Ham and Eggs en Cocotte

We are quite familiar with the drill: meteorologists hype the storm for days, everyone heads out to the store for bread and milk, all is quiet during the storm, and then the cleanup begins. What's our favorite part? The quiet. We are encouraged to stay home. We are specifically asked not to be on the roads. You don't have to ask us twice. We are all too happy to cook, eat, binge-watch, repeat. Let it snow! 

We started with Saturday brunch. The air smelled of snow, but there wasn't a flake in sight...yet. No matter. We planned to be in for the day. We took some leftover ham, potatoes and asparagus and transformed them into a beautiful brunch plate Ham and Eggs en Cocotte with homefries and asparagus.

Eggs en Cocotte are named after the individual serving dish in which they are made. We make ours in ramekins, although those gorgeous little Le Creuset and Staub versions are definitely on our wish list. And Eggs en Ramekins just doesn't sound as nice, does it?

It's not the ingredients that matter here, rather, it's the technique. The possibilities are endless. Place your choice of ingredients at the bottom of the cocotte dish, making a little nest for your eggs, which you gently lay on top. Top with cheese or herbs if you like, and bake for 15-18 minutes at 325F, until the egg whites are set but the yolks are runny (bake longer if you like a harder yolk). Make sure to serve them with something to dip into them - toast is a good choice, but so is asparagus spears.

Ham and Eggs en Cocotte

(serves 2)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup diced cooked ham

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 onion, diced

4 eggs

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

Divide the ham between two cocotte dishes/ramekins, then set them aside. In a small skillet, heat the butter and cook the onions until translucent and slightly caramelized (5-7 minutes). Divide the cooked onions between the two dishes. Gently break two eggs into each dish on top of the ham and onions. Top with cheese and season with salt and pepper. Bake at 325 for 15-18 minutes, until the whites are set, then serve.

OXO Omelets

For the past few weekends, Amy has been an omelet-making machine. People may not know this about her, but as a teenager, she waited tables and cooked at a breakfast joint in her hometown, so she's pretty good at making eggs of all kinds. And what's better, for breakfast, brunch, or dinner, than a light, fluffy omelet filled with all kinds of goodies? Not much, in our opinion! But the recent craving for omelets has less to do with eating them than making them, especially with the amazing tools that OXO sent us through their Blogger Outreach program. We'll get to that in a minute. But first, let's talk ingredients.

Although not a lot of preparation has to be involved in making omelets, we seem to think they come out better when both the eggs and the ingredients one plans to fill the omelet with have gotten to room temperature. What kinds of ingredients do we use? In Amy's mind, every omelet has to have cheese, and we use whatever we have in the cheese drawer or the cheese that will go best with the other ingredients we plan to use. Roasted peppers and onions go well with cheddar. Spinach and tomatoes are lovely with a little feta. Bacon and American - why not? This amazingly delicious omelet (below) was one of Amy's  recent creations, made with a small wedge of Brie cheese, about 1/4 cup of cooked lobster leftover from an afternoon splurge with bestie J, and some freshly chopped tarragon. Oh yeah, that was some good stuff. Suffice it to say, just about anything can go in an omelet so use your leftovers and your creativity. 

Once you have your ingredients together and your eggs at room temperature, you need to beat the eggs really well to get as much air as possible into them. This is what will make your omelet nice and fluffy. We also like to add about 2 tablespoons of milk per every 3 eggs as we find this helps the fluff factor. And this is also where OXO comes in, with their new egg beater. The design of this thing is genius - a no-slip grip handle, a smooth whirring motion in both the handle and the beaters, and best of all, it comes apart for convenient washing. Just throw the beaters into the dishwasher! Love. This. Thing.

Watching your cholesterol? Have an egg white omelet made by using OXO's egg separator. With different ridges to fit different size bowls, it's nearly impossible to make a mess with this. And it, too, is dishwasher safe. But no lie, the best thing OXO sent us was their new "Flip and Fold Omelet Turner." It simply does not compare to a regular old spatula. It is absolutely the perfect size and shape for, well, flipping and folding omelets.  Every omelet we've made with this thing has come out just right and without a struggle. It also is dishwasher safe and since it is silicone, it is heat resistant up to 600 degrees (not that your omelet should get that hot). 

The right pan is also a major part of making the perfect omelet. We always use a 6-inch non-stick omelet pan swirled with some melted butter, and we add our fillings and fold the omelet while the eggs are still a little soft. 

So there you have it, some tips and tricks to making omelets, straight from a former teenage line cook, with a little help from our friends at OXO.

Basic Omelet Recipe

Ingredients:

3 eggs, at room temperature

2 tablespoons milk, at room temperature

1 tablespoon butter

salt and pepper to taste

filling combinations of your choice including such things as cheese, cooked meat, cooked seafood, raw or cooked vegetables, and/or fresh herbs, at room temperature

Crack eggs into a large mixing bowl (OXO's rubber-bottom mixing bowl is perfect for this, too - it doesn't tip!) and add the milk, salt and pepper, and any herbs you may wish to use. Beat the eggs well, until they are foamy and pale yellow in color. Heat an omelet pan over medium heat and put the butter in. Once butter is melted and hot enough for a droplet of water to make a sizzling sound, add the egg mixture. Let sit for about a minute so the bottom will set. Using a heat-proof spatula, gently push one edge of the omelet toward the middle of the pan and tilt the pan so the liquid flows to the other side. Do this until there is no liquid left but the eggs are still soft. Add fillings in the center of the omelet and gently fold one side of the omelet over the other. Cook for another minute to allow the fillings to heat through. Fold onto a plate and serve with toast and a salad for a delicious meal. 

Disclaimer: We received the three OXO egg tools mentioned above for free as part of the OXO Blogger Outreach Program. We have not been otherwise compensated for our opinions which are, as always, our own.

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Bread Pudding

We created this amazing brunch concoction over Christmas break, when we had lots of time to rest, relax and enjoy time in the kitchen. Its inspiration, in fact, was a Christmas gift from Amy's bestie Karen - a piece of  "Temp-tations" cookware. Isn't it gorgeous? Not only is it non-stick, but it can go straight from the  fridge to the oven to the table. We especially love the pretty glass trivet (also serves as a lid!) and the iron rack that come with it, making it so very table-ready. 

Since Karen is in New Orleans, we wanted to make something inspired by the Big Easy. After plenty of consideration and exchanging various ideas, the two of us finally came up with this: Bacon, Egg and Cheese Bread Pudding, a play on the ubiquitous sandwich. This savory bread pudding is fluffy and custardy, with salty and smoky bites of bacon and tangy cheese. Loved it, and it was perfect for our new cookware! Perhaps we'll make it again today, since we have a SNOW DAY! 

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 large eggs

4 slices bacon

1 shallot, minced

5 cups cubed day-old French bread

4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated

1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley

kosher salt and ground white pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 and spray the baking dish with cooking spray. Whisk together milk, cream, eggs, salt and white pepper in a large bowl; set aside. Cook bacon until crisp, remove from pan and drain on paper towels, then chop into bite-sized pieces. Cook shallot in bacon fat over medium heat until golden, only about one minute. Add bacon, bread, cheese, cooked shallots and dried parsley into custard mixture so that all bread is covered; allow to soak for about 1/2 hour. Transfer mixture into baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove foil and bake for additional 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Meatless Monday: Shakshuka

Okay, it has been a while since we have done a Meatless Monday post. Amy has had a stressful time the last few months, and when she's stressed, it's not chocolate she wants, it's steak. She's a carnivore to the core, but the Big Bad Work Project is over, and it's time to focus on health and all that, especially as the Big Bad Holidays draw near. So, at least for now, we have a Meatless Monday post for you.

A few weeks ago, we learned that a fellow food blogger by the name of Daniel Saraga died suddenly, and a bunch of his fellow bloggers, including us, made some of his recipes in his honor. We posted about them on the same day as a tribute to Daniel, and it moved us to be a part of that. When we took a look at everyone's posts that day, we were inspired to make more of Daniel's recipes. One that really spoke to us was Shakshuka, or Israeli eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce. To us, it was fascinating. Neither of us had ever had anything like that before.

So recently we made Shakshuka for Meatless Monday. Following Daniel's recipe and suggestions, we created a spicy, chunky tomato sauce, poached heirloom eggs in that sauce, and ate the eggs using pita bread and our hands instead of forks and knives. While we made a few slight changes, we mostly followed Daniel's recipe, which can be found here. Exactly what we did is below, and the result was a unique Meatless Monday breakfast-for-dinner dish that we thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks, Daniel. Requiescat in pace.

Shakshuka

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon CT salemme pepper

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon hot paprika

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

6 eggs

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Heat oil in a large skillet (we used our paella pan) over medium-high heat. Add onions and crushed pepper and cook, stirring occasionally for six minutes until soft and slightly browned. Add garlic, cumin, and paprika, and cook, stirring frequently for 2 minutes. Add diced tomatoes with liquid, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce to medium-low, stir and make six wells in the thick sauce. Crack eggs over wells, cover the pan, and cook for about five minutes, or until yolks have set to desired consistency. Uncover, and baste the eggs with a light coating of the tomato sauce. Sprinkle the feta throughout the pan, turn off the heat, and let sit for 1-2 minutes.  Serve right out of the pan with toasted pita bread and a side of home-fried potatoes.

Fried Egg Sandwich Nachos

School's out for summer! And we couldn't be happier or more relaxed already. Sure, we have a few school-related things to take care of still, but generally, we are on a well-deserved vacation, and we started it off right. On the first official day of our summer, Thursday morning, we made "Fried Egg Sandwich Nachos" for breakfast. This yummy dish has all the makings of a fried egg sandiwich (eggs, bacon, cheese), but is in nacho form, sort of like an American-style huevos rancheros.

We started by laying out some nacho chips on an aluminum-foil-covered baking pan. We then chopped and fryed a few slices of bacon and sprinkled the pieces over the nacho chips. Next came the eggs, fried in the bacon fat, sunny-side up because they will be finished under the broiler. We placed the eggs on top of the bacon, then laid strips of American cheese over the eggs and broiled the whole thing until the cheese was melty and the eggs were cooked to our liking (over medium).

Don't worry. We understand that this is not a dish to be eaten often. But it is a dish worthy of the first day of a long, lazy, summer vacation!

Fried Egg Sandwich Nachos

(this recipe makes one plate, enough for two to share)

Ingredients:

20-24 nacho chips

3 slices uncooked bacon, chopped

3 eggs

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 slices American cheese

Lay out the nacho chips onto an aluminum-foil-covered baking sheet. In a large skillet, cook the bacon pieces until crispy. Drain onto a paper towel, reserving the bacon fat in the skillet, then sprinkle over the chips. Return the skillet and bacon fat to high heat. Crack the eggs into the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook to your liking (we did them sunny-side-up because they will cook more under the broiler). Slide the eggs onto the nachos. Cut the cheese into strips and lay the strips over the nachos. Heat the broiler to high and broil the nachos until cheese is melted and eggs are cooked. Slide the nachos onto a plate and enjoy!

Golden Goose Egg Waffles

"I want a golden goose! Gooses. Geeses. I want my geese to lay gold eggs for Easter!" whines Veruca Salt in the 1971 cult classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Mr. Wonka steadily informs her, and her enabling father, that his golden geese are not for sale. We're not Veruca Salt, and it's not Easter yet. And it's not the goose or the egg that's golden in our "Golden Goose Egg Waffles." It's the waffles!

Here's the story: Amy was sitting at her desk at school when in walked her coworker, technology diva M, who has a small farm, which includes (apparently) a goose. She said, "I have a gift for you!" and held out her hand which was completely filled by this gorgeous goose egg. Oh, the possiblities! M suggested waffles, and since she has more experience with these things, and since this is our very first goose egg, we obeyed. By the way, thanks, M!

Ooooohhh they were delicious! Crisp and golden on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside - this recipe made for eight amazing waffles. We were tempted to add to the mix (chocolate? nuts? outlandish toppings?) but in the end went with the quintessential classic - warm Vermont maple syrup made by Amy's cousins at Maplehurst Farm in Greensboro. It was the perfect way to celebrate the soon-to-start sugaring season.  

Sift together the dry ingredients

Whisk together the milk, melted butter and goose egg yolk

Mix the wet and the dry

Beat the goose egg white

Fold in the beaten egg white to make the batter

Cook using a waffle iron

Golden Goose Egg Waffles

slightly adapted from The Good Home Cookbook by Richard J. Perry

Makes 8 square waffles

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 goose egg (or 3 large eggs), separated

1 1/2 cups whole milk

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Your favorite waffle topping

Spray a waffle iron with cooking spray and preheat it according to manufacturer's directions. In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, briefly whisk together the egg yolk, milk and melted butter. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the egg mixture; mix together with a wooden spoon until well combined. Beat the egg whites until white, fluffy, and somewhat stiff, then gently fold the egg whites in with the rest of the ingredients. Once the waffle iron is hot, pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup of batter onto each waffle cooking area (depending on the type of waffle iron you have). Close the lid and cook for 4-5 minutes, until golden brown and crisp on the outside. Continue the process until all the batter is gone, then serve waffles with your favorite topping.

"Don't care how, I want it now!"