Olive Oil Eggs

I'm in a delicious rut. Eggs.

I love them and they make their way into my breakfast shenanigans about four times a week. Sundays right now are for the Crustless Quiche challenge (between me and me).

But it's Monday. So, my Dear and I are enjoying Olive Oil eggs. Long ago and again a few months ago, I fell deeply, madly in love with Tuscan Herb Blend Olive Oil.

My friend Mary, owns Antica Olive Oil here in Southern California where I first tasted this magical oil. When my friend, (student and mom-of-two) CJ had a birthday, I gave her a bottle with an 18 Year Old Balsamic Vinegar. It's a simple recipe for salad and pasta. That was it by the way. Tuscan Herb Blend Olive Oil and 18 Year Old Balsamic Vinegar. Done. Easy.

And, while I love this oil on salad and as a finish for chicken, my favorite thing to do is warm it in a pan and let eggs slowly bathe their way to cooked. (Thomas Keller: slow and gentle) All they need is a bit of salt and pepper and they are a beautifully flavored feast.

The Antica Store ships olive oil if you don't find yourself in Southern California at the shop.
I think you'll want the bigger bottle.

Crustless Quiche - a base recipe

Oh, I do love a well-prepared egg. I renewed my cooking vows by working through an online class with Thomas Keller who reminds us the egg deserves to be silken - cooked gently and slowly. The results? Lovely.  Especially the creme brulee texture of quiche. In the last year, I've waltzed away from wheat (and maybe a few other grains) and so the no-crust version is a perfectly lovely choice for a weekly exploration. 

I really love the Bon Appetit version of quiche - it makes our morning menu on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Recently I've been modifying a bit to make Sunday mornings a bit more tasty as we dash out to church. So, a great challenge might be to take the basic recipe and play with different ingredients. Last Sunday I used leeks and shrimp and a rich Coastal Cheddar, a bit of goat cheese and a few tomatoes and roasted red peppers. (This one was topped with parmesan shavings and set under a broiler for a few minutes.) The possibilities!

Caveats: except when I'm making the bacon version and really following the recipe, I don't bring the half-and-half to the low simmer and then wait an hour because - we've gotta go! I use olive oil or butter, not lard. And, we eat it 15 or 20 minutes later rather than two hours later. We may forgo a bit of the creamy texture, but this is still not the more cottage cheesy breakfast casserole we've all enjoyed.

So, here's the Bon Appetit recipe, which is a flawless guide. If you want the full recipe you'll find it here. It's dreamy for sure.

Ingredients:

Filling and Assembly
8 ounces thick-cut smoked bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
3 large shallots, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons lard or unsalted butter
2 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
3½ cups half-and-half
8 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
2 ounces Gruyère, finely grated

Cook bacon, shallots, lard, thyme, and bay leaf in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until lard begins to bubble, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low (mixture should still slowly bubble) and cook, stirring occasionally, until bacon and shallots are very soft, about 20 minutes. Let cool 1 hour. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve; pluck out thyme and bay leaf. Transfer bacon and shallots to a medium bowl; set aside.

Meanwhile, heat half-and-half in a medium saucepan over medium-high until it begins to bubble. Immediately remove from heat. Let cool 1 hour.

Place rack in middle of oven; preheat to 325°. Purée eggs in a blender on medium-high speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. Add half-and-half, salt, cayenne, and nutmeg. Beat on medium-low until custard is smooth, about 15 seconds.

Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle cheese evenly over bottom of the dish. Top with bacon mixture. Pour half of the custard into dish. Transfer quiche to oven, then carefully pour remaining custard into crust. Bake quiche until edges are set but center slightly wobbles, 55–75 minutes (it will continue to set after baking). Transfer to a wire rack and let cool at least 3 hours before slicing.

A Revisit to Julia's French Omelette

This morning my just-about-16-year-old boy was, as always, honnngry. This is like "hungry" but with emphasis on starvation. He was about to head out the door with my Dear, so, Mrs. Child's omelette was the only choice.

This time I had a few pieces of an Asian Flank Steak to toss in with a 1/2 teaspoon of Philippe (Home of the French Dip Sandwich) hot mustard.

His only words, "Thanks. The eggs were perfect. Neither over nor under cooked."

I've trained a culinary critic I fear.

But thanks Julia!

Her birthday is coming August 15. She'd have been 100 years old. I suspect there will be plenty of celebrating. We'll keep you informed.

Lunch for Two

My husband and I work at the same place and so we get to take lunch together. And what do I love most about our lunches together? Making eggs.

We use whatever we have in the fridge but it mostly consists of a base of eggs with runny yolks, spinach and garlic. The rest is all up for interpretation. This particular lunch we added ham, cherry tomatoes and a bit of stone ground mustard.

Yum, yum?

Do you ever do breakfast for lunch?

--Mary

Baked Eggs in Individual Cups

We started a quiet morning with beloved Streusel muffins and baked eggs. My Dad was an egg guy. A master of omelettes and one who loved a poached egg on corned beef hash and occasionally, a shirred egg in the right restaurant. This morning I was musing about the tenderness of the well-cooked egg and thought about baked eggs.

Keep it simple.

Heat an oven to 325 degrees and place individual ramekins in a pyrex or other oven-loving baking dish. Carefully fill the baking dish and not the ramekins so the water comes to about the 3/4 mark. 

Now, enjoy inventing:

• use either a bit of butter or cooking spray in each ramekin to ensure easy removal
• break an egg into the dish and add a touch of salt 
• chose your favorites: shredded cheese (I used some jalapeno jack), roasted tomatoes or peppers, sauteed mushrooms, onions, panko breadcrumbs, croutons perhaps, the whole grain on this one is hemp 

Place in the oven and bake. About 20 minutes to tender but set. Check as you go. I finished one of the eggs in the broiler to brown the cheese for my cheese lover. You'll add lots of individual touches and I bet you can come up with lots of wonderful ideas. Like Caesar Eggs for the anchovy lover.

Ooooh! I'm excited to hear what you might do with just an egg and a ramekin!

Do share.

Spanish Eggs from the Sonoma Diet

This is one of my favorite Saturday morning recipes for tender and delicious eggs.

My husband really enjoys these and every once in a while I get them in the pan before my daughter requests Daddy's soul food: bagels.

They are very rich in a simple flavor.

Printable recipe
1 yellow pepper, cut into thin bite-sized strips
1 fresh jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 eggs
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted

1) In a large skillet cook bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, and garlic in hot oil about 2 minutes or until tender. Stir in tomates, chili powder, cumin, and the 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Bring to boiling: reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
2) Break one of the eggs into a measuring cup. Carefully slide the egg into simmering tomato mixture. Repeat with remaining eggs. Sprinkle eggs lightly with aditional kosher slat and black peper.
3) Cook, covered, over medium-low heat for 4 to 5 minues or until whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not firm.
4) To serve, transfer eggs to serving plates with a slotted spoon. Stir tomato mixture; spoon around eggs on plates. Sprinkle with toasted almonds.

When you cut the jalapenos, wash your hands with soap and for heaven's sake, don't touch your eyes!

What about French Omelets?

One of my first food remembrances is of Saturday morning omelets.

My dad would, very often, make tomato and cheese omelets. (While singing - I add.) They were wonderful. So, omelets have always been part of my culinary repertoire. But the game changed when I saw Julia Child make her French Omelet.



They are so good that my kids,  ask for them by name: "please, a Julia Child this morning."

And here's the kicker: my husband who's kitchen adventures are limited to Meat Square (later) and scrambled eggs, watched the video because he wants to make them. (I do love Julia!)

Take a peak and later in the week. We'll give you a whole post on how this can be dinner. And yes, I've served this at a dinner party for six and it was, shall we say, magnifique!

Meal Planning and a Bonus Recipe

I doodle out a meal plan for my family every two weeks.  I find that a good amount of time for us to plan ahead.  No matter how well I plan though, things always get shifted and changed, but it's a routine now and it works.  Here's our plan from last week and this.

Now for the bonus recipe:
Easy Tex-Mex Frittata
I made this for breakfast using leftovers from the taco salad we had last week.  By my calculations, the whole thing topped out at less than 300 calories.  Not too shabby.
Heat a small, oven-proof, non-stick pan and coat with cooking spray.  Add 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes and 1/3 cup cooked black beans.  I also had about 2 tbsp of seasoned ground turkey leftover from the salad too.  (Who saves that amount?  It worked for this though!)  Heat the "filling" ingredients through, then whisk together 1 egg and 2 egg whites with about 1 tbsp of water.  Pour the eggs into the pan over the heated tomatoes and beans.  Cook until bottom is set.  Sprinkle about 2 tbsp of sharp cheddar cheese over the top and shake on hot sauce as desired.  Pop the pan into a 325 degree oven for about 5 minutes until the eggs have set.  This easy and filling breakfast can be made with a huge variety of leftovers.  Maybe next time you should save those two spears of asparagus, the few bites of ham, or the little bit of parmesan... it just might turn into a terrific breakfast.