An Oeuf for the Books

My vision of egg salad was something that grandmas brought to picnics. My mental image of the dish was mushy, yellowy-gray in color, and reeking of mayonnaise. Never did I truly understand the beauty of a good egg salad until I moved to England.

Once a week I allowed myself to stop for a sandwich at the London-based sandwich shop Pret A Manger. One week, I had been late in getting out of class. The sandwich pickins' were thin, so I begrudgingly grabbed their egg salad sandwich. My life was never the same again. It was creamy, fresh, and delicious.

So the other day when I was alone at home and thinking what to make for lunch, I suddenly got a huge craving for Pret. I figured this was the perfect time to make my first-ever egg salad sandwich.

The first step was to hard boil some eggs. I had done this before, but more often than not they'd looked pale, with that thin grey line around the yolk. I was determined to figure out how to fix this. With some thorough research on TasteSpotting, I finally figured out how the pros do it.

To Hard Boil Eggs:

1. Place eggs in saucepan, and fill with cold water.

2. Bring water to a boil. Turn off heat, cover saucepan with a lid, and let sit for 7 minutes.

3. Remove eggs and place in an ice bath for at least 3 minutes.

See the difference? The egg on the left was over-boiled, and the egg on the right was prepared using the method above.

The next step was to put together the most parfait sandwich:

Ingredients

6 Hard boiled eggs

1/3 cup Mayonnaise

1 tsp Dijion mustard

1 tsp Grainy mustard

1/4 tsp Paprika

1/8 tsp Freshly ground pepper

Tiny pinch kosher salt (the mustard is already salty)

Directions

1. To peel the hard-boiled eggs, roll the eggs on a hard surface. The shell should crack and easily peel off.

2. Cut the eggs in quarters, and place in a medium-sized bowl. Using a fork, roughly chop the eggs.

3. Add the mayonnaise, both mustards, paprika, salt, and pepper. Incorporate all the ingredients together with the fork.

This salad is best served with two pieces of toasted whole-grain bread (still warmmmmm!), and a bit of romaine lettuce. The salad turned out to be so good, my parents made it their dinner! Woohoo!

Dimanche Gras

The past few weeks have been a complete whirlwind. Between traveling to job interviews for jobs for the fall, work trips for my current jobs and trips to visit friends to reminisce about the good old college days (in 2009.), I’ve been out of town at least once a week for the past two months. On Friday I got home from my last trip for a while, and I was pretty spent. On Sunday Mary asked me what I had done all weekend and at first I couldn’t remember, but then I realized I couldn’t remember because I had literally done nothing. I went to a couple of yoga classes and took some walks with my dog, but otherwise I was parked in front of a Say Yes to the Dress marathon. In tears. Take it from me, the life of a college graduate is pretty exciting.

Mary works weekends, so by Sunday night she was craving some comfort food, and I was right there with her. I’ve been taking adult education French classes at the local high school since I had a hard time letting go of college life, and since Mardi Gras was just yesterday (or so it seems), we had spent some time in my French class talking about traditions in Louisiana. Obviously jumbalaya was talked about at great length, so I convinced Mary that we should try to make it ourselves. It might not be considered comfort food in our region of the United States, but it is to many people in the South so we were game.

We compiled a few recipes, including my experience making (ok… watching someone else make) jumbalaya for 15 high school students in the middle of the woods and came up with a recipe suited to our tastes and went to work.

Ingredients

1 T. peanut oil

2 t. Creole seasoning

16 oz. package andouille sausage

1/4 large onion, diced

1/4 large green bell pepper, diced

1 stalk of celery, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

4 T. tomato aste

16 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1/4 t. red pepper flakes

1/4 t. ground black pepper

3/4 t. salt

1 1/4 t. Worchestershire sauce

1 c. uncooked white rice

3 c. chicken broth

1. Slice the sausage into rounds. Heat the peanut oil in a wok, Dutch oven, or large pot, and add the sausage and Creole seasoning. Sautee until the sausages are browned. Remove the sausages from the wok, leaving the oils in the wok.

2. In the same wok, sauté the onions, pepper, celery and garlic until tender. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for about two minutes before

adding the crushed tomatoes. Add the red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt and Worcestershire sauce. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in the rice, then add the chicken broth. Let simmer for about 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the broth boils off completely, add more. The Jumbalaya should not be soupy, but it should have some movement to it.

Dessert's Answer to the Turducken

I was recently engaged in serious post-graduate conversation about turduckens. For those of you living in blissful ignorance about what that might be, let me enlighten you: a turducken is a boneless chicken stuffed inside of a boneless duck, which is then stuffed inside of a boneless turkey. The resulting poultry trifecta can then be grilled or roasted... or, I'm sure, deep fried. I had assumed the turducken was a recent invention,perfectly suited to our current culture of excess. However, it turns out similar dishes were thought to have been made by the ancient Romans. I can't help but re-frame all of my mental images of Cicero and Plutarch to involve going home after a long day at the Forum, putting their feet up, and enjoying a hearty serving of turducken. If only I had known this tidbit during all of my political theory classes...

Regardless, our conversation eventually turned, jokingly, to the possibility of making a desert version of a turducken. We all laughed about the idea of baking a pie inside of a cake, but I began to really think about the endless dessert concoction possibilities. I love baking, and I have realized in the past few years that I bake when I am nervous or anxious. The past few weeks have definitely been hectic enough for me to maintain a healthy level of anxiety, so I figured this mythical dessert was just the thing for me to attempt.

As soon as a friend told me about Oreo cupcakes I knew I had found the recipe for me. I don't know if it is the result of trying one too many new gourmet cupcake boutiques, or seeing one too many commercials for DC Cupcake on TLC, but I have apparently jumped on the bandwagon of the nation's current cupcake obsession at a full sprint. I recently have been unhealthily (on many levels) obsessed with cupcakes. The name cupcake is actually a bit of a misnomer for Oreo cupcakes, as they are mostly made of dairy products and don’t have any flour, sugar, etc. In fact, I was a little nervous when I actually sat down to look over recipes, as I generally don't embrace some of the ingredients on the list, but combined, they surpassed all expectations I had for them, and they were much more appetizing than I imagine a turducken to be. I dubbed them cupcakeos... if Mary and I ever hit it big and get famous, remember, it started here.

Cupcakeo Recipe

21 Oreos (depending on size of muffin tin)

1/4 c. white sugar

1 egg

1/4 c. sour cream

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1/4 t. salt

(these quantities can be easily double or tripled)

1. Line the muffin tray with muffin liners, and place one Oreo inside each liner.

2. In a mixer, blend the cream cheese until soft, then add the sugar. Once blended, add the vanilla and the egg. Continue to blend. When well blended, mix in the sour cream and the salt.

3. Put three Oreos in a plastic sandwich baggie

and hit them with a pestle or another

appropriate object until crushed. (This is a big anxiety-reliever. I guess you could also chop the Oreos with a knife, but where is the fun in that?). Mix crushed Oreos into cream cheese mixer and blend until lightly mixed.

4. Pour batter into muffin tray, covering the Oreos and filling the liners nearly to the top.

5. Bake for about 25 minutes at 300 degrees. The cupcakes will still be slightly moist, but the batter should have set. Let cool in muffin tray then carefully remove cupcakes. Let chill in refrigerator for at least three hours before eating (OK... you don't really have to wait, but it does firm them up quite nicely).

Great Craic, Even Better Bread.

St. Paddy's day. One of my favorite holidays. TOMORROW. What's not to like? Corned beef, cabbage, a cold Guinness, and a green Chicago river (or at least a slightly more neon green than usual).

I realize I'm not actually from Ireland (which a friend from London INSISTS on telling me constantly), but my great-grandparents came over from Ireland and I am extremely proud of my heritage. So this St. Paddy's day I decided to attempt my Nana's soda bread recipe. I told myself I'd try this recipe earlier in the week, but I didn't realize how nervous I would be actually cooking it. I suddenly felt all this pressure, like my family was going to compare it to the soda bread's of my grandmother, great-grandmother, etc., and Irish eyes would NOT be smiling.

Regardless, I pushed on, and combined my Nana's recipe with a few tweaks of my own (this way no one would blame me for totally botching her own recipe). For one, I macerated the raisins beforehand in a few tablespoons of really good whiskey I had left from a trip to Scotland. The whiskey flavor was barely there, but the raisins were much plumper and juicier. I also decided to add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of orange zest to give the bread a little extra zing. And since I didn't have any cream of tartar, I decided to omit it completely (with my aunt's approval).

But probably the best decision I made was to splurge and buy Irish Butter. I remember a baker once told me that using Irish butter made all the difference in his breads, and I am certainly not one to shy away from more butter-y butter.






















I was getting more nervous while making this because it is SUPER sticky. Definitely the wettest dough I've ever used. I don't think there's a surface in my kitchen without some dough permanently stuck to it. But... the result was great! The bread came out moist, but not soggy, and cake-y, but not dry. I'm really looking forward to having it with a strong cup of Irish tea for breakfast tomorrow morning. Hope Nana approves!

Adapted from Nana's Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
3 cups Unsifted flour
3 1/4 to 4 tablespoon Irish butter (cold)
2 1/4 teaspoons Baking powder
1 teaspoon Baking soda
1/2 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Orange zest
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup Raisins (I soaked mine in 2 tablespoons of Famous Grouse whiskey for 15 minutes, then patted them with a paper towels to absorb extra liquid)
1 egg
2 cups Buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons Caraway seeds

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter an iron skillet. Mix flour and butter in a large bowl so butter is incorporated, but still lumpy.
2. In the flour mixture, combine the baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar, and caraway seeds.
3. In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, egg and orange zest. Slowly add the liquid to the dry ingredients with an electric mixer.
4. Add the raisins, and mix with a wooden spoon. Turn the dough into the iron skillet.
5. Cover the wooden spoon in flour, and drag spoon around the sides of the dough to create a neat circle. Using a serrated knife, make an X on the top of the dough. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool in the skillet.
6. Enjoy with more Irish butter!

Not Your Average Cookie

It should come as no surprise that I really enjoyed my time studying abroad in Madrid -- my food experiences there have been the inspiration for more than one of the posts on this blog. Here's another one:

While in Madrid, I lived around the corner from a bakery that sold delicious dulce de leche cookies. My roommate, who happened to be one of my best friends from college, and I would make up any excuse to treat ourselves to the cookies. Since we've been back in the States, we still often reminisce about how delicious they were, so I decided to try my hand at making them myself... you know how much we love cookies.

It wasn't until Mary and I were going over the recipe and making a shopping list that I realized that dulce de leche isn't for sale in the grocery store, but rather is made from heating condensed milk. This made me more than a little nervous, since as we kept googling how to make dulce de leche, we kept reading warnings about how the condensed milk cans could explode. My fears were definitely not assuaged by the warning on the label of the cans telling me to never heat the cans, either. As a result of this, my parents avoided the kitchen for the day, and in the end, we made some pretty delicious cookies. They were nothing like the cookies in the bakery in my neighborhood in Madrid, but I daresay they were even better.

Dulce de Leche:

Remove all labels from condensed milk cans. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, reduce heat to simmering and place in can(s) of condensed milk. Make sure water covers the can by at least an inch. Simmer for at least three hours, adding about a cup of water to the pot every thirty minutes to maintain the water level. Our dulce de lecher was pretty thin, but according to some of the recipes we read, the longer you keep it on the stove, the darker and thicker it becomes. When ready, gently remove the cans from the pot and let sit for at least 30 minutes until cool. We (ok, I) was pretty nervous the cans would explode when we tried to open them, but Mary bravely opened them (and lived to eat the finished product).

Dulce De Leche Cookies:

2 1/2 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

2 sticks unsalted butter

3/4 c. dulce de leche, plus more for filling

3/4 c. light brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar

2 large eggs

1. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

2. In another bowl, use a mixer (hand or standing) to beat the butter until soft. Add the dulce de leche and sugars and beat until fluffy. Add one egg at a time, mixing well between eggs.

3. Reduce mixer speed and add the dry ingredients, mixing until they just disappear into the batter.

4. Using a teaspoon, spoon the dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Make sure to space them well, as the cookies tend to spread.

5. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Halfway though, rotate the cookies in the oven. They should be light brown, but still soft. Remove from oven, and let cook before transferring the

cookies to a wire rack.

6. When the cookies are cool, spread the flat side of half of the cookies with dulce de leche, and using a second cookie, create a sandwich with both flat sides touching.

Thankfully this recipe makes a LOT (about 35 pairs) of cookies, because the cookies were amazing. We have never made anything like them - they were soft and chewy and the dulce de leche was delicious. It was practically impossible to only eat only one of them. The only reason I haven't been baking a new batch every day is because I am still a little nervous about the whole dulce de leche making process, but the more I reminisce about these cookies, the more I am realizing I need to bite the bullet... perhaps even tomorrow.

Gray Skies, Sugar Highs

Having to work Thursday through Monday can create a really boring Tuesday and Wednesday. Everyone is at work. My house is cold. It’s grey outside. In order to prevent myself from watching countless NCIS reruns, I need to plan what I’ll do on my days off ahead of time. Cooking is a GREAT way to pass the time. I can take as much time as I want and try recipes that I would normally be nervous to attempt. So what recipe terrifies me the most? CARAMELS. First of all, you’re dealing with temperatures that make baking more akin to cooking lava (I mean, honestly, a candy burn makes for a bad story and a bad scar), there’s all these weird terms that are impossible to differentiate (hard ball, firm ball, soft ball, what?), and you need “special” equipment (candy thermometer’s come in big/small, long/short, mercury/digital and on, and on…). But on a particularly gray Tuesday afternoon, I was determined to try.

First thing I needed was a candy thermometer. I knew I didn’t want to spend a bundle just to make one recipe, so I headed to Bed, Bath, and Beyond. They definitely had the full range of gadgets. I decided on a Taylor Pro Kitchen Deep Fry Thermometer. This model had easy to read temperatures and candy zones (all those funky terms are already on the thermometer!), an insulated handle (preventing the possibility of said ugly candy scar), and, best of all, it was only $9.99!! There were much fancier models but this one just seemed perfect. Too bad Christina and I didn’t have this baby when we made our croquettes.

I chose Ina Garten’s fleur de sel caramel recipe because it was in my Back to Basics cookbook and I had recently seen it on her Food Network show. I also looove fleur de sel. It’s so light and delicious, without that bitter after-taste many table salts leave. It really brings out the flavor of whatever it’s used with, especially sweeter tastes.

This recipe took a surprisingly short amount of time, and very few ingredients. The only tricky part was combining the sugar and cream mixtures. Ina says, “Be careful – it will bubble up violently.” Aaaand she was right. This is why it is SO IMPORTANT to use a deep saucepan and to pour slowly. Otherwise you’ll end up with sticky, molten hot goo all over your stove top.

Fleur de Sel Caramels
Adapted from Ina Garten, Back to Basics

Ingredients

Vegetable Oil
1 ½ cups Sugar
¼ cup Light corn syrup
1 cup Heavy cream
5 tablespoons Unsalted butter
1 teaspoon Fine fleur de sel, plus extra for sprinkling
½ teaspoon Pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, allowing it to drape over 2 sides, then brush lightly with oil.
2. In a deep saucepan (at least 6 inches wide by 4 inches deep), combine ¼ cup water, the sugar, and corn syrup and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until the mixture is a warm golden brown. Don’t stir – just swirl the pan. Watch the mixture carefully, it can burn quickly!

3. In the meantime, in a small pot bring the cream, butter, and 1 teaspoon of fleur de sel to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat and set aside.
4. When the sugar mixture is done, turn off the heat and slowly add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon and cook over medium-low heat for about 10-15 minutes, until the mixture reaches firm ball (248 degrees) on a candy thermometer. Make sure the thermometer isn't touching the bottom of the pan, otherwise your reading will be off. It should be about 2 inches into the mixture. Very carefully (LAVA!!) pour the caramel into the prepared pan and refrigerate for an hour or two, until firm.
5. When the caramel is cold, pry the sheet from the pan onto a cutting board. My caramel was pretty hard, so I had to let it sit at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes.
6. Cut the square in half. If the knife is sticking as you cut, lightly brush the blade with a small amount of vegetable oil. Starting with the long side, roll up one piece of the caramel tightly into an 8-inch-long log. Repeat with the second piece.

7. Sprinkle both logs with fleur de sel. If the salt isn’t sticking well, sprinkle the salt onto the cutting board, and press the log down on top of it. Trim the ends, and cut 1 ½ - 2-inch pieces. Since the caramels are super chewy, you may want to make them smaller. Fillings are valuable.
8. Cut squares of parchment paper into 4 x 5-inch squares and wrap each caramel individually, twisting the ends. Store in the refrigerator. Ina says to serve them chilled, but I waited until they reached room temperature so they were easier to eat.

I gave these out to friends, family, and coworkers as belated Valentine’s Day treats, and everyone loved them. They’d also make a perfect hostess gift in a clear bag with pretty ribbon. I’m definitely going to make these again soon!

Return of the Sprouts

I once got in trouble for flushing Brussels sprouts down the toilet... though I should really say trying to flush Brussels sprouts down the toilet, as it ended with a flooded bathroom. The other night when my mother said she was making Brussels sprouts with dinner, I had flashbacks to that unfortunate night and was reminded of my serious loathing for Brussels sprouts. Then I remembered: I have had Brussels sprouts that I enjoyed - nay, loved - at Craigie on Main in Cambridge. They were roasted in duck fat, and were to die for. Though the owner and chef of Craigie, Tony Maws, is a demigod and I knew I couldn't hold a candle to his cooking, those Brussels sprouts gave me hope that an edible sprouts recipe was out there somewhere.

Since we don't often have duck fat laying around the kitchen, I told my mom I would be in charge of the sprouts and set off to find a recipe. I didn't have to look far, as obviously good old Ina had a great one.

Roasted Brussles Sprouts (adapted from Ina Garten)

3 cups Brussels sprouts

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Wash the sprouts, cut off the brown ends and pull off any discolored leaves. Cut the sprouts in half, and place them in a large mixing bowl.

2. Mix in olive oil, salt, and pepper until the sprouts are evenly coated.

3. Bake on a tray in an oven preheated to 425 degrees for about 35 minutes.

I'll concede that this recipe isn't very exciting, but I wanted to prove that there are alternatives to cooking Brussels sprouts other than boiling them and slathering them in butter. These end up crispy and browned and satisfy any salty, French fry cravings.