Tag Archives: eggs

Mu Shu Pork

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When my husband and I lived in bigger cities, like Dallas and Houston, we enjoyed dining at a variety of ethnic, hole-in-the-wall-type restaurants, including Indian, Ethiopian, Japanese, and Chinese. The food was fabulous, and wasn’t expensive for us young working folks.

My favorite item to order at Chinese restaurants was Mu Shu Pork, sometimes also spelled Moo Shu. I loved the pancakes with the hoisin sauce, the tasty pork, and the vegetables. And, mu Shu pork was fun to eat, because you rolled your own pancakes.

Plus, you get to eat fun ingredients like lily buds and wood ears.

They must be hydrated in hot water before using, then patted dry.

Mu Shu pork supposedly originated in Northern China, perhaps Shandong. To use an authentic recipe, I reached for my Shun Lee Cookbook written by Michael Tong, published in 2007. Shun Lee translates to “smooth sailing.” The recipes in the book are “from a Chinese restaurant dynasty.”

Mr. Tong moved to the United States over 50 years ago as an engineering student, but after moving to New York City, where he settled, He joined the restaurant business with his uncle.

He claims that Chinese food in the U.S. long ago was only Cantonese, and it was his mission to introduce Americans to the foods of Hunan, Sichuan, and Shanghai regions of China. His restaurant, Shun Lee Dynasty, eventually earned four stars from the New York Times Restaurant Guide. Craig Claiborne was a frequent diner.

Today in New York City, Shun Lee West still exists, as does Shun Lee Palace.


Mu Shu Pork
printable recipe below

4 ounces boneless pork butt, cut into thin strips 2” long, 1/4” wide, and 1/4” thick
2 large eggs plus 1/2 large egg white (beat a whole egg white until foamy and measure out half)
!4 teaspoon plus a pinch of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
Vegetable oil, for passing through
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine
1/4 teaspoon dark sesame oil
10 ounces, or about 12 leaves Napa cabbage, stem part only, cut into pieces 2” long, 1/4” wide, and 1/4” thick
1/4 cup dried tree ears, soaked in hot water until softened, drained, patted dry, and torn by hand into 1” pieces
2 ounces dried lily buds, soaked in hot water until softened
1/4 cup thinly sliced bamboo shoots, cut about 2” long
3 scallions, green part only, trimmed and minced
8 small Mu Shu (also called Mandarin) pancakes, about 4” in diameter
Hoisin sauce, for serving

Mix the pork with the egg white, pinch of salt, cornstarch, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of water in a medium bowl until blended. Cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.


Fill the bottom of an Asian-style steamer with an inch or two of water, and bring it to a boil over high heat.

Heat a large wok over high heat. Add enough oil to come 1” up the sides of the wok, and heat it to 325 degrees F. Add the pork and stir gently until it turns light brown, about 30 seconds. Using a wide wire-mesh strainer, transfer the pork to a colander to drain.

Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the oil from the wok, and return the wok to high heat. Beat the whole eggs in a bowl until frothy, and add them to the wok. Scramble the eggs until they are quite firm and not runny, about 15 seconds. Transfer the eggs to the colander, separate from the pork, to drain.


Mix the soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl, and set aside.

Place the pancakes in the steamer and cover it. Heat until they are hot, about 2 minutes. (Or, gently use a microwave for this purpose.)

While the pancakes are warming, return the wok to high heat. Add the cabbage and stir-fry until softened, about 1 minute.


Add the tree ears, lily buds, and bamboo shoots, and stir-fry for 20 seconds. If the cabbage discards liquid, tilt the wok over a colander and pour off the liquid.


Return the pork to the wok, and add the scallions and the soy sauce mixture. Stir-fry for 30 seconds.


At the last second, return the scrambled eggs to the wok and scatter them gently, so they remain yellow, among the pork mixture.

Place the pork mixture on a serving platter, surrounded by the pancakes. Serve immediately, with hoisin sauce on the side.


This is the hoisin sauce I prefer, but there are many brands from which to choose. Just don’t bother with an American brand.


Let each guest spread hoisin on a pancake, add some pork mixture, roll up and eat!

For perfect Mandarin pancakes, use the recipe from my Peking Duck post.

 

Mu Shu Pork

4 ounces boneless pork butt, cut into thin strips 2” long, 1/4” wide, and 1/4” thick
2 large eggs plus 1/2 large egg white (beat a whole egg white until foamy and measure out half)
!4 teaspoon plus a pinch of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
Vegetable oil, for passing through
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine
1/4 teaspoon dark sesame oil
10 ounces, or about 12 leaves Napa cabbage, stem part only, cut into pieces 2” long, 1/4” wide, and 1/4” thick
1/4 cup dried tree ears, soaked in hot water until softened, drained, patted dry, and torn by hand into 1” pieces
2 ounces dried lily buds, soaked in hot water until softened
1/4 cup thinly sliced bamboo shoots, cut about 2” long
3 scallions, green part only, trimmed and minced
8 small Mu Shu (also called Mandarin) pancakes, about 4” in diameter
Hoisin sauce, for serving

Mis the pork with the egg white, pinch of salt, cornstarch, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of water in a medium bowl until blended. Cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Fill the bottom of an Asian-style steamer with an inch or two of water, and bring it to a boil over high heat.

Heat a large wok over high heat. Add enough oil to come 1” up the sides of the wok, and heat it to 325 degrees F. Add the pork and stir gently until it turns light brown, about 30 seconds. Using a wide wire-mesh strainer, transfer the pork to a colander to drain.

Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the oil from the wok, and return the wok to high heat. Beat the whole eggs in a bowl until frothy, and add them to the wok. Scramble the eggs until they are quite firm and not runny, about 15 seconds. Transfer the eggs to the colander, separate from the pork, to drain.

Mix the soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl, and set aside.

Place the pancakes in the steamer and cover it. Heat until they are hot, about 2 minutes. (Or, gently use a microwave for this purpose.)

While the pancakes are warming, return the wok to high heat. Add the cabbage and stir-fry until softened, about 1 minute.

Add the tree ears, lily buds, and bamboo shoots, and stir-fry for 20 seconds. If the cabbage discards liquid, tilt the wok over a colander and pour off the liquid.

Return the pork to the wok, and add the scallions and the soy sauce mixture. Stir-fry for 30 seconds.

At the last second, return the scrambled eggs to the wok and scatter them gently, so they remain yellow, among the pork mixture.

Place the pork mixture on a serving platter, surrounded by the pancakes. Serve immediately, with hoisin sauce on the side.

Let each guest spread the sauce on a pancake, add the pork mixture, and roll up to eat.

 

E Z Brownies

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Years ago a friend and I started a charity event that focused on wine tasting, to benefit our local SPCA. We really had no budget, but wanted to offer foods to go along with the wines.

The first event was successful, with about 400 people attending. That’s considered pretty good in our town of about 50,000 people. Fortunately, it has grown in popularity over the last 20 years!

Back then, money was tight. We couldn’t donate money to our beloved SPCA, but over the years I fostered animals, and volunteered in other ways. And every year, I made food for the wine tasting event, its biggest fund raiser.

A few years in, one of the wine distributors wanted to do chocolate and wine pairings, and I created these E Z brownies for that purpose.

They are called E Z because, wait for it, a box mix is used. Do you think any other time in my life I’d use a box mix???!!! Hell no! But It was for such a good cause.

The brownie mix is enhanced with liqueur, and goodies are added like chocolate chips or toffee bits or dried fruits. It was always fun to mix and match the flavors.

Fortunately, a wonderfully generous beneficiary of the SPCA also owned a liquor store, so she gave me all of the liqueurs I needed for these brownies!

So, for $1.16 per box of brownie mix, I could make hundreds of brownies for not much money, and everyone loved them. I wanted to share the recipe, because you can create a fabulous, customized brownie, starting with a box mix. I still can’t believe I just wrote that 😬

To really make the brownies stretch, I make mini brownies. They’re bite-sized.

Faux Brownies
Makes 16 regular-sized brownies, or cut each into 6 pieces for 96!

1 – 18.3 ounce box brownie mix (brands are different weights)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, whisked
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon flour
1/3 cup liqueur, I used Amarula
1 cup bits and/or chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a 9 x 13” baking pan with corners. These are non-stick, but I still add a little spray oil.

Place the brownie mix, the eggs, flour, and choice for liqueur and stir until the mix is fully incorporated.

Fold in the chips and bits and scrape into the prepared baking pan.

In these brownies I used Ghirardelli bittersweet chips and dried cranberries. Amarula is a fruity liqueur, so I thought this would be a nice combination.


Bake for 22 – 25 minutes.


For thicker brownies, smaller pans can be used, or you can use twice the amount of mix; of course baking times will vary.

You can adjust any box mix just by balancing the dry and wet ingredients. Liqueur is a wet ingredient, so compensate by adding a little flour or even cocoa.

See the cranberry bits and the chocolate chips?.

These brownies are thin, but extremely dense, chocolatey, and chewy.

Like I mentioned, a square pan would bake up thicker brownies, but for a crowd, these 9 x 13″ pans are perfect, especially when one recipe makes 96 mini brownies!

Try these combinations:
Dried tart cherries and Amarula
White chocolate chips and Framboise
Dark chocolate chips and Bailey’s
Toffee bits and Buttershots
White chocolate chips and Rumchata
Candied nuts and Amaretto
Freeze-dried raspberries and Grand Marnier
Caramel Corn and Kahlua
White chocolate chips and Chambord

Kefta Meatball Tagine

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The whole name of this recipe is Kefta Meatball Tagine in Tomato Sauce with Eggs. It’s from the cookbook Morocco, written by Jeff Koehler, published in 2012. I think I bought the cookbook because of the stunning photo on the cover, which is a beet and potato soup.

The subtitle describes this book as “a culinary journey with recipes from the spice-scented markets of Marrakech to the date-filled oasis of Zamora.”

From the book, “Tagine is the name of the dish as well as the round, shallow-based terra-cotta (clay or ceramic) casserole with a tall, pointed, conical lid. The lid fits into the base’s grooved rim and acts as a closed chimney. The steam rises and condenses on the wall of the lid, and the moisture falls back onto the simmering food, preventing the loss of moisture or flavor. Tagines are perfect for slow cooking, whether over an ember-filled brazier or the low to medium heat on a stove.”

There is some prepping to do if you’ve just purchased a tagine, similar to seasoning a cast-iron skillet. But care must be taken always to not overheat the tagine or it will crack. Medium direct heat is the maximum suggested for using a tagine on the stove.

Also from the book, “To season a tagine, submerge the base and lid in water for at least 2 hours (overnight if not glazed). Remove and let dry completely. Brush the inside of the base and lid with olive oil. For an unglazed tagine, paint the entire vessel with oil. Place in a cold oven and turn on to 350 degrees. Bake for 2 hours. Turn off the heat and allow the tagine to slowly, and completely, cool. Season the tagine again if it goes unused for a number of months.”

Which is probably what happened to my first tagine. I hadn’t used it for a while, and didn’t realize I should re-season it, so the bottom cracked.

I recently decided to purchase one again. Because I love the look of La Chamba cookware, I purchased a La Chamba tagine. Seasoning directions were included.

This recipe is reminiscent of shakshuka, with the eggs cooked in red sauce, but then, with meatballs?!! I just had to make it.

Kefta Meatball Tagine in Tomato Sauce with Eggs
printable recipe below

1 1/4 pound ground beef, not learn
1/2 medium red onion, grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, divided
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
Heaped 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Heaped 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups canned peeled whole Italian plum tomatoes, seeded, with juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large eggs

In a mixing bowl, add the meat, onion, one of the garlic cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon each of the cumin, paprika, cinnamon, parsley, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper and blend into a consistent, smooth paste.


Taking spoonfuls of the mix, roll meatballs that are about 1 1/4” in diameter. There should be about 36 total.


In a food processor, using quick pulses, purée the tomatoes and their juice. (I used tomato sauce I’d made from my fresh tomatoes.)

In a tagine, add the olive oil and tomatoes, season with salt, and cook over medium-low heat until deep red and thicker, about 15 minutes. Stir in the remaining garlic, spices, and herbs.

Gently set the meatballs in the tomato sauce. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes, gently turning the meatballs with a pair of spoons until browned on all sides.

Dribble in 1/4 cup of water, loosely cover, and cook over low heat for 40 minutes. The tomato sauce should be a little loose. Add a bit more water if necessary to keep the sauce loose.

Make four spaces between the meatballs and gently crack the eggs into the tagine. Cover and cook until the eggs set, about 5 minutes.

Serve immediately.

I served with a little bit more chopped parsley and cilantro, as well as a flatbread on the side.


 

I didn’t make my own flatbread, I purchased pita bread.

Wow this is so good, just as expected. The spices make this dish, as do the herbs.

Of course, you don’t need a tagine to make this dish, so don’t worry if you don’t own one. Use a braiser or deep skillet.

Kefta Meatball Tagine in Tomato Sauce with Eggs

1 1/4 pound ground beef
1/2 medium red onion, grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Heaped 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Heaped 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups canned peeled whole Italian plum tomatoes, seeded, with juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large eggs

In a mixing bowl, add the meat, onion, one of the garlic cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon each of the cumin, paprika, cinnamon, parsley, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper and blend into a consistent, smooth paste.

Taking spoonfuls of the mix, roll meatballs that are about 1 1/4” in diameter. There should be about 36 total.

In a food processor, using quick pulses, purée the tomatoes and their juice.

In a tagine, add the olive oil and tomatoes, season with salt, and cook over medium-low heat until deep red and thicker, about 15 minutes. Stir in the remaining garlic, spices, and herbs.

Gently set the meatballs in the tomato sauce. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes, gently turning the meatballs with a pair of spoons until browned on all sides.

Dribble in 1/4 cup of water, loosely cover, and cook over low heat for 40 minutes. The tomato sauce should be a little loose. Add a bit more water if necessary to keep the sauce loose.

Make four spaces between the meatballs and gently crack the eggs into the tagine. Cover and cook until the eggs set, about 5 minutes.

Serve immediately.

 

My Last Meal

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I’m not dying nor on death row. My last meal is something I’ve occasionally thought of, especially while enjoying favorite foods or dining at a fabulous restaurant. Or I’ll see a beautiful meal on a food blog and think, “That could easily be my last meal!”

It’s not a morbid thing in my mind. My last meal is a happy, celebratory thing, because if I could plan my last meal, then I’d also have the ability to eat and drink like there’s no tomorrow, cause there wouldn’t be. It would be a day-long meal of happy eating and drinking.

Upon rising, I would enjoy coffee, as I have for decades. My day never starts without espresso. Maybe with a croissant with butter and seedless raspberry jam.

Two perfectly-cooked soft-boiled eggs.

Chicago pizza. From Giardano’s, cause they deliver.

Next would be warm, boiled, fresh potatoes with unsalted butter and slices of Fontina or Taleggio or Morbier. Or all three.


Then mimosas with my two daughters.

An everything bagel with lox and cream cheese. And I’d eat the whole bagel.

A baked Brie with a cherry chutney, and good bread.

I’d stop for some fresh spring radishes spread with unsalted butter and coarse salt.

Lasagna. No, make that pastitsio. Or both.

I’m not big on sandwiches, but my last day-long meal would have to include a BLT. Good uncured bacon, garden-fresh summer tomatoes, and lettuce.

Chips with fresh salsa, spicy queso, and guacamole. And a Pacifico.

Paté. My mother’s recipe. Or foie gras, medium-rare, served on grilled bread.

Pasta Trapanese. Or maybe Puttanesca. Let me think. With a favorite pinot noir.

There would have to be a full raclette spread, with at least 6 friends.

Fire-grilled octopus. Maybe mixed with other fire-grilled seafood, but lots of octopus. And squid.

Then my husband’s burger, made by him, served on a brioche bun, toasted with butter. With lots of ketchup and mustard. Eaten with my husband.


A glass of Sauternes.

Roasted chicken, just out of the oven, cooked to perfection. I will eat it right out of the roasting pan.

Dim sum. All of it. Except chicken feet.

Last but definitely not least – a cheese platter, with all of my favorites old and new.

I’m not a big dessert eater, but I do love ice cream. I’d eat so much of it that I’d need a blanket to warm myself up!

And there would be lots of port. Or sherry. Or both.

So all of this is unlikely to happen, but maybe the point is, we can enjoy our meals like they are our last meals? Each and every one? Not to the point of gluttony, of course, 😬

The French have it figured out. Aperitif. Long lunches. Fabulous food. Wine. Hors D’oeuvres. Dinner. Often with friends. Definitely with family. Dessert. Dégustation.

A croissant or crème caramel isn’t viewed by the French as calories or with guilt, unlike us Americans. It’s about enjoyment and moderation. My mother, at age 91, still enjoys chocolate every day, and a cookie.

Let’s enjoy our meals. You never know – one will be our last.

Smoked Salmon Scrambled Eggs

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Whenever I’m having breakfast or brunch at a restaurant, I often order scrambled eggs with smoked salmon. There are a few reasons for this. For one, the combination of eggs and smoked salmon to me is heavenly. Secondly, I rarely order omelets because they’re typically overcooked and rubbery, depending on the quality of the restaurant. Thirdly I never order pancakes, waffles, or French toast because they’re just too carby and sugary for me.

This recipe can easily be turned into an omelet with mozzarella added, but when you cook eggs slowly in a buttered skillet, they are soft and creamy and cheese isn’t missed. And that’s a rare thing for me to say!

Make sure to use high-quality smoked salmon (lox) for this dish. Keep the salt to a minimum because the salmon will provide saltiness.

Smoked Salmon Scrambled Eggs
Generously serves 2

6 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter
3-4 ounces smoked salmon, gently chopped
Creme fraiche, optional
Capers, optional

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the cream until smooth.

In a non-stick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Pour in the egg mixture and turn down the heat slightly.

Cook the eggs while scraping them away from the bottom of the skillet using a rubber spatula continually but gently. Turn down the heat further if too much cooking occurs. Timing depends on the size of your skillet.


Take your time with the eggs. Right before the eggs are cooked according to your taste, sprinkle on the chopped salmon and fold into the eggs to heat through. Don’t add the smoked salmon any earlier or it will cook, and ruin the lox texture and flavor.

I only mention this because at home I prefer “wet” curds. These eggs are actually cooked more than I normally like, but I feel that many people would be put off by that!

For a heftier breakfast, have a warm slice of buttered and toasted bread or croissant half on the plate, and immediately top with the cooked eggs.


A little dollop of creme fraiche makes these eggs even more wonderful.

Plus you can sprinkle the eggs with capers, chives or chopped shallots if desired.


Just make sure to serve immediately so the softly cooked eggs don’t dry out or chill.


I love the addition of the toasted croissants, because they soften with the warm eggs, but maintain the buttery crust.

Quatre Quarts Gateau

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My mother, who just turned 91, has a scale that I used to love playing with as a child. I knew it wasn’t a toy, but I just liked weighing random items and gradually adding weights until both plates balanced perfectly. I was always nerdy.

Weighing ingredients makes so much more sense than measuring to me. I’d rather weight 4 ounces of chopped nuts, than use a measuring cup, especially with a critical ingredient.

In any case, the reason I mention this ancient scale (sorry Mom!) is because this cake recipe is based on one weight alone – the weight of eggs. There are four ingredients in this cake – eggs, butter, sugar, and flour, and the weight is the same for all four ingredients. The recipe is called Quatre Quarts, meaning four quarters.

These days, digital scales make weighing ingredients a breeze. So I’m making this cake using my small kitchen scale, just like in the “old” days! It brought back wonderful memories of my mother making the cake over the years.

Quatre Quarts Gateau

4 eggs
Unsalted Butter
Sugar
Flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 F.   Butter and flour a deep 8 inch loaf pan. 

Weigh the eggs in a small bowl after you’ve removed the weight of the bowl. My eggs weighed 192 grams, or about 6.7 ounces.


Then weigh out the 192 grams of butter, sugar and flour.

Melt the butter in a sauce pan or microwave (carefully).   When it begins to melt, remove it from the heat and let it cool. 

Using an electric hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar for 5 minutes in a medium mixing bowl.

Add the flour and mix just until it’s incorporated. I also added some vanilla powder.

Then add the cooled butter. Using a rubber spatula, make sure the batter is smooth.

Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven to 300 degrees F and the timer to 45 minutes.

Turn off the oven completely and set a timer for 10 minutes.

The cake should be cooked through the middle; I always use a cake tester to make sure. But if you see a puddle of soft cake in the middle, don’t even bother opening your oven to test the cake. It needs more time.

There should be some slight browning around the edges, but not much. Remove the cake from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Then remove the cake from the loaf pan and let it cool on a rack.

You can tell the cake texture is much like a pound cake. If you prefer a lighter texture, separate the eggs and after the egg yolks have been well blended with the sugar and butter and after the flour is combined, fold in beaten egg whites.

Note: There are other options for flavoring other than vanilla extract or powder or even scraped vanilla beans. You can use an extract like sweet orange oil or lemon zest. But I wouldn’t add a liqueur or anything volume of something liquid that will offset the ratio of the ingredients.

This cake is very delicate in flavor. I’ve never toasted it but I bet that would be good, with some added butter of course.

It’s perfect for an afternoon tea-time snack, a morning treat with coffee, or even an sweet evening nibble with a glass of sherry.

Spicy Scrambled Eggs

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In spite of owning Plenty, a wonderful Yotam Ottolenghi cookbook, I just had to purchase Plenty More, published in 2014. And I’m certainly glad I did.

For the blog, I’ve made zucchini Baba Ghanoush, and I’m especially intrigued by a membrillo and Stilton quiche, made with butternut squash, so that will be next.

But one recipe I bookmarked on the first read-through is Spicy Scrambled Eggs. Nothing exceptional except, well, it is. There are spices, herbs, eggs, tomatoes, a chile pepper and did I mention spices?!!


From Ottolenghi: Many of my brunch dishes were devised BC (before children), so food-meets-the-need-to-soothe was often in mind when cooking on a Sunday morning. A few dishes have remained part of the weekend breakfast repertoire since we started turning in early on a Saturday night. This is one of them.

Spicy Scrambled Eggs
Serves 4

2 tablespoons sunflower oil
3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 small onion, finely diced
1 1/4″ piece fresh ginger, peeled, finely chopped
1 medium red chile, seeded, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon tomato paste
4 medium tomatoes, peeled, cut into 3/4″ dice
8 eggs, beaten
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2/3 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Urfa chile flakes

Put a large, preferably nonstick sauté pan over medium heat and add the oil, cumin, caraway, onion, ginger, and chile. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft.


Add the ground spices, tomato paste, and 3/4 teaspoon salt and for and stir for 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and cook for a further 8 to 10 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated.


Add the eggs, turn down the heat to medium-low, and continuously, but very gently, scrape the base of the pan with a wooden spatula.

You want to end up with large, curd-like folds and you want the eggs to be soft and very moist.

Cook the mixture for a total of about 3 minutes.

Sprinkle with the green onions, cilantro, and chile flakes.

Serve at once.


Enjoy!

Croissants Breakfast Boats

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I happen to love Instagram, and I follow Cheesy, which probably isn’t surprising to those who know me well. Cheesy posts just that – photos of cheesiness!

And, one day I saw these – hollowed out croissants, baked with eggs, cheese, and bacon! At least I’m assuming that’s how they were prepared. I searched online and saw many similar recipes, but never found this photo.

Aren’t these boats beautiful? During the holidays, I typically have croissants on hand and save them for various purposes. To use as is, obviously, or for baked French toast or bread pudding. The Williams-Sonoma croissants are really nice to have on hand; you can bake one or a dozen at a time.

So here’s my version of croissants breakfast boats, and if anyone knows to whom to give credit for the photo of his/her boats, I’d appreciate it!

Croissants Breakfast Boats

4 baked croissants
1 small purple onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt
Pepper
6 eggs at room temperature
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Prepared diced bacon
A few green onions, sliced
Feta cheese, crumbled
Slices of black olives (optional)
Slices of sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
Coarsely ground black pepper (optional)
Cayenne pepper flakes (optional)

Turn each croissant on its side and slice a “hat” off of the top. Discard the hats, then using your fingers, pick out the dough until you have a nice boat. Try not to make any holes!


Place the prepped croissants on a jelly roll pan and preheat the oven to a roast setting.

Place the onion and red bell pepper on another jelly roll pan, drizzle with oil, and generously add salt and pepper.

Roast the veggies in the oven until caramelized, about 15 minutes. Remove the veggies from the oven and let them cool. Change the oven temperature to 350 degrees.


Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and cream with the salt and white pepper.

When you’re ready to bake the croissants boats, stir about 3/4 of the roasted veggies into the eggs and stir. Have all of the goodies prepped and ready.

Gently, using a ladle, pour the mixture into the croissants. The only reason I spilled was that I was pouring with my left hand so I could take a photo with my right!


Place in the oven and bake just until the eggs are firm, about 18 minutes; you don’t want rubbery eggs.

To serve, sprinkle with bacon, feta cheese, and chopped green onion, plus the leftover veggie mixture. Optionally, include the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, black pepper and cayenne pepper flakes. Or, keep them plain and offer the goodies on the side.

Instead of bacon you could use good ham or Prosciutto or sausage.

The options are endless for these breakfast boats!

The best part was finding out that I could pick up the breakfast boats and eat them like a sandwich!

But the prettiest these are is when you can see the beautiful yellow egg filling, so next time I might stir more of the goodies into the whisked eggs, and not worry about “toppings.”


And there will be a next time!

Pipérade

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My mother could cook just about anything. I never realized she was so talented until I was older, of course. And it wasn’t always about what she learned from cookbooks, there were also the recipes she just knew instinctively. It’s sort of like why French women are all talented cooks. Why is that?!!

For example, I remember once as a kid asking my mother if she’d make me peach dumplings. She made them, no recipe, and they were incredible. I’d have to look up a recipe for peach dumplings, and I’ve been cooking for 40+ years.

Thirty-five years ago my husband and I took my mother out to a French restaurant when she was visiting us in Houston, Texas. It didn’t go so well, mostly because of the flying cockroach. She ordered Oeufs à la Neige for dessert and disliked it. “I’ll make it for you and you’ll see what it’s supposed to taste like.”

The next day at our house, she made Oeufs à la Neige without a recipe, and it was better than the restaurant’s. When I made it for this blog, I used a recipe.

The other day I was thinking about breakfasts growing up. Let me just say that there was no cold cereal at my house. Maybe when I was 11 I discovered my friends ate Cocoa Krispies and Cocoa Puffs at their houses, and I was a bit jealous. But I also knew that my breakfasts were wonderful. Even a humble bowl of oatmeal was served with butter and cream.

My mother was a whiz at eggs. She had chickens, so we had beautiful eggs – blue, green, beige, and white eggs. Even duck eggs.

Occasionally my mother would make an omelet-like pipérade. I grew up never knowing it was a real recipe, but it is, originating from the Basque corner of France (thanks, Google.) Mom was from the Northeastern corner of France, so she must have discovered this recipe in a cookbook along the way.

What makes this egg dish somewhat different from your basic omelet choices are the vegetables and ham, and no cheese. Here I will try to duplicate her recipe.

Piperade

6 eggs, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
2 ounces butter
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
3 shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 ripe Roma-style tomatoes, chopped, seeded, or equivalent
1/2 teaspoon piment d’Espelette
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 ounces Prosciutto, chiffonaded
Chopped parsley
Chopped basil

Beat the eggs and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

Heat the butter in a medium pan over medium heat. Add the green pepper and sauté for about 5 minutes. It should be soft and not browned.

Stir in the shallots and garlic, and sauté for 2 minutes, preventing any browning.

Add the tomatoes, adjust the heat if necessary, and cook off any liquid in the pan.

Add the piment and stir into the tomato mixture. Set the pan aside.

In a separate skillet, I used my cast-iron skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat, and when hot, gently “sear” the ham. Remove from the skillet onto paper towels.

Reheat the same skillet over medium-low heat; you shouldn’t have to add more oil. Add the eggs, and gently move the eggs around and away from the sides with a spatula as if you’re making scrambled eggs.

Remove from the heat when the eggs are still soft, and spread the tomato mixture over the top. Then add the ham, parsley, and basil.

It was really tempting to not also serve crème fraiche with the pipérade.

But I added more piment and black pepper.

In reality there’s nothing exceptional about these eggs, but the dish is fabulous for breakfast, lunch, or brunch.

Just look at these soft eggs and all of the lovely vegetables and herbs.

White Sauce

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A white sauce is just that – a sauce that’s white. It’s white because it’s made with milk, 1/2 & 1/2, or cream.

It was years before I dared make a white sauce; I assumed it was difficult for some reason. I remember calling up my mother and asking her how to make one, but she didn’t have an immediate answer, because cooking came so naturally to her. She simply added a little of this, and a little of that while cooking, and only followed recipes when making something completely new.

But she made a white sauce, just for me, and sent me the recipe. Trust me, after making a white sauce one time, you’ll never need a recipe again.

White Sauce, or Bechamel

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups of 1/2 & 1/2, or cream
(this recipe can be doubled)

Have all of your ingredients ready; the sauce will not take long. All you need is a pot and whisk.

I like to use Wondra instead of regular white flour for sauces and gravies.

Place the butter in the pot and heat over medium heat. Add the flour and immediately whisk it into the butter until smooth. This is called a roux. Some people make a roux that is almost like a paste, but I prefer mine slightly thinner.

Let the mixture bubble and cook for about 30 seconds, whisking often. The cooking supposedly keeps the sauce from having a “floury” taste, but I’ve never tested this theory.

With the whisk in one hand, pour in the milk with the other and begin gently whisking. Don’t add the milk gradually; pour it all in.

If the milk/cream is warm, the sauce will form sooner, but cold milk/cream works just as well.

Hold the pot now with one hand and gently whisk; you will notice the mixture thickening. You can even remove the pot from the stove if you think the sauce is cooking too fast.

A few bubbles might form, but don’t let the sauce boil. It’s better to take a little more time to whisk the sauce than allow it to burn and stick to the pot.

Once the sauce has thickened, remove the pot from the stove. You have just made a white sauce.

Now for the fun part. Think of what you can add to your white sauce to make it, well, different! What about adding fresh herbs, or pesto, or tomato paste, or paprika cream, or curry powder!

Today I’m being indulgent and treating myself to a breakfast of goddesses – poached eggs with a white sauce.


A white sauce will work with any milk substitute as well, from soymilk to coconut milk, to hemp milk, to goat milk. However, the color of the sauce will change with the milk color.

It will turn into a cheesy white sauce if you add cheddar, fontina, or Parmesan to it. Any cheese works.

Besides salt and pepper, you can also add white pepper, dried herbs, nutmeg, cayenne, or just about anything you like.

Lastly, a browned butter white sauce is really flavorful, but keep in mind that the white sauce color will be brownish.

For a more scientific approach to making a white sauce, here is a link to Stefan’s white sauce on his blog, Stefan Gourmet.