Sunday, April 29, 2012

Fried Egg and Frisée Salad Sandwich

I have been one busy bee. In the past two weeks, we've had one day off of work. Thankfully that day was Chris' birthday. It was a relaxing day, including pizza at our favorite pizza place and a homemade cheesecake (beaming with pride here...I totally rigged it in the easy bake and it was awesome). 

I actually feel pretty bad for Chris. Wanna know why? He and Eloy are off sweating away at soccer in yucky Beijing air, while I'm at home eating this sandwich. It's really not fair at all, because he would go apey over this sandwich. I'm a terrible person aren't I? Maybe if he's sweet, I'll make him one when he gets home. Heck, I may make another one for me too when he gets home!

This is a grown up's eggy sandwich (Yes, "eggy". Just be happy I didn't call the fried egg a "dunkie middle"). It has some wonderful flavors going on, largely from the delicious Salade Lyonnaise. Add a perfectly fried egg and blue cheese? Pure bliss. It is messy and awesome, and I urge you to make it immediately. 

Oh baby.

Fried Egg and Frisée Salad Sandwich

Makes 2 Sandwiches

Ingredients
Two rolls, or sliced french bread
1 1/2 cups frisée (French curly endive), torn into bite sized pieces
1 bacon slice, preferably thick sliced (needs some fat on it!)
1 tablespoon minced shallot or onion
1 teaspoon smooth Dijon mustard
4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/8-1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese, depending on preference
1-2 teaspoons unsalted butter
2 large eggs
Freshly ground salt and pepper

Directions
Place bread in the oven to toast.

Place frisée in a medium bowl. Cut bacon into 1/4 inch wide lardons. In a small heavy skillet, cook bacon over medium heat, or until crisp. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper towel, reserving bacon fat in the pan (my bacon wasn't too fatty so I added a touch of oil). Add shallot to bacon fat and cook for one minute, stirring. Add red wine vinegar, and let it hiss and bubble for about 20-30 seconds, then remove from heat and whisk in the Dijon. Immediately pour hot dressing over frisée, and toss with drained lardons, salt, and pepper.

Remove bread from the oven, and divide the salad between each bottom bun/slice. It will seem like a lot, but you want it, believe me. Top each salad pile with blue cheese.

Reheat skillet over medium-high heat. Crack open the egg into the pan, reduce heat to medium, and cover with a lid. Check on the egg after a minute or two. The white should be cooked, but the yellow still runny. Do not overcook. If you do, make another egg. Deb suggests flipping the egg over and letting it cook for another 20-30 seconds to help reduce the mess, but I didn't do this. I liked the mess.

Remove the egg from the pan, and place it on top of the salad. 

FYI, the salad by itself is pretty awesome, if you have any leftovers. 

Recipe Source: adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Cinnamon Toast Scones


Remember when I made my first scone? As predicted, I am now hooked. They're incredibly easy to make, and yield wonderful results. These scones were no exception, as they're like eating glorified cinnamon toast. They are soft, slightly sweet, and with a little melted butter in the middle, mind blowing.

In my effort to make more bread, I'll be submitting this to BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread), in the breads without yeast category. I recently toyed around with a yeast bread, and though it was good, it wasn't baked evenly at all. Yup, the easy bake just doesn't cut it. I'm not giving up, though! More to come on that front!

BYOB Badge

In the mean time, I'll "settle" (hah!) for one of these scones and a cup of tea.


Cinnamon Toast Scones
Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 cup milk or heavy cream

For Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
1 tablespoon milk or heavy cream
1/8 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 425F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat, and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Quickly cut in butter using your hands or a pastry cutter, until the mixture resembles course meal. Some larger lumps are okay. Pour milk over the ingredients and stir until a soft dough begins to form. Do not over mix.

Transfer dough to a floured surface and gently knead dough by hand until a smooth ball forms. Shape and pat dough into a circle about 3/4 inch thick. Cut the scones into triangles or use a biscuit cutter.

Place scones onto prepared baking sheet. To prepare the topping combine cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush scones with milk, then top with the cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until scones are light brown. Serve immediately.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Elvis Granola



Even though I was born in California, I like to think I'm a southern girl at heart. I spent more then half of my life in Mississippi, and my mom and sister still live there. As I'm sure you may know, Mississippi was the birthplace of Elvis Presley, and the state takes great pride in that (did you know Oprah is from there too? Go MS!). In fact, the house he was born in is an hour east of my mom's house, and Graceland is about an hour north. I've of course visited both, and would highly recommend going if you're a fan and haven't been. 

When I stumbled across this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Eat Live Run, I jumped on it. I was confused at first, as I was always under the impression that Elvis loved to eat peanut butter and bananas together, but if the recipe calls for chocolate, you add the chocolate. Plus, the name...rocks. 

The result? The king of rock 'n' roll, is now the king of my breakfast. This granola is outstanding. It's so good, I couldn't wait two minutes to start writing about it. On top of yogurt, it's like dessert for breakfast it's so decadent. In homage to the king's love of bananas, I added a sliced banana on top. If you ask me, the banana should be mandatory, as I feel it completes the meal. Plus, fresh fruit! So put on a little Elvis, and whip up this granola, stat! Thank you...thank you very much.

Elvis Granola 

Ingredients

1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 of a cup honey
1/4 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky..doesn't matter)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cup dry roasted peanuts
2/3-3/4 cup chopped dark chocolate or mini chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 275F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

Bring the oil, honey, peanut butter, salt, and cinnamon to a simmer on the stove. Cook for 3-5 minutes.

While that's cooking, combine oats and peanuts in a large bowl. Pour hot syrup mixture over the oats and toss well to coat. Spread granola onto baking sheets, and bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally and turning trays midway through. 

Cool completely before adding the chopped chocolate. Eat the granola by itself, or serve with yogurt or milk, and top with sliced bananas.

Recipe Source: adapted from Eat Live Run

Monday, April 16, 2012

Radish Butter


I never ate a radish until about two years ago. I was a bit skeptical, but was surprised to find that I actually loved the fuchsia peppery vegetable, and it has been making frequent appearances in my salads ever since.  I just adore their spicy crunch, especially when paired with crispy cool cucumbers and other delicious veggies. 

This however, is not a salad, but a great little butter spread instead. Add the radishes to some sweet creamy butter, smear over toast, and you have a great bread plate going on for dinner. If you're not sure about radishes, give this a try. The radishes are not overpowering, and add a subtle peppery-ness, taking plain old butter to the next level.


Plus, they're so pretty and pink!


Radish Butter
Seen on Eating for England, who adapted it from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

4 medium to large radishes, cleaned, root ends trimmed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Toasted bread or baguette, to serve

Directions
Grate radishes on the large holes of a box grater*. Place on paper towels, and squeeze out excess liquid. Combine radishes and butter in a small bowl; mix well.

Spread onto toasted baguette and season with salt and pepper.

*I only have one grater with me here in China, and it has smaller holes. I think if you use a grater with large holes, the radish flavor will be stronger.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Cilantro Lime Shrimp


I cherish the days I have all to myself. I love my boyfriend, and our roommate is also pretty great, but I also love watching my chick flicks, using said bf's computer, playing my flute in the living room, and eating what I want to eat. I didn't really have any cooking plans, and lost track of time piddling on Chris' computer when I noticed it was already 1:30pm. All of a sudden, I was starving and needed something to eat that was easy and super quick.

It quickly occurred to me that I had a smallish bag of shrimp in the freezer. Chris got really sick off of some shrimp earlier this year and has understandably had a slight aversion to it ever since. Sure, he enjoyed some soup I made that had shrimp in it, but if given another choice, he'll skip the shrimp.

It's really too bad, because this shrimp is flavorful and delicious. I was also pumped that I didn't have to run to the store for anything, so I could stay in my PJ's...another loner day ritual.

Cilantro Lime Shrimp
Adapted from Skinny Taste

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 pounds shrimp, shelled and deveined
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat frying pan over medium-high heat. Add oil to the pan, and when hot, add the shrimp. Season with salt and pepper. When the shrimp is cooked on one side, about 2 minutes, turn over and add garlic. Sauté another minute or two until shrimp is cooked, careful not to overcook. Remove from heat. Squeeze lime all over shrimp and toss with cilantro. Serve hot.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Nutella Brownie Cookies

The name says it all. I bet your ears flickered up like Scooby Doo accompanied by a rumbly "hmmm"??? Nutella. Brownie. Cookies. I love Nutella, but never bought it because in the states it can be pricey (at least when you're a full time student in graduate school). I fell in love with Nutella in Italy, and ate it with my breakfast at our hotel nearly every morning and swiped some packets for later. I was there for five weeks. Yeah. It's good stuff, Nutella. 


Well, yesterday I bit the bullet and bought some (well...er..."Nussa"...I think it's the Spanish version of Nutella). It's good, but it tastes more like chocolate frosting and you don't get a lot of hazelnut flavor, so maybe get the real stuff if you can. After pinning this recipe twice by accident on Pinterest, I thought it was high time I make them.

These are the easiest and quickest cookies I've ever made. If you've got the Nutella I'm willing to bet you have the remaining ingredients. They are crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, and taste like a brownie. If you're particularly fond of corner pieces when you eat brownies (like me!) these are especially nummy.

Of course I'd rather use real cocoa in a chocolate cookie, but I just ran out, and I'll be moving back to the states in about 2 months. Plus, at $8 a pop I think I'll satisfy my chocolate cravings by paying half the price for "Nussa" and make these cookies or eat good ole chocolate bars until I'm back in America. I can live with that.


Nutella Brownie Cookies
Adapted from Tasty Kitchen 

Ingredients
1 cup Nutella
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour (I did half all purpose, half whole wheat)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk or water*

Directions
Blend together all ingredients until well combined. Form into 1 inch balls, spaced 2-3 inches apart**, and place on a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake about 7-8 minutes (8-9 minutes for large cookies) or until crisped on the outside and somewhat set in the middle. They will look underbaked. If you overbake them they will be crunchy and not very good. Cool on the pan for about 3 minutes to set, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

*Only add the milk or water if you feel the dough is too dry or crumbly. I just added it because it seemed to be what most reviewers did, but I think it would be fine with or without.
**If you do add the milk, the dough will be pretty soft and will spread...a LOT. I used a tablespoon to measure out the dough like I always do, and as you can see in the photos the cookies were pretty massive. I enjoyed the larger cookies. Also keep in mind when handling them fresh from the oven, that they are pretty fragile when they're that large and thin.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Spiced Couscous with Chicken

Upon finishing this meal, Eloy asked me what my inspiration was for this dish. Not that I created this recipe, but I think what he meant was, why did I choose to make this? Simply put, I knew I wanted to do something with couscous, so I typed it into Pinterest, and this one was the first to catch my attention. When I saw golden raisins and almonds in this list of ingredients I was sold. I'm really starting to love raisins in savory dishes, and I've been obsessing over golden raisins in particular.

One of the first things Chris said was that the flavors were good and the golden raisins were a really nice touch. As for me, I thought this dish was wonderful, and loved how it made our kitchen smell heavenly. The green onion, almond, raisin, cilantro mixture especially blew me away. Once that was on the stove I started getting really excited. I didn't have a rotisserie chicken, but roasted some drumsticks instead. If you do have a rotisserie chicken, this recipe will come together incredible quickly. Once everything is chopped and prepped, the cooking time is under 10 minutes! The one and only "complaint" I have with this recipe is that it's difficult to keep everything hot until you serve it. If you know me at all you know I like hot dishes to be really hot and cold dishes ice cold, no in between. It obviously didn't bother me too much, but next time I make this I will try and see if I can do a better job at keeping things at a warmer temperature. The original recipe also says that it serves 4, though I think it's closer to 3 servings.

Spiced Couscous with Chicken
Adapted from Food Network Magazine

Ingredients
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 cup couscous
2 cups coarsely shredded rotisserie chicken (or roast chicken)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (I did half butter, half olive oil)
1/2 cup chopped or sliced almonds
1/4 cup golden raisins
4 scallions, white and light green parts only, roughly chopped
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for topping

Directions
Bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, the ginger, salt, and pepper. Add the carrots and cook until crisp-tender, 3-4 minutes. Drain the carrots, reserving the cooking liquid.

Put the couscous and the chicken in a medium bowl; pour 1 cup of the hot cooking liquid on top (I made sure it was still at a boil by the time I needed it). Stir, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and let sit 5 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the almonds, raisins, scallions, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Cook, stirring, until the nuts are toasted, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the cilantro.

Divide the couscous and the chicken among bowls. Top with the carrots and more of the cooking liquid. Sprinkle with the almond mixture and garnish with fresh cilantro.
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