There's no food! There's just ingredients!

I'm sure more than a few of you have yelled that more than once. I do it frequently and this weekend I decided to do something about it. I considered making sous vide egg bites, but a) I am running low on room in my fridge and b) I wanted to stuff the freezer for the future and the jarred bites really should be eaten pretty quickly.

So, why not breakfast burritos? I first came across a breakfast burrito in 1989 in Albuquerque. I was moving for a job from Long Island to Prescott, Arizona. My friend Jason drove with me. He was great company. We mooed at a lot of cows, noted the frequent number of Yellow trucks, and I swear every time we changed states and found a new Top-40 radio station, the Bangles' Eternal Flame came on.

Anyway, our comment at the fast food joint was something along the lines of, "What the f*** is a breakfast burrito?"  Then I was in love. Warm, comforting, convenient, cheesy.

While I'm looking for a job, I'm keeping expenses down, so while I would have loved some chorizo, that will be for a later time. Instead, I grabbed a can of black beans. The whole ingredient list:

• 8 8-inch tortillas (mine came from The Tortilla Factory, and were bog-standard white flour)
• 6 eggs--taken out of the fridge a couple hours before I got going. Cooking with room-temperature eggs just works better.
• 1 can of black beans
• 6 ounces of cheddar, grated. Next time with the black beans, I will get pepper jack
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup green salsa that I found in the fridge
• 3 few shakes of Dave's Habanero Powder (I still don't remember buying this or getting it as a gift)
• 3 shakes of oregano  It might not have been Mexican oregano, but I don't think the Oregano Police are a thing.
• 2 shakes chili powder

A lot of the recipes I looked at had potatoes in them, but I've recently learned how to make Spanish Tortilla  (and I still need to blog about it) and right now, if I'm doing potatoes with eggs, this is how.

I drained the black beans and put them in the largest bowl I had, followed by the green onions, then the salsa, then the spices. Stirred well with a rubber scraper. I started the eggs and alternately kept an eye on the eggs (I always start my eggs in a cold pan on low, gradually increasing temperature to medium-low), and grated the cheese.

When I make scrambled eggs, I do my initial stirring with a whisk once they've been on a the heat for a few minutes. That will usually pull some nice big curds off the bottom. When the mix is about 50/50 curds and runny egg, I switch to a silicone scraper and gently fold them over once in a while. You don't want to scramble them too much. Once I felt they were done, they got stirred into the bowl with all the other goodies.

If you look away from this blog entry when you're making it, please make sure you read this part: Use warm tortillas. They are much more flexible. I zapped mine individually in the microwave for 30 seconds between paper towels. No tearing whatsoever. 

Also this: use a little water (just brush it on with your fingertip) to make the parts of the tortilla stick together when you're folding and rolling.

I spread out my silicone baking mat, lay down a tortilla and put about 1/3 cup of the mixture on the bottom third, and pulled up the bottom like a tab (there's only one of me, I can't take pics of me folding a burrito). Then just like wrapping the sandwiches  I used to make for my school lunches, I folded the sides over so all the filling was kind of in a pocket and then rolled, wetting the top  before I finally sealed it. I let them sit seam-side down while they cooled, then individually wrapped them in parchment paper before bagging and freezin.

My most sincere apologies. I did take pictures, but they came out twelve kinds of terrible.  The burritos themselves are kind of cute and rather trapezoidal. I had enough for 8 burritos and one taco, which was breakfast.

If you try this, please let me know!

It's only a little bunny rarebit

 I am not massively familiar with common British foods. I've never visited, and in my murky past I was more likely to visit an Irish pub than I was an English one. Authenticity, as you can imagine, varies. 

When I lived in Nashville there were a couple places I enjoyed and I really enjoyed bangers & mash. I found myself with a craving for it a couple months ago and met up a friend at an English pub uptown. For an appetizer, we enjoyed a Welsh rarebit.

Why the hell I haven't made this before I don't know.

A few weeks later, a friend posted this link. I hadn't heard of Two Crumbs up, but I found the concept fun, and then I came to their Scottish Rarebit recipe. It intrigued me because it used whiskey instead of beer, and I just had to try:

• 1 tbsp Butter
• 1 tbsp Flour
• 1/4 tsp Mustard Powder
• 1 tbsp Whiskey (I used Jameson's)
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp Heavy Cream
• 2 cups Grated Scottish Cheddar (I might have used Irish, St. Andrew forgive me)
• 2 slices Sourdough Bread, cut in half

The method very simple:

Begin with a roux-- melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat until foaming, then add flour. Stir and allow to cook for a minute or two, until the smell of flour fades and you have a popcorn-smelling wet sand texture.

Add your remaining ingredients (except the bread, you silly K-nig-hts), and stir over medium-low heat until melted.

Keep your cheese mixture warm while you lightly toast your bread. Pour cheese sauce over bread and summon fire without flint or tinder-- ie toast the cheese with a blow torch or under a broiler. To avoid burning the toast, I suggest counting to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out.

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The cheddar I had was a bit oily, so I ended up playing with the sauce a bit. A little more flour to soak up the oil, then a little more whiskey and cream to keep the right texture. I used Colman's mustard powder. I like that this had mustard powder so there wouldn't be acid from the vinegar in the sauce. I want more of that flavor next time. And there will definitely be a next time.

The tomatoes were tossed with a little salt, black pepper, olive oil, and thyme, then roasted at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes before I put the oven to broil for the rarebit.

Have you made rarebit? Share your experience! 

I should have done this ages ago: easy cheddar-chive biscuits

I lived in Tennessee for eleven years, so I got used to good biscuits. I also became very fond of biscuits and gravy, which I originally thought looked gross, but once I tried it, damn! I was hooked. My uncle up in Massachusetts just discovered them so we were able to share that in a recent conversation.

I made chili recently, and I'd had it on some rice, and I had it over spaghetti, and it occurred to me that cheddar biscuits might go well. Everyone's stress baking, but these wouldn't need yeast, just baking powder and baking soda, which were available. 

So I found a recipe with two delightful shortcuts. First, instead of buying buttermilk, you can make your own--the info is on the recipe link, but I thought I'd copy it here.

Place 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or vinegar in a measuring cup. Fill with milk to measure 1 cup and stir well. Allow mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes or until slightly thickened. The mixture may curdle a bit, that’s okay!

The other shortcut is to stick the buttermilk in the freezer for a bit, and melt the butter in the microwave. When you add melted butter to the very cold buttermilk, you instantly get little globs of butter that will be evenly distributed.

The rest is easy:

• 1 cup cold buttermilk
• 8 tablespoons butter plus one more for brushing
• 2 cups all-purpose flour more for counter
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ¼ cups finely shredded cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup finely sliced fresh chives extra for garnish, if desired

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425°F. Line a  sheet pan with parchment paper or spray a sheet pan with cooking spray.

2. Measure 1 cup of buttermilk and place the cup in the freezer while prepping other ingredients (you want it to be in the freezer about 10 minutes).

3. Place butter in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with a paper towel over the top and heat on high for 30 seconds. If not completely melted, return to microwave for 10-second intervals till melted. Set aside to cool a bit while prepping other ingredients.

4. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt in large bowl. Add cheese and chives. Stir to combine.
5. After buttermilk has been chilled in the freezer for 10 minutes, combine it with the melted butter. Stir with a fork until butter forms small clumps or globules.

6. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with a sturdy spatula just until all flour is incorporated and batter pulls away from sides of the bowl. The dough should be stiff and not super wet. If the dough is wet, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring to combine, until dough is fairly stiff.

7. Generously spread flour over your work surface. Dump biscuit dough from bowl onto prepared work surface and turn to coat all surfaces with flour. Knead on counter 5-6 times (about 20-30 seconds). Flip over on work surface to coat with flour then pat into a 6-inch square. It should be 1 1/2-2-inches in height.

8. Cut as many biscuits as you can with a biscuit cutter (this will depend on what size cutter you use). Place biscuits on the prepared sheet pan. Knead scraps a few times till they hold together, then pat into a small circle and cut more biscuits. Transfer last biscuits to the sheet pan, spacing about 1 1/2 inches apart. (See Café Tips in post for an even easier cutting technique). I used a jar that I happened to have in the cupboard. The dough made a nice satisfying pop as it rose.

9. Place in oven and bake until tops are a medium golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Start checking after about 8 minutes, as every oven is different.

10. Melt remaining tablespoon of butter and brush tops of hot biscuits with melted butter. Sprinkle with more finely sliced fresh chives. Serve and enjoy!

These went great with the chili, and beside some scrambled eggs for a different meal. They froze well, and also made good snacks. I'm thinking of seeing if I can add chorizo and green onions for the next experiment. 

 

Seeking perfection: Because I should be able to do Better than Starbucks: Sous Vide Egg Bites

You may have noticed people raving about Starbucks sous vide egg bites of late, and I think they're pretty damn good. They're reasonably filling, full of protein, and it's a nice change away from the typical American carb-heavy breakfast (but don't you even think about taking away my bagels).

Naturally, people started making their own, because this way there are no preservatives and you have more choices. I've been meaning to do this for a while, so today was the day. I got my proportions to start with from Inova, though I looked at multiple sites. 

I was surprised to learn that Starbucks uses cottage cheese in theirs. I mentioned this my friend Scott and he reached the same conclusion I did, "What about a nice ricotta?" So there was my first change. I also thought I wanted a few more fillings, so this is what I started with:

• 6 large eggs
• 1/4 cup of heavy cream (some sites say cream, some say cheese, some say both. So I embraced the power of AND)
• 1/4 cup of whole-milk ricotta
• 2 green onions
• 3 pieces of bacon
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 6 grinds of black pepper

Also needed:

• Water bath (I have a large Rubbermaid container with a hole cut out of the lit to fit around the circulator).
• Tongs of some kind to lift your jars.
• Immersion circulator
• 6 4-ounce bell jars with 2-piece lids (Thank you Fae!)
• Blender

I got a little ambitious and I'll get to that later.

First off, I set the immersion circulator for 172 degrees Farenheit (another site said 180 with a shorter cooking time, but the 172 felt better to me). I cooked the bacon instead of putting it directly into the jars. While the bacon was cooking, I chopped the tomatoes and put about 3/4 of them into the jars, figuring I'd save the other 1/4 for a topping if there was room.

Next, I chopped the green onions and followed the same procedure.

Cheese was next. I used a sharp cheddar. When the bacon was done, I crumbled it and spread it among the jars as well. I did a quick grind of black pepper over each jar.

6 eggs went into the blender, followed by the salt, ricotta, and cream. I blended on low for about 45 seconds, until it was all a lovely uniform shade of yellow just slightly darker than butter.

I poured the mixture into the jars up to the convenient line. Like I mentioned above, I got a little ambitious and had egg mixture left over. 

With the jars, you don't want to put the ring on too tight. Every site I looked at agreed. What you're going for is 'fingertip tight.' In other words, you want to be able to open the jar with your fingertips. The water pressure will take care of the rest.

Using the tongs (I have a pair tipped with silicone that I got from Target), carefully place your jars in your water bath, and set a timer for 60 minutes. Clean your kitchen. Scramble any leftovers  If, like me, your heating system is forced dry air, enjoy the extra humidity. 

When the timer goes off, turn off your circulator and carefully remove the jars onto a flat surface where you have paper towels or a dishcloth. After a minute, dry off the lids by blotting with paper towels or a clean dishcloth. They're ready to serve after about three minutes. I was pretty surprised at how quickly the jars were easy to pick up.

I ate mine with a spoon right out of the jar, but there are a few options here. Run a butter knife around the edges, pop off and finish with a torch for extra color & texture. Or top with cheese and broil for a little bit.

I want more cheddar in the next batch, and really, more fillings in general. I will need to consider this while I have these for breakfast all week. Meanwhile, I have plenty of goodies for topping before I pop them in the microwave.

Cheers!

Variations on a Theme: Warming It Up

A while back I made beer-cheese soup using Rachel Ray's recipe and I was very happy with the way it came out. I'm not sure why it's been a few years since I've made another batch. While there's a lot of chopping, this recipe is pretty easy and doesn't take a huge amount of time.

I have access to a grocery store with a fabulous cheese department. Even better, it is easy to get samples. When I ran in for coffee a couple of weeks ago I walked past a table where a man was passing out samples of chipotle cheddar. I fell in love. It's not heavy on the spices, has just the right amount of smoke and I snapped up a 10 oz package.

I didn't decide on making soup out of it right away, but when I did it seemed like a perfect idea. I did have to grab some gouda (also chipotle) from the closer grocery store to bring the cheese up to the 3 1/2 cups. I love the way gouda melts and it adds a lovely richness when combined with cheddar. To review, here's the base recipe:

• 5 tablespoons butter
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, finely chopped (Rinse your leeks well. Then do it again)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup flour
• 3 cups milk
• 1 12 ounce bottle amber beer, such as Dos Equis (I used an Abita Amber. Abita is out of New Orleans and I like a lot of their beer)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (I didn't use this, instead I added 4 teaspoons of crushed garlic)
• 10 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 3 1/2 cups) (I added more cheese to get it to 3 1/2 cups)
• Croutons for garnish (I had warm tortillas on the side and some chorizo, green onions, and sweet bell peppers for garnish)

In a large saucepan (I used a sauté pan), melt the butter over medium heat. Add the carrots and leeks (I added the garlic here too), season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, 10 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. 

Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the beer and mustard and bring the soup to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, whisking, until creamy and thickened, about 10 minutes. 

Remove the pan from the heat. Whisk in the cheese 1 handful at a time until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with the croutons.

This recipe makes 3 generous servings, with the addition of the chorizo, it was a great main dish and Nexx let me have my fair share of chorizo.

Questions, comments? I'd love to hear from you. 

A Make-Ahead Breakfast Muffin

I'd heard of egg muffins before and I've had baked eggs. These seemed a good idea because I tend to be in a rush in the morning before work, and these reheat in 30 seconds, are satisfying to chew and are filling too.

I came across this recipe (hat tip to the author!), and immediately thought of ways to improve it to my tastes. I also made half a recipe because I wanted to make sure I would like them before I committed to using a dozen eggs.

So the base recipe is

• 6 eggs
• 6 ounces of your favorite breakfast meat
• 2 ounces cheese 
• 1/2 Cup of chopped onion
• 3 teaspoons of water

I used 2 bun-sized sausages that had habaneros in them, and a sharp cheddar cheese. Instead of shredding the cheese as the original recipe said, I cut it into small chunks. This way we got a bigger taste of gooey cheese in some bites. To go with the habaneros, I put in a teaspoon of dried cilantro and 1/4 teaspoon of oregano. The herbs got lost, I'm afraid. I blame the habaneros.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. If you don't have an oven thermometer, get one. Apologies for repeating myself, but I can tell you from experience it makes a huge difference. My oven is 50 degrees F cooler than what it says on the readout.

Lightly scramble your ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Using a 1/3 Cup measuring cup, spoon your egg mixture into your muffin tin (grease it lightly unless you're using non-stick or silicone). Do what you can to make sure your mix-ins are evenly distributed without making too much of a mess.

You might be wondering why I added water to the recipe. The idea was to keep the eggs moist while baking and to make the texture lighter by also having steam help cook them. I think it worked pretty well.

Bake the muffins in the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes. You'll also be able to see the muffins start pulling away from the edges of the tin, and if you insert a knife it will come out clean or with only a little moisture on it..

Put the muffin tin on a cooling rack for about ten minutes. Remove your muffins and serve. We had them with yogurt as a dessert , but the damn raspberries I bought on Friday went a bit off, so the yogurt was plain. You could also serve these with a side of fruit, or if you're not in a rush, a potato of some kind.

I got some good feedback from Nexx, which is always nice, and I have some for quick breakfast this week before I get on a crosstown bus. I live in the Theatre District, sometimes referred to as Midtown West, and the ride to where I work, which is near the United Nations, is a tad annoying. A full stomach will definitely have me in a better mood.

I plan on trying some variations. Manchego, onions, bacon, and rosemary. Possibly bacon, potato, onions, and cheddar. Right now, I'm staying out of the kitchen because Nexx is threatening to make flan.

Cheers!