Poached Eggs

A first for me: making poached eggs!

I'm somewhat of an egg fiend - I've gotta have them for breakfast on a day off or it just doesn't feel right. And I will happily eat breakfast for dinner frequently. Fried or scrambled are no problem; I can do hard-boiled too. But I've never attempted poached; it just seemed too tricky (especially to attempt soon after waking up). I really like poached eggs though - I'll frequently order Eggs Benedict when I see it on a menu so I can have them.

Last week when we were visiting our friend Susan, she made poached eggs for us one morning, so I got to see the process in action. It didn't look too intimidating, so I was inspired to give it a try.

I used a huge nonstick saucepan, 'cause I was afraid of the eggs sticking to the bottom. Brought water to a boil in it and then lowered the heat so it was barely bubbling. I added a splash of vinegar to the water, though Susan said she doesn't bother. Cracked an egg in a custard cup, created a whirlpool with a spoon and slipped the egg in. The first one looked OK, so I put a second one in. That one blobbed into the first--uh oh. Then I tried to separate them and they started to look really messy. I was hesitant to add any more to the pan, but there was some more space--so I went for two more. Those seemed to stay in their own space.

While cooking, they really look like a mess in the pan, so I wasn't sure how they would turn out. A couple of them were resting on the bottom of the pan too, but especially with the nonstick I was able to nudge them off. Cooking time's supposed to be 3-4 minutes--these were jumbo eggs, so I did them for about 5. When I spooned each out of the water with a slotted spoon and drained them over a paper towel, they looked pretty decent. So, onto the toast!

Success! Topped with our fancy pink Himalayan salt & Penzey's Black & Red. I guess the lesson is, don't worry about how they look in the water...they'll probably turn out fine!

I'll probably still continue to do fried eggs more often (it's definitely easier), but I can see a future of more poached egg dishes. Thanks for the inspiration, Susan!

Chicken Soup

I picked up a cold a few days ago, on the last leg of tour. It wasn't too terrible, and then I thought I was getting better. Last night, I suddenly developed Lauren Bacall Voice, and have been on the edge of losing it with a nasty cough. So, time for some chicken soup!

I made my own stock (below), and rather than make an enormous pot of soup that would probably get mushy and bleah in a couple of days, I put aside most of the stock and boiled some thinly sliced carrot & celery in the remainder. I'd been thinking about tortellini, but Safeway had these fancy chicken & prosciutto stuffed pasta things, so I threw in a handful of those, with some of the cooked chicken and a pinch of dried dill. Salt to taste, a dash of lemon juice & hot sauce to clear the sinuses. This was good stuff...and now I've got a bunch of leftover shredded chicken and homemade stock.

For the stock, I threw a bunch of stuff into a big pot:

Three chicken leg quarters, 2 stalks of celery, 2 carrots, an onion (quartered but not peeled), some garlic cloves (smashed, not peeled), a bay leaf or two and some peppercorns. Boiled this for about an hour, then removed the chicken and let it cool in the fridge for a bit before skinning & shredding. Added the bones back to the stock and simmered a little while longer, then strained.

It's a bit labor intensive, but...not doing anything else today!

Tandoori Chicken; Palak Paneer

I don't tend to make Indian food very often, as I don't think I'm very good at it. But I recently got some Tandoori seasoning in a Penzey's spice order, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. None of these dishes are particularly "authentic," but they were pretty tasty. At least evidenced by rob eating 2 plates of it.

For the chicken, I basically just followed the recipe on the spice container: made a marinade of 1 cup plain yogurt (Greek-style), 1 Tbl of the Tandoori seasoning, and the juice of half a lime.

I had a package of 6 chicken legs. Most tandoori recipes I looked at said to skin the chicken before marinating, but...after wrassling with the first drumstick and getting covered in raw chicken goo, I decided to forget that. Besides, chicken skin is tasty. Seasoned the chicken with salt, then stuck it in a plastic bag with the marinade, squooshed it up and put it in the fridge for about 4 hours. Then wiped off the excess marinade, put the drumsticks on a wire rack over a sheet pan, drizzled with a little bit of olive oil, ground some black pepper over, and baked at 400 for about 45 minutes. I flipped the pieces halfway through and then broiled the skin side at the end for just a bit.

 I looked at a bunch of recipes for Palak Paneer (or Saag Paneer; not really sure what the difference is). As usual, conglomerated them into my own creation. Though it seems like paneer isn't really too hard to make yourself, I'd read that Queso Fresco is a good substitute, and that was readily available at my local Safeway.

I started by cutting the Queso Fresco into cubes and browning it in a pan with a little butter and oil. Except...it started to melt pretty quickly, so I really didn't brown it. Not sure if the Queso is more melty, but it definitely did not turn a beautiful golden brown like the pics in most of the recipes. In any case, I removed it to a plate. Rest of the recipe went something like:

• Finely chop one onion, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 jalapeno (with seeds) and a 1-inch piece of ginger (I grated that on a microplane).
• Saute these in a little veg. oil & butter until softened.
• Add about 1 tsp each garam masala, cumin & coriander, plus a little salt. Cook about 1 minute.
• Add a large bag of frozen chopped spinach, thawed. Cook a few minutes.
• Reduce heat and add 1 cup plain Greek yogurt. I also added about 1/2 cup of water as it looked pretty thick. Most recipes tell you to puree the spinach in a food processor at this point, but I didn't bother. I think I added a good bit more salt and some more garam masala at this point.
• Add in the paneer cubes and simmer for a few minutes. I added some chopped cilantro at the end.

 
This made a ton!! Despite it looking like...a pile of green goo (which I think is the point), it was pretty good. Not necessarily Indian-restaurant-good, but...OK for a white girl.

Instead of rice, I served this with Trader Joe's "Teeny Tiny Potatoes" (which we call Screaming Potatoes, because when you take them out of the oven they emit a subtle high-pitched scream...seriously!). I tossed them with olive oil, salt and some more of the Tandoori seasoning. Should have used more of that as they weren't particularly spicy. Put these in the oven with the chicken at about the 20 minute mark.

Now I gotta get through leftovers of this as well as the pasta e fagioli...poor me!

Pasta e Fagioli

Pasta & bean soup...Marcella Hazan's recipe.

 

I didn't use any meat, and used more vegetables ( "2 Tablespoons of onion" is just madness), plus some chopped garlic.

The leftovers have absorbed pretty much all the broth, so now I don't really have a soup...but it's tasty!

Stovetop Mac & Cheese

Warning: No vegetables were used in the making of this dish.

But it's so good!

Based on a recipe in "Joy of Cooking," this is an ultra-gooey mac & cheese. If you fear the white sauce method, this is a great alternative. You still have to be careful cooking it so it doesn't curdle, but ultimately I think it's easier - and only takes one pot. If you want to use lower-fat dairy products, I think they're more successful here too. You can easily use less cheese & butter. I've used non-fat evaporated milk and it tastes fine. And it's got eggs, for a little protein! I used Ditalini pasta here this time, but I think I prefer it with larger kinds of pasta.

Stovetop Mac & Cheese

-1/2 box pasta of your choice; about 2 cups dry
-2 eggs
-1 12 oz. can evaporated milk (nonfat or 2% works fine)
-1/2 tsp dry mustard
-1/2 tsp (or to taste) salt
-dash garlic powder
-dash cayenne powder
-freshly ground black pepper
-8 oz grated extra-sharp cheddar (original recipe calls for 3 cups/12 oz, but I find an 8 oz block plenty cheesy; you could even use less)
-2-4 Tbl. butter

Boil pasta in salted water. While pasta cooks, beat eggs in a large bowl. Add evaporated milk & spices, mix well. Add grated cheese (I sometimes hold some back and add it in at the end).

When pasta is cooked, drain & return to pot over medium-low heat. Add butter and stir until melted. Add milk mixture. Stir occasionally until it starts to thicken (about 10 minutes). Make sure the heat isn't too high or it might curdle. When it starts to thicken, stir more frequently. Remove from heat when it still looks a little soupy; it will continue to thicken as it sits.

It definitely loses its gooey factor as it sits, so best to eat immediately. Although it's not bad reheated too.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Acorn Squash & Potatoes

So, no surprise...since the CSA ended almost 2 months ago, my vegetable consumption has reduced drastically. It's been a really busy time too (with a lot of meals out), so I also can't imagine that I would have time to deal with the amount of raw produce we had been getting. But I definitely miss it, and felt the need to eat some vegetables at home tonight.

Roasting in the oven is by far the easiest and one of the tastiest ways to cook any vegetable. You really can't go wrong with just tossing something in oil & seasoning, throwing it on a baking sheet and cooking it for about 20 minutes or less. I did three tonight:

I just can't say enough good things about roasted brussels sprouts (can you tell from the last few posts?). They are so freaking delicious. These are just done with olive oil, salt & pepper and tossed with a little feta cheese when done. The acorn squash  is sliced and topped with a mixture of melted butter, brown sugar, honey, salt & pepper before going in the oven. I almost wished it was a little more "glazed," but it was good. The Yukon Gold potatoes are cubed & tossed with olive oil, salt & pepper and smoked paprika.

They all went in the oven at the same time at 400 (three different baking sheets to leave plenty of room for browning & crispiness). The potatoes took the longest at about 20 minutes.

Filet Mignon w/Mushroom Sauce, Chive-Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Christmas dinner for two...seriously good! Maybe one of the best meals ever.

I splurged at Whole Foods and got filet mignon. Too bad this is pricey enough not to enjoy often...though I'm sure it would be good with non-fancy steak too. This is sort of an amalgamation of a bunch of steak-and-mushroom-sauce recipes I looked at online.

Filet Mignon with Mushroom Sauce

-2 pieces filet mignon / beef tenderloin / whatever (let stand at room temp for about 1 hr)
-1 lb-ish mushrooms (I used a package of "gourmet blend" shiitake, chanterelle & oyster mushrooms, plus some creminis)
-1 large shallot, thinly sliced
-butter & olive oil
-1/2 cup red wine (I used Cabernet Sauvignon)
-1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
-pinch dried thyme
-dash Worcestershire sauce
-1/4 cup (or more) heavy cream

Make the mushroom sauce: saute the shallot in about 1 Tbl each butter & olive oil. Add mushrooms & saute over medium-high heat til well-browned. Season with salt & pepper. Add wine & boil until most of the liquid is gone. Add chicken broth & simmer til slightly reduced. Add thyme & worcestershire. I added a tiny bit of flour to thicken (though I didn't really want this to be gravy-like). Can be made ahead to this point.

To cook the beef, preheat oven to 350 and heat an iron skillet over medium-high heat. Season filets well with salt & pepper. Add some olive oil to skillet and sear filets for 4-5 minutes on each side. Finish cooking in the oven to desired doneness - for me it was about 8-10 minutes for medium rare. Depending on how thick the filets are, you may not need to do the oven step. Don't overcook!! Meanwhile, add cream to sauce and bring to a simmer. Serve sauce over beef.

Chive-Garlic Mashed Potatoes

-6-8 medium-sized Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled & quartered
-5-6 garlic cloves, peeled
-1/2 cup heavy cream + milk
-bit o' butter
-handful of chives, chopped

Cover potatoes and garlic cloves with cold water and boil until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, return to hot pot and let dry out for a few seconds. Mash & add heavy cream, butter and milk to desired consistency. Season with salt & pepper and add chives.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Trim Brussels sprouts, remove any icky leaves and cut in half. Toss with 2 Tbl olive oil & plenty of salt & pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast at 400 for about 20 minutes, until browned & tender. So good!! These are a simpler version of what I made for Thanksgiving. Even Brussels sprout haters should like these!

You will probably have leftovers of everything but the beef...not a bad thing!