weeknight dinner: eggs in purgatory casserole

there are certain things that don't have immediate appeal to me. casseroles are one of these things. and it undoubtedly has to do with what was cooked in my house when i was growing up. (lots of spaghetti but never ever meatloaf. got it?)

so when i received my march issue of bon appetit and saw a casserole feature, i first flipped straight past. until the pictures distracted me and i realized how delicious they looked. these weren't your standard tuna noodle casserole (no, i've never had one). and although i wanted to make them all, there was one that particularly caught my eye: eggs in purgatory. a of all, it featured many things i like (eggs, artichokes and parmesean) and b of all, it seemed pretty straightforward. a perfect weeknight meal, if you will. or even better, a perfect roomie meal entree. this is exactly why i file away recipes for later use.

and even though this dish incorporated things i'm not so fond of (okay, one thing: potatoes) it allowed me to knock off some more of those csa potatoes. yes, they're still around. in a nutshell: comfort food at its finest. yum yum.

eggs in purgatory
from bon appetit

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• coarse kosher salt
• 1 8- to 10-ounce package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, drained
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice (preferably fire-roasted)
• 8 ounces red-skinned or white-skinned potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons drained capers
• 8 large eggs
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  

• heat olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. add onion, thyme, and red pepper; sprinkle lightly with coarse kosher salt and sauté until onion is tender and golden brown, about 10 minutes. add artichokes and minced garlic; stir 1 minute. stir in diced tomatoes with juice and bring to boil. reduce heat; cover skillet and simmer 15 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
• meanwhile, cook potatoes in small saucepan of boiling salted water just until tender, about 8 minutes. drain. add potatoes and capers to tomato-artichoke sauce; cover and simmer 5 minutes. season to taste with coarse salt and pepper.
• preheat oven to 375°F. pour tomato-artichoke sauce into 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. using back of spoon, make 8 evenly spaced indentations in sauce for holding eggs. crack 1 egg into each indentation in sauce (some of eggs may run together slightly in spots). bake until egg whites and yolks are softly set, 12 to 16 minutes. carefully remove baking dish from oven; sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over and serve.
• serves 4 very hungry roomies
  

cornmeal pickle fritters

i don't really think i need to say anything else besides this: pickle fritters. just go freaking make them now. they only lasted 5 minutes when i showed up with them at a bbq.


cornmeal pickle fritters
adapted from epicurious

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/3 cups yellow cornmeal (preferably stone-ground)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• a bunch of chopped pickles (a bunch is the technical term)
  
• vegetable oil for frying
  

• whisk together the egg, milk, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and pickles
• heat a generous amount of oil in a pan over medium high heat. when the oil is hot, drop batter (amount depends on how large you want your fritters) and fry on both sides until golden brown.
  

gluten-free and spelt muffins from silver moon

i love an accommodating bakery. now hear me out. i also love a dedicated gluten/wheat/dairy/soy/refined sugar/insert other allergen or dietary preference here but once in a while, i just want to walk into your normal run of the mill bakery and be able to eat something. get ready for silver moon bakery. in addition to having all sorts of wheat and gluten filled baked goods, they have a daily spelt muffin AND a daily gluten-free muffin. that's two different daily muffins. as in everyday.

the day that one of each of these muffins were so kindly brought to my attention was spelt cranberry and gluten-free chocolate chip day. yum yum yum. and yes, i ate both of them. well, with some help. because really, i'm a sucker for a quality baked good. who isn't?

the spelt muffin was chewy, with a crispy top, delicious but one of the best parts about it was that it wasn't at all overly sweet. the plump cranberries were by far the sweetest part. the gluten-free muffin was a different story (but still delish). in addition to chocolate chips, there were golden raisins (at least, that's what i think they were), which really helped bind the muffin together. (probably helped avoid that whole crumbly gluten-free symptom).

weeknight dinner: seared scallops with grapefruit sauce

subtitle: an i-deserve-it-and-oh-by-the-way-scallops-are-on-sale-at-whole-foods dinner

i love scallops. they're one of my favorite foods and yet i don't eat them too often, which makes them extra special. so after a couple of demanding weeks and eggs for dinner one too many nights, i decided i needed to make myself a special dinner. just my luck that scallops were on sale. say no more.

my vision (who knows why) was scallops with some sort of grapefruit component. so i did a few web searches to see what i could find. the most appealing sounding method of preparation was from eating well. since little goes better with grapefruit than avocado (just try to challenge me on this one), i decide to plop these suckers onto a simple salad. voila. actually, i admit this was the very first time i have made myself scallops and it was brilliant. i was impressed by my deliciously fancy (but easy!) dish.


seared scallops with grapefruit sauce
adapted from eating well

• 1/2-3/4 lb scallops
• 2 small grapefruits
• 1 lemon
• 1 lime
  
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
  
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 2 tablespoons chicken stock
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 tablespoons chopped mint
  
• avocado
• lettuce

• zest part of the grapefruit, lime and lemon to yield about a tablespoon of zest; or stop whenever you get tired
  
• segment the grapefruit and reserve all juice
• add lemon and lime juice to the grapefruit juice to yield 1/2 cup of citrus juice
• sear the scallops: first make sure they are dry by patting with a paper towel then season with salt and pepper. heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a pan over medium high heat and when the oil is hot (don't jump ahead here!) add the scallops to the pan. brown on each side; this only takes a few minutes. remove from the pan and set aside.
• add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, then the shallots. cook the shallots until soft.
• deglaze the pan: add chicken stock, wine, citrus juice and zest to the pan, and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom to release the scallop bits. allow this mixture to come to a boil and then reduce for a few minutes.
• add the mint and honey to the pan, stir, and add the scallops for a minute to warm.
• serve scallops on a bed of lettuce with avocado and grapefruit slices.
• serves 2
  

pad thai and a thai cooking class

this was not my first pad thai attempt. the first one involved a valiant effort that even included a visit to the thai grocery store. alas, my endeavors were for naught because the result was less than delicious. really, it wasn't even close to good. enough of that. 2 years later, thanks to an awesome thai cooking class, i was ready to try again.

let's talk about the class for a moment. this is the second class i've taken at the natural gourmet institute and i've been quite pleased, so i feel the need to share. the format of both classes i have taken (both in the ethnic & regional food category-obviously) is to be in a large professional kitchen, get a set of recipes, and be set free with a plethora of sharp knifes, prep bowls and culinary students to help at every turn. the teachers are extremely knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. if this doesn't sound awesome enough, there is a small lecture part: some basic understanding of what you're about to do. then the best part is that you just get to cook. and eat everything you make!

i'm not sure if it was the class, the concise recipe in front of me, or a generally more comfortable rapport with cooking that made my pad thai turn out as well as it did. or it could have been the supportive roomies behind me, cheering me on. nothing like some positive energy to help an outcome. the recipe is pretty straightforward and once you've chopped and prepped everything, the cooking time is minimal. even better, you can practically feel good about eating this because it won't give you that greasy local-thai-joint-feeling. don't get too stressed. the cooking process is fast and furious but i was pretty flexible with my ingredients and everything still went great.

fyi, bittman also made this today although his version is slightly different. (it's like he's in my head!!!)

pad thai
from jay weinstein and the natural gourmet institute

• 1 lb rice noodles, 1/4-inch wide
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/2 cup fish sauce
• 4 tablespoons tamarind puree
• 1/2 cup thai palm sugar light brown (i just used some brown sugar)
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped shallots
• 4 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons chopped dried shrimp
• 1/4 cup finely julienned carrots
• 1 1/2 cups pressed bean curd, cut into small strips
• 2 tablespoons shredded salted radish, rinsed briefly
• 2 cups scallion greens, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 cups bean sprouts
• 1 cup chopped, toasted peanuts
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

• set up ingredients: soak the noodles in warm water for 30 minutes then drain well. whisk together the red pepper, fish sauce, tamarind and palm sugar (seasoning). get everything else prepped and lined up in the order they are needed, since the stir-fry process happens so quickly.
• stiry-fry the noodles: heat wok (or large pan) over high hear, add oil and heat until it shimmers. add shallots and cook until they begin to brown. add garlic and cook until golden brown. add more oil, if necessary, and add eggs, spreading them flat. stir in dried shrimp, carrots, bean curd, radish and soaked noodles. coat these ingredients with oil and stir-fry 30 seconds.
• add the seasonings: stir-fry until noodles are tender, adding water as needed. fold in the seasoning sauce, scallions, most of the bean sprouts, and most of the peanuts. cook for 10 seconds to soften bean sprouts. taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
• remove from heat and garnish with the additional bean sprouts, peanuts and lime.
  

winter csa: april

1. the bounty

• 1 bunch spinach
  
• 6 lbs potatoes
  
• 2 bunches kale
• 1 bunch leeks
  
• 1 bag pea shoots
  
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 2.5 lbs sweet potatoes
  
• 3 dozen eggs

2. cost analysis (comparison costs courtesy of freshdirect except where otherwise indicated):

veggies:

• 1 bunch spinach: $4.50 (csa estimate)
  
• 6 lbs potatoes: $12 (organic)
  
• 2 bunches kale: $7 (organic)
  
• 1 bunch leeks: $5 (organic)
  
• 1 bag pea shoots: $4.50 (csa estimate)
  
• 1 bunch cilantro: $2.50 (organic)
  
• 2.5 lbs sweet potatoes: $5 (organic)
  
• 3 dozen eggs: $15 (farm price)
  

= $55.50
actual csa cost per week = $45

and just when i couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel, there was spinach.

gluten-free crepes at bar breton

a gluten-free note here. if you're looking for some legit buckwheat crepes (100% buckwheat instead of a wheat and buckwheat mix and therefore gluten-free), bar breton has them. buckwheat is a gluten free grain but if you're extremely sensitive, you have to make sure it isn't contaminated. bar breton must be certified as they have designated gluten-free items throughout their menu.

so these didn't exactly rock my world but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. i had la guerande with a poached egg, spinach, mushroom and parmesean. the parmesean and pesto like sauce didn't hurt. and really, we've already discussed how i believe an egg with a runny yolk can solve most food problems in life.

next time i'm going for a dessert version.

bar breton
254 5th avenue
ny, ny 10001
212.213.4999
mon-sun 11am-10:30pm