Ever since I sat down and really looked at what we were spending on take-out, I have been on the search for quick, easy, and delicious meals to make for those late nights.  Pasta is always a good fall-back on dish to have around the house.  We do enjoy making our own pasta but for emergency meals, I always keep some dried pasta on hand, just in case.  Another staple that I keep in the freezer is a little pancetta;  it is a great addition to eggs, salads, and pasta.  My take on Pasta Carbonara has become a regular guest at our dinner table.  This recipe is a little salty.  A little spicy.  A little creamy.

When I mentioned my new found late night nibble to a couple friends, they all asked the same thing, “aren’t you afraid of using raw eggs?”  I had never really thought about it before, and in all honesty I did not want to start worrying about it;  but, I wanted to serve this dish to some dinner guests, and figured this would be a good time to figure out a way to avoid the “raw egg” issue. For this recipe I coddle the eggs with the boiling pasta.  Then before serving, I toss the pasta with the coddled egg yolks, and then add the sizzling hot sauce, and the cheese, lightly tossing just to combine, to make a creamy sauce that hugs every strand of pasta.  This is going to become your fall-back-on recipe;  I just know it!

Recipe:  Pasta Carbonara

*serves 4

What you need:

• 8 slices pancetta, small dice
• 3 large cloves garlic, finely minced
• pinch dried chili pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup chopped Italian Parsley
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• kosher salt, to taste
• sprinkle of fresh cracked black pepper
• 2 coddled eggs, yolks only (I don’t like the texture of the runny whites with the pasta)
• 1 pound spaghetti, cooked according to directions
• handful shaved parmigiano cheese

What you need to do:

In a large saucepan, heat water to boiling, and cook pasta according to directions.  2 minutes before the pasta is finished cooking, add the eggs to the cooking pasta. Cook the eggs for the last couple of minutes with the pasta.  Remove from the water, set aside, and drain the pasta.

While the water is boiling, and the pasta is cooking;  heat a large frying pan, over medium heat.  Add the olive oil, and the pancetta;  cook, over medium heat, until the pancetta begins to get a little crispy;  about 3 minutes.  Add the garlic, and chili pepper, stir;  over medium heat, cook until lightly golden;  about 2 – 3 minutes.  The bottom of the pan will begin to crust a little. Add the wine, and deglaze the pan.  Cook over low heat, until reduced; about 10 minutes.  Add the parsley, and the butter.  Stir, and cook, over medium high heat, for 1 minute;  slight bubbles will begin to form.  Remove from heat.

Working quickly as you do not want to lose any heat, add the drained pasta, and the coddled egg yolks to a large serving bowl, and toss using two spoons.  Add the hot pancetta sauce, and cheese;  toss quickly until creamy.  Season with salt, and a generous sprinkle of black pepper.  Serve.  Eat.

If you like this recipe, check these out:

Pasta Carbonara

Pasta Carbonara with Poached Egg

Asparagus and Chicken Pasta Carbonara

© Denise for Chez Us, 2011. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Carbonara, Chili Peppers, Coddled Eggs, Easy Dinner, Garlic, Pancetta, Parmesan Cheese, Pasta, Pasta Carbonara, Spicy

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We fell in love with real tacos during a trip to Sayulita.  I say real, because the tacos that we eat here in the states, is nothing like the ones we had in Mexico.  Here, tacos are always full of cheese, lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, and few scrappy tomatoes.  Sure they are tasty, and hit the spot;  but, they are nothing like a true Mexican taco.  The tacos we had in Mexico where made with the freshest ingredients from the protein all the way to the vegetables.   No cheese.  No sour cream.  No guac.  Depending on the stand we ate at, some where made with a savory slaw or pickled vegetables.  One thing that was always the same was the savory, grilled meat or fish, and the lightly spicy creme.

I remember one particular night of taco gorging.  We found this little taco stand, just off the main street, next to a liquor store, it wasn’t anything fancy.  Plastic tables and chairs, dirt under our feet, and a young kid, grilling away.  He instructed us to go across the street, get some beer, come back, order some tacos, and sit.  Being like most somewhat cautious “Americans”, we only ordered a couple tacos at first;  after all, he was cooking in the dirt.  We sat down, and he brought them over.  First bite, with caramelized beef fat running down our faces, and spicy, pickled peppers dancing on our tongues, we were in love.  We ended up sitting there for some time, drinking beer, and ordering more tacos, and more tacos.

This recipe is not from Mexico, but rather a Bill Granger inspired one.  It is close, very close, to what we were eating in Sayulita.  Lightly marinaded fish, grilled until slightly crispy, and then nestled into a corn tortilla and covered with a spicy cucumber and tomato salad, with just a drizzle of savory creme.  Pass the beer, and you are all set for a take back to sunny Mexico.

Don’t forget, you have a few days left to enter our give-away, to win your own Bill Granger cookbook;  more delicious recipes such as this are in it!!

Recipe:  Fish Tacos
*inspired by a trip to Sayulita and Bill Granger’s Fish Burrito recipe
**made 5 tacos, perfect for two people

What you need:

• 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 small Serrano chili, seeds removed, and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• lime, zest
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 lb fish white fish, used rock cod

What you need to do:

Place all of the spices into a food processor, while it is running, drizzle in olive oil.  Mixture will be paste like.  Coat fish with the spicy mixture, and let sit, at room temperature, for 30 minutes.  Slice the fish into strips.  Heat a non-stick grill pan over medium heat until hot.  Add the fish strips in a single layer, and cook until golden;  about 1 – 2 minutes per side.  Remove from the pan, and set on a cookie sheet, in an oven set at 200.  Continue cooking all of the fish.  While the fish is cooking, place the tortillas in the oven, to warm through;  about 5 – 10 minutes.  To serve, put a layer of fish on a tortilla, add some of the cucumber salad, and drizzle with the lime creme.  Serve.  Eat.

Recipe: Cucumber Salad

What you need:

• 1 cucumber, peeled, sliced thinly, seeds removed
• 2 tomatoes, cut into small pieces
• 5 green onions, sliced thinly
• handful cilantro, torn
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 small green chili, seeded, sliced thinly
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• corn tortillas

What you need to do:

Cut the cucumber lengthwise.  Peel the tough outer skin, scoop out the seeds, and slice into thin slices.  Put into a bowl with everything but the cilantro leaves.  Stir.  Just before serving stir in the cilantro leaves.  Serve.  Eat.

Recipe: Lime Creme

What you need:

• 1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt
• 1/2 cup whole fat mayonnaise
• 1 lime, zest
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• kosher salt to taste

What you need to do:

In a small bowl ad all of the ingredients except salt;  stir.  Season to taste with salt.  Serve.  Eat..

© Denise for Chez Us, 2011. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bill Granger, Cucumber, Fish, Fish Tacos, Lime Creme, Mexican, Mexico, Recipe, Sayulita, Tacos

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Last week was crazy.  Kind of a blur.  It was a bit more exciting than a normal week, as we got to do a live web-cast for Hugh Jackman.  Yep, that is right, that hunky guy Hugh Jackman.  Ladies, he is just as sexy in person as he is on screen.  I was gitty, and Lenny put up with it.  I was a lucky girl last week.  This week promises to be a bit more relaxed, and I am looking forward to having a chance to spend some time cooking, and Lenny is looking forward to eating!

I am always looking for easy, and delicious recipes to have on hand for those busy weeks.  I was inspired to make Piadine, after spotting it in the February issue of Gourmet Traveller.  After making it a couple times last week, and realizing how easy it is, I have decided to add it to our “Back to the Basics” category.

Piadine is an Italian flat-bread that originated from the Romagna area of Italy.  It is so easy.  I mean, why didn’t I discover this sooner.  It is made with flour, water, and some sort of fat, then grilled over hot coals.  The texture is slightly crispy, and it is lightly smoky.  This recipe makes enough for three Piadine crusts;  we cooked one, and put the remainder into the freezer.  Will be perfect, when we need another late night, delicious meal.

I wanted to keep this meal vegetarian, for Meatless Monday.  I followed the recipe, and marinated some zucchini ribbons in olive oil, garlic, and chilies, and then topped the warm, crusty Piadine with the mixture, as well I added some fresh mozzarella, while it was still on the grill.  I did not keep the Piadine on the grill too long, as I did not want the thin crust to burn;  I just wanted the zucchini and mozzarella to get a light smoky scent.  It was so good.  Light, flavorful, and filling.  Makes the perfect vegetarian meal.  Piadine is also perfect served as a cracker, along side a bowl of hummus or white bean dip.

Have you ever made Piadine?  If so, how do you like to serve it?

What you need:

• 3 1/2 cups 00 flour
• 1 stick butter, cold, and cut into chunks
• 200 ml hot water
• olive oil for brushing
• 200 grams fresh mozzarella, torn into pieces
• 3 zucchini, thinly sliced
• 120 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 small serrano chili, thinly sliced
• 1/2 meyer lemon, juiced

What you need to do

In a food processor, add the flour, and butter;  pulse until the crumbly.  With the food processor running, add the water;  continue mixing until smooth, about 3 minutes.  Remove from the food processor, and knead for a couple minutes;  set aside.  Using a vegetable peeler, make “ribbons” of the zucchini, by running the peeler down each zucchini, until you have pieces that resemble ribbons.  Preheat a large grill pan, drizzle in a little olive oil, and then pan grill the ribbon slices over medium heat, until tender and golden, about 2 – 3 minutes per each side.  Put into a large mixing bowl, and continue grilling all of the zucchini ribbons.  Heat olive oil in the same pan over medium heat, add the garlic, and the chili, cook to infuse, about 2 minutes, remove from heat, add the lemon juice, season with salt, and pour over the zucchini ribbons.  Preheat the grill.  Divide the dough into 4 pieces, and working with one piece at a time, roll out into a rough rectangle, about 1/4″ thick.  Brush both sides with olive oil.  Put onto a hot grill, turning once;  3 minutes each side.  Just before removing from the grill, top with the marinated zucchini, and torn mozzarella.  Heat for a minute, then remove from the grill.  Serve.  Eat.

If you like this recipe, check these out:

Piadine on Jamie Oliver

Sweet Piadine

© Denise for Chez Us, 2011. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cracker, Flatbread, Gourmet Traveller, Grilled, Italian, Mozzarella, Olive Oil, Piadina, Piadine, Recipe, Zucchini

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I have to confess something.  When I first heard that the next round of “Let’s Lunch”, was a liquid lunch, I instantly thought “MARTINI”, even though the liquid lunch was to help support Karen, as she goes in for her cancer surgery.  Then, I figured, Karen, may just love a Martini right about then, as well.  I had planned to lay out a few dozen glasses, some good vodka, lemons, limes, and olives and invite the Let’s Lunch crew over (virutally, that is) for a little liquid lunch.

Time took over my life the past couple weeks, and I did not get to my martini infused lunch.  Today, we were heading home after a webcast we did, earlier in the day;  we were hungry.  What to have for lunch?  While pondering that thought, I kept thinking about these gorgeous mangos that were on sale at Whole Foods.  Hmmm …. lunch, mangos, hungry!  Smoothie.  Mango Lassi.

We both love mango lassies but have never made them at home;  it is usually a treat to be enjoyed over an Indian dinner out.  We made a quick detour on the way home, grabbed mangos, and yogurt, and headed home.  Making this lassi was like the blind leading the blind;  no recipe, no idea, just taste-buds.  We tossed some mangos, plain yogurt, left-over coconut milk, cardamon, and Kaffir lime simple syrup into the blender;  a couple quick whirls of the blender and we had a thick cognition.  It was sweet, creamy, and heavenly scented with the coconut milk and cardamon.  Not only was it a filling liquid lunch, but a tropical one, as well.  Perfect!

Karen, I hope you are feeling better this week;  resting, and enjoying all of these delicious liquid lunches we have sent you.  xo

Recipe:  Mango Lassi

What you need:

• 2 mangos, peeled, and sliced
• 1 cup plain yogurt, whole milk
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons simple syrup (am sure honey or agave would work)
• 1 teaspoon cardamon

What you need to do:

Put everything into a blender, cover with the top;  blend until smooth, about 1 minute.  Pour into a glass.  Serve.  Drink.

Be sure to see what other #LetsLunch folks are slurping up this month.

A Tiger in the Kitchen

Blog Well Done

A Cow Girl Chef

Geo Fooding

Show Food Chef

Hot Curries and Cold Beer

Free Range Cookies

Kitchen Dreamer

Cooking the Fruit Bowl

Can It You Nit

Beyond the Plate

Caitlin Shetterly

© Denise for Chez Us, 2011. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Lassi, Let's Lunch, Mango, Smoothie

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Who doesn’t love crispy chicken fat, cooked with tangy lemon, and salty capers?  Hmmmm, we feel it goes hand in hand.   We have been whipping up chicken piccata for the past couple weeks.  It is simple.  It is tasty.  Of course, we do it a bit differently;  otherwise, we’d be like all the other chicken piccata cooks out there.

We don’t use dried-out chicken breasts;  instead of we use succulent, meaty thighs.  Dark meat really does have more flavor, and is moister than a breast.  We don’t bread it, think “healthier”.  No flour coating.  No bread crumbs.  Just juicy thighs, cooked until golden brown.  We use lots of garlic, as well as finely minced shallots;  just because we can.  We toss in a sprinkling of fresh rosemary, a heavy dose of capers, and some marinated sun-dried tomatoes.  Finished off with some rich chicken stock, and a splash of white wine, and a very generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Succulent.  Really, it is succulent.  Perfectly paired with a bowl of pasta, that is lightly seasoned;  we used some left over that was seasoned with a little pancetta, garlic, and olive oil.  Pass the green salad, warm crusty bread, and a glass of wine.  Life does not get much better than this.

Do you add extra ingredients into your chicken piccata recipe?  If so, won’t you share with us.

Recipe:  Chicken Piccata

*serves 2

• 4 chicken thighs, skinnless
• 5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 small shallot, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely minced
• 5 plump sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 2 medium lemons, one sliced into slices, the other used for juice
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon capers, drained
• kosher salt
• black pepper

In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil, over medium heat.  Add the shallots, stir, and cook until soft;  about 3 minutes.  Add the garlic, stir, and cook another 3 minutes.  Remove from heat, and put the shallots and garlic into a small bowl.  Season the thighs with salt and pepper.  Turn up heat on the frying pan, to medium high;  add the thighs.  Cook until golden brown;  about 3 – 5 minutes per side.  It will depend on the heat of your stove.  I like to use a fork, and them them loose, from sticking to the pan.  Once browned, remove and set aside.  Deglaze the pan with the white wine.  Bring to a low boil, and cook for a couple minutes.  Add the chicken, and shallot mixture back to the pan.  Pour in the chicken stock, add the rosemary, tomatoes, capers, juice from 1 lemon, and the lemon slices;  lower heat to a simmer.  Cook until the sauce is reduced;  about 20 minutes.  Serve.  Eat.

If you like this recipe, check these out:

Chicken Piccata with fried capers

Chicken Piccata

Chicen Piccata

© Denise for Chez Us, 2011. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chicken, Chicken Piccata, Lemons, PIccata, Recipe, Rosemary, Sun-dried Tomatoes

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A couple weeks ago we were craving a big spicy sandwich.  Something that we normally never have and we wanted it to be a classic.  We tossed around the idea of a burger;  NO!  A sloppy hot dog with all the fixins;  NO!  Roasted turkey with spicy mustard:  NO!  Then it hit us.

We ran to the store picked up some white bread, after all a classic sandwich has to be on fluffy white bread.  Then we fried up some meaty Applewood bacon.  Buttered the bread and pan grilled it.  Thinly sliced some fresh avocado and tomatoes.  Washed up some baby lettuce greens.  Tossed together some good ole mayo with a little (okay, a lot) Sriracha. Then we devoured it;  it was perfect, spicy, salty and creamy (thanks to the avocado).  There you have it …. the Spicy B.L.A.T.

What is your favorite way to make a BLT?

Recipe:  Spicy B.L.A.T (bacon, lettuce, avocado & tomato)
*makes one hearty sandwich

2 slices white bread

6 pieces meaty bacon

6 thin slices avocado

3 slices of tomato

1/8 cup mayo

1 tablespoon sriracha

butter

Butter both sides of the bread and pan grill, over medium heat, until toasted;  about 3 – 5 minutes per side.  Remove from the pan and set aside.  In the same pan, cook the bacon until crispy.  Lay the pieces of bacon on paper towels, to remove any fat.  I like to pat them a little, to remove any excess.  Mix the mayo and the sriracha together and set aside.  Slice the avocados and tomatoes.  Build your sandwich:  put a thin layer of the mayo on each slices of bread.  On one side, lay the lettuce, tomato, avocado and then the bacon;  top with the other bread slice.  Serve extra mayo/sriracha sauce on the side.  Eat.

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may enjoy these others as well:

BLT Best Sandwich Ever

BLT with Fried Egg

Ultimate BLT Sandwich

© Denise for Chez Us, 2011. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Avocado, Bacon, BLT, Lettuce, Sandwich, Tomato

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We have become big pork eaters in the past couple months.  Funny thing is, I usually never keep anything in the freezer except for some ice, vodka and ice cream.  Over the weekend I opened it, after being gone for a month, and there staring me in the face was a few packages of pork and wild boar!  We decided to have a nice Sunday dinner as we really have not cooked for most of the summer.  I kept it simple;  lightly seasoned pork tenderloin, roasted tomatoes and a big green salad.  Lucky for us and lucky for you, we actually had leftover pork which we used to make up these delicious sandwiches.

One of the things we have been carving since coming back from France is spicy and I knew as I started pulling items out of the fridge that this would be a spicy sandwich.  Not much is in there but I did find some mayo and sriracha;  this would make a fantastic base.  As well I had a crusty freshly baked baguette from the market, a juicy heirloom tomato and a few greens.  I coated the bread with butter and browned it until crispy and warm.  I kept the tomato simple, sliced with a little black sea salt and the greens I lightly tossed with a little olive oil and balsamic – mainly to have them glisten.  Layers of thinly sliced pork tenderloin were bathed in the spicy mayo and then cradled by the summertime additions.  It was perfect with a glass of Rose!

Recipe:  Spicy Pork Tenderloin Sandwich

leftover pork tenderloin
1 heirloom tomato, thinly sliced
handful mixed greens, washed and patted dry
1 small baguette, sliced in half
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup sriracha
black sea salt
fresh cracked black pepper
drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Thinly slice pork tenderloin, wrap in foil and gently warm in the oven at 200, for about 10 minutes – do not dry out. Slice baguette in half, butter and toast. I used a stove top grill pan to toast the bread until golden and crispy. While bread is toasting, mix mayo and sriracha. Toss greens with olive oil and vinegar, just enough to make the greens glisten. Remove baguette once toasted and let cool for about 5 minutes. Smear both sides of the baguette with the mayo/sriracha combination, layer with the pork, then the greens and finally the tomato slices. Finish with a sprinkle of black sea salt and a grind of fresh pepper, top with remaining baguette. Serve. Eat.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2010. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Easy, Pork, Sandwich, Spicy, Sriracha

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I hate when I boil an egg with intentions of hard boiling it and it cracks, the white oozes out or the yolk turns grey.  One would think, that it would be really easy to “hard boil” an egg but it really isn’t;  until now!  I have tried this method on and off for the past few months and it has not failed me yet.

Hard boiled eggs are great for a light breakfast with a piece of toast and fruit.  It also makes for an easy snack , just toss it into a baggie and pop it in your bag.  It also is great turned into an old time favorite “appetizer” the deviled egg.  Or as one of our favorite lunch time treats, Ella’s Egg Salad Sandwich.  Ella is only 5, almost 6, but she has been making egg salad for about 4 years and she really has perfected it!  We like to serve it alone as is or on a baguette.

* take precautions when serving eggs by making sure deviled eggs as well as egg salad is chilled if not eating immediately.  Do not eat if they have been sitting out in the open for more than an hour, especially in the summer months.

Recipe:  The Perfect Hard Boiled Egg

eggs, fresh and cage free preferably

1 teaspoon white vinegar

Put the eggs into a saucepan and cover with cold water and add vinegar.  Bring to a gentle boil and then low heat to a simmer.  Cook for 15 minutes.  Remove from the stove and run cold water into the saucepan until water has turned cold.  Set aside for about 10 minutes, remove from saucepan and use immediately or put in fridge until needed.

Recipe:  The Deviled Egg

6 hard boiled eggs, cut in half, yolks removed

2 tablespoons mayo, we prefer full fat, real mayo

2 tablespoons grainy mustard, we like Miele

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Add yolks, mayo, mustard and vinegar to a small bowl.  Mix well until smooth.  Season with pepper to taste.  Put mixture back into the egg whites.  Garnish if desired.  Serve.  Eat.

Recipe:  Ella’s Egg Salad Sandwich

7 eggs

4 tablespoons mayo

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

fresh dill, handful, roughly chopped

fresh chives, handful, minced

kosher salt, to taste

fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Roughly chop your eggs.  Add them to a mixing bowl with the mayo and mustard, stir until mixed, fold in herbs and season with salt and pepper.  Serve.  Eat.

Serving Suggestions:  as a salad either alone or on a bed of baby lettuce.  As Ella suggestions, with a spoon or on a split baguette.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Appetizer, Deviled Eggs, Egg Salad, Hard Boiled Egg, How to Hard Boil an Egg, Incredible Edible Egg, Sandwich, The Perfect Egg

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Goat Cheese, aged black garlic, kalamata olives and tomatoes come together to make an easy dinner in under 25 minutes.  Served along side a simple radish salad.

One of my all time favorite and easy dinners is grilled goat cheese served on a baguette with fresh tomatoes.   Tonight we hit spin class, yes, we are back on that training program, so we had very little time to make dinner.  We try to eat within an hour after the class ends … which is tough.  Tonight I decided to kick up the tradition way I make these warm and toasty goat cheese sandwiches, by adding some aged black garlic, kalamata olives and rosemary.  It was slightly tart, thanks to the goat cheese, savory, thanks to the kalamata olives and rosemary and caramelized, thanks to the aged black garlic – like a party in your mouth!

Recipe:  Grilled Goat Cheese Sandwich with Aged Black Garlic

ciabatta bread, sliced in half

goat cheese

2 cloves aged black garlic

1/4 cup kalamata olives

handful of rosemary

1 tomato, sliced thinly

Heat the broiler section of your oven.  Smear the goat cheese over the bread.  Mince the garlic, olives, and rosemary together, until almost a paste.  Layer tomato slices over the goat cheese.  Put under the broiler until slightly warmed.  Remove from heat and sprinkle the olive mixture over the top, return to the broiler and broil until the cheese is just starting to bubble and the sides of the bread are golden.  Serve.  Eat.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Aged Black Garlic, Goat Cheese, Olive, Rosemary, Sandwich, Tomatoes

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Scrambled eggs are something that we eat often on weekends.  Either plain or with an assortment of fillings:  mushrooms, spinach, cheeses, tomatoes.  The choices are really limitless.  As well it could be a scramble or an omelet. When we opt for the dinner scrambled egg, it is usually in the form of a frittata or a torta, again, you really can add anything from the basic potatoes to chorizo, to really spice it up.

I think the key to the perfect scrambled egg is the right seasoning and being cooked to the point of not brown or golden but also not runny.  We have been trying out some different techniques and finally came up with our favorite scrambled eggs or as Maggie, likes to call them “butter eggs”.  Below we have included the instructions for the perfect scrambled egg and a simple torta, which will make a nice light dinner when served with a simple salad.

Recipe: Scrambled Egg

*serves 1

1 egg

1 tablespoon butter, divided in half

2 teaspoons milk or cream

kosher salt, a pinch

fresh ground pepper, a pinch

Put half of the butter in a frying pan over low heat.  Melt the butter.  The remainder of the butter cut into small pieces.  While the butter is melting, whisk the egg with the milk, and the remainder of the butter.  Whisk until the egg and milk is incorporated.  The butter will be chunks.  Pour into the frying pan and stir with a fork until cooked through, not browned, still moist and not runny.  Season with salt and pepper.

Recipe: Torta

*serves 2

3 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced

1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoon butter, diced into small pieces

2 tablespoon olive oil

5 eggs

kosher salt, a pinch

fresh ground pepper, a pinch

Heat oven to 350.  Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 15 minutes.  Drain and set aside.   While potatoes are cooking, cook the onions with the olive oil, in an oven proof skillet, until they are soft and slightly browned.  Whisk the eggs with the salt, pepper until blended.  Gently stir in the butter and potatoes.   Add the egg potato mixture to the skillet, turn the heat to low, and gently cook for about 2 minutes, stirring to blend.  Place the skillet into the oven and cook for 20 – 30 minutes, until puffed and golden.  Remove from the heat and let set for a couple minutes before slicing.  Serve.  Eat

© Denise for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Breakfast and Brunch, Dinner, Egg Torta, Eggs, Fritta, How to Scramble an Egg, Omelet, Recipe, Scrambled, Scrambled Egg, Torta

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I really enjoy making a nice dinner on Sundays, whether it is for a group of friends or just the two of us;  it is a nice way to end a week and start a new one.  We decided that it would be nice to have French food for dinner.  We love French food, not your foo foo French food;  but, rustic pheasant French food, what you would find at your grandmother’s house in the deep of the Loire Valley sort of French food.  Don’t get me wrong, it is nice to occasionally have the foo foo sort as well;  but, nothing some comfort on a crispy fall night then comfortable rustic French food.

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Read the rest of Mushrooms with Poached Eggs (171 words)

© Denise for Chez Us, 2008. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dinner, Mushroom, Poached Eggs, Salads, Vegetables

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I admit it, I am a foodie whore! I love the covers on all food magazines. I am not sure which I love the best or for that matter if I even love them because of the food or just the photos. I use to be strictly a Food & Wine gal, then I added Bon Apetite when there was nothing else available on a layover and I discovered they had re-done their magazine and I loved it. Then after another layover in New York, I discovered the redone Gourmet and fell in love again, then along came Donna Hay and the list keeps growing and the stacks get bigger! But, I have to admit, I am really digging Gourmet and their pretty glossy covers! Every month when I am walking to our mail box and I see the package sticking out, I can hardly wait to see which one it it and I am always ripping off the plastic on the Gourmet before hitting the from door! Unfortunately, I have been so busy that I have not really had a chance to look through the August edition and now we are well into September, so last weekend I sat down and read through it! Not only are there some great articles this go around ; but, I am very excited to be trying out some new recipes!  Such as ……..

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© Denise for Chez Us, 2008. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cumin, Moroccan, Recipe

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