eggs

Migas

Let’s get to it. Have you bought the cookbook, It’s All Easy by Gwyneth Paltrow yet? I don’t know what more I could do to promote this book. I have loved everything about it- including my most recent re-creation, Migas. It looks like there are a few variations of the dish, translated as “crumbs” depending on where you go, Spain, Portugal or Mexico. These are more Mexican style, using tortillas and eggs to make an awesome “breakfast nacho” dish. (Although the first time I made them, they were eaten for dinner and did not disappoint. They were “migas with amigos” -thank you Chad.) What is the rule on copywriting? I probably can’t just share the recipe without permission? So let me just show you what I did. I’ve added a little twist with my chunky guacamole salsa. Is that a spin enough to call it my own? (So many questions!) And I should note, that from here on out all corn tortillas should be fried with diced onion. It should be a law. Drop the mic.

As organic as possible, naturally.

In a non-stick frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add the tortilla wedges and onion. Cook until onions start to soften and tortilla starts to crisp.

Crack the eggs right over the tortillas and onions. Love.

Season with salt and pepper, and give the whole thing a messy stir. When eggs are almost cooked through add the cheese and give a stir.

Transfer to a plate and top with the guacamole, salsa, jalapeño and cilantro.

Juan’s Flan

My husband happens to be my biggest supporter. You may have noticed his regular comments on Sadie’s Nest as Owen. He also promotes my blog amongst his colleagues. How nice is it that they positively respond with kind words and even recipes! I am truly flattered, and at the same time extremely frightened! I don’t want to disappoint you Juan!! My flan did not turn out pretty…  I am secretly referring to it as Frankenflan. Just keeping it real: a day in the life of an experimental home cook. But that’s what it’s about, trying new things! Thank you so much for sharing a family recipe with me, “a traditional Mexican dessert that originated in Spain.” In spite of its (my flan’s) appearance, it was amazingly delicious!

For the syrup:

  • 1 cup sugar

First you have to make the syrup, which is made by melting the sugar in a pan until it turns into a mustard-like color. Then you spread it over the mold carefully because it gets really hot. (And in Sadie’s experience it cools and hardens quickly- so work fast!)

For the custard:

  • 1 can evaporated milk
  • 1 can condensed milk
  • 6 whole eggs
  • 1 – 8 oz. bar Cream cheese

 

Mix all of the ingredients in a blender. After mixing, pour the liquid contents in the mold that already has the syrup. (Because I don’t own a cool flan mold, I used a traditional glass pie dish.)

In a preheated oven at 350 degrees, you place the mold inside another larger mold (or as Sadie did, place the pie dish in a larger rectangular baking dish)  and pour room temperature water at the same height as the flan mixture in the mold. Bake for 45 min. 

*Please note: Perhaps because Sadie doesn’t have a traditional flan mold or one to place it in for its water bath, I needed to add another 10-15 minutes of carefully watched time until my flan was set.

Let it cool, then remove it from the mold, and place in a refrigerator for a couple of hours. Serve and cheers to Juan! 😉

Not a Soufflé Kind of Girl

It’s kind of a culinary feat to master the soufflé, right? So, it’s important to me to say I’ve made a soufflé- successfully. (According to my own irrelevant technical standards.) Because I set these random unnecessary goals for myself. And boom. I can check that off of the list.

Here’s the thing; I’m not really against any specific food. That said, I’m not really into soufflé. Unless it’s chocolate. But that’s kind of in a different category- of chocolate. If I’m going to take the time to separate my eggs and beat the whites until they’re stiff peaked, I want them to show up like meringue. And if I’m going to bake my eggs in the oven, I want it to, well quite frankly, to taste like quiche, cheesy with onion and bacon or ham.

I appreciate the light and airy texture thing. I get the satisfaction of a puffy rise. But you’ve got like only a couple minutes of the wow factor (so I hope you’ve timed it right and your guests are punctual). Then you’re left with light and airy eggs to serve. And you’re going to wish you had beaten those egg whites into a creamy mousse. At least that’s how I think about it. Because that’s an accomplishment I can endorse.

IMG_3970

So long puffy top…

However, I also like the idea of adding bold flavors to some subtle dishes, so if you would like the recipe for the Barefoot Contessa’s Blue Cheese Soufflé, as shown, there you go!

Classic Deviled Eggs

This dish has been around as long as anyone can remember. It’s such a classic appetizer for almost every holiday, cocktail party, and potluck dinner that it’s imperative every cook has at least one recipe. This is actually my mother’s recipe. It tastes the classic, but has her own updated spin. (Spoiler alert: honey mustard!) However, if you’re feeling more adventurous, crazy kids everywhere are adding spices like chipotle or curry, and topping them with the likes of pulled pork and smoked trout… Food is fun.

12 eggs

1/2 cup Miracle Whip

2 Tbsp Mayonnaise

1 Tbsp Honey mustard

2 tsp Horseradish sauce

1/2 tsp Season salt

1/8 tsp ground Pepper

Paprika for topping (optional)

Parsley for topping (optional)

Place eggs in a sauce pan and fill with enough water to cover eggs by an inch. Bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Gently drain and replace with cold tap water (more than once if necessary) until eggs are cool enough to handle. Peel, rinse and pat eggs dry with a paper towel. If time permits, seal eggs in an air tight ziplock baggy and refrigerate until cold, overnight if possible.

Slice the eggs in half, lengthwise. Gently remove the yolks with a small spoon and place in bowl, setting whites aside for now. Mash egg yolks with a fork until crumbly. Add Miracle Whip, mayonnaise, honey mustard, horseradish sauce, season salt, and ground pepper. Mix until creamy. If it seems to dry add more of the condiments you like a teaspoon at a time. (If it’s too wet boil some more eggs. Ha ha ha.)

With a small spoon carefully fill the egg whites with yolk mixture, garnish with optional toppings and place on serving dish. Eggs can be refrigerated until serving (within 24 hours). They can be stored after the party for several days, but they might not look as pretty.

Other optional toppings include chives, sliced olives, pimentos and bacon bits.

Pannu Kakku

I remember the first time I ate this growing up. The name sounded so exotic. My mother had learned the Finnish oven baked pancake recipe from a close family friend. The dish was served warm and topped with syrup. It was sweet and comforting. And although all of the ingredients were familiar to me, the almost soufflé like appearance and custard like texture turned this into something completely different and very special. The ratio of milk to eggs and sugar varies based on personal preference, this is how we like it the most.

As organic as possible:

1 stick Butter

1 cup Flour

4 Eggs

1 cup Milk

1/2 cup Sugar

1 Tbsp Vanilla

Preheat the oven to 400°. Melt the butter in a 13 x 9 inch pan until bubbly and starting to brown. In the mean time, add eggs, milk, vanilla and sugar to flour. Mix until all is incorporated. When butter is ready remove pan from oven and turn down to 375°. Carefully swirl the butter around the pan to cover bottom and sides. Pour batter into the pan and bake 25-30 minutes, until center is set (not runny). Serve warm with syrup or fruit.

The Richmond Avenue’s Cottage Cheese Oatmeal Pancakes

At first glance these pancakes looked like something I had to try. I know what most people were thinking, “these sound weird,” because Jasmine wrote that they did. But not me, I was thinking these sound unique, I love cottage cheese and look at that picture! I want to eat that! Of course that’s what I think about most of the food from The Richmond Avenue, which is why I selected this recipe for my WordPress Cooking Challenge!

When I started to collect the ingredients I would need to make these pancakes, my first thought was I need to get a new food processor with a larger capacity. Which actually has no connection with this recipe because the instructions clearly state to combine the ingredients in a blender, which I did. However, that was my first thought none-the-less.

It was when I began to pour the ingredients into the blender, I actually started to question “how is this going to work?” I understand that the oats were taking place of the flour (of which there is none) and I think it’s pretty cool that this is a gluten-free recipe. But there was no oil or melted butter, the only fat was in the cottage cheese. The baking powder and vanilla were normal for me (because I make pancakes on a weekly basis), but when I went to throw in a pinch of salt I had to stop myself… no salt in this recipe either! I figured the cottage cheese is probably salty enough and I started feeling healthier by the second. I have to confess- that I used three whole eggs as opposed to 6 egg whites. It was a calculated decision based on four things: firstly, I know from experience that it will add the same amount of moisture: secondly, the recipe did not call for me to whip the egg whites and gently fold them in, so although it may have been lighter I really didn’t feel I was messing with airy-ness: thirdly, I’m not worried about the amount of cholesterol I am eating, although I respect that as a healthy option: and lastly, I love my organic eggs, I don’t have any recipes in the line-up that call for yolks, and I didn’t want to waste them. But honestly all of this inner turmoil isn’t worth it! I did add the optional tablespoon of sugar- because that’s the kind of girl I am.

As I was heating up the griddle and watching my butter foam in readiness for the batter I actually got excited to see how this was going to turn out! And as I watched for the bubbles to cue me that it was time to flip the pancakes, I was happy to see the beautiful golden color that occurred on the first side! So far so good! As I moved my first round of pancakes to a side plate I had to pinch a piece off of one to see how this was going to taste. It was sweet, salty, and just like a pancake, except healthier and full of protein! It’s a delicious recipe and it even got more fun with all of the fresh fruit toppings!

For the original recipe and picture check out The Richmond Avenue

1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup oats
3 Tbsp almond or skim milk
6 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar (optional)
Strawberries for topping (optional)
Blueberries for topping (optional)
Maple syrup for topping (“optional, but not really” – love that BTW!)

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and let it do its thing! Scoop 1/4 cup of the batter at a time on the prepared griddle (with butter or baking spray). Flip when you see the bubbles… Serve warm!
Enjoy! I know I sure did!