The Kitchen will return after these messages: my best friend, The Cutest Little Pregnant Woman On Earth, is pregnant and expecting a baby next month. Next month, holy crap, people! This is the woman who was never interested or amenable to having children, and it took this girl about six seconds to get pregnant once she decided to go for it, dammit! I have a lot of knitting to do for her little person, I have been woefully neglectful. I have finished a gorgeous little lacy blanket and am working on booties and a hat in the same soy yarn to go with it; I also have a very simple little striped acrylic blanket in vanilla, chocolate, and swirl which is halfway done, more or less.
The good news is that I have lots of free time.
I will hit you with the Advanced Pantry tomorrow. I am looking forward to it. I've finished one bootie tonight and tomrrow I'm planning on going to the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival, and I am going to cry a little when I think about all of the gorgeous, exotic, locally-grown fibers I'm going to put my hands on tomorrow, and not be able to afford. In fact, I anticipate shedding so many tears that I may be a little dehydrated and unable to knit tomorrow, so I need to get on with this second little bootie (OMG, yo, so stinking cute, and incredibly easy) while I still have my head about me. So, instead, here's an Intermediate Pantry recipe--with the exception of hot sauce (which I don't keep in my pantry because I make my own). Spread on toasted baguettes, this is a wonderful, elegant, simple appetizer, it comes together in about a second, seriously. It's a nice change from hummus, which I love.
White Bean Puree
4 cloves garlic
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups canned white beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Hot pepper sauce
In a saucepan, sweat the garlic in chicken stock. Add the beans and cook until heated through.
Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and puree with the remaining ingredients, except hot pepper sauce. Adjust seasoning, and add hot sauce, to taste. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Showing posts with label Eggs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eggs. Show all posts
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
April 28: Breakfast Burrito
I like a good sandwich, I really do. It's a whole self-contained and portable meal, all in itself. When it's done well, it's a balance of flavors that all works together, the way a good balanced meal does.
I like a breakfast-for-dinner thing now and then, and a sandwich is just the thing. That sounds awfully British, doesn't it? I'm watching The Painted Veil as I'm writing this, and Edward Norton is adorable, as usual; he plays a stuffy British dcotor and I am finding him irresistable, as usual. I love brainy, awkward guys. Liev Shreiver is awfully cute in this as well.
Anyway: breakfast for dinner. I am a big fan of the breakfast sandwich, and by turn, the breakfast burrito. A tortilla stands in beautifully for a couple slices of bread in the case of a breakfast burrito, and as for the insides, anything goes.
Here's my favorite breakfast burrito. Out of respect for our arteries, I usually make it with turkey sausage, but nothing's off limits. Sometimes, I leave out the salsa and I make a little sausage gravy to dip the burrito in. I'm kooky that way.
Breakfast Burrito
4 large (12-inch) flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
6 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups roasted tomato salsa
2/3 pound spicy pork or turkey sausage, crumbled and browned
2 cups home fries
Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. While the butter melts, beat together the eggs and sour cream, then pour into skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a rubber or silicone spatula, until scrambled medium-hard. Mix in cooked crumbled sausage, salsa, and home fries. Keep warm.
Wrap tortillas in plastic wrap and microwave until hot and pliable. Sprinkle each tortilla with 1/4 of the cheese, then microwave a few seconds more, until cheese melts slightly.
Divide the egg mixture evenly among the tortillas. Fold in each side, then roll up from the bottom. Serve.
I like a breakfast-for-dinner thing now and then, and a sandwich is just the thing. That sounds awfully British, doesn't it? I'm watching The Painted Veil as I'm writing this, and Edward Norton is adorable, as usual; he plays a stuffy British dcotor and I am finding him irresistable, as usual. I love brainy, awkward guys. Liev Shreiver is awfully cute in this as well.
Anyway: breakfast for dinner. I am a big fan of the breakfast sandwich, and by turn, the breakfast burrito. A tortilla stands in beautifully for a couple slices of bread in the case of a breakfast burrito, and as for the insides, anything goes.
Here's my favorite breakfast burrito. Out of respect for our arteries, I usually make it with turkey sausage, but nothing's off limits. Sometimes, I leave out the salsa and I make a little sausage gravy to dip the burrito in. I'm kooky that way.
Breakfast Burrito
4 large (12-inch) flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
6 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups roasted tomato salsa
2/3 pound spicy pork or turkey sausage, crumbled and browned
2 cups home fries
Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. While the butter melts, beat together the eggs and sour cream, then pour into skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a rubber or silicone spatula, until scrambled medium-hard. Mix in cooked crumbled sausage, salsa, and home fries. Keep warm.
Wrap tortillas in plastic wrap and microwave until hot and pliable. Sprinkle each tortilla with 1/4 of the cheese, then microwave a few seconds more, until cheese melts slightly.
Divide the egg mixture evenly among the tortillas. Fold in each side, then roll up from the bottom. Serve.
Friday, April 25, 2008
April 25: Government Cheese Omelet
Well, thanks to company restructuring, I am now on what I like to think of as a prolonged vacation. It's not like it caught me totally unexpected; things have been moving in this direction for quite awhile now and I've got some other options in the works. All the same, I am collecting unemployment at the moment.
As goes my check, as goes our food budget. Here is a breakfast-for-dinner recipe that takes advantage of leftover pasta and whatever other odds and ends you might happen to have in the fridge: grilled chicken, leftover sauce, steamed vegetables, or cheese. Whatever you like. I like a nice simple cheese omelet. With a side of bacon. A large side.
My mother-in-law gave me The Magic Bullet for Christmas a few years ago. It is wonderful at some things, terrible at others: salsa, for example, is not great. On the other hand, it makes really fairly spectacular omelets. You can really just beat eggs with a whisk, or a fork even, but I make them in the Bullet, and they are light as air, incredibly fluffy, and tender.
Government Cheese Omelet
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon butter
4 oz. shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzerella, provolone, or fontina, all delicious)
salt and pepper
Whisk together eggs and sour cream until uniformly blended. Mix in salt and pepper to taste.
Melt the butter in a 10-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat, swirling to coat it. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and, using a rubber or silicone spatula, stir the eggs around the pan constantly until they begin to firm up. Let the eggs sit undisturbed until the bottom of the omelet is set, 3-4 minutes.
Sprinkle shredded cheese over half the eggs. Using a spatula, fold the eggs over the cheese. Continue to cook until the omelet is as done as you like it. Serve immediately. Serves 2.
As goes my check, as goes our food budget. Here is a breakfast-for-dinner recipe that takes advantage of leftover pasta and whatever other odds and ends you might happen to have in the fridge: grilled chicken, leftover sauce, steamed vegetables, or cheese. Whatever you like. I like a nice simple cheese omelet. With a side of bacon. A large side.
My mother-in-law gave me The Magic Bullet for Christmas a few years ago. It is wonderful at some things, terrible at others: salsa, for example, is not great. On the other hand, it makes really fairly spectacular omelets. You can really just beat eggs with a whisk, or a fork even, but I make them in the Bullet, and they are light as air, incredibly fluffy, and tender.
Government Cheese Omelet
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon butter
4 oz. shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzerella, provolone, or fontina, all delicious)
salt and pepper
Whisk together eggs and sour cream until uniformly blended. Mix in salt and pepper to taste.
Melt the butter in a 10-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat, swirling to coat it. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and, using a rubber or silicone spatula, stir the eggs around the pan constantly until they begin to firm up. Let the eggs sit undisturbed until the bottom of the omelet is set, 3-4 minutes.
Sprinkle shredded cheese over half the eggs. Using a spatula, fold the eggs over the cheese. Continue to cook until the omelet is as done as you like it. Serve immediately. Serves 2.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
April 8: The Homesick Texan's Nachos
I am feeling quite a bit better than I was last night, but still rather anxious. I did have a teensy panic attack on the way home at the intersection of East-West Highway and Belcrest Road, where we were sitting when we heard the gunshots, and I am sure that by tomorrow I will have gathered up the courage to ride the Metro to work. Or maybe Thursday. Whatever.
Stressful. Yeah, I'm stress-eating, I'll admit it. Tonight, it's barely even a recipe: it's the Homesick Texan's nachos. She is totally right about nachos, by the way: a nacho is an individually-dressed, thick, freshly-fried chip, with melted cheddar cheese and a slice of jalapeno pepper. The end. Meat, beans, olives, lettuce--everything else is gilding a lily. I happen to like my nachos with guacamole. I like my lily very slightly gilded, as it turns out.
If you never make your own chips again in your life, it is worth doing for this recipe. A great tortilla chip is thick and unctuous, a tiny bit chewy, toasty, with big crunch. It will never be equalled by anything that comes out of a big plastic bag with a name that ends in -itos. The notes at the end are The Homesick Texan's.
At any rate, Tex-Mex nachos are just the thing for the night after a Wild West shootout at the O.K. Corral.
Homesick Texan's Nachos
6 corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups of grated Longhorn cheddar cheese
24 pickled jalapeno slices
1/2 cup of refried beans (optional)
Peanut oil
Salt
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut the tortillas into quarters.
3. Pour enough oil in an iron skillet to come up 1/2 inch up the sides and heat to 375 degrees.
4. In batches, fry the quartered tortillas for 1 to 2 minutes on each side (until golden brown) and then remove. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle lightly with salt.
5. Once chips have been made, spread each with 1 teaspoon of refried beans (if you so desire), 1 tablespoon of cheddar cheese and 1 pickled jalapeno.
6. Bake in oven for five minutes or until cheese is melted.
Serve with guacamole, sour cream and/or salsa. Makes 24 nachos.
Notes: You can also top these anything else you can imagine. But use restraint and taste—nachos should be elegant and refined, not an exercise in excess. Also, if you don't feel like making your own chips (though you should as they taste better) tortilla chips from a bag work, too.
Stressful. Yeah, I'm stress-eating, I'll admit it. Tonight, it's barely even a recipe: it's the Homesick Texan's nachos. She is totally right about nachos, by the way: a nacho is an individually-dressed, thick, freshly-fried chip, with melted cheddar cheese and a slice of jalapeno pepper. The end. Meat, beans, olives, lettuce--everything else is gilding a lily. I happen to like my nachos with guacamole. I like my lily very slightly gilded, as it turns out.
If you never make your own chips again in your life, it is worth doing for this recipe. A great tortilla chip is thick and unctuous, a tiny bit chewy, toasty, with big crunch. It will never be equalled by anything that comes out of a big plastic bag with a name that ends in -itos. The notes at the end are The Homesick Texan's.
At any rate, Tex-Mex nachos are just the thing for the night after a Wild West shootout at the O.K. Corral.
Homesick Texan's Nachos
6 corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups of grated Longhorn cheddar cheese
24 pickled jalapeno slices
1/2 cup of refried beans (optional)
Peanut oil
Salt
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut the tortillas into quarters.
3. Pour enough oil in an iron skillet to come up 1/2 inch up the sides and heat to 375 degrees.
4. In batches, fry the quartered tortillas for 1 to 2 minutes on each side (until golden brown) and then remove. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle lightly with salt.
5. Once chips have been made, spread each with 1 teaspoon of refried beans (if you so desire), 1 tablespoon of cheddar cheese and 1 pickled jalapeno.
6. Bake in oven for five minutes or until cheese is melted.
Serve with guacamole, sour cream and/or salsa. Makes 24 nachos.
Notes: You can also top these anything else you can imagine. But use restraint and taste—nachos should be elegant and refined, not an exercise in excess. Also, if you don't feel like making your own chips (though you should as they taste better) tortilla chips from a bag work, too.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
March 12: Orange Flan
It's been awhile since I posted any kind of a dessert. I love dessert, but I don't eat it very often. Besides being diabetic, I'm just not a "sweets" kind of person. I would rather skip dessert and have an extra serving of sweet corn, or some chips and salsa, or a really luscious appetizer.
But oh boy, flan. I am crazy about flan. It's a not-overly-sweet custard, rich and creamy, topped with a fabulous caramel sauce, made from scratch. It's simple, and at the same time, totally luxurious.
The best flan I've ever tasted--no kidding--cost $.95 in a Mexican restaurant at the back of a Mexican grocery store in Western Michigan. The restaurant had about nine tables and while the servers in the restaurant mostly spoke a little English, you would do well to speak a little Spanish there. We are usually in Michigan around Christmastime, which also coincides with my birthday. More often than not, that's the restaurant that I choose for my birthday dinner, and that's the dessert I choose too. Nobody seems to do it better than them, and it's always better than birthday cake.
Serendipitously, my email today held a recipe for this orange flan. I am really looking forward to making this. Maybe to follow a simple dinner of fried potato tacos and Rick Bayless' drunken pinto beans and a simple salad of romaine, red onion, radish, and tomato wedges.
It'll have to wait until this weekend though. I'm really having a swell week at work.
Here's one note though: the water bath keeps the custard from curdling, over-cooking, or cracking in the harsh heat of the oven. The easiest way to set it up is to put the roasting pan on the oven rack with the towel folded in the bottom, then set the filled cups on the towel, and then pour in the water. Not so much carrying and sloshing.
Orange Flan
Cooking Spray
2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
3/4 cup Egg Beaters
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray six 6-oz custard cups with cooking spray.
2. Place 1/3 cup of the sugar in heavy 1-quart saucepan. Heat over medium heat without stirring until sugar is melted and golden brown, swirling pan occasionally to heat evenly. Pour and divide syrup evenly among prepared custard cups. Tilt custard cups to coat bottoms evenly. Let stand 5 minutes.
3. Combine the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, milk, Egg Beaters, vanilla, and orange peel in medium bowl; mix until blended. Pour evenly into custard cups. Line a roasting pan with a folded towel to prevent the cups from sliding, place custard cups in the pan, and using a kettle with very hot water, carefully pour water into the roasting pan to come about 1 inch up the side of the custard cups.
4. Bake 25 minutes, or until knife inserted in center of custard comes out clean. Immediately remove from water. Unmold and serve warm, or refrigerate 4 hours and unmold at serving time.
But oh boy, flan. I am crazy about flan. It's a not-overly-sweet custard, rich and creamy, topped with a fabulous caramel sauce, made from scratch. It's simple, and at the same time, totally luxurious.
The best flan I've ever tasted--no kidding--cost $.95 in a Mexican restaurant at the back of a Mexican grocery store in Western Michigan. The restaurant had about nine tables and while the servers in the restaurant mostly spoke a little English, you would do well to speak a little Spanish there. We are usually in Michigan around Christmastime, which also coincides with my birthday. More often than not, that's the restaurant that I choose for my birthday dinner, and that's the dessert I choose too. Nobody seems to do it better than them, and it's always better than birthday cake.
Serendipitously, my email today held a recipe for this orange flan. I am really looking forward to making this. Maybe to follow a simple dinner of fried potato tacos and Rick Bayless' drunken pinto beans and a simple salad of romaine, red onion, radish, and tomato wedges.
It'll have to wait until this weekend though. I'm really having a swell week at work.
Here's one note though: the water bath keeps the custard from curdling, over-cooking, or cracking in the harsh heat of the oven. The easiest way to set it up is to put the roasting pan on the oven rack with the towel folded in the bottom, then set the filled cups on the towel, and then pour in the water. Not so much carrying and sloshing.
Orange Flan
Cooking Spray
2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
3/4 cup Egg Beaters
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray six 6-oz custard cups with cooking spray.
2. Place 1/3 cup of the sugar in heavy 1-quart saucepan. Heat over medium heat without stirring until sugar is melted and golden brown, swirling pan occasionally to heat evenly. Pour and divide syrup evenly among prepared custard cups. Tilt custard cups to coat bottoms evenly. Let stand 5 minutes.
3. Combine the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, milk, Egg Beaters, vanilla, and orange peel in medium bowl; mix until blended. Pour evenly into custard cups. Line a roasting pan with a folded towel to prevent the cups from sliding, place custard cups in the pan, and using a kettle with very hot water, carefully pour water into the roasting pan to come about 1 inch up the side of the custard cups.
4. Bake 25 minutes, or until knife inserted in center of custard comes out clean. Immediately remove from water. Unmold and serve warm, or refrigerate 4 hours and unmold at serving time.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
March 8: Huevos Rancheros with Spicy Ham
Here's a recipe. It's for huevos rancheros. I would tell you more about it, except that I am exhausted and need to crash for the night. I had this dish last year in San Diego, and like almost everything else I ate there, it was delicious. If I weren't on a ridiculous diet, one where I've cut my calories down to almost half of what I was on before I was on a ridiculous diet, I'd go to my kitchen right now and cook this dish, because I am so hungry I could cry. Ironic, isn't it?
Huevos Rancheros with Spicy Ham
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
10 ounces smoked ham, cut into 2-by-1/4-inch strips
4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 medium red onions, thinly sliced
2 Scotch bonnet chiles or jalapeños—halved, seeded and thinly sliced crosswise
1 large green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Eight 6-inch corn tortillas
8 large eggs
Preheat the oven to 475°. In a large skillet, heat 1/2 tablespoon of the vegetable oil. Add the smoked ham and cook over moderately high heat until browned on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the ham to a plate. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil to the skillet along with the garlic, onions, Scotch bonnet chiles and green bell pepper. Cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 12 minutes. Stir in the paprika and cook over moderately high heat for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook until they release their juices, about 2 minutes. Stir in the ham and season the sofrito with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil and warm them in the oven. In a large cast-iron skillet, heat 1/2 tablespoon of the vegetable oil. Crack 4 of the eggs into the skillet, season with salt and pepper and fry sunny-side up over moderate heat, until the egg whites are set and the egg yolks are still slightly runny, about 3 minutes. Transfer the eggs, yolk side up, to a plate and keep them warm by tenting them with aluminum foil. Add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil to the skillet and fry the remaining eggs.
Set 2 tortillas on each plate. Top with the fried eggs, spoon the sofrito on the side and serve.
Huevos Rancheros with Spicy Ham
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
10 ounces smoked ham, cut into 2-by-1/4-inch strips
4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 medium red onions, thinly sliced
2 Scotch bonnet chiles or jalapeños—halved, seeded and thinly sliced crosswise
1 large green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Eight 6-inch corn tortillas
8 large eggs
Preheat the oven to 475°. In a large skillet, heat 1/2 tablespoon of the vegetable oil. Add the smoked ham and cook over moderately high heat until browned on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the ham to a plate. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil to the skillet along with the garlic, onions, Scotch bonnet chiles and green bell pepper. Cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 12 minutes. Stir in the paprika and cook over moderately high heat for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook until they release their juices, about 2 minutes. Stir in the ham and season the sofrito with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil and warm them in the oven. In a large cast-iron skillet, heat 1/2 tablespoon of the vegetable oil. Crack 4 of the eggs into the skillet, season with salt and pepper and fry sunny-side up over moderate heat, until the egg whites are set and the egg yolks are still slightly runny, about 3 minutes. Transfer the eggs, yolk side up, to a plate and keep them warm by tenting them with aluminum foil. Add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil to the skillet and fry the remaining eggs.
Set 2 tortillas on each plate. Top with the fried eggs, spoon the sofrito on the side and serve.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
February 12: Brie Souffle
One of my favorite things in the world is a cookbook called The Silver Palate Cookbook. If my house were on fire, I would probably save my wedding pictures and pictures from my son's first two years of life, but only because I have the negatives and the cookbook can be replaced.
This cookbook was first published in 1982 by proprieters of a gourmet shop in New York City. Julee Rosso, who happens to be from my hometown, was one of the two authors. In 1988, she and her partner sold The Silver Palate. She now owns and operates a country inn called The Wickwood, in Saugatuck, Michigan. Saugatuck happens to be far and away my favorite place on earth. I grew up an hour or so away from this town on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan and my heart and soul is inexorably tied to this place, this little arts community and resort town full of boats and smart and creative people and quirky. I love the quirky. Over Christmas, when Dan and I were in Michigan, we dropped our son off with his parents and drove on up to Saugatuck for a day. It snowed madly all day, and we ducked into bars and restaurants all up and down the street to warm up for a drink or a glass of local wine or a snack. We had crispy fried portabello strips breaded in parmesan and fennel seeds at Phil's, and a bowl of clean-your-clock spicy chili at The Butler. It was maybe the best day I've had ever, and for no real reason except for the fact that there is something totally serendipitous and otherworldly about the place for me, for my husband. It is part of our story together, and although we're 14 hours away now, it will always feel a little like home to us.
Wow, I've wandered far afield. Julee Rosso of Saugatuck, Michigan, has this fabulous cookbook. It talks smartly and clearly and thoughtfully about really great, creative, and delicious food that has worked for them for over 30 years. One of my favorite recipes in it is this brie souffle. It isn't a "real" souffle, more like a savory bread pudding, but it is so rich and luxurious. I think it would be amazing for a special brunch, served along fresh fruit and champagne. I can't wait to have a reason to make this.
Serves 4-6.
Brie Souffle
8 Tbsp. (one stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 slices good quality white sandwich bread (I like Pepperidge Farms Hearty White), crusts removed
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of Tabasco
3 eggs
1 pound slightly underripe Brie, rind removed
Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 1 1/2-quart souffle dish.
Butter one side of the bread slices and cut each slice into thirds. Whisk together the milk, salt, Tabasco, and eggs. Coarsely grate the Brie.
Arrange half of the bread, buttered side up, on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle evely with half of the brie and then repeat, using the remaining bread and Brie. Pour the egg mixture over the bread. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Bake until bubbling and golden, 25 to 30 minutes.
This cookbook was first published in 1982 by proprieters of a gourmet shop in New York City. Julee Rosso, who happens to be from my hometown, was one of the two authors. In 1988, she and her partner sold The Silver Palate. She now owns and operates a country inn called The Wickwood, in Saugatuck, Michigan. Saugatuck happens to be far and away my favorite place on earth. I grew up an hour or so away from this town on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan and my heart and soul is inexorably tied to this place, this little arts community and resort town full of boats and smart and creative people and quirky. I love the quirky. Over Christmas, when Dan and I were in Michigan, we dropped our son off with his parents and drove on up to Saugatuck for a day. It snowed madly all day, and we ducked into bars and restaurants all up and down the street to warm up for a drink or a glass of local wine or a snack. We had crispy fried portabello strips breaded in parmesan and fennel seeds at Phil's, and a bowl of clean-your-clock spicy chili at The Butler. It was maybe the best day I've had ever, and for no real reason except for the fact that there is something totally serendipitous and otherworldly about the place for me, for my husband. It is part of our story together, and although we're 14 hours away now, it will always feel a little like home to us.
Wow, I've wandered far afield. Julee Rosso of Saugatuck, Michigan, has this fabulous cookbook. It talks smartly and clearly and thoughtfully about really great, creative, and delicious food that has worked for them for over 30 years. One of my favorite recipes in it is this brie souffle. It isn't a "real" souffle, more like a savory bread pudding, but it is so rich and luxurious. I think it would be amazing for a special brunch, served along fresh fruit and champagne. I can't wait to have a reason to make this.
Serves 4-6.
Brie Souffle
8 Tbsp. (one stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 slices good quality white sandwich bread (I like Pepperidge Farms Hearty White), crusts removed
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of Tabasco
3 eggs
1 pound slightly underripe Brie, rind removed
Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 1 1/2-quart souffle dish.
Butter one side of the bread slices and cut each slice into thirds. Whisk together the milk, salt, Tabasco, and eggs. Coarsely grate the Brie.
Arrange half of the bread, buttered side up, on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle evely with half of the brie and then repeat, using the remaining bread and Brie. Pour the egg mixture over the bread. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Bake until bubbling and golden, 25 to 30 minutes.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
January 26: Scrambled Eggs in Puff Pastry
I think brunch is an underused social occasion. Most people like to go out for brunch; I like to invite people over. It's a great excuse to sit around in the dining room for hours, lingering over coffee. Nobody's got to hurry home because they've got to be at work the next morning, nobody's got to get the kids to bed. When we live in a house that can accommodate more than just the three of us space-wise, I pledge to invite people over for brunch more often.
Besides, brunch food is great. In college, my friend Ryan invited me home to Western New York with him for Fall Break one year, and his mother made a potato casserole that was just really...wow. All it was, was thawed frozen country-style hashbrowns mixed with sour cream and cheddar cheese and baked. I love to make it with turkey sausage, browned and mixed in. I occasionally make a breakfast strata with spinach and bacon--it involves making it ahead of time and refrigerating overnight, and it's like a savory bread pudding. Delicious.
This dish, the scrambled eggs in puff pastry, is worth having people over for, but it's easy enough to just make for people who already live in your house with you. It takes a little time and effort, but it's worth doing. Let the puff pastry thaw on the counter while you prepare the other ingredients. It'll save you a little time at least. Serves 4-6.
Scrambled Eggs in Puff Pastry
7 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 9x9 1/2-inch sheets of frozen puff pastry, thawed
Flour for dusting
6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
8 ounces sliced ham
Whisk 6 of the eggs together with the salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, swirling to coat the pan evenly. Add the eggs and cook while gently pushing, lifting, and folding them from one side of the pan to the other until they are nicely clumped, shiny, and wet, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the eggs to a large plate and refrigerate until cool, about fifteen minutes.
Unfold one sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured work surface and smooth out the creases. Lightly beat the remaining egg and brush a thin layer over the pastry. Divide the chilled scrambled eggs, cheese, and ham into two equal portions. Arrange one portion of the scrambled eggs, cheese, and ham over th bottom half of the pastry, leaving a 1/2 inch border at the edges. Fold the top half of the pastry over the filling and press down with a fork to seal the edges. Repeat this process with the remaining puff pastry sheet, eggs, cheese, and ham. Transfer both pastries to a rimmed baking sheet, wrap lightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, 15 minutes.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the pastries from the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap, and brush the tops with the remaining beaten egg. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before cutting into individual portions.
Besides, brunch food is great. In college, my friend Ryan invited me home to Western New York with him for Fall Break one year, and his mother made a potato casserole that was just really...wow. All it was, was thawed frozen country-style hashbrowns mixed with sour cream and cheddar cheese and baked. I love to make it with turkey sausage, browned and mixed in. I occasionally make a breakfast strata with spinach and bacon--it involves making it ahead of time and refrigerating overnight, and it's like a savory bread pudding. Delicious.
This dish, the scrambled eggs in puff pastry, is worth having people over for, but it's easy enough to just make for people who already live in your house with you. It takes a little time and effort, but it's worth doing. Let the puff pastry thaw on the counter while you prepare the other ingredients. It'll save you a little time at least. Serves 4-6.
Scrambled Eggs in Puff Pastry
7 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 9x9 1/2-inch sheets of frozen puff pastry, thawed
Flour for dusting
6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
8 ounces sliced ham
Whisk 6 of the eggs together with the salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, swirling to coat the pan evenly. Add the eggs and cook while gently pushing, lifting, and folding them from one side of the pan to the other until they are nicely clumped, shiny, and wet, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the eggs to a large plate and refrigerate until cool, about fifteen minutes.
Unfold one sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured work surface and smooth out the creases. Lightly beat the remaining egg and brush a thin layer over the pastry. Divide the chilled scrambled eggs, cheese, and ham into two equal portions. Arrange one portion of the scrambled eggs, cheese, and ham over th bottom half of the pastry, leaving a 1/2 inch border at the edges. Fold the top half of the pastry over the filling and press down with a fork to seal the edges. Repeat this process with the remaining puff pastry sheet, eggs, cheese, and ham. Transfer both pastries to a rimmed baking sheet, wrap lightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, 15 minutes.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the pastries from the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap, and brush the tops with the remaining beaten egg. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before cutting into individual portions.
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