lox and goat cheese omelets

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I stopped at the grocery store today and bought salmon, green beans, scallions, cream cheese, chocolate chips, and oreos. This pretty much sums up my overall diet – very healthy, except for when it isn’t.

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Weekend breakfasts used to sit more in the “isn’t” category, but I’ve been moving them more often than not over into the healthy side (especially, I have to admit, in the month or two before our annual trip to the beach). Of course healthy means different things to different people, but one thing I try to do when I step it up a notch is increase my protein and reduce my starches. This means less scones and more omelets.

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This recipe takes my favorite bagel toppings and mixes them with eggs instead of bread. I replace the traditional cream cheese with goat cheese not just because goat cheese isn’t quite as rich as cream cheese, but because the stronger flavor of goat cheese holds its own better with the salty salmon and capers and sharp bites of onion. Eggs instead of bread might sound like a sad substitution, especially for a bagel lover like me, but I never feel like I’m missing out when I’m eating these omelets.

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Lox and Goat Cheese Omelets

4 servings

I like a little raw onion on my lox bagels, but if you don’t, you probably won’t like it here either.

10 large eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
5 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
¼ red onion, minced (optional)
2 tablespoons capers
6 ounces lox, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, salt, and 2 ounces of goat cheese. In a second bowl, combine the remaining goat cheese, tomatoes, onion, capers, and lox.

2. Heat 1½ teaspoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add one-quarter of the egg mixture. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to gently stir the eggs in a circular motion for about fifteen seconds. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the eggs cook, without moving, for about a minute. Use the spatula to lift up a small section of cooked egg along the edge of the pan; tilt the pan so raw egg can flow underneath the lifted portion. Repeat this motion around the edge of the skillet. Add one-quarter of the lox mixture, spreading evenly over half of the eggs in the pan. Cover the pan and let cook for 2-4 minutes, until the eggs are just set. Fold the bare half of the eggs over the filling, then slide the omelet onto a plate. Repeat with the remaining eggs and filling.

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steak and egg green chile hash

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Where was this Hatch green chile mania back when I lived on the opposite side of the country from New Mexico? Back then, I had to have my mom send me boxes of fresh green chiles from Albuquerque. She’d pack newspaper in the boxes to help keep the chiles dry, poke holes in the box, and pay out the wazoo for overnight shipping. (Clearly I owe my mom a drink or two.) When they’d arrive, I’d broil them in batches until the skins turned black, then peel, chop, and bag them up. One time I forgot about wearing gloves, resulting in the worst burn I’ve ever had, not from temperature, but from spice.

green chile 2013

But that was years ago. Now I just head down to the local grocery store, buy 2 huge burlap sacks of fresh chiles, and bring it out to the guy roasting them in the parking lot. (Actually, I never do this; it’s become Dave’s errand.) Back at home, Dave and I put on latex gloves and start peeling, seeding, and stemming the chiles. At some point I’ll transition from peeling to chopping and bagging. The whole process takes about 4 hours, and at the end, we have a shelf in the freezer dedicated to our stash.

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I grew up in Albuquerque, and my family did this when I was a kid, as well. It’s only recently when anyone outside New Mexico could find Hatch green chiles. In fact, the “Hatch” title is a bit of a misnomer – Hatch is a place, not a variety of chile. Green chiles are grown in Hatch, but they’re also grown in the rest of the state. This year, Dave bought our green chiles from a farm in Artesia, so technically they’re not Hatch green chiles at all, but since people seem to recognize Hatch as a type of chile, we’ll stick with that title.

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Most New Mexicans don’t need a recipe for how to use their green chiles. They just add them to their favorite foods – there’s no Hatch chile macaroni and cheese, there’s just your favorite macaroni and cheese recipe with chiles stirred in. The same goes for cheeseburgers, pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches…are you seeing a pattern? Green chile is really good with carbs and cheese.

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In this case, we don’t need cheese, just steak, leftover if you have it. Because green chiles are also really good for breakfast – migas and huevos rancheros are my favorite two breakfasts, and now this is up there too. And fortunately, now that “Hatch” green chiles are making their way to almost all corners of the country, you can actually make this for yourself. That is a very good thing.

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Steak and Egg Green Chile Hash

Serves 4

Depending on how hot your chiles are, you might want to use less (or more) than this.

Photos show a half recipe made in a 9-inch skillet.

12 ounces Yukon gold potatoes, diced into ¼- to ½-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
salt
1 large onion, diced
8 ounces cooked steak, diced
½ cup Hatch green chiles, roasted, peeled, and chopped
8 eggs
ground black pepper

1. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the potatoes, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cover and microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir, then return to the microwave for another minute. Stir again, and if the potatoes are not softened to their centers, repeat the microwaving until they are; larger cubes will need more time.

2. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil until it flows like water when the pan is tilted. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add the potatoes and steak and cook, without stirring, until the bottom is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Stir and cook for another 2 minutes without stirring. Stir in the green chiles. Taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary.

3. Using the back of a spoon, create 8 wells in the hash. Break one egg into each well; season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and cook, without stirring, until the white is set, about 6 minutes. Serve immediately.

asparagus bacon and egg salad

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I have a nephew who is so picky that he wouldn’t eat blueberries in the middle of the summer. Blueberries! They might as well be candy that happens to be good for you. He was in elementary school then, but things aren’t much better now that he’s starting high school in the fall. Last winter, he balked at asparagus.

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Dave, understanding teenaged boys all too well because he still thinks like one (I dare you to tell him a poop joke), found the trick to making picky adolescents eat asparagus – tell them that their pee will smell like asparagus later. For better or worse, this is a phenomenon I have never noticed myself. My nephew choked down a few spears, but either it wasn’t enough or he isn’t subject to the asparagus pee smell either, because he responded in the negative when we quizzed him the next day.

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If you’re less interested in discussing (I accidentally typed “disgusting” first, which probably isn’t a coincidence) the smell of urine at the dinner table, perhaps adding bacon is a better way to make asparagus seem tempting. With eggs added as well, this is more like breakfast than a salad – which is exactly how I like my salads, as a light meal masquerading as a decadent one.  Not being a huge fan of asparagus myself, this might be my favorite way to eat it – and I, personally, find the lack of asparagus pee the next day to be a relief.

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Bacon Egg and Asparagus Salad (adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table via A Taste of Home Cooking)

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 bunches (about 2 pounds) asparagus, ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces
kosher salt and ground black pepper
4 ounces (about 4 slices) bacon, diced
6-8 eggs
4 cups spring mix
1 avocado, peeled and diced

Dressing:
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sherry or red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven and heat to 450 degrees. Once hot, spread the oil over the pan and add the asparagus; season with salt and pepper and stir to coat with oil. Return the pan with the asparagus to the oven and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking.

2. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all about 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan. Crack the eggs into the pan, season with salt and pepper, and add 2 tablespoons of water. Immediately cover the pan and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks are soft.

3. Mix all of the dressing ingredients.

4. Combine the spring mix, avocado, bacon, asparagus, and dressing. Top each serving with 1-2 eggs.

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egg sandwiches with goat cheese, scallions, and prosciutto

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Egg sandwiches are my favorite breakfast. Yes, I’m making such a bold statement. And it’s generally not something I need much creativity in. A slice of salty ham, some bracingly sharp cheddar, and tender eggs on pretty much any kind of bread is just right for me.

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But this weekend I was in the mood for something brighter. Remembering the perfection of the combination of goat cheese, chives, and scrambled eggs in this (handy) scrambled egg tutorial, I mixed up goat cheese with the scallions I had in the fridge. The hint of funk in prosciutto would complement the tangy cheese.

whole wheat flour

And for a sandwich I had such high hopes for, only just the right bread would do; the sweet honey-glazed rolls in the freezer were not the right choice. This meant mixing up two quick pre-doughs the night before I wanted my sandwiches, one whole wheat with salt to soften the whole grains, and the other white bread flour with yeast for complexity of flavor. It meant putting the pre-doughs in the mixer with more salt, yeast, and flour first thing in the morning while I waited for my tea to steep.

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It meant waiting well over two hours for breakfast to be ready while the dough rose (in the turned off oven with the light on and a mug of steaming water) and baked. But it was worth it, oh it was. The rolls were perfect, light and tender but sturdy enough to hold up a thick layer of creamy cheese with slivers of ham and a perfectly cooked layer of egg. The scallions added just the right amount of green flavor to the sandwich. They were even better on the second day in a row that we ate these, when the bread was already made, so breakfast took 15 minutes to make and not two hours.

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One year ago: Puffed Poached Pear Tart
Two years ago: Oreo Cheesecake Cookies
Three years ago: Bourbon Pound Cake
Four years ago: Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

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Egg Sandwiches with Goat Cheese, Scallions, and Prosciutto

4 medium (about hamburger bun-sized) sandwiches

4 ounces goat cheese, softened
4 scallions, white and green parts, minced
4 eggs
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 medium rustic rolls (like ciabatta), halved crosswise
4 ounces sliced prosciutto

1. In a medium bowl, combined the goat cheese and scallions; set aside. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the eggs, salt, and milk until a few large bubbles form.

2. Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the egg mixture and lower the heat to medium-low. After about a minute, gently stir the eggs. After about another minute, they should be starting to set; use a large spatula to flip sections of egg so the other side can set as well. Turn off the heat but don’t move the pan. Residual heat from the pan will finish cooking the eggs without drying the out while you build the sandwiches.

3. Spread the cut sides of both halves of each roll with the goat cheese mixture. Top the bottom half with a layer of eggs, then sliced prosciutto. Top with the other half of the roll. Serve immediately.

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bacon mushroom breakfast skillet

bacon mushroom skillet 5

I’m pretty sure there was a time, not even that long ago, when I would make complicated breakfasts every weekend morning. (Well, every weekend morning that I wasn’t baking scones straight from the freezer.) I vaguely remember asking myself, while surrounded by dirty dishes, why I did this to myself. But the next weekend I’d be back in the same place, always unable to resist a shiny new recipe.

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Probably I’ll swing around to that phase again, but for now, I’m loving simple breakfasts – things that only briefly keep me away from drinking coffee while mindlessly surfing the internet. Even these quick meals are a lot more complicated than the yogurt and frozen berries I spend five minutes blending together every morning before work, so they’re still a treat.

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In this case, it’s a simple matter of cooking bacon and mushrooms, topping them with eggs (poached, fried, your choice; I chose fried because it’s easier), mixing in some spinach just until it softens, and if you want to get fancy, you can add a slice of toast.  I love the earthiness of the mushrooms and spinach combined with bacon, and getting in a serving of vegetables for breakfast is a great way to start the day.  But what makes me the happiest is that I get all that in well under half an hour, so I can get on with the rest of my weekend, whether than means working out, relaxing in the backyard, or spending all day messing up the kitchen with other projects.

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One year ago: Thai Grilled Beef Salad
Two years ago: Basic Pancakes
Three years ago: Brioche
Four years ago: Salad with Herbed Baked Goat Cheese

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Bacon Mushroom Breakfast Skillet (adapted from Tyler Florence Family Meal via Joy the Baker)

I did not wilt the spinach for the pictures, but I should have.

Serves 4

4 slices bacon, coarsely chopped
2 cup (8 ounces) cremini or button mushrooms, halved or quartered if large
1 cup oyster mushrooms, coarsely chopped
6 to 8 eggs
salt
ground black pepper
2 cups spinach leaves

1. In a medium skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.

2. Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of fat from the skillet.  Add the mushrooms, increase the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown, 8-10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat about 1 tablespoon of bacon fat to a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the eggs (I crack them into small dishes first), season with salt and pepper, cover the pan, and cook until the whites are set and the yolks are soft (or however you like your eggs), about 5-7 minutes.

4. When the eggs are ready, add the spinach and the cooked bacon to the mushrooms. Cook, stirring constantly, until the bacon is warm and the spinach just wilts, about a minute.  Serve, with the eggs, immediately.

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migas

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I’ve been raving about migas since the first time I made them, several months ago. They’re such a perfect breakfast for me that I’ve had them almost every weekend since. Somewhere along the way, after I talked my brother into making them, he pointed out that they’re basically just scrambled eggs.

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Which is true, and in a way, sums up what it is I love about them – their simplicity. Scrambled eggs is not a complicated breakfast, so that must mean that migas are also not a complicated breakfast. And beyond that, it’s healthy and filling and flexible.

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The recipe I’ve given here is one of my favorite ways to make it, and the simplest way I like it. First, I bake lightly oiled corn tortillas until browned. I tried frying them once, but since baking results in crisp tortillas every bit as good as those that are fried, but is healthier, I’m sticking with that. However, it’s not uncommon that I’ll use the crumbs at the bottom of the tortilla chip bag either, when they’re too small to dip in salsa but there’s too many to throw away.

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The other ingredients I consider crucial to migas are chiles and cheese. I use roasted and peeled Hatch green chiles, but any chile you like would be fine. I suspect that while beans are a common side, adding them to the migas themselves isn’t traditional, but the sweetness they add to the dish is too good to skip.

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In addition to these standards, I’ve also added chorizo (shown here), spaghetti squash, and random unlabeled spicy tomato stuff I found in the freezer (probably meant for this dish, but who can be sure). It’s not a dish that requires precision or even consistency. Every single time I’ve made it, it’s been different, but it always been delicious – and easy.

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One year ago: Greek Yogurt Dill Dip
Two years ago: Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Salad
Three years ago: White Cake (comparison of 3 recipes)
Four years ago: Danish Braids (for the Daring Bakers)

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Migas (adapted from Homesick Texan)

4 servings

When I add chorizo, I brown it before adding the cooking the onion, replacing the oil with the fat rendered from the sausage. When I’ve added pre-cooked leftover squash, I add it with the beans and tortillas.  I often add the salsa with the beans too, although the texture of the finished isn’t as firm as when it’s added as a garnish.

8 corn tortillas
8 eggs
salt
4 ounces chopped green chiles
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 (15-ounce) can black or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 ounces (½ cup) shredded cheddar, Monterey jack, or pepper jack
salsa
cilantro

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Arrange an oven-safe cooling rack on a baking sheet. Light spray both sides of the tortillas with nonstick spray; lay them in a single layer on the cooling rack and bake, flipping once, for 12-16 minutes, until browned and crisp. Break into bite-sizes pieces.

2. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, ¼ teaspoon salt, and green chiles with a whisk until large bubbles start to form around the edges of the bowl.

3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt; sauté, stirring occasionally, until just browned around the edges, 5-8 minutes. Pour in the egg mixture and cook without stirring for about a minute, then drag a spatula through the eggs a few times to lightly stir them. Let the eggs set for approximately 30 seconds, then stir again. Add the tortilla pieces, beans, and cheese. Cook and stir the eggs until set. Serve immediately, topping each portion with salsa and cilantro.

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ginger fried rice

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Telling someone you’re having fried rice for dinner – not with dinner, but for dinner – doesn’t sound very impressive. Someone asked me if I was adding a bunch of stuff to it, and I had to think about it before I realized that no…not really. It’s really just aromatics stirred into rice, topped with an egg and some soy sauce.

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But it did seem to me that serving the egg fried and on top of the rice, instead of scrambled into the rice, made this more worthy of being a stand-alone dish. Plus, I added one leek per person, which seemed like a fair enough vegetable serving; not generous, perhaps, but adequate considering what else we’d eaten that day. With that, it has all the components many of my favorite weeknight dishes do – a whole grain, a vegetable, some protein.

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It certainly tasted like it was worthy of having the dinner plate to itself. I thought the rice would be bland, without any sauce stirred into it, but a heavy dose of garlic and ginger, not to mention the grassy onionness of the leeks added plenty of flavor. The drips of soy sauce and toasted sesame oil offer hits of strong seasonings, especially once carried into the rice with the unctuous yolk. This won’t be the last time I have to tell someone I’m having something as simple as fried rice for dinner, so I’d better get used to it.

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One year ago: Green Pea Ravioli in Lemon Broth
Two years ago: Brown Sugar Cookies
Three years ago: Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Four years ago: Sichuan Green Beans

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Ginger Fried Rice (adapted from Mark Bittman via Smitten Kitchen)

I used 4 leeks, but since leeks are usually sold in bunches of three, I wrote the recipe for just three leeks.

Serves 4

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon canola or peanut oil, divided
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced ginger
salt
3 leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced ⅛-inch thick
4 cups day-old cooked rice (from 1 cup uncooked rice)
4 (or more) large eggs
2 teaspoons sesame oil
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1 green onion, sliced

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; add the garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the leeks and a pinch of salt; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add another 1 tablespoon oil and the rice; cook until evenly heated, 3-4 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Crack the eggs into separate small cups. Add the eggs to the pan, season evenly with salt, and cover the pan. Cook until the whites are set but the yolks are still soft, 6-8 minutes.

3. Divide the rice between serving plates. Top with the fried eggs and a drizzle of both soy sauce and sesame oil. Garnish with green onions; serve immediately.

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yogurt hollandaise

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I am totally fascinated by emulsions, those silky mixtures of water-based liquids and fat. I’d love to claim this has something to do with my chemistry background and an interest in immiscible liquids and amphiphilic molecules, but, in truth, I think it’s because I like the creamy rich mixtures that result. I love mayonnaise, an emulsion of oil and vinegar; vinaigrettes, in which mustard holds the oil and vinegar together, although not as well as the egg yolks in mayonnaise; and even cake batters, in which a few egg yolks work to hold the butter and milk (or whatever liquid) together, and have such trouble doing it that the ingredients need to be as close in temperature as possible to prevent curdling.

Hollandaise, an emulsion of butter and lemon juice, again held together by egg yolks (the kitchen’s favorite emulsifier), isn’t my thing though. It isn’t that I don’t like it – what isn’t to like, other than blowing your entire day’s worth of calories for breakfast? It’s just that I don’t see the point, when my old favorite pretend-fattening ingredient, Greek yogurt, does such a good job of mimicking the richness of traditional hollandaise.

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You still add egg yolks to make the sauce silky smooth, and this yogurt-based sauce has all the same flavorings as a full-fat version, with the lemon juice, salt, and spice (hot sauce here instead of cayenne powder). A pinch of sugar and tiny squeeze of mustard round out the flavors. And in the spirit of being healthier but maybe not perfectly healthy, I usually stir some tiny cubes of butter into the sauce to add richness.

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There’s no question that the main advantage of this sauce over traditional hollandaise is that you’re not pouring nearly pure butter over your eggs. But it doesn’t hurt that it’s easier and less finicky either, requiring nothing more than a quick whisk over a double boiler, with no worries about the emulsion breaking. I guess I like fake emulsions just as much as real ones.

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One year ago: Yellow Cake (comparison of 3 recipes)
Two years ago: Rich Katz’s brownies for Julia Child
Three years ago: Red Velvet Cake (comparison of 5 recipes)
Four years ago: Salmon Pesto Pasta

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Yogurt Hollandaise (adapted from Fine Cooking and A Food Centric Life)

Enough for 6 servings of eggs benedict

You can use any fat level of Greek yogurt you like. I always use low-fat, because that’s the easiest to find where I live.

Sometimes I also add a tablespoon of butter, cut into small cubes, and heat it with the other ingredients.

I didn’t make traditional eggs Benedict; I topped my English muffins with green chile, avocado, poached eggs, and hollandaise.

¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 egg yolks
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
pinch of white pepper
dash hot Tabasco sauce

1. In the top of a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice, egg yolks, mustard, salt, sugar, pepper and Tabasco sauce.

2. Cook over simmering water, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 6 to 8 minutes. (The sauce can be set aside at room temperature for up to 1 hour; reheat gently in double boiler.)

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smoked salmon kale carbonara

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When we were in Italy, we tried to eat whatever the local specialty was. That means that in the first few days when we were on the Mediterranean coast, and then the next couple of days on the Adriatic coast, we ate a lot of spaghetti ai frutti di mare – pasta with a bunch of different types of seafood, basically. We ate it three days in a row, and on one of those days, we also had risotto ai frutti di mare.

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In Tuscany, we ate more red meat, and in Rome, every dinner included some version of pasta with fatty pork, whether carbonara, amatriciana, or gricia, the difference between them being whether the sauce includes eggs, onions and tomatoes, or nothing but meat and cheese, respectively. I remember enjoying the gricia and amatriciana, but the carbonara I got was overly sauced in a rich cream and wasn’t at all what I thought it should be.

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Of course, I had no other traditional carbonara experiences to compare it to, and I still don’t. While I can’t guarantee that the creamy carbonara I had in Rome wasn’t authentic, I know for sure that this one isn’t. Instead of smoky pork, this recipe includes smoky fish, which, if you’re going to be unauthentic, is kind of a perfect way to do it. And while we’re at it, why not throw in some bitter greens? I probably shouldn’t say this out loud, but this carbonara was better than any of the similar pastas I had in Italy.

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One year ago: Roasted Chicken Thighs with Root Vegetables
Two years ago: Lamb Stew
Three years ago: German Apple Pancake
Four years ago: Banana Cream Pie

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Smoked Salmon Kale Carbonara (adapted from Cara’s Cravings and Gilt Taste)

Serves 4

12 ounces dried pasta
salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ small red onion, minced
2 clove of garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 large bunches of kale (about 12 ounces), thick stems removed, leaves cut into 1-2 inch pieces
2 eggs
2 ounces (1 cup) grated parmesan cheese
freshly ground black pepper
6 ounces smoked salmon, torn into small pieces
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil; add about 1 tablespoon of salt and the pasta. Cook, according to the package instructions, until just tender. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until it just starts to brown around the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the kale; cover the pan and cook until tender, 3-5 minutes, stirring about once a minute. Set aside.

3. Beat together the eggs, cheese, ¼ teaspoon salt, and a pinch of black pepper.

4. Transfer the cooked pasta back to the cooking pot; stir in the kale mixture and salmon. Stirring vigorously, add the egg mixture, then the lemon juice. Serve immediately.

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fried eggs with garlic yogurt sauce

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I had no idea what I was in for when I planted mint in my backyard this spring. Not only did I not realize that it would encroach on the basil and oregano to either side of it, not to mention the jalapeno on the other side of the raised bed, but I’m not a big mint eater anyway. Mostly I figured it would make a pretty garnish for desserts.

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When I started to see what I was in for as a mint-grower, I thought I might get into mojitos, but as refreshing as they are, my loyalty still lies with margaritas. Eventually I gave up and let the mint have its way with my raised bed. It went to flower, which happily drew pollinators to my garden for the acorn squash, cucumber, and pea and/or green bean seeds I planted on a whim after all of my tomato plants died.

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This is one of the few recipes I’ve used mint in regularly this summer, and one of the only savory dishes I like it in. It’s a perfect weekend breakfast, in that it’s easy, healthy, filling but not too filling, and of course, it tastes good. It’s a classic favorite combination of breakfast foods, with eggs on toast covered in sauce, but instead of a rich sauce of egg yolks and butter, it’s a garlicky minty yogurt sauce

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One year ago: Raspberry Lemon Petits Fours
Two years ago: Pumpkin Cupcakes (comparison of 3 recipes)
Three years ago: Lavash Crackers

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Fried Eggs with Garlic Yogurt Sauce (original recipe from Linda and Fred Griffith’s Garlic Garlic Garlic via my brother)

Serves 2-4

I’ve simplified the recipe even more than the original, which called for poached eggs plus a butter sauce; I only wanted to use one pan, not two, so I fry the eggs in the seasoned butter and then drizzle any liquid remaining in the skillet over the cooked eggs.

¾ cup Greek yogurt
2 garlic gloves, pressed through a garlic press or minced and mashed
2 teaspoons fresh mint, minced
salt
1 tablespoon butter
⅛ teaspoon cayenne
4 large eggs
4 small pitas or slices of toast or 2 English muffins

1. In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, garlic, mint, and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

2. In a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with the cayenne and a pinch of salt. Crack each egg into a small dish; tip them into the prepared pan and sprinkle with salt. Cover the pan, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook for 5-7 minutes for over-medium eggs.

3. Place the pita or toast on plates. Top each with a fried egg and a spoonful of the yogurt sauce, then drizzle any remaining seasoned butter from the skillet over the tops of the eggs. Serve immediately.

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