Eggstravaganda

What's your favorite lazy meal? For me, anything egg-based whips up in a few minutes and and is so rich and satisfying.  Plus, eggs are always in my refrigerator.  I love them scrambled, baked, poached and fried. Onions, tomatoes transform an egg. A few of my favorites?  Baked eggs en cocotte - sauté onions with anything else on hand that appeals (kale, spinach, mushrooms etc.)  Line a ramekin with sautéed vegetables, pour in a bit of tomato sauce (here I used some left over tomato soup from the previous recipe) or stewed tomatoes, pour in two cracked eggs, sprinkle yolks with a tablespoon of cream to prevent them from drying out, sprinkle with grated parmesan and fresh herbs plus some sea salt and cracked pepper and bake at 450˚ for 15-20 minutes until eggs are just set.  Add some kick by including red pepper flakes in the sauté or finish with a bit of hot sauce.

Scrambled eggs on toast.  An idea inspired by my food stylist friend, Cynthia, who makes sprouted english muffins topped with raw vegetables (she includes grape tomatoes).  Here I used spinach, honey mustard, a sharp cheddar and topped them with scrambled eggs (fried would be great as well).  Such a great breakfast or light lunch.

Last - a fun idea from a hotel in the Adirondacks I visited some years ago.  Fancy scrambled eggs - perfect for New Year's day.  Loosely scramble eggs, folding in a bit of crème fraîche or cream cheese as they cook.  Off heat, add in some chopped chive.  Spoon into prepared, cleaned egg shells and top with caviar.  This is so pretty and decadent it will turn your eggs into the main event.  How do you sheer off the egg tops?  A trick - try this.  It takes a bit of practice but once mastered, you can use this approach for creating chocolate-filled eggs for easter and all sorts of other crafty ideas.  Use egg cups to serve or balance the eggs in cups filled with salt to hold them in place.  I used vintage aperitif glasses in this image.

What other recipes are your go-to egg favorites?

Tomato soup and a fresh start

Happy new year!  January is upon us yet again, and with it - the inevitable promise to cook more, exercise more and eat more healthfully.  We were home for vacation and I cooked every day.  I splurged on some great cookbooks that I've used mainly as inspiration thus far (like this and this but can't wait to dive into in earnest.  I'm re-committing to yoga - and trying to rope my husband in as well.  I even managed to get our little one to family yoga which was terribly cute.

I re-stocked the pantry with fresh spices plus specialty sauces and condiments lost in the hurricane power outage.  I have some great Asian vinegars and dark soy to enjoy and some middle eastern spices like sumac that I've been wanting to play around with.   

I've been enjoying Tasting Table's Sous Chef series; a series of recipes by interesting chefs that are layered but not complicated to make.  So far, a winning adobo that I will most certainly make again soon, and this tomato soup which was a little more involved than the typical but so bright and flavorful it's worth a bit of extra time.

Tomato soup is so terrific on a chilly day - warming and also just seems like an instant boost of nutrients.  Have a look at this recipe and see what you think.  What are you inspired to do this year?

Popover experiments

 

Have you ever made a popover?  I never had the desire until an abundance of summer fruit led me to make small batches of jam and hunt for decadent ways to savor it.  I have a few vintage popover pans that I've always intended to fiddle with but never had the time.  I was suddenly inspired to give the pans a whirl - but getting the perfectly perky popover with an impressive, airy dome was not an easy task.  

It's amazing, actually, that without any leavening agent this very simple mixture of eggs, milk and flour can develop into a light, airy and impressive-looking little item.  It's all about harnessing the power of steam, and there are a few tricks to maximizing popover potential that only became clear after several rounds of experiments:

1.  Don't overmix the batter - every recipe warns of this.  Don't do it.

2.  Pour the batter into a popover pan that has been heated in the oven - don't pour it into a cold pan.

3.  The pan matters: my vintage ones, that have the requisite air pockets in between the cups, created nicely shaped popovers, but no matter how much I greased and prepped the pans, I could not release the popovers.  Some research churned up these amazing pans (and an emergency mail order) - they truly work.

4.  Don't open the oven - keep the steam inside.

5.  Lower the oven temperature midway through.

6.  Enjoy when hot out of the oven - no matter what tricks you employ, they'll never be as crisp and delectable as they are when freshly baked

The batter itself is very basic.  Here's one to try.

Winter-inspired still life

A series of five limited edition fine art prints, available individually or as a set, just-in-time for holiday gifting. Please inquire by email if interested.