green chile huevos rancheros

09/21/2009 By 25 Comments

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Do you have a food you love from your hometown that you can’t get anymore? For New Mexicans, that food will always be Hatch green chile. It’s ubiquitous in New Mexico, and you won’t just find it in enchiladas and chile rellenos and the like, but in more unexpected places, like eggs and burgers and pizza. New Mexicans are addicted.

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So what is a displaced New Mexican to do? Decent green chile simply isn’t available everywhere – the 4-ounce cans of chile that most stores do carry are, sadly, largely devoid of flavor. No, the only way to get good Hatch chile outside of the state it’s grown in is to know someone kind enough to send it to you.

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So every year during chile season (approximately right now), my mom sends me and my brother each a big box of fresh green chiles. She packs the chiles with newspaper to soak up moisture so they don’t rot (learned that the hard way), pokes holes in the boxes, and sends it 2-day mail. And once we have the chiles, they have to be roasted, peeled, and seeded. The whole process isn’t easy or cheap.

This year, Dave and I have decided that to skip the hassle, we’ll move to New Mexico.

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Well, no, that isn’t why we’re moving. Really, it just worked out with our job situation. But green chiles (and easier access to some squeezy nephew cheeks that are also in New Mexico) is definitely icing on the cake.

Green chile huevos rancheros is my favorite way to eat green chiles, as well as probably my favorite breakfast. The way I like it, there’s a flour tortilla base, then beans, eggs (over-medium for me) and home fries on the tortilla, all topped by green chile sauce. Definitely a meal worth moving across the country for.

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One year ago: Dimply Plum Cake

Printer Friendly Recipe
Green Chile Huevos Rancheros

4 servings

If you already have favorite recipes for home fries, pinto beans, and eggs, by all means, use them.

Green chile sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
½ tablespoon flour
½ cup chicken broth
4 ounces green chile, diced
pinch sugar
1 tablespoon chopped tomatoes (or tomato juice or sauce)
salt

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it’s just browned around the edges. Add the garlic and stir constantly for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Mix in the flour, and continue to stir, for about one minute. Slowly add the broth, still stirring, then the chile, tomatoes, sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer, then adjust the heat to low, cover, and let cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. (If your sauce is thinner than you like, remove the lid while it simmers.) Taste and adjust the seasonings, if necessary.

Home fries:
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ medium onion, thinly sliced
16 ounces Yukon gold potato, diced into ¼ inch cubes
½ teaspoon salt (kosher)

Heat the oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. (You can use a traditional skillet if you heat it well before adding the oil.) Add the potatoes, onions, and salt, and cover the pan. Cook over medium heat until the potatoes are tender and lightly browned, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the cover and cook until the onions and potatoes are cooked through and nicely browned, another 5-10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings if necessary.

Refried beans:
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ medium onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon salt

Heat the oil over medium heat in a medium nonstick saucepan or skillet. Add the onions and cook until the edges start to brown. Meanwhile, using a potato masher, mash the beans until they’re mostly broken up. It’s fine if there are still some whole beans. (If you prefer your beans completely smooth, puree them in a food processor.) Stir the chicken broth into the beans. Add the garlic and cumin to the onions in the pan, and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the bean mixture and salt and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat to low to medium-low to maintain a bare simmer, and cook the beans until they’re your desired consistency, stirring often. It should only take a few minutes. Adjust the seasonings to taste. If they’re ready before everything else, just cover them.

Eggs:
1 teaspoon oil
4 eggs
salt

Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Crack each egg into a small dish. Carefully transfer the eggs to the skillet, then sprinkle them with salt. Add 2 tablespoons water and raise the heat to medium-high. Once the water simmers, cover the pan and lower the heat back to medium-low. Cook for about 3-6 minutes for over-medium eggs. Remove the lid and let the water evaporate.

Assembly:
Place a warmed 6-inch flour tortilla on each of four plates. Top each tortilla with one egg, a quarter of the beans, and a quarter of the potatoes. Divide the sauce evenly between each plate. (Alternatively, layer a tortilla, then beans, potatoes, an egg, and the sauce.)

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Filed Under: beans, breakfast, eggs, favorites, potatoes, vegetarian

chanterelle salad with speck and poached eggs

11/21/2008 By 4 Comments

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I don’t know if there could be a less appetizing name for a more delicious food than there is for Speck. When I hear Speck, I think of Star Trek or maybe dust particles – I do not think of spicy smoked ham.

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I almost dismissed the Speck in this recipe entirely. I figured that proscuitto or pancetta, both of which I can get at my regular grocery store, would make a convenient substitute. But then I was right near an Italian butcher, and it was no big thing to go in and grab some Speck. I’m glad I did, because I love the stuff. I wish I’d had some proscuitto to taste alongside it, because I feel like I liked the Speck more than I normally do proscuitto, but I haven’t eaten enough proscuitto to really remember.

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After my first uncertain egg on salad experience, I seem to have become somewhat enamored with the idea. In this salad, I really enjoyed the warm savory egg on the tart dressed greens. The Speck, sautéed until crispy, was of course delicious. I wasn’t crazy about the cooked chanterelles in the salad – they seemed a little too chewy to fit in with the other ingredients. Dave really liked them though.

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I didn’t follow the recipe exactly – I had just made fresh bread, so I skipped the toasting step. I also made a different dressing. As if one hard-to-find ingredient in the recipe wasn’t enough, you’re also supposed to reduce Vin Santo, an Italian dessert wine, for the vinaigrette, and mix it with walnut oil. I made a simple balsamic vinaigrette and was happy with it.

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Notwithstanding the chewy mushrooms, this salad was very good. This was a nice, light meal that left me plenty of room to eat some of the chocolate chip cookies that I have coming out the wazoo.

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Warm Chanterelle Salad with Speck and Poached Eggs (from Bon Apetit December 2008 )

6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 fresh thyme sprigs
3 garlic cloves, divided
1 pound fresh chanterelles, cleaned, cut into ⅓-inch thick slices
nonstick cooking spray
4 ounces ⅛-inch-thick slices Speck, rind trimmed
6 ¾-inch-thick slices ciabatta or pain rustique
½ teaspoon salt
6 large eggs
2 small heads butter lettuce, coarsely torn (about 11 cups)
6 cups mâche or arugula (3½ ounces)
Vinaigrette

Preheat oven to 500F. Combine 4 tablespoons oil and thyme in large bowl. Press 2 garlic cloves into oil with garlic press; whisk to blend. Add chanterelles and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Spray rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Spread mushroom mixture on sheet. Roast mushrooms until tender, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes.

Cut Speck crosswise into ¼-inch-thick strips. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in small skillet over medium-high heat. Add Speck; sauté until crisp, 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Toast ciabatta slices until golden; rub with remaining garlic clove. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. Halve each slice lengthwise.

Fill large skillet with water and bring to boil. Add ½ teaspoon salt. Crack eggs, 1 at a time, into custard cup, then slide egg from cup into water; reduce heat to low. Poach eggs until whites are set and yolks are softly set, 3 to 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss lettuce and mâche with enough vinaigrette to coat. Mound salad on 6 plates. Using slotted spoon, remove eggs from water, dab with paper towels to absorb excess liquid, and place atop salads. Garnish with mushrooms and Speck. Place ciabatta fingers around salad and serve immediately.

Balsamic Vinaigrette (from Cooks Illustrated)

Serves 4

¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar , or wine vinegar
½ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
⅔ cup olive oil

Whisk first 2 ingredients with salt and pepper in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil, so the vinaigrette emulsifies. Serve.

Filed Under: eggs, gluten free, healthy, italian, pork, salad, vegetables, weeknight meal

baked eggs with spinach and mushrooms

11/17/2008 By 9 Comments

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There’s nothing not to like about this recipe. It’s eggs-on-stuff, and I love eggs-on-stuff, especially when the stuff is onions, mushrooms, and spinach. And then it’s sprinkled with parmesan. What a perfect flavor combination.

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You know the only thing this recipe is lacking? Carbs. Ah, starch. Carbs in any form would be good, but I’m thinking especially of either adding cubed parboiled potatoes with the onions, or serving the whole thing on top of toast. Or hash browns.

And that gives me an excuse to make this again…soon.

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Baked Eggs with Spinach and Mushrooms (from Gourmet June 2004 via Smitten Kitchen)

Serves 4

10 ounces baby spinach leaves
¼ cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced (2 cups)
⅓ cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan

Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 450F.

Bring ½ inch water to a boil in a 10- to 12-inch ovenproof heavy skillet (not cast-iron), then add half of spinach and cook, turning with tongs, until wilted, about 30 seconds. Add remaining spinach and wilt in same manner, then cook, covered, over moderately high heat until spinach is tender, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and cool under cold running water. Gently squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then coarsely chop.

Wipe skillet dry, then cook onion and garlic in butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and increase heat to moderate, then cook, stirring, until mushrooms are softened and have exuded liquid, about 3 minutes. Stir in cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and chopped spinach and bring to a simmer. Remove skillet from heat and make 4 large indentations in spinach mixture. Break an egg into each indentation and bake, uncovered, until egg whites are set but yolks are still runny, 7 to 10 minutes. Lightly season eggs with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with cheese.

Filed Under: breakfast, cheese, eggs, gluten free, vegetables

gallitos (costa rican breakfast tacos)

11/09/2008 By 7 Comments

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Dave lived in New Jersey for half a year while I was finishing up graduate school three hours away in upstate New York. We took turns visiting each other on the weekends, but the weekends in NJ were undoubtedly more fun, because we always took the train into Manhattan. I love Manhattan.

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Just about every meal I’ve eaten in Manhattan has been exceptional, but one of my favorites was at Calle Ocho. We went for brunch and ordered the gallitos. I love tacos any time of the day. Dave and I don’t live as close to Manhattan anymore, so I can’t just go order gallitos whenever I want. But it took me two years to realize that there was nothing stopping me from making them myself.

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I don’t remember the meal exactly, but the menu description helps – “Platter of Traditional Costa Rican Tacos, Scrambled Eggs, Chorizo, Calle Ocho Fries.” I could have sworn there was squash too, and pico de gallo just makes sense.

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I will admit that this recipe is a bit of a project, and not much of it can be prepared in advance. I think it would be great for guests arriving late morning for brunch. Everyone can build their own tacos, which would be fun, and I imagine it’s not something many people have had before. Of course you should serve it with mimosas, as is fitting for any brunch, and which also accompanied my gallitos at Calle Ocho.  You can never go wrong serving champagne with breakfast.

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The only problem I’ve had with the recipe is figuring out what to do with the tortillas. I feel like corn tortillas is more appropriate than flour, and they’re also a little lighter. However, they tend to crack instead of bend, even after being warmed and wrapped in foil. I’m not willing to fry them individually for breakfast. Unless someone has a better recommendation, I’m thinking I’ll start using flour tortillas instead. I did recently see a brand of corn tortillas that looked more flexible, so I’ll try those as well.

The gallitos are pretty great. There’s so many flavors working together – the sweet squash, salty potatoes, spicy chorizo, and fresh pico de gallo are wonderful. For me, this is definitely worth the effort involved.

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Gallitos

Serves 4 to 6

To save time, you can cook the potatoes and squash together.

2½ tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
12 ounces (about 2 medium) Yukon Gold potatoes, diced into ¼-inch cubes
salt
16 small flour or corn tortillas
16 ounces (1 medium) butternut squash, peeled and diced into ¼-inch cubes
½ teaspoon sugar
12 ounces chorizo, diced into ½-inch cubes
4 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
Pico de gallo (recipe follows)

1. Heat oven to 200F. Wrap tortillas in foil and place in warm oven.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes and ¾ teaspoon salt and stir until the potatoes are coated with oil. Cover the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are browned and tender, about 20 minutes. (If potatoes aren’t beginning to brown after 12 minutes, remove lid.) Pour potatoes into heatproof serving bowl and place in warm oven.

3. Meanwhile, in small nonstick skillet, cook chorizo over medium heat until evenly browned. Place chorizo in heatproof serving bowl and place in warm oven. Wipe pan with paper towels.

4. In now empty large nonstick pan (no need to clean or wipe), heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add squash, ½ teaspoon salt, and sugar and sauté, uncovered, until browned and tender, about 20 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, heat remaining ½ tablespoon oil in small nonstick pan over medium heat. Crack eggs into a medium bowl. Add ¼ teaspoon salt, pinch black pepper, and milk. Whisk until evenly combined. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Gently lift and stir the eggs until they form large, mostly dry curds. Pour eggs into serving bowl.

6. Serve tortillas, potatoes, squash, chorizo, eggs and pico de gallo separately, allowing each person to build their tacos as they please.

Pico de gallo: (adapted from the Pioneer Woman)
4 roma tomatoes, diced fine
1 small red onion, diced fine
1-2 jalapenos, minced
½ cup cilantro, chopped fine
juice of half a lime
salt to taste

Mix all ingredients.

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Filed Under: breakfast, eggs, gluten free, pork, potatoes, vegetables

spinach, artichoke, and red pepper strata

10/09/2008 By 10 Comments

This recipe has a lot of ingredients in it, and I wasn’t sure how well they would all go together. Cheddar and parmesan and spinach and red peppers and marinated artichokes don’t seem like natural compliments. But I wanted to make a strata, and I had some spinach and scallions and cheddar to use up.

Typing up the recipe now, it really doesn’t seem like a lot of work, but it certainly seemed so at the time. Stratas are supposed to be convenient because you can make them the night before and just pop them in the oven in the morning. However, I’m rarely in the mood to make breakfast the night before. On the weekends, I’ve usually just made an ambitious dinner and probably dessert, and the last thing I want to do after enjoying that is go back into the kitchen and make breakfast.

I made a third of the recipe in a loaf pan, since it was just for me and Dave. I used fresh spinach, sautéed for a few seconds in the same pan the red peppers had just been removed from. I had the spinach leftover from something else, and I’m not generally a huge fan of frozen spinach anyway – too stemmy. I used Country Crust bread, which is my favorite recipe anytime white sandwich-type bread is called for.

The strata exceeded my expectations. All of the flavors meshed quite well. I had also been concerned that it wouldn’t be rich enough, since my other favorite strata recipe uses half and half instead of milk, but the texture of this one was great. It’s a fairly healthy, and very tasty, take on a breakfast strata.

Spinach, Artichoke, and Red Pepper Strata (from Vegetarian Classics, by Jeanne Lemlin)

JL notes: Choose a firm homemade-style bread such as sourdough, a Tuscan-style chewy bread, or a day-old loaf of Italian or French bread. Avoid very soft packaged bread. Make sure the strata is cooked enough when you remove it from the oven. Test it like a cake. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large red bell pepper, cut into thin strips 2 inches long
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
9 large eggs
3½ cups milk
½ cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
generous seasoning freshly ground black pepper
2½ tablespoon butter, softened
9 slices firm white bread
2 (6-ounce) jars marinated artichoke hearts, well drained
2 scallions, very thinly sliced
3 cups (12 ounces) grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1. Heat the oil in a medium-size skillet over medium heat and sauté the red pepper until tender, about 7 minutes. Set aside.

2. Place the thawed spinach in a strainer and press out all of its liquid with the back of a large spoon. Set aside.

3. Thoroughly beat the eggs in a large bowl. Beat in the spinach, milk, Parmesan cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

4. Using ½ tablespoon butter, grease a 13x9x2-inch baking dish. With the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, coat 1 side of each slice of bread. Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes. You should have about 9 cups of cubed bread.

5. Place half the bread cubes in the baking dish. Sprinkle on half of the red peppers strips, 1 jar of artichokes, and half of the scallions. Ladle on half of the spinach mixture, then sprinkle on half of the cheddar cheese. Repeat this layering and end with the cheddar cheese.  Cover the dish with place wrap or foil and refrigerate overnight.

6. Remove the dish from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the strata, uncovered, for 1 hour, or until golden brown on top and firm in the center. Let the strata sit 15 minutes before cutting it into squares.

Filed Under: breakfast, casserole, cheese, eggs, vegetables

sausage and red pepper hash

09/04/2008 By 10 Comments

Hey, look at that, more eggs on stuff. I made this because I wanted hash, but something different from corned beef hash. I just love the idea of egg yolk dripping into browned crispy potatoes and salty breakfast meat and flavorful sautéed vegetables. Sausage and peppers sounded like a great base to go with potatoes and eggs.

Looking now at the recipe I think I was using, I apparently simplified it quite a bit. That’s the thing about making an Emeril recipe in the morning – chances are it’s going to get simplified. First I replaced chicken and apple sausage with standard breakfast sausage, and then I eliminated all of the spices and herbs that Emeril calls for, assuming that there would be enough seasoning in the sausage.

What I ended up doing was following my standard hash method of browning the meat, then cooking the vegetables in the rendered fat, then adding parboiled potatoes and cooking until they brown. Then I break eggs over the mixture and cover the pan, cooking until the whites are set and, if all goes well, the yolks are warm and viscous but not solid.

You really can’t go wrong with these ingredients combined in that method. The onions are a little caramelized, the peppers are soft, the potatoes are crispy, the sausage is peppery – everything is at its best, and then it’s taken one step further with a perfectly cooked egg on top.

Sausage and Red Pepper Hash (substantially adapted from Emeril and from Cooks Illustrated)

The potatoes can be parboiled the night before and refrigerated.

2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ -inch dice
Salt
1 medium onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 pound breakfast sausage
4 large eggs
Ground black pepper

1. Bring the potatoes, 5 cups water, and ½ teaspoon salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the water boils, cook for 4 minutes, drain, and set aside.

2. Place the sausage in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and cook until the fat is partially rendered, about 2 minutes. Add the onion and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened and browned, about the edges, abut 8 minutes. Mix in the potatoes and lightly pack the mixture into the pan with a spatula. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook, undisturbed, for 4 minutes, then, with a spatula, invert the hash, a portion at a time, and fold the browned bits back into the hash. Lightly pack the hash into the pan. Repeat the process every minute or two, until the potatoes are thoroughly cooked, about 8 minutes longer.

3. Make 4 indentations (each measuring about 2 inches across) equally spaced on the surface of the hash. Crack 1 egg into each indentation and season the egg with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and cook until the eggs are just set, about 6 minutes. Cut the hash into 4 wedges, making sure each has an egg, and serve immediately.


Filed Under: breakfast, eggs, gluten free, pork, potatoes

country egg scramble

08/10/2008 By 4 Comments

In my mind, there are basically two kinds of breakfasts – there are savory breakfasts, which are generally based around eggs, and then there are sweet breakfasts, which include pancakes and waffles and the like. The best savory breakfasts involve potatoes in addition to the eggs. And bacon of course, unless you’re saving the bacon for BLTs and have to use sausage instead.

This skillet scramble is a simple but tasty example of a savory breakfast.  I did make some changes to the recipe here and there. Like most Betty Crocker recipes, this one tries to trick you into thinking it’s easier than it is by calling for cooked bacon in the ingredient list, rather than including the instructions for cooking bacon. Like I’m going to have cooked bacon laying around, just waiting to be sprinkled over breakfast. And why would I brown the potatoes in butter when there’s bacon fat right there?

Still, this recipe for a great savory breakfast is not complicated. You pretty much cook some tasty breakfast meat, then brown some par-boiled potatoes and add beaten eggs, cooking until they set. Easy though it might be, it involves most of my favorite breakfast ingredients – eggs, meat, and potatoes – and thus makes for a delicious and classic meal.

Country Egg Scramble (adapted from Betty Crocker)

Serves 4

1 pound (6 to 7) new red potatoes, cubed
6 slices (6 ounces) bacon (or breakfast sausage), chopped
6 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
Salt
⅛ teaspoon pepper
4 medium green onions, sliced (¼ cup)

1. Place potatoes and ¼ teaspoon salt in 2-quart saucepan. Add water until it reaches 1 inch above potatoes. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Once the water boils, cook for 6 minutes or until potatoes are almost tender, then drain.

2. Meanwhile, cook bacon in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towel-lined plate. Drain all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet.

3. Beat eggs, milk, ¼ teaspoon salt, the pepper, and the green onions with fork or wire whisk until it’s a uniform yellow color; set aside.

4. Cook potatoes in bacon fat over medium-high heat for 5 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally, until browned. Stir in reserved bacon.

5. Pour egg mixture into skillet. As mixture begins to set at bottom and side, gently lift cooked portions with spatula so that thin, uncooked portion can flow to bottom. Avoid constant stirring. Cover pan and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until eggs are thickened throughout but still moist.

Filed Under: breakfast, eggs, gluten free, pork, potatoes

grits, cheese and onion souffles

08/06/2008 By 6 Comments

Opinions vary among food bloggers on whether it’s worth publishing the recipes we didn’t like. Some people feel that the point of their blog is to share recipes, and there’s no point offering one to your readers that you don’t recommend. Others have a blog simply to keep a log of what they’ve cooked, good or bad. For the most part, I feel that as long as I’m offering some useful information, it’s worth having in my blog. This recipe was in a recent issue of Bon Appetit, so people may be planning on making it, and my review could be useful to them.

Also, I made grits soufflés. Something as unusual as grits soufflé deserves a blog entry, even if it didn’t knock my socks off.

It was just too…eggy. It’s probably my fault; I think I was expecting the grits to give the soufflés more structure. I always think cheese soufflé is too eggy too, so maybe I just don’t really like soufflé. Except that I have no problem with the chocolate soufflés that I’ve made.

The reviews for this recipe are much more positive than I would expect based on my experience. It seems like a lot of the reviewers added more cheese, some almost doubling the original amount. In general, more cheese = good, so maybe that would have helped. I don’t know. I haven’t given up on savory soufflés yet, but I’m starting to have my doubts about them.

Grits, Cheese, and Onion Soufflés (from Bon Appétit June 2008)

Makes 4 main-course servings

2 tablespoons (¼ stick) butter
¾ cup chopped onion
¾ cup chopped leek
1½ cups whole milk, divided
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup quick-cooking grits
4 large eggs, separated
3 green onions, chopped
1 cup (packed) grated hot pepper Monterey Jack cheese (about 4 ounces), divided

Preheat oven to 425°F. Butter four 1¼-cup soufflé dishes. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and leek; sauté 3 minutes. Mix in 1¼ cups whole milk and ½ teaspoon salt, then grits; bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until thick, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk remaining ¼ cup milk and yolks in small bowl to blend.

Remove grits from heat. Stir in yolk mixture, then green onions and ¾ cup cheese. Beat whites in medium bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold into grits in 3 additions. Divide mixture among prepared dishes (mixture will come all the way to top of dishes). Sprinkle with ¼ cup cheese.

Bake soufflés until puffed and brown on top, about 18 minutes. Serve immediately.

Filed Under: cheese, eggs, vegetarian

fried egg and sausage ciabbata breakfast pizzas

08/03/2008 By 9 Comments

By now it must be obvious that I like eggs on top of stuff. Poached are my favorite, but fried is fine too. With some potatoes or bread to soak up the creamy yolk and any number of other additions, a lot of my favorite breakfasts are based around eggs on stuff.

I’m not completely sure that this particular breakfast deserves its own recipe, although I apparently needed one to give me the idea. All it really is some crusty bread, halved horizontally, brushed with oil and topped with green onions, cheese, and cooked sausage. The pizzas are cooked until the cheese melts, then topped with a fried egg and more green onions.

I kept the basic structure of the recipe the same, but varied the details. I used some extra pain a l’ancienne that I had in the freezer, plus cheddar instead of pepper jack and breakfast sausage instead of Italian. The recipe instructs that chopped green onions should be mixed with a half cup of olive oil, which is rubbed on the bread and then drizzled over the egg at the end. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that is a heck of a lot of oil (even for eight servings). I used just enough to coat the bread before adding the other toppings, and I (meant to but forgot to) sprinkled more chopped green onions over the egg, leaving the oil behind.

Dave and I couldn’t quite figure out if we should eat these with silverware or hands. Dave tried using silverware, and it seemed like sort of a disaster. I ended up picking mine up to eat it with my hands, and it worked pretty well. I was thinking that the yolk might be a drippy mess, but it mostly soaked into the bread below. So disregard the silverware in the pictures – I’m pretty sure silverware is not the way to go here. It is pizza, after all.

You can vary the ingredients to use whatever seems good to you. Any crusty chewy bread will work, and any cheese or cooked meat. Any way you go about it, this should be an easy and fun breakfast to put together and eat.

Fried Egg and Sausage Ciabatta Breakfast Pizzas (from Bon Appétit January 2008, but really epicurious.com)

BA note: Make this recipe your own by using different sausages and cheeses. For a Middle Eastern spin, sub in lamb sausage and feta. Serve pizzas with hot sauce.

Bridget note: I used breakfast sausage, cheddar cheese, pane a l’ancienne, and far less oil.

Makes 8 servings

1 loaf ciabatta bread (about 1 pound)
1 cup chopped green onions
8 tablespoons olive oil, divided
8 ounces sliced hot pepper Monterey Jack cheese
1 pound spicy or sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
8 large eggs

Preheat oven to 450°F. Cut bread horizontally in half. Place bread halves, cut side up, on separate baking sheets. Mix onions and 6 tablespoons oil in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve 2 tablespoons onion oil and spread remaining onion oil over bread. Top with cheese.

Sauté Italian sausages in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through, breaking up with spoon, about 7 minutes. Divide sausage among bread halves. Bake pizzas until cheese melts and bread begins to crisp, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in each of 2 large skillets over medium-high heat. Crack 4 eggs into each skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let eggs stand in skillets while pizzas bake.

Arrange 4 eggs atop each pizza. Spoon reserved onion oil over eggs. Cut each pizza between eggs into 4 pieces.

Filed Under: breakfast, cheese, eggs, pizza, pork, sandwiches

croque-madame

06/22/2008 By 9 Comments


If you’re looking for the best decadent breakfast ever, here it is. Even better than Eggs Benedict. I think. It’s basically Eggs Benedict with cheese.

The first time I made this, I thought I was making something complicated. But as I slowly worked my way through the recipe, I realized that it’s really a fancy ham and cheese sandwich. One slice of bread is slathered with swiss cheese sauce and the other slice with mustard. The sandwich is “grilled” the same way grilled cheese sandwiches are – browned on the stove with butter, and then it’s smeared with more cheese sauce and broiled until the sauce is spottily browned. The sandwich is topped with a fried egg. (Without the egg, it’s a Croque-Monsieur.)

The first time I had this, I got that heavy feeling afterwards that’s clearly a result of a meal full of fatty proteins and refined carbs. The next time, I made some efforts to lighten up the recipe. Mostly I eliminated some of the nice-but-not-necessary butter and reduced the cheese sauce. I have to admit that the most influential adjustment had to be my portion size.

It’s worth the indulgence. While it’s nigh on impossible to pick favorites, the combination of crispy bread, salty ham, spicy mustard, creamy cheese sauce and smooth yolk certainly makes this a contender for the best breakfast out there. Especially if you have plans to get in some activity later to work off some of that guilt…

Croque-madame (adapted from Gourmet March 2007, as found on epicurious)

Makes 4 servings

Bridget note: You can of course use all shredded cheese. I found it easier to only shred what was going into the sauce and to slice the rest. I’ve used both Country Crust Bread and storebought Italian bread for this recipe and enjoyed both.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1½ cups whole milk
⅛ teaspoon salt
pinch teaspoon black pepper
pinch teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ cup (1 ounce) shredded swiss cheese
4 slices (1.5 ounces) sliced swiss cheese
8 slices firm white sandwich bread
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ pound thinly sliced cooked ham (preferably Black Forest)
4 large eggs

1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 1- to 1½-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, then whisk in flour and cook roux, whisking, for 1 minute. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer, whisking occasionally, for 5 minutes. Whisk in salt, pepper, nutmeg, and shredded cheese until cheese is melted. Remove from heat. Stir occasionally while preparing sandwiches to keep hard surface from forming on top of sauce. (Alternatively, place plastic wrap directly on surface of sauce.)

2. Adjust an oven rack to the top position and heat the broiler. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.

3. Spread 1 tablespoons sauce evenly over each of 4 slices of bread, then cover evenly with remaining cheese. Spread mustard evenly on remaining 4 bread slices and top with ham, dividing it evenly, then invert onto cheese-topped bread to form sandwiches.

4. Melt ½ tablespoon butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the sandwiches and cook until golden, 3-4 minutes. Remove sandwiches from pan, add remaining ½ tablespoon butter, and return sandwiches, unbrowned side down, to pan. Cook until golden on second side. Transfer sandwiches to prepared baking pan. Do not wash skillet.

5. Top sandwiches with remaining sauce, spreading evenly. Broil sandwiches until sauce is bubbling and golden in spots, 2 to 4 minutes.

6. While sandwiches are broiling, heat the same nonstick pan over medium heat. Spray the pan with nonstick spray if there’s not butter leftover from browning the sandwiches. Crack eggs into skillet and season with salt and pepper. Fry eggs, covered, until whites are just set and yolks are still runny, about 3 minutes. Top each sandwich with a fried egg and serve immediately.

Filed Under: breakfast, cheese, eggs, french, pork, sandwiches
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