Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants!

Easter Sunday

After fasting all day on Saturday we were ready for another day of entertaining.

Having had a savoury breakfast on friday Paul wanted something sweet on Sunday. I made blueberry, lemon pancakes with maple sausage patties. Of course paul wanted them in Easter shapes - the only molds we had were hearts and these barnyard shapes. The chickens were 'Eastery' so I went with those.

Some fresh fruit and a mimosa (made with a small bottle of sparkling wine this time!!!!!!) and we were set.

After we were cleaned up we set the table. There were 6 of us for dinner in total.

Each place setting had an Easter cookie and a Easter basket of treats.

When everyone had arrived we enjoyed appetizers in the family room. we were relatively simple this year . . . well, simple for us anyways! We served Pizza Rustica (a traditional Italian dish), an assortment of local cheeses, and a neat appetizer I found online - asparagus wrapped with prosciutto and puff pastry.

After nibbling, laughing, and chatting we moved into the dining room for dinner.

Paul made an amazing broccoli salad . . .

It really was the best broccoli salad I've ever had. I enjoyed the addition of roasted cashews and dried cranberries to the mix.

For vegetables we served my favourite peas with mint that my grandmother made for us years ago. I also had honey roasted baby carrots with roasted pistachios.

The scalloped potatoes recipe was a new one - this one had close to 1 1/2 pounds of cheese and lots of fresh herbs. I think it was my favourite scalloped potato recipe ever - lots of flavour (lots of fat as well so I won't be making these regularly)!

We had two types of roasted ham (don't ask, I thought the one ham was going to be too small so I cooked a second one . . . needless to say we had a TON of leftovers!) The ham had an apple cider/maple syrup/brown sugar/mustard glaze which was the perfect combination of sweet and savoury.

I had planned on making the amazing ricotta tart that we made last week in our cooking class but it turns out I only had half the ricotta cheese that was needed. ARGH

Happily I had plenty of lemons in the refrigerator so I whipped up a lemon meringue pie!

Mini Bacon and Egg Tarts

It's time for me to gather around the table with the great bloggers who from the Cooking Light Supper Club. Every month we get together and cook dishes form Cooking Light that matches a theme.

This month's theme was 'eggs' and was selected by Roz. This is what she had to say about the theme:

The bottom line for this month's theme for the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Clubis my incredibly, irrisistable love of EGGS! Whenever there is a question about what you must absolutely have in your panty, my response always includes eggs! Additionally, it has always seemed to me to be a symbol of spring time that so many of us are anticipating!

It was nice that I cooked my dish today, on the first day that we had temperatures warm enough for me to leave the heavy winter coat at home. Robins were spotted. It was light when I went to the office AND when I returned. Celebrating spring was indeed in order!

The other great thing about this month's menu was that I got to have breakfast for supper - who doens't LOVE that?

These bacon and egg tarts were very good - Paul loved them and had seconds. That being said, I doubt I'd make them again. I don't like packaged bread and wasn't thrilled about buying it. Sure, I could have made some bread myself but that would have required me having overcome my fear of breadmaking - you see, yeast hates me. I also thought that bread was a bit much in this recipe. These tarts are like mini quiches and frankly would have been just fine with NO bread at all.

The recipe was easy to follow (although I have no idea the point of that cooking spray sprayed on the bread - I'd skip that as well) and the taste was great - just overpowered a bit by all of that bread.

Mini Bacon and Egg Tarts

(1-ounce) slices whole-wheat white sandwich bread, crusts removed
Cooking spray
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons chopped green onions (optional)
2 slices smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425°.

Lightly coat both sides of bread with cooking spray. Press each bread slice into the cup of a muffin tin. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes or until bread is lightly toasted. Cool slightly.

Reduce oven temperature to 350°.

Combine milk and eggs, stirring well with a whisk. Divide the egg mixture evenly among bread cups. Sprinkle onions, if desired, and bacon evenly over tarts; top each tart with 1 tablespoon cheese. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until set.

Asparagus and Poached Eggs on Toast

This was an impromptu breakfast that I pulled together today. When Paul decided to grace the world with his presence I asked him what he wanted for breakfast.

'Food,' was his helpful response.

When pushed a bit he decided that some poached eggs on sourdough toast might be a fine thing.

I remembered that I had some fresh asparagus in the refrigerator. . . and three slices of prosciutto that needed to be used up . . . and a hunk of gruyere cheese that had been in the cheese compartment since January (making it a bit aged).

I decided to make an open face sandwich that pulled it all together. Happily it worked.

(If you're wondering why the egg whites have a yellowish green tinge - I was too lazy to change my water after steaming the asparagus and poached them in the asparagus water.)

You want to soft poach the eggs so that when you cut into them the yolk flows over the melted gruyere and coats the asparagus, prosciutto, and toast with a wonderful impromptu 'sauce'. MMMM

Asparagus and Poached Eggs on Toast

(serves 1)

2 pieces of bread
2 slices prosciutto
4 steamed asparagus spears
1/4 cup shredded gruyere cheese
2 eggs
freshly cracked pepper

Toast the bread. Layer the prosciutto on top of the toasted bread.

Arrange the steamed asparagus on top of the prosciutto. Sprinkle with most of the cheese.

Poach the eggs. Place the poached eggs on top of the sandwich. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and a flurry of freshly crushed pepper.

'Caprese' Baked Eggs

There are those who would far rather have something sweet for breakfast - a platter of french toast, do-nut, danish or pastry. I am firmly in the other camp - the savoury camp. Sure, I do like sweet things, but offer up something savoury and the deal is done.

I call these 'Caprese' baked eggs in honour of the famous Italian salad - layers of tomato, basil, and cheese. It's one of those salads that when made with the freshest, ripest ingredients delights the senses. This recipe incorporates the classic flavours of caprese salad in one of my favourite brunch dishes.

The recipe below will make one baked egg, double, triple etc for more people.

'Caprese' Baked Eggs

1 piece of thinly sliced smoked ham (you can also use prosciutto)
1 egg
1 ripe cherry tomato or wedge of tomato
1 cube of fresh mozzarella (I also use ricotta)
1 teaspoon of pesto
freshly grated pepper

Line a muffin cup with the ham or prosciutto. The ham will form a cup for the baked egg. Put in the tomato, mozzarella, and pesto. Break a fresh egg int he cup. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.

Bake at 375 for 20 - 30 minutes (until the egg is as set as you like).

Remove the baked egg from the tin by its ham 'cup'. Serve immediately.

Scrambled Eggs with Proscuitto, Ramps, Morels, and Asparagus

When we were in San Diego last month we had arranged to go sea kayaking off of La Jolla. We were to meet our guide at 10 am. We decided to go to The Cottage, rated by many as the best breakfast in the San Diego area, for a good breakfast prior to the work out on water. We enjoyed a Proscuitto Scramble made with asparagus, proscuitto, caramelized onions scrambled with eggs, mozzarella cheese. It was so good that we were determined to try and duplicate it at home.

Fast forward to Friday when I was on the way home and decided to pop into the Cheese Boutique to see what treats I could find. I left with ramps, morels, and a number of hunks of tasty cheese.

The urge to duplicate our breakfast from the Cottage came together nicely with my splurge at the Cheese Boutique (morels do NOT come cheaply) when I found this recipe on the Bon Appetit web site. The Bon Appetit recipe only involved ramps, asparagus, and morels so I played around a bit to incorporate the proscuitto and some of the amazing Guernsey Girl cheese made by my favourite local cheesemaker - the Upper Canada Cheese Company.

This was an incredible start to the day! Sad that ramps and morels are only here for a couple of weeks . . . but I guess that this makes one appreciate them all the more when they are in season.

Scrambled Eggs with Proscuitto, Ramps, Morels, and Asparagus

1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup thinly sliced trimmed ramp bulbs and slender stems plus 1 cup thinly sliced green tops (from about 4 large ramps)
4 medium asparagus spears, trimmed, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1/2 cup)
1 ounce fresh morel mushrooms, thinly sliced lengthwise (about 1/2 cup)
4 large eggs, beaten to blend
1/2 cup grated cheese
3 thin slices proscuitto cut into strips

Melt butter in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add ramp bulbs and stems to skillet; sauté 3 minutes. Add green tops, asparagus, and mushrooms; sauté until ramps are soft and asparagus is crisp-tender, about 7 minutes.

Add the proscuitto and cook for 1 minute.

Add eggs to skillet; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir until eggs are very softly set, about 2 minutes.

Add the cheese and stir until melted.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide scrambled eggs between 2 plates and serve immediately.

Note: you can sprinkle with additional cheese and chopped chives for garnish.

Leftover Easter Egg Ideas

It is hard to believe that Easter is just around the corner!

I had better get busy planning a weekend of activity and eating!

Many people boil eggs, dye them, and have them at the Easter table. They are then presented with a dilemma - what the heck to do with this eggs when Easter has gone?

This video will help you out:

Baked Eggs with Chorizo and Potatoes

Paul and I wake up at 5:45 a.m. all through the workweek and are out the door to get the train by 6:40. In that time I shower, shave, dress, feed the cats, make lunches, put away the dishes from the night before, and put breakfast on the table. Paul shows up. I

 am a morning person. He, most definitely, is NOT!

Needless to say, with only an hour to get everything done, we don't do anything fancy with breakfast! On most days it is all I can do to dump some cereal in a bowl, pour on the milk, and we gulp it down.

When the weekend rolls around I'm looking for a more relaxing time of it. We like to sit around the table, reading the paper, coffee in hand, enjoying a more substantial breakfast.

I saw this recipe on the Food and Wine site and immediately thought 'hash'. I LOVE hash (no, I am not referring to the drug, although there was a time. . . . ahhhh, the joys of an errant but fun youth) it brings back memories of camping with my family or hanging out at the cottage. This was a treat my mom always had for us.

This is a different sort of hash to be sure. Far more sophisticated than the can of corned beef, can of potatoes, and eggs I got as a child (I confess to still craving it though . . . all the ingredients are in the cupboard as I type. MMMM) Chef David Kinch loves to say that this hearty combination of crumbled chorizo, chunks of crispy potatoes and eggs—all cooked together in a big cast-iron skillet—is his Mexican-Californian twist on rösti, the classic Swiss fried-potato breakfast.

It isn't like any rosti I have ever had but it was bloody amazing. I love the spice of chorizo. I love fried potatoes (I used cubed ready cooked potatoes - Simply Potatoes). I love baked eggs. I love fried onions. We LOVED this meal.

I wouldn't CHANGE A THING! It was THAT good.

Baked Eggs with Chorizo and Potatoes

2 pounds medium Yukon Gold potatoes
1 1/2 pounds fresh chorizo, casings removed
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8 large eggs
Toast and hot sauce, for serving

Preheat the oven to 375°. Put the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook over moderate heat until tender, about 25 minutes; drain and let cool. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 3/4-inch pieces.

Meanwhile, heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet. Add the chorizo, break it into chunks with a wooden spoon and cook over moderate heat, turning, until cooked through and lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Scrape the chorizo mixture into a bowl and wipe out the skillet.

Heat the oil in the skillet. Add the potatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat, turning occasionally, until golden and crispy, about 6 minutes. Stir in the chorizo mixture. Remove the skillet from the heat.

Using a ladle, make 8 indentations in the potato-chorizo mixture about 1 inch apart; crack an egg into each one. Bake the skillet in the middle of the oven for about 12 minutes, or until the egg whites are just set but the yolks are still runny. Serve at once with toast and hot sauce.

note - because we used the Simply Potatoes (which we can only get in the US) we pretty wekk started off at step 2.