Potato Cake with Fried Eggs

I have gotten out of the habit of posting here lately, mostly because my cooking has not inspired any post ideas. Either I’ve been making tried-and-true recipes that I’ve practically memorized and that I’ve already posted on the blog, or I’ve been trying out new recipes from cookbooks, which I’m not likely to share until I’ve cooked them enough times to make them my own.

I’m going to try to get back in the habit of posting simple dishes as I make them, especially if they are easy enough that they don’t require a formal recipe. This potato cake is one of those dishes. This is more of a technique than an actual recipe, and once you learn it, you can fancy it up all kinds of ways. I topped it with a fried egg for a breakfast-for-dinner dish. A simple green salad would make a good accompaniment.

I used 1 medium Yukon Gold potato per person. Peel the potatoes and shred them using the shredding disk of a food processor. Rinse the potatoes to remove excess starch, then wrap them in a dishcloth and squeeze well to get rid of the excess moisture. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium with a couple of pats of butter in it. For 2 potatoes, a 10-inch skillet is a good size. Once the butter has melted, add the potatoes and smooth them out to fill the skillet. Cover the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet and let cook another 5 minutes or so, until the potatoes are browned on the bottom.

Slide the potatoes out onto a plate and add another couple of pats of butter to the skillet to melt. Place another plate upside down on top of the first one with the potatoes, and then invert the plates. Slide the potatoes, uncooked side down, back into the pan, and cook another 5 minutes or until the bottom has browned. Let the potatoes cool off the heat for a minute or two, and then slice into wedges to serve.

Breakfast Bites

I eat a lot of eggs, so I’m always looking for new and interesting ways to prepare them. Here is something different for breakfast or a light dinner. Cooking the eggs in a muffin tin results in single-serving frittatas that you can even take with you for breakfast-on-the-go. These keep well for a day or two, so they are a good option when you want to make weekday breakfasts ahead. The recipe makes enough for 6 “muffins.”

Breakfast Bites

• 1 tsp. oil
• 4 oz. sausage, casings removed and crumbled
• 2 tbsp. diced red onion
• 2 tbsp. diced bell pepper
• 5 lg. eggs
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Nonstick cooking spray
• ½ cup shredded cheddar or cheddar-jack cheese
• ¼ cup diced tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the sausage, onion and peppers in the oil over medium-high until the sausage is fully cooked, 4-5 minutes. Whisk together the eggs, salt and pepper. Stir in the cooked sausage mixture. Spray a 6-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Fill each cup evenly with the egg mixture and sprinkle with the cheese and tomatoes. Bake until the eggs are firm, 15-20 minutes.

Notes: This recipe seems very adaptable, by replacing the sausage and vegetables with whatever you like. Or omit the meat altogether for a vegetarian version.

An Easy Rolled Omelet

I eat eggs a lot, and I’m always looking for new ways to cook them. This is a favorite new recipe. It’s a quick and easy way to make a fancy rolled omelet — and really, anyone can do this.

The recipe advises cutting the omelet in half to serve two, but I think it would be okay to eat a whole one by yourself. It’s just enough for a light breakfast or even lunch, but I don’t recommend it as “breakfast for dinner,” as I don’t think it’s hearty enough. This is also a good recipe for those of us who are trying to cut back on their carbs.

Easy Rolled Omelet

• 2 lg. eggs
• 2 tbsp. water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 oz. cooked ham or bacon
• ¼ cup shredded cheese

Preheat the broiler. Whisk together the eggs, water, salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a small, oven-safe skillet over medium heat. If using ham slices, add them to to the pan and heat through (1 minute). Remove the ham to a plate, and pour in the egg mixture. Let sit without stirring until the bottom starts to cook. Place the skillet under the broiler for about 1 minute. Remove the skillet from the oven and scatter the cheese over the top. Arrange a single layer of ham or bacon on top of the cheese. Broil again to melt the cheese (about 1 minute). Remove the skillet from the oven and use a spatula to roll the omelet up.

Notes: Serves 1 (or 2, cut in half, as a really light meal). The finished omelet can be garnished with some cooked vegetables, such as roasted red peppers or sauteed mushrooms.

Update: I originally specified a nonstick pan for this recipe, but I have since changed that as it may not be safe to put nonstick pans under the broiler.

Pan-crisped Deviled Eggs on Lettuce

Continuing with posting some of my favorite recipes from cookbooks, this next recipe comes from How to Eat Supper by Lynne Rossetto Kasper (of The Splendid Table) and Sally Swift. In fact, it is my favorite recipe from what is otherwise a very uneven cookbook. If you like deviled eggs at all, you have to try this salad. Not only is the dressing delicious, but pan-crisping takes deviled eggs to a whole ‘nother level. This would make a nice light lunch or an impressive start to a dinner party.

Pan-crisped Deviled Eggs on Lettuce

EGGS

• 8 large eggs, hard-cooked and peeled
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 2½ teaspoons onion, minced
• 2½ tablespoons parsley, coarse chopped
• 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
• 2½ teaspoons mayonnaise
• 1½ teaspoons white wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper
• 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil

DRESSING

• The leftover egg stuffing
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2½ tablespoons milk
• 2½ teaspoons white wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper

SALAD

• 4 handfuls mixed greens

1. Cut the hard-cooked eggs in half lengthwise. Gently remove the yolks and place them in a medium bowl. Reserve the whites.
2. Add the mustard, garlic, onion, parsley, milk, mayonnaise and vinegar to the yolks. With a fork, crush everything together into a thick paste. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Pack the mixture back into the hollows of the egg whites, so the filling is even with the surface of the egg, not mounded. You will have leftover stuffing (this becomes the salad dressing).
4. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium. Gently place the eggs in the pan, stuffed side down. Cook until the eggs are browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper as they cook.
5. Combine in a large bowl the leftover egg stuffing with all the dressing ingredients. Add the salad greens to the bowl and toss. Heap them on a serving platter.
6. Gently lift the eggs from the pan, turn them filling side up, set them on the greens and serve.

Notes: Serves 4 as a main dish; 6 as a first course. 15 minutes prep time; 5 minutes stove time. The eggs could be stuffed a day ahead and refrigerated until you are ready to saute them.

Baked Eggs for Dinner

We eat a lot of eggs at my house — not just for breakfast, but for dinner as well. When I’m tired or not feeling particularly creative, eggs are my fallback meal. I could probably eat eggs most days of the week, and why not? They are easy to cook, inexpensive, healthy and tasty.

But even though there are many ways to cook eggs, I do get tired of the tried-and-true dishes: scrambled eggs, omelets, frittatas. For a change of pace, I have been experimenting with baking eggs. There are many advantages to baking eggs. They are delicious, for one, especially if you like a slightly runny yolk. Baked eggs spend most of the time in the oven, so they don’t need constant monitoring. You can make a salad while they cook. And by adding meat and vegetables as the “bed” on which the eggs are cooked, a simple dish is transformed into a full meal.

Here is my recipe for baked eggs for dinner. It is adaptable to whatever meat and vegetables are on hand, so it’s a handy way to use up leftovers. This dish has been a great addition to my weeknight rotation. This recipe makes 4 servings.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high. Add up to ½ pound meat to the skillet, such as cubed prosciutto, diced bacon or crumbled sausage. Cook until browned and remove from the heat.

Spray four ¾-cup ramekins or small baking dishes with nonstick cooking spray. In the bottom of each ramekin, make a layer of cooked, chopped vegetables, such as peas, green beans, asparagus or spinach. Or use drained, canned, diced tomatoes as a substitute. Layer a portion of the meat on top of the vegetables.

Break 2 eggs into each ramekin, taking care to keep the yolks whole. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and, if you like, a little grated cheese, such as Parmesan. Bake for 8-12 minutes, until the whites are cooked and the yolks look set. Garnish with minced parsley and serve immediately.

Baked Eggs + Leftovers

Here is another great way to eat leftovers, which I am always seeking. Put the leftovers in a little cup (technical term: ramekin), break an egg over it and bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. This works well with most cooked vegetables and meats, especially well with ratatouille and cooked spinach or greens, and especially, especially well with mashed potatoes.

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Quick and Easy Weeknight Frittata

Happy new year! As is the tradition on this blog, at the start of every year, I try to revitalize things around here and motivate myself to post more. I am especially motivated this year because recently I have been getting a lot of visitors and wonderful comments, which has inspired me. I love hearing your ideas, and they do motivate me to get into the kitchen, so keep them coming.

This year, I’m going to focus on posting what I most like to cook: simple, easy recipes with a focus on healthy eating and seasonal ingredients. I will try to post at least one favorite recipe a week, plus tips and tricks as I pick them up.

My favorite recipe for this week is the frittata. A frittata is an Italian omelet. It’s flat and usually thicker than a French-style omelet, with a lot more stuff in it. Making a frittata is a good way to use up those odds and ends of vegetables and cheese that might otherwise get thrown away. You can even throw in leftover pasta, if you like.

I make a frittata about once a week. It fulfills all my requirements for a fast weeknight meal. I can usually make it with the ingredients I have on hand, so a trip to the grocery store isn’t required. It cooks in less than 30 minutes. Often, it can be made without meat, as we try to eat a vegetarian meal at least two or three times weekly. And the leftovers keep beautifully. They are good reheated for breakfast the next day or even cold in a sandwich.

I have tried a lot of frittata recipes from a different cookbooks, and I have gradually worked out a technique that produces good results every time.

1. Start with a 10-inch nonstick oven-safe pan (i.e., one with a metal handle, rather than plastic). Pour in a little olive oil and heat the pan over medium. In the meantime, prepare the vegetable filling. Chop up any vegetables you like. For this week’s frittata, I used red onion and spinach. Leftover cooked vegetables are perfectly fine. You could also throw in some cooked meat, if you have any, like bacon or sausage.
2. Once the pan is warm, add the chopped vegetables and let them cook until tender or wilted. For onions and spinach, this only takes about 5 minutes. Firmer vegetables will take longer. Pre-cooked vegetables only have to be warmed through.
3. While the vegetables are cooking, beat 5 eggs with some salt, pepper and 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced. Once the vegetables are ready, spread them out in the pan and pour the eggs over the top. Turn on the broiler. As the eggs are cooking, lift up the edges with a spatula and let the uncooked egg run to the sides of the pan. You want the eggs to be almost set but still a bit liquid on the top. It may be necessary to turn down the heat to keep the bottom from browning too much.
4. When the eggs are almost set, remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle the top with grated cheese. For the frittata this week, I used mozzarella, because that’s what I had. You can do without cheese, but I always add it. It makes the frittata more satisfying, in my opinion.
5. Transfer the pan under the broiler and cook until the top is puffy and the cheese is melting and starting to brown. This should take no more than a few minutes. Take it out, cut it into slices and serve with toast.

Note: You don’t have to broil the frittata during the last step. Rather, you can put it into a 350-degree oven and let it finish more slowly. This works fine, but the frittata doesn’t get as puffy and browned, which I prefer. We call it egg pizza!

Leftovers keep for 3 days or so. Try a frittata sandwich for lunch the next day with slices of cold frittata between crusty bread.

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Sunday Morning Scrambled Eggs

I had the idea that last weekend’s cooking challenge was going to be an easy one. It was for a Country Scramble, a scrambled egg dish that contains a lot of other good stuff besides, most importantly, pan-fried potatoes. I make scrambled eggs with stuff almost every weekend, so I thought this one would be a breeze. I even planned to make biscuits to go with it.

What I ended up with was a “plate of fail.” That’s what I call the plate where food goes before burial in the trash can. In this case, it was 3 pieces of charred bacon — I’m blaming their demise on my toddler, who distracted me during the frying process — and an entire batch of biscuits. More on that later.

The eggs themselves didn’t go on the plate of fail, and my husband said he really enjoyed them, but they were not my favorite dish. I think there was too much stuff in them. When I researched Country Scramble recipes online, most of them contained similar ingredients: diced potatoes (cooked like hash browns), bell pepper, onion, cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon. I planned to add all of these, plus some scallions for freshness and color. I diced the potatoes, onion and pepper pretty small and added them to a hot pan with some of the liquid bacon grease. (By the way, 2 slices of bacon were rescued and made it into the final dish.) I mostly let them alone, turning them with a big spatula now and again until they were browned on all sides and the potatoes were tender. If I had stopped at this point, I would have had some pretty darn good hash browns.

I pressed the hash browns into a flat layer and poured over 5 eggs beaten with some salt and pepper. I sprinkled over some grated cheddar, the 2 crumbled rashers of bacon and some sliced scallions. After letting it set for a few minutes, I began to scramble. Well, the finished result tasted good, but it wasn’t really eggy enough for me. I think I could have doubled the number of eggs used and it would have been much better, but I already had made way too much for the two of us to eat.

I think I prefer my normal Sunday morning scramble, which has more egg and less stuff. I’ll put the recipe — such as it is — at the bottom of this post. By the way, my husband did take pictures, but I’m not going to post any of them, as this was not the most appetizing-looking of dishes. Judging on looks alone, the picture probably better belongs here.

As for those biscuits… I have made a lot of biscuits, from a lot of different recipes, and they usually turn out great. Biscuits are the easiest and tastiest breads you can make, after all. But I tried a new recipe called, ironically enough, “The Best Biscuits Ever.” These biscuits were a lot of work, and I think that was their downfall. I’ve never made a biscuit where the dough was worked so much. The first batch came out looking very much like hockey pucks: hard and flat and black on the bottom. To rescue the second batch, I had to pile three biscuits on top of each other for a layered effect. They were certainly flakey, but they did not rise at all. Lesson learned. I will return to my tried-and-true buttermilk biscuit recipe next time.

Here is how I usually make Sunday-morning eggs. This recipe is designed to use up little bits of leftover food before going grocery shopping on Sunday afternoon.

Sunday-Morning Scrambled Eggs

1. Go through the refrigerator and find 1, 2 or 3 things to put in the eggs. Leftover cooked veggies or potatoes are good, or a stray tomato. Onions, mushrooms or peppers will all work. Also, that last bit of cheese. If you have a little smoked salmon, prosciutto or bacon, even better. Cut up everything into bite-sized bits.

2. Beat together 2 eggs per diner, plus 1 egg for the bowl, until just combined. Stir in a dollop of cream (or half-and-half) and some salt and pepper.

3. Heat some butter in a nonstick pan over medium. Heat through or cook, if necessary, the filling ingredients you chose (except for the cheese).

4. When the filling is ready, spread it out in a single layer and pour the eggs over. Sprinkle with crumbled or grated cheese and some herbs, if you have any. Let the eggs sit for a minute or two, until they start to set.

5. Using a rubber spatula, scoop and fold the eggs to create big, fluffy curds. Keep scooping until the eggs are cooked the way you like them. I like mine a little wet, but some people prefer them to be entirely dry. Serve immediately with toast of some sort or biscuits.

Eggs & Tomatoes on Toast From the Pantry

I made this for dinner last night. It is a fast and easy dish you can cook right out of your pantry — and delicious to boot.

Eggs and Tomatoes on Toast

Time to make: ~20 minutes
Yields: 2-4 servings, depending on how hungry you are

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
• Hot red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste
• 10-12 canned whole tomatoes (about half of a large can; freeze the rest for later use)
• 4 eggs
• 4 slices country bread, toasted

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium with the garlic and red pepper flakes until the garlic begins to sizzle. Use your hands to crush the tomatoes as you add them with their juices to the skillet. Continue cooking, breaking up the tomatoes even more with a spatula, until the mixture starts to thicken.

Make 4 indentations in the tomato mixture and break an egg into each indentation. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until the eggs are set to your liking.

To serve, place one egg on a slice of toast and spoon some of the tomato mixture over.

Asparagus & Eggs

Image via Wikipedia

We are in the midst of that brief season when we must gorge ourselves on asparagus, for all too soon, it will be gone. Overindulgence is the key so that we don’t miss asparagus too much once its season is over, but rather let our longing build up slowly until the next spring.

Asparagus and eggs are a classic combination, and I celebrated Mother’s Day by eating a variation of this dish twice. Of course, the classic asparagus-and-eggs dish is crisp-tender spears topped by a fried egg and Parmesan shavings, which is always satisfying, but I encourage you to try something new.

For brunch, mix chopped, crisply cooked asparagus with fluffy, cheesy scrambled eggs. For dinner, try blanched, chilled asparagus spears drizzled with red wine vinaigrette and chopped hard-boiled egg.

I’m sure there are many other ways to combine these two great ingredients. How many can we try?

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