Saffron Chard Potato Omelette

Another winner from Yotam Ottolenghi's book Plenty, we made this at a cooking class and then were able to reliably duplicate it at home.  A delicious herbed omelette loaded with a filling of potatoes and swiss chard cooked in saffron, which is so good that you could eat it for just about any meal, and you could even eat the filling on its own.  Make sure you have a good non-stick pan to make your life easier, and don't skimp on the herbs or the saffron, both of which are essential to the dish.

Savory Rosemary Gruyere Bread Pudding

Back when the Food Channel still had cooking shows, I remember watching an episode of Emeril Live where he made savory cheesecakes.  And I thought, "we need to tell the Cheesecake Factory, they're sitting on a gold mine".  While I have still never seen one in person, I started questioning all of my dessert beliefs: can I eat this earlier in the meal, before I hate myself?  Can't I find a way to avoid a diabetes-inducing amount of sugar and still have a delicious baked good?  And, most importantly, can I find a way to put more bacon in this?

And now, you can.  As I was staring down about $5 of unused, questionable rosemary bread from the farmer's market, The idea struck me like a stale loaf of bread to the dome.  This was not to be another farmer's market total loss.  So I sliced the bread up into large cubes in anticipation of my further pleasure.

What ensued was, quite possibly, one of the most delicious things I have ever made.  Crispy, rich, smoky, and with that pine forest smell from the rosemary both baked into the bread and freshly added to the dish, you could easily get lost in this "pudding", which I would describe as either the best stuffing you've ever had, or a meal that combines the best of breakfast, dinner, and dessert.

I will confess that I lifted a few components of this recipe from a fellow blogger here, but then went and updated with a better process and a few ingredients, not the least of which is bacon.  I highly recommend you do two things - use stale bread (slice it up one day before it's too hard to slice, then cube it and leave it in a bowl to dry), and let the custard mixture soak into the bread for at least 8 hours.


Rosemary-Gruyere Bread Pudding

• 5 cups of cubed, stale Rosemary or French bread, crusts removed
• 1 tablespoon butter, plus more for greasing pan
• 3/4 cup chopped sweet yellow onion such as Vidalia
• 1/4 cup of chopped shallots, or 1 large
• 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, about 2 cloves
• 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 healthy pinch of black pepper
• 2 thick-cut slices bacon, preferably applewood smoked
• 1.5 cups of milk (I used 2%)
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 4 eggs, beaten lightly
• 1 cup of coarsely grated Gruyere cheese, separated in half

A few days to a few hours before, cube the bread into 1" cubes and place in a bowl to dry.  Toast bread cubes just before using to remove remaining moisture and brown slightly, and place in a large bowl.  In a medium bowl, beat eggs and add in milk and cream.

Toasted bread cubes, next to the egg custard soak.  Treat this as you would a delicious pan perdu, or French toast

In a large saute pan, melt butter and cook onion and shallots over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 3-5 minutes.  Add some of the salt partway through to pull out some moisture.  Now add rosemary and garlic and stir in for 1 minute.  Remove all from pan, and cook bacon until slightly crispy.  Drain on paper towels, then chop bacon into 1/4" pieces.

Into a large bowl, place toasted bread cubes, vegetable mixture, bacon pieces, egg - milk custard mixture, and half of the cheese.  Toss well to combine but don't stir so aggressively that you break up the bread cubes.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for 1-8 hours.

Before the long rest and soak

After an 8 hour rest in the fridge.  Totally soaked up the egg mixture, fat and happy and ready for the oven

When ready to cook, grease an appropriate casserole with butter, and heat oven to 350 F.  Lightly spoon in bread pudding mixture into the dish (do not pack this in tightly, it will get mushy), and place in oven, uncovered, for 40 minutes.  After 40 minutes, top with remaining grated cheese, and return to oven for 10-15 minutes longer, until browned and melted.  Allow to cool for 15 minutes and serve.

Served simply, where the bread pudding can be the star

Shakshuka (North African Eggs Poached in Peppers and Tomatoes)

Shakshuka apparently means "mixture" in Arabic slang, and that's exactly what you get with this delicious and unique vegetarian dish.  Served for lunch more than it is for breakfast, this poached egg dish boasts an incredible amount of healthy flavor and a pleasing array of silky textures achieved by slowly cooking the eggs in a bed of unbelievable flavors.  It's a common dish in Morocco and Tunisia among other places.  Think of it as a much more delicious, much more Middle Eastern version of huevos rancheros, if you've ever had that.

We found this worldly delight at a vegetarian cooking class based on Yotam Ottolenghi's book Plenty.  Yotam was recently on an episode of Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown, so he's a credible source now that he's been on TV, for as John Cleese once said at a talk of his I attended, "I don't have to be an expert, but I am a celebrity".  If you have the patience in the morning to simmer this dish while you wait for epic mealtime, I highly recommend you give this a shot.  He's a very passionate chef with a great approach to his vegetarian dishes, and I definitely encourage you to not only try this, but have a look at his book.


Shakshuka
from Plenty, by Yotam Ottolenghi

• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 3/4 cup light olive oil
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 2 red bell peppers, cut into 3/4" strips
• 2 yellow bell peppers, cut into 3/4" strips
• 4 tsp raw sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 thyme sprigs
• 2 tbsp parsley
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
• 6 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp saffron threads
• pinch cayenne pepper
• salt and black pepper
• 8 eggs

In a large heavy pan, toast the cumin seeds on high heat for 2 minutes.  Add the oil and the onions, and saute for 5 minutes.  Add the peppers, sugar, and herbs, and continue cooking on high heat for 5-10 minutes further.

Add the tomatoes, saffron, cayenne, and some salt an pepper.  Reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Make sure not to overcook; add water as necessary to maintain a thick sauce consistency with minimal evaporation.  This should be incredibly potent and thick at the end of this process.

If placing into individual serving pans, divide mixture into 4 deep frying pans.  Remove the bay leaves, then make small wells in the mixture.  Crack the eggs into a small dish one at a time, and pour the eggs gently into the wells in the mixture in 8 spots.  Sprinkle with salt and cover the pan(s) with lids.  Cook on very low heat for 10-12 minutes, until the eggs are just set.  Don't cook this too fast, or the eggs will be tough.

Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve.

Kimchi Fried Rice (Bokkeumbap)

What happens when it's dinnertime, and you find the following random things in your fridge:

• Awesome mild kimchi you've been meaning to use
• Roasted chicken (or some spare pork)
• Old, dried up white rice in a takeout container

Answer: you make kimchi fried rice, one of my favorites.  An amazing addition to rice which I was skeptical about until a Korean friend made it for me, this is a pungent twist on the Chinese fried rice, and brings a bit of heat to the party as well.  It's pretty easy - you stir-fry some aromatics with the chopped kimchi, throw in some meat, toss the rice with some soy sauce, and serve with a fried egg.  I gather that this is very traditional, although Wikipedia says it more commonly uses spam than chicken, which just isn't happening in my house.  So this took care of all kinds of foods waiting in my fridge to be made into something awesome, and I didn't even have to get creative to do it.  Here's a simple diagram to explain the bulk of this dish:

Kimchi Fried Rice

• 1 cup kimchi, drained, chopped
• 1/2 cup cooked or uncooked animal protein - chicken, beef, ham, spam (if this counts), even tuna is used in Korea
• 2 cups stale, cooked white rice
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 spring / green onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp butter

Chop and separate the spring onion into the white and green parts.  Now, as with my pineapple fried rice recipe, do my favorite trick of putting the old rice in a bowl, squishing it apart, and tossing with 1/2 tbsp of the oil to coat all of the grains.  This prevents a mushy nightmare once you add it to the wok.

Heat the remaining 1/2 tbsp oil in a wok over its highest heat setting and add the white parts of the green onion, and stir-fry for 30 seconds.  After this, you have to figure out what protein you're using.  If it's already cooked, add it with the rice.  If it's not, throw it in first, and cook until done, then continue.

Now add the kimchi and garlic, and stir-fry for another 30-60 seconds.  If you haven't added the meat, do so now, and add the rice, tossing everything to mix evenly.  Sprinkle on the soy sauce, toss again, and allow to crisp up a little bit (2-3 minutes) to get a nice crunchy crust, if desired.

Meanwhile, fry up a single egg in the butter in another pan.  To serve, kill the heat on the rice, add the tops of the green onions, toss, and plate with the fried egg on top.  Serve with gochujang, if desired, or eat on its own.

Pain Perdu Farci (Stuffed French Toast)

The French have an excellent tradition - stale bread reclaimed by soaking overnight in a mixture of eggs and milk, and then fried.  This is called pain perdu, which translates as 'lost bread', for obvious reasons.  I hadn't had the overnight soaked version, just the standard nasty processed white bread dipped for 4 seconds before frying, and so I thought I'd give this a shot.  Whoa.

First of all, the custard that you make to soak the bread in smells so good, you basically want to eat it right there.  Think of egg nog mixed with melted vanilla ice cream, mixed with ground up little angels and unicorns and things that probably taste delicious.  Now, picture the best bread pudding you've ever had, and imagine if it were just sliced from a large sheet of bread that tasted just the same, and that you could eat for breakfast in a socially acceptable context.  Got it?  Okay, let's go further.

How about if you take that awesome custard-soaked french toast, then fill two pieces with a mixture of melted cream cheese and fruit preserves?  That's where the farci, or 'stuffed', part of this comes from.  Ready for breakfast yet?  Good.

The recipe I present is a mash-up from two different sources.  First, some place on the internet which I have long forgotten, for the custard part.  Second, my friend's mom, who served me the best stuffed french toast I had ever tried until I created this Frankenstein version.  Thanks for the inspiration, Robin.

For the record, to create this I ended up stockpiling old bread parts in the fridge until I had enough to make a batch.  This took a few weeks to accumulate, and worked perfectly.  Consider a similar route, if you have the space.

Day Before Custard French Toast (Pain Perdu Farci)
from various sources

• 6-8 slices stale French bread, cut on the diagonal into 3/4-1 inch slices
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 tbsp. melted butter
• 3 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup orange marmalade 

Arrange bread in single layer in 9x13 inch pan.  Combine eggs, milk, sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla.  Beat until smooth.  Pour over bread.  Turn slices to coat evenly.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, make your filling.  Stir cream cheese and marmalade together in a medium bowl, and set aside.

To cook, melt butter in skillet or on grill.  Remove bread slices from egg mixture.  Saute in heated pan until golden, about 5 minutes on each side.

To plate, place one piece of toast down, then spoon on 1-1.5 tbsp of the filling, then top with another piece.  Dust with powdered sugar, and serve with syrup, more marmalade, or topping of choice.

Oyako-Don (Japanese Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl)

I first tried this Japanese rice bowl in upstate NY - the birthplace of Japanese food - and decided that it was interesting enough that I should sort out the backstory.   Having heard the word 'don' before in conjunction with sushi (unagi don, tekka don, etc.), I figured out that this meant 'rice bowl', or something similar.  It's shortened from the word 'donburi', which means bowl.  Now, the interesting part comes from the word 'oyako', which translates as 'parent and child'.  That's because the dish is served with both chicken and egg, meaning that you can consume a whole family with every bite.  And if that's not an ego trip, I don't know what is.  The other thought I had about this dish is that, if people who keep kosher can't have milk and meat, does that mean they shouldn't have egg and chicken in the same bowl?  If anyone has insight here, let me know; all I know is that this is easy and delicious.

Oyako-Don: anti-kosher mystery, or savory bachelor chow masterpiece?

Oyako-Don is made by first brewing a batch of dashi, which is a multi-purpose Japanese broth made from seaweed and fish flakes.  They use it for everything - miso soup, flavoring sauces, polishing leather, you name it.  I will provide a recipe for it at the end, it's incredibly easy and gives the dish body.  Consider that one of the two ingredients was the grandfather of MSG, and you'll understand why people like this stuff so much.  It's like Japanese cocaine.

Oyako-Don

• 4 cups cooked rice, kept warm
• 1/2 lb boneless chicken breasts or thighs
• 1/4 onion, sliced
• 1 cup dashi stock (could be konbu/bonito or shiitake)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1.5 tablespoons mirin
• 1.5 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 tbsp sake (optional)
• 1 large or 2 small eggs
• Green onion, chopped into 1-2 inch lengths
• 4-6 snow peas, julienned (optional)

The ingredient list is short and sweet.  Note the homemade dashi in the measuring cup - don't use the powdered stuff if you can avoid it

Cut chicken into small chunks, and slice onion.  Put the stock, soy, mushrooms, mirin and sugar in a small saucepan and simmer for a few minutes.  Put the chicken chunks and green onion in the pan and simmer on low heat for a few minutes.  Add the onion to the pan and simmer a few minutes more.

Whisk the eggs in a bowl.  Bring the soup back to a boil, and pour the eggs over chicken and onion.  Sprinkle on julienned snow peas if using.  Turn the heat to low and cover with a lid.  Turn the heat off after 1 minute.  You want to cook the egg without disturbing it much, so it forms loose, puffy scrambled eggs right in the broth.

Let the eggs cook in the broth without disturbing.  I'm going for a smaller batch next time - the recipe is already halved from what I used, so no adjustments necessary.

Divide the hot cooked rice between 4 bowls, then place the chicken mixture over the 4 bowls of rice.

Dashi

• 1 4"x4" square of konbu kelp, wiped clean with a damp cloth
• 1/3 cup shaved bonito flakes
• 4 cups cold water

The key ingredients to dashi.  At left, konbu, a type of kelp high in glutamic acid which led to the discovery of MSG (monosodium glutamate) and literally dripping with everyone's favorite new word, umami.  At right, bonito flakes, shaved from a very unhappy fish and bagged in individual packets perfect for one batch of soup base

Place the water in a medium saucepan.  Add the konbu.  Bring to a low boil over medium-high heat and discard konbu.  Add the bonito flakes and stir.  Turn off the heat and let stand for 2 minutes to allow the bonito flakes to settle.  Skim off any foam.

Line a large colander or strainer with cheesecloth and set it over a large bowl; carefully pour the dashi through to strain it.  Discard the bonito flakes.  The stock is ready for use and can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, but is best used the day it is made.  Called ichiban-dashi, this dashi is often used for clear soup.

Chorizo Breakfast Frittata

I was stumbling through the shop of a Cracker Barrel recently (don't ask me why, I don't have a good answer) and picked up the Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook, by Pam Hoenig.  Figuring it would be a shameless way to promote Lodge cookware, I was skeptical at first.  But when the first recipe looked like gold and I tried to take a picture of it with my cellphone camera, I figured I might break down and buy the thing.  And so now I have many more excuses to use my cast iron cookware, which is most assuredly a good thing.

If you don't own any cast iron cookware, then shame on you.  Go down south, eat some country cookin', and then come back up to your posh city chic apartment and order some on Amazon.  You won't regret it, cast iron holds heat better than anything out there and develops great flavor by promoting browning.  And it's practically nonstick, since it's "seasoned" with a perpetual layer of stanky cooking oil that just keeps baking deeper into the metal as you use it.  Traditionally, a bride in many families in the southern United States was given an unseasoned (bare metal) set of cast iron, and it was supposed to last for the life of her marriage.  I suppose if this were one of Kim Kardashian's gifts, the thing would have rusted almost immediately.  But a proper kitchen will not use soap on their cast iron, and it will last for a lifetime of delicious, artery-clogging meals.  And so I present to you one of them...

Chorizo frittata - a one pan meal of epic deliciousness, done proper-like in the cast iron skillet

Breakfast Frittata with Chorizo

from the Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook

• 3/4 pound bulk chorizo sausage (casings removed)
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 2 large handfuls baby spinach, Swiss chard, or arugula, washed and well dried
• 8 ounces feta, cotija, or any Mexican firm cheese such as queso fresco, crumbled
• 1 large ripe tomato

All of the ingredients, including queso fresco and some homemade bulk chorizo at right

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Brown the sausage in a 10" cast iron skillet over medium heat, until crumbly and no longer pink.  Remove and drain on paper towels.  Drain all of the fat from the skillet, but leave the residue with the sausage-y goodness in the pan for some extra flavor.

'Brown' in the cast iron - don't just grey your meat, make sure you get some flavor through the Maillard reaction by browning it.  Why use the cast iron if you're not going to take advantage of its benefits?

Place the eggs, cream, salt, black pepper, and red pepper in a large bowl, and whisk until foamy.  Add all of the remaining ingredients, including the drained chorizo, and stir to incorporate.  WARNING: this is messy, so be sure to use a larger bowl than you think is necessary.

Get some air into the eggs.  Come on, work those ova!

"...and mix them all together in a big jug."

Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and cook over medium heat until it begins to set and hold together around the outside edge.  Transfer to the oven and bake until the top of the frittata has puffed up and is golden brown, 25-35 minutes.

Let the mixture set up on the bottom slightly, and then throw in the oven.  Not all of the spinach wilted down before baking, as you can see here.

Slice the frittata into 8 wedges and serve immediately.  You don't need to worry about letting it cool, since the cheese won't melt and make a huge mess.  Feel free to garnish with sour cream, sliced scallions, pico de gallo, cilantro, or nothing at all - it doesn't need anything extra!

Going, going, gone.  Leaving a little of the sausage drippings in the pan added to the flavor of the crust that forms on the base of the frittata.  Everything set up nicely, and was very easy to serve given the firmness of the cheese.