lend themselves to all manner of flavors and textures, and just to prove it, here they are "schnitzeled" — coated and fried in a delicate mix of breadcrumbs, cheese and herbs. Sumac is available at Middle Eastern food stores. It's a bright red spice ground from dried berries and it has a tangy lemon flavor. If you can't get hold of it, just double the lemon zest instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K354xke_97U

If your heart is full of adventure but is otherwise very healthy, I recommend these crunchy, gooey treats. The secret behind this culinary marvel lies in cooking the egg at precisely 64°C. This results in yolks that are malleable when cold but still "ooze" when hot. Breading the yolks while they're cold and still firm and then quickly deep-frying them to reheat produces an incredibly indulgent combo: a crunchy shell contrasted with a warm, molten inside. Bite sized but hugely satisfying, they make great appetizers but are also a jaw-dropping garnish for a simple green salad — a sort of glorious hybrid of a poached egg and a crouton.

These are not as time-consuming to make as you might imagine and are infinitely more enjoyable for being homemade. Scotch eggs are the perfect picnic snack or packed lunch.