I opened the fridge this afternoon to take stock and start thinking about dinner tonight. Whereupon I discovered we had 4 dozen eggs in there, tucked away in the back. This confused me for a bit. I love eggs, and I can be a bit impulsive at the grocery store, but even I don't usually buy that many. Then I remembered - we spent Easter Sunday running around like maniacs trying to save front teeth instead of dying eggs in the backyard. Good times.
The upside was that the discovery inspired an incredibly easy but yummy dinner - ham biscuits, deviled eggs, and salad. Which, incidentally, goes perfectly with a G&T. Who knew.
Showing posts with label eggs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eggs. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
This is How to Make Oatmeal...Right
The New York Times food writer Mark Bittman had an article yesterday on everything McDonald's is doing wrong with its new oatmeal menu item. Now, I love oatmeal. Love it. I eat it almost every single morning. But I never, ever order it for breakfast in a restaurant, no matter where I am. I've yet to see a restaurant oatmeal offering that was anything more than sticky, gummy, flavorless gruel with a side of brown sugar and fruit to disguise the flavor. Gah.
Since I am not a sweets person, I make my oatmeal savory - cooked with a bit of salt and topped with an egg over-easy. I like the oats to still be chewy and retain their shape, not cooked down so much they vaguely resemble the paper mache we used to make the creatures on high school homecoming floats.
THIS is how to make a good bowl of oatmeal (serves 1, increase proportions as needed):
Bring 3/4 cups water to a boil, add 1/4 teaspoon of salt (or slightly less, depending on your preference. You need enough salt to bring out the nutty, oaty flavor of the oats. Too little and the oats just taste like cardboard. Too much and all you'll taste is salt.). As soon as the water is boiling, add 3/4 cups of old-fashioned oats (not quick-cooking oats). 
Turn the heat down to low, and simmer oats until all the water is absorbed, which will only be about 5-7 minutes. Stir once or twice to be sure the oats are cooking evenly and not sticking. While the oats are cooking, gently fry an egg over-easy. Once all the water is absorbed by the oats, top with the egg and enjoy. So delicious!
Turn the heat down to low, and simmer oats until all the water is absorbed, which will only be about 5-7 minutes. Stir once or twice to be sure the oats are cooking evenly and not sticking. While the oats are cooking, gently fry an egg over-easy. Once all the water is absorbed by the oats, top with the egg and enjoy. So delicious!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Recipe Reduction
I've been diligently cleaning out my recipe file, and tried two more new ones over the weekend. The first was a bust - banana/oatmeal waffles. The flavor was fine, very much like banana bread, but they were far too moist and no matter how long I left them on the waffle iron, I couldn't get them nice and crisp on the outside the way we like our waffles. So that recipe got tossed.
(If you were thinking "Oh goody! Soggy waffles! My favorite!" - sorry. Google them and give it a whirl.)
The second recipe is Spinach and Bacon Quiche. I love quiche for dinner, and have been meaning to try this one forever. My verdict: great flavor, but sooooo heavy. I kept thinking if I were going to allocate all those calories, I'd rather just eat a cheeseburger and be done with it. (Or, as DH pointed out, I could have just had a smaller slice.)
Spinach and Bacon Quiche (Recipe from Paula Deen, commentary from yours truly):
6 large eggs, beaten
1.5 cups heavy cream (I couldn't bring myself to do the heavy cream. I did whole milk, which is bad enough, and it was fine. But, so much cream to eggs diluted the egg-y taste of it to me. Next time I make this I would do 8 eggs and 1 cup milk, since I like the egg taste to shine through in a quiche or a frittata)
Salt and Pepper (Paula doesn't tell us how much, but I did 1/2 teaspoon of each, which was plenty)
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 cups chopped fresh baby spinach
1.5 cups shredded Swiss cheese (I used Gruyere cheese, which is similar to Swiss but slightly less tangy and slightly more nutty.)
9-inch pie crust, fitted to a 9-inch pie plate (I was forewarned by Atlanta Mom, who sent me this recipe ages ago, that a 9-inch pie plate isn't big enough for this dish. So I made my own pie crust and rolled it out to fit my 12-inch pie plate, which worked perfectly. Consider yourself also forewarned now).
Preheat oven to 375. Combine eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender (why in a blender? I don't know. I did it, but I think you'd be fine just whisking like you usually do with eggs). Layer the spinach, bacon, and cheese in the bottom of a pie crust, then pour egg mixture on top. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the egg mixture is set (this took my quiche 55 minutes). Put your cardiologist on speed-dial, serve and enjoy.
Happy eating!
(If you were thinking "Oh goody! Soggy waffles! My favorite!" - sorry. Google them and give it a whirl.)
The second recipe is Spinach and Bacon Quiche. I love quiche for dinner, and have been meaning to try this one forever. My verdict: great flavor, but sooooo heavy. I kept thinking if I were going to allocate all those calories, I'd rather just eat a cheeseburger and be done with it. (Or, as DH pointed out, I could have just had a smaller slice.)
Spinach and Bacon Quiche (Recipe from Paula Deen, commentary from yours truly):
6 large eggs, beaten
1.5 cups heavy cream (I couldn't bring myself to do the heavy cream. I did whole milk, which is bad enough, and it was fine. But, so much cream to eggs diluted the egg-y taste of it to me. Next time I make this I would do 8 eggs and 1 cup milk, since I like the egg taste to shine through in a quiche or a frittata)
Salt and Pepper (Paula doesn't tell us how much, but I did 1/2 teaspoon of each, which was plenty)
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 cups chopped fresh baby spinach
1.5 cups shredded Swiss cheese (I used Gruyere cheese, which is similar to Swiss but slightly less tangy and slightly more nutty.)
9-inch pie crust, fitted to a 9-inch pie plate (I was forewarned by Atlanta Mom, who sent me this recipe ages ago, that a 9-inch pie plate isn't big enough for this dish. So I made my own pie crust and rolled it out to fit my 12-inch pie plate, which worked perfectly. Consider yourself also forewarned now).
Preheat oven to 375. Combine eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender (why in a blender? I don't know. I did it, but I think you'd be fine just whisking like you usually do with eggs). Layer the spinach, bacon, and cheese in the bottom of a pie crust, then pour egg mixture on top. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the egg mixture is set (this took my quiche 55 minutes). Put your cardiologist on speed-dial, serve and enjoy.
Happy eating!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Voted Out
I wrote earlier this week that I am determined to clean out my recipe file. I've been sorting through, and am now convinced I need therapy to determine why it's so hard for me to throw out recipes that I am never going to make. This recipe for mushroom-cheddar frittata is a classic example. To me, it looks like a fabulous recipe. I love frittata in general, and this has all my favorite ingredients.
Yet...
It has cooked broccoli, which DH doesn't like, and mushrooms, which the kids don't like. There's a reason it's been sitting in my recipe file for a couple of years. I'm. Never. Going. To. Make. It. Which means it has to go. Boo.
But if I post it here, it's not really like I'm getting rid of it for good. Maybe your family will like it? And if one day DH decides he likes cooked broccoli, and if the kids get over their mushroom aversion, I'll scurry right back here to the blog, find it, and make it right away. All is not lost.
This is from the Everyday Food magazine.
Mushroom-Cheddar Frittata
10 oz mushrooms (the recipe calls for white button mushrooms, but in my fantasy world where I am making this, I would use creminis)
1/2 pound red new potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
8 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon hot-pepper sauce
1 cup shredded white cheddar
10 oz package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and patted dry
Preheat oven to 400. In a 9 inch deep dish pie plate, toss mushrooms, potatoes, olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast 20 minutes, tossing once (mmmm...sounding good already).
In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, milk, mustard, hot-pepper sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Stir in cheese and broccoli.
Pour egg mixture over potatoes and mushrooms, stir. Bake until puffed and set in the middle, 45 to 50 minutes.
If you try it, let me know how it is. (Or if you are my mother, perhaps you could make it and just bring me a slice for lunch??)
Happy eating!
Yet...
It has cooked broccoli, which DH doesn't like, and mushrooms, which the kids don't like. There's a reason it's been sitting in my recipe file for a couple of years. I'm. Never. Going. To. Make. It. Which means it has to go. Boo.
But if I post it here, it's not really like I'm getting rid of it for good. Maybe your family will like it? And if one day DH decides he likes cooked broccoli, and if the kids get over their mushroom aversion, I'll scurry right back here to the blog, find it, and make it right away. All is not lost.
This is from the Everyday Food magazine.
Mushroom-Cheddar Frittata
10 oz mushrooms (the recipe calls for white button mushrooms, but in my fantasy world where I am making this, I would use creminis)
1/2 pound red new potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
8 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon hot-pepper sauce
1 cup shredded white cheddar
10 oz package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and patted dry
Preheat oven to 400. In a 9 inch deep dish pie plate, toss mushrooms, potatoes, olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast 20 minutes, tossing once (mmmm...sounding good already).
In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, milk, mustard, hot-pepper sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Stir in cheese and broccoli.
Pour egg mixture over potatoes and mushrooms, stir. Bake until puffed and set in the middle, 45 to 50 minutes.
If you try it, let me know how it is. (Or if you are my mother, perhaps you could make it and just bring me a slice for lunch??)
Happy eating!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Get your egg on!
An Easter tip: time to buy eggs now for coloring. In our family, we color hardboiled eggs the day before Easter and use those eggs to make deviled eggs for Easter brunch. (The Easter Bunny hides plastic eggs filled with various treats.) I've learned the hard way that older eggs are much, much easier to peel once they've been hardboiled. So buy your eggs for coloring this week, leave them in their original carton and stick them in the back of the fridge. By Easter, they'll be just right.
Fool-proof hardboiled eggs:
Put eggs in pot, cover with cold water. Set on stove, cover, and bring water to a boil. As soon as the water boils, turn the heat off and let the eggs sit for 10 minutes. Rinse with cool water and pat dry. Voila! They are ready to be dipped in vinegar and dye that does NOT come out of your kids' clothes or off their skin, no matter what the package says.
In addition to deviled eggs, our Easter food must-haves are ham biscuits, marinated asparagus, pound cake with strawberries and whipped cream, and of course marshmellow peeps. What are yours?
Fool-proof hardboiled eggs:
Put eggs in pot, cover with cold water. Set on stove, cover, and bring water to a boil. As soon as the water boils, turn the heat off and let the eggs sit for 10 minutes. Rinse with cool water and pat dry. Voila! They are ready to be dipped in vinegar and dye that does NOT come out of your kids' clothes or off their skin, no matter what the package says.
In addition to deviled eggs, our Easter food must-haves are ham biscuits, marinated asparagus, pound cake with strawberries and whipped cream, and of course marshmellow peeps. What are yours?
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