Friday, March 29, 2013

Chorizo and Soft-Boiled Egg breakfast

The Single Serving
    I have become a real big fan of chorizo in the past few months (as you can see, many of the past recipes have it as an ingredient). I used real pork chorizo this time, as opposed to last time I used turkey chorizo (Lentil-Kale-Chorizo-Winter Stew). There wasn't enough of the flavor I was looking for with the turkey option, and I found that using the real deal this time made a world of difference. I got this recipe originally from the BBC but I hate green beans, and the original called for that.  Feel free to spice up this with another crisp green, but I couldn't think of another vegetable. Also, I am trying to cut out unnecessary carbs, so the baby potatoes were out. This recipe was designed to be much fancier but alas, I am not trying to impress anyone with anything besides taste.

Confession- the first time I tried to make this, my egg exploded. Turns out I didn't know how to boil an egg (please don't judge me too hard). So I called my Nana, and she told me what to do. Worked like a charm. 
Three ingredients- that's it!
Poke a hole in the egg so it doesn't explode
Slice the chorizo
Fry the chorizo
Boil the egg correctly
Both sides fried
Run egg under cold water so it stops cooking
Perfect little brunch for one!
mmmmm soft-boiled eggs, meat, and coffee
Chorizo and Soft-Boiled Egg  Recipe:
     Ingredients-
     1 egg
     half a link of chorizo
     drop of white vinegar
  
     How To-
Boil the egg-  Poke a hole with a needle into the top of the egg. Using only cold water, start boiling the water. Place the egg in the pot and add a drop of vinegar (helps with the egg not exploding). When the water starts boiling, for a soft-boiled egg (as shown), start the timer for 5 minutes. Remove egg when timer goes off and place under cool water so it doesn't keep cooking.

While the egg is boiling, slice up the chorizo and place the links in a frying pan on medium heat. About a minute or two on each side will give it a nice fried flavor. When both are done, shell the egg by gently rolling it on a hard surface and peeling. Slice up and place with chorizo. Serve with a steaming cup of joe!

Enjoy!

Thoughts:
I think these two ingredients stood on their own without the original green beans and baby potatoes. It was filling and tasty and perfect on a Sunday morning. 

Crab Toast with Lemon Aioli

























































    I tried this recipe because I love crab meat and I saw a really pretty picture of it on Pinterest, although no accompanying recipe was linked to the image. So I looked up how to make lemon aioli-to be perfectly honest, I didn't even know what aioli was- great simple recipe from Martha Stewart. Turns out, it's super easy to make and using ingredients that you likely have in your kitchen already. For the toast, I used a frozen slice that I had from my Homemade No-Knead Beer Bread which complimented the crab very well. I took this on the go and actually made the open-face sandwich when I took my lunch break from work. For the future, I wouldn't recommend taking it on the go, and prefer it for a breakfast or brunch situation, because the crab juice was a bit leaky. 
Simple Ingredients
Squeeze or chop garlic finely
Add all ingredients together
Mix Mix Mix
Add the aioli to the crab meat
Crab Toast with Lemon Aioli Recipe:


Ingredients-  
1/2 cup, mayonnaise
1 tsp, finely grated lemon zest
1 to 2 tbps, fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper


How-To-

In a small bowl, add all of the ingredients at once. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Stir to combine.
 

Enjoy!

Thoughts:

I think that next time this would work better with fresh crab instead of the canned version that I purchased at Whole Foods. I was being frugal and didn't want to spring the $30 for fresh crab but I think now that it would have made a world of difference in taste. The aioli and toast were prefect to accompany the crab, but I just think that fresh crab would taste richer. I also had a bit of aioli sauce leftover because it was hard to determine what was enough/too much for one person having never made it before.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Lemon Garlic Broccoli

The Single Serving
This is a special request from my beloved friend- Melis. I've bunked with her many times over the years and most recently in her flat in the UK. We have also traveled together on numerous occasions, and I love having her as my partner in crime!
Melis and I getting our tourist on in Santorini, Greece
Let's just say that I usually do the cooking and we can leave it at that :) I turned her on to some more/new vegetable dishes, including this Lemon Garlic Broccoli side dish I make when I am out of ideas. It is so easy and takes maybe ten minutes. So Melis this is for you!
The Ingredients
Chop up the broccoli to personal preference
Add the soy sauce, garlic salt, and lemon to broccoli
Flip and make sure it's browning
I put mine in with peanut udon noodles and ground beef
Lemon Garlic Broccoli Recipe:
     Ingredients-
    Handful of broccoli (I only eat the florets but up to you)
    Drizzle of soy sauce
    2 or 3 generous squeezes of lemon juice
    2 good coatings of garlic salt


How To-
(If using frozen broccoli florets, make sure they are defrosted) On medium heat, spray the skillet with non-stick spray. Chop up broccoli (or if eating on its own as a side, then no need to chop it up). When skillet is hot, place broccoli in the pan and add the remaining ingredients. I like mine very lemony and very garlic-salty. When it looks like the broccoli is browning, flip over and give another light shake to the garlic salt and lemon juice. Let cook another minute or so and then serve.

Enjoy!

Thoughts:
I always use this dish because I keep frozen broccoli florets in my freezer for cases when I don't have fresh veggies available. I don't usually eat this dish on its own but I add the broccoli to a main course. In this instance, I had made ground beef and udon noodles with my peanut sauce (also a go-to staple) and added this for the greens. This dish is citrusy and tangy and adds a nice kick to most main items.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Avocado Egg Breakfast Sandwich




I know that I just put the bread slices in the freezer but I had a craving and I love avo and eggs. There is this neighborhood haunt of mine in BK that I make a point to visit when I go home. The place is called Iris Cafe, and it's perfect after a long bike ride to Red Hook. They have an avocado and soft boiled egg breakfast dish on the menu that is simply divine. I order it every time I go there with a big 'ole cup of Stumptown coffee (skim milk, no sugar).
The one and only Iris Cafe (please don't get more popular or I won't get a seat)
I have since turned their idea into one that I can make at home, but even simpler. I can never get soft boiled eggs to come out perfectly, so I make this recipe with either a fried egg or scrambled eggs, which take absolutely no effort or skill. I toasted a slice of the no-knead beer bread and smeared that avocado good.  
Simple- three ingredients
I don't have a toaster oven so I used a real oven (hint-use a toaster oven)
'Bout ready to flip
Schmear
The Single Serving!
Avocado Egg (open face) Breakfast Sandwich Recipe:
     Ingredients-
    1/4 or 1/2, avocado (depending on size of bread slice)
    1 bread slice 
    1 egg

How To-
Turn your skillet onto medium high and let it heat up. If the skillet is hotter when you put the egg in, it becomes more fried-like. Spray your skillet with non-stick spray when it is hot. In the meantime, toast your bread slice in your toaster oven. As you can see, I used my regular oven broiler  to speed things up but it requires careful observance or you will burn the top. Fry or scramble your egg. In the meantime, use a butter knife to spread the avocado on the toasted bread slice. Place the egg on top of the avocado or on the side, as you like.
Enjoy!

Thoughts:
The beauty of this recipe is that you can use whatever you have lying around the house. As you will have seen me lament in the past, I have not had access to great bread and instead have been using store-bought sandwich bread for this recipe. So having the homemade bread really made a difference and made me feel like I was sitting in Iris, not in my living room. That said, it is completely satisfactory to use whatever you have on hand- and you can't go wrong with avo and eggs.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Easy Peezy Peanut Sauce

The Single Serving
Peanut Sauce- one of cooking's best kept secrets. The sauce takes less than 10 minutes to create and you can use it on any number of dishes. I actually discovered this recipe while I was in South Africa (not South African by nature, but when you don't have an oven or a stove top, you have to get crafty).

Table Mountain Conquered!
I use this whenever I am out of ideas and I have some noodles or pasta lying around. I do prefer it it with stringy types of noodles like udon or lo mein noodles. My dad just got me this nifty little cast iron sauce pot, so this was its maiden voyage.
The Ingredients
Press that garlic hard
looks murky
Add the peanut butter
It's melting!!
All mixed and ready to go
Peanut Sauce Recipe:
     Ingredients-
    1/3 cup or two big scoops with a soup spoon, peanut butter
    1 clove, garlic (pressed or chopped)
    2 tbs, lime juice
    2 1/2 tbs, soy sauce
    1/3 cup, water

How To-
Literally you just melt the ingredients together over a hot stove top. On medium high, mix all ingredients except PB into saucepan. When it gets to be more hot, add peanut butter (this is just so that the PB starts to melt immediately) and keep stirring periodically.  Within 5 minutes, all ingredients should be melted and you have a sauce!
Enjoy!

Thoughts:
I am actually getting hungry thinking about this sauce while I write this. It is super tasty and easy and goes with so many things.

Homemade No-Knead Beer Bread


So I didn't anticipate my first time making this bread loaf to be successful so I actually didn't take photographs of the process. As it was my first time making any bread recipe from scratch, I figured that I would have to make it a few times before I got it right for the pictures to be pretty enough to showcase. To my surprise, the loaf you see above was as pretty in person and tasted just how it was supposed to.
Original No-Knead Bread smothered in Brie and Jam
My friend Hannah (who inspired the Lentil-Kale-Chorizo Stew recipe here) gave me the recipe last time I visited her up North (I like pretending she lives in Winterfell) which I believe she got from her mom (who I can say with certainty that Hannah got her skillz from). Hannah bakes it a few times a month as I understand it, and that's because it takes almost no effort, and is a great go-to for fresh bread. Last time, we ate the entire loaf between the 5 of us and it was smeared with baked brie and raspberry jam (heaven!). I don't live near any bakeries unfortunately, well at least any worth their weight in dough, so I am always at a loss when I want to find a fresh baguette or the like for an indulgent moment. I ended up eating a few slices and freezing the rest for a rainy day.  For the first time since Lent started, I am glad I gave up cheese or I would have had a hard time resisting the urge to spread brie all over the warm fresh bread.
Just out of the oven
 The reason I have the word 'beer' in the title is because it will pop-up more on google searches (alcohol is a motivator for people) but also because there is beer in the recipe. I used Yuengling beer (always a classic) and Hannah uses Rolling Rock. The recipe calls for a mild-lager but I am going to try experimenting the next few times I make it with other styles of beer- particularly wheat beer since that is usually what I have in my fridge. 
My two indulgent sample pieces
When I said this recipe requires very little effort- I wasn't joking. It only requires planning and time. The night before you want the bread, just prepare it and let it sit overnight. When you wake up, do the next step, and then 3 hours later, the actual baking process starts. Without all the waiting time, the process is only 45 minutes.
scrumdiddlyumptious
The Single Serving~
Homemade No-Knead Beer Bread Recipe: (Courtesy of Hannah F. )
     Ingredients- (Normally I don't include cookware but this is unusual recipe)
     Parchment Paper
     Plastic Wrap
     Non-stick cooking spray
     Dutch Oven (pot) - (make sure the handle on the lid is metal, not plastic, as it’s put in a very hot oven and handles will otherwise melt!) I use a Lodge Dutch Oven with metal loop handles (amazing!)
     10" skillet
&
     3 cups, unbleached all purpose white flour (plus additional for dusting work surface)
     1/2 tsp, instant yeast
     1 1/2 tsp, salt
     3/4 cup + 2 tbs, water
     1/4 cup + 2 tbs, mild-flavored lager (feel free to try others and tell me)
     1 tbs, white vinegar

     
How To-

NIGHT before you want Bread
In big bowl, whisk flour, salt & yeast. Add water, beer and vinegar.  Don't continue using the whisk but switch to a rubber spatula. Use the spatula to fold in the mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of the bowl until a shaggy ball forms. You might need a bit more beer at this stage to incorporate all the dry flour into the shaggy ball (so hopefully you didn't drink the rest of the bottle yet). 
 
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and store at a warm room temperature for 8 to 18 hours. I put mine in bowl when I got home from work and let it sit overnight.

3 Hours before you want bread

Lay a roughly 12 - 18 inch sheet of parchment inside 10" (or so) skillet and spray parchment with non-stick cooking spray.  

Transfer the dough to lightly floured kitchen surface and knead about 15 times. Shape the dough into a ball and transfer into the middle of the parchment paper in the skillet.  Quickly spritz the top of the dough with non-stick cooking spray and use plastic that covered the bowl overnight to loosely cover the dough on the parchment paper.  Set in quiet place, room temperature, to rise for another 2 hours.

Set the timer for 90 minutes. Adjust oven rack to second lowest position.  When timer goes off, put covered dutch oven (pot) into the oven and turn the oven on, set to 465 degrees. Reset second timer for another 30 minutes.

When 30 minute timer goes off (will have been two hours), uncover the dough ball (it should have risen) and lightly dust the top with flour. With a sharp knife, make a long slit along the top of the dough (and any other designs you may fancy).
 
Take the pot out of the hot oven (super hot-be careful!) and remove lid somewhere it won't burn anything. Pick up dough by lifting the parchment overhang from skillet and lower into hot pot.  Cover pot with lid. Parchment will hang out sides.

REDUCE OVEN TEMP TO 425 DEGREES and put covered pot back in oven. Set timer for another 30 minutes.

When timer goes off, open oven and remove lid.  Bake another 10 - 15 minutes without lid.
Take a look at the dough when you remove the lid. If it already looks brown, it might only need another 8 - 10 minutes.  if it's still quite pale it might need another 15 minutes.  Best to set timer for 10 minutes and check it then...you can always leave it in for another 4 or 5 minutes.  If you think it's done, use your oven gloves to lift it out of the pot and check the bottom.  The bottom can burn first...you'll know it’s done by checking the bottom.  
 
Leave on rack to cool and enjoy!

Thoughts:
No need to eat the whole loaf all at once, although you might be tempted. There is nothing like the warm scent of fresh bread that brings me back to a Parisian boulangerie.  Once the bread has cooled, wrap individual slices or two at a time, in wax paper and aluminum foil and place them in a freezer bag. I have several recipes in mind for using the remaining bread slices that I froze. One of them includes a decadent breakfast with Nutella smear and a hot cup of tea. Yum.