Entries from The Amateur Gourmet tagged with 'eggs'
Steam-Scrambled Eggs
Those of you with cappuccino makers, may I have your attention? I have a weekend project for you. When you make your scrambled eggs this weekend, instead of melting butter in a pan, beating the eggs with a fork, plopping them into the foamy fat and stirring them round and round, why not find inspiration in the picture above? Those eggs, you see, are the work of renowned New York chef Jody Williams. I ate them last Sunday with my friend Jimmy at her lovely little restaurant, Gottino, and they were so cloud-like and delicious I thought they might float right off the plate. But the best part was how they were made......
Eggs Adam Roberts
Immortality is not something food bloggers can look forward to. Even though the internet feels permanent, who knows where we'll be in ten or twenty years? These posts that you love and cherish so much might vanish into the ether and then what? What will food bloggers have to show for themselves? Nothing, I tell you, nothing! That is, unless we start naming recipes after ourselves. Which is why I bring you a recipe that should hit restaurant menus as soon as I click "post": behold, Eggs Adam Roberts....
Deviled Eggs
There are certain dishes that I don't like until I make them myself. For example, this may come as a shock to you, but I used to hate--and I mean hate--macaroni and cheese. I know! But I grew up in a non-cheese household (longtime readers know that my dad hates cheese) so whenever I'd go to someone's house and there'd be mac and cheese for dinner, I'd have to make up an excuse not to eat it ("I'm allergic," I'd say.) But then, once I got into cooking, I made a few mac and cheeses (here's one here) and once I understood the basic components of the dish--the bechamel, the way the cheese melts into the sauce, the way it all bakes in the oven--I could stomach other people's mac and cheese because I understood what it was and how it was made. Now, after last night's effort, I feel the same way about deviled eggs....
Weekend Breakfasts
Weekends are for making breakfast. I used to think weekends were for going to brunch, and we still do go out to brunch every now and then, but I've started to embrace the simplicity, comfort and relative cheapness of making those same dishes at home. Take the dish you see above: that's called a dutch baby; a big, puffy, baked pancake. I got the recipe from The Joy of Cooking, but Molly has a pretty gorgeous looking one on her site too (click here.) Whichever recipe you choose, it couldn't be simpler: you mix melted butter, eggs, flour and milk (or in Molly's case, half-and-half), pour that into a skillet and bake in the oven. I'd recently purchased a cast iron skillet, and there was something especially satisfying about making a dutch baby in a cast iron. How much would this be if you had this at a restaurant? I'm guessing, at least, $12. At home, assuming you already have milk, eggs and flour in your fridge, it's free....
Uneasy About The Egg
I am so grateful for today's New York Times story by Catherine Price: Sorting Through the Claims of the Boastful Egg. Nowhere am I more overwhelmed, more confused, more baffled by food shopping than when I am buying eggs at the Key Food across the street. Differentiating what's ethical from what's merely claiming to be ethical is a Herculean task; and, as the article tells you, very little is to be believed on an egg box. If it says "Cage Free," if it says "Organic" but doesn't have the National Organic Program emblem (a circular seal with 'U.S.D.A.'') your carton is not to be believed. With this in mind, let's look at the two egg cartons in my refrigerator to see how they fare......
Spaghetti Carbonara For Beginners
I frequently have to remind myself that there was a time when any exotic-sounding, technique-heavy recipe would fill me with terror. Cook the pasta until al dente? How will I know when it's al dente? Toast the garlic until golden brown? What's golden brown? How's that different from brown brown? And by facing my fears head on, tackling recipe after recipe, the fear is gone and now I love to cook. But I remind myself of my old fears because I imagine there are many among you who experience similar fears: "Me? Make spaghetti carbonara? Oh no, I couldn't. Me? Little old me?" But spaghetti carbonara is a good recipe for beginners because the payoff is huge and the techniques required are basic and quickly learnable. Here, let me prove it....
Egg Salad Soliloquy
I, Egg Salad, am superior to your egg salad. Why you ask? For starters, my eggs are always perfectly cooked. They start in cold water and then the heat is raised until it's boiling, then it's taken off the heat, a lid is placed and they sit like that for 15 minutes. I bet your eggs have green rings around them; not mine! Again, I'm superior. Once cooked like that, my eggs are submerged in ice water and then peeled under a running faucet to make it easier for the egg to separate from the shell. Once peeled, my eggs are NOT smashed in a bowl with a fork like your grandmother used to do. No, no, no. My eggs are placed on a cutting board and cut into dainty little cubes. Precious? Perhaps; but darling no doubt! Diced, the eggs dive into a bowl and are adorned with a loving dollop of mayo: not too much or we'll lose our eggy essence. For a kick, some mustard; kosher salt, pepper and here's the real kicker: capers. And celery. And paprika and just a dash of cayenne pepper. Those are my secrets, you unworthy secret hearer. I am Egg Salad, and I am superior to you and all that you represent. I am served on toasted whole wheat bread with salt and vinegar potato chips. I am wonderful, you know it. Kiss my feet. Sincerely, Egg Salad...
A Killer Breakfast
There is no greater triumph for a home cook than to make something spectacular out of food you already have on hand. Case in point: the dish you see above, Chorizo scrambled eggs and fried fingerling potatoes--assembled, with no premeditation, in a matter of minutes. How did I do it? Easy. I took Chorizo that I had leftover from the Arroz Con Pollo I cooked last week and, after peeling off the skin, cut it into cubes. I heated some olive oil, added the cubes, fried them up a bit--poured off some excess fat--and then added 3 eggs slightly beaten. I immediately lowered the heat to barely a whisper of a flame and stirred around until the eggs were hardly cooked. Salt, pepper, all done! As for the potatoes, I took the fingerlings and cut them vertically. Then I coated a skillet with olive oil, turned on high heat, waited a few minutes and carefully placed the poatoes in face down. I left them like that for a long while--10 minutes--and after lifting one to make sure it was a dark beautiful brown, I started tossing them all around and continuing to cook until a knife went through easily. At that point I added lots of salt and pepper and tilted on to a plate. Not the healthiest breakfast in the world, but one that'll put a big smile on your face. And if you're smiling at breakfast, imagine what you'll be doing at dinner. No wonder it's the most important meal of the day....
