Crustless Quiches

Lazy weekend mornings are the best. I'm an early riser; while Z can sleep well past noon, I'm often up around 8am, even on weekends. I make a cup of coffee or tea (Irish Breakfast is my current favorite), and sit on the couch reading or catching up on a show. 

I unabashedly love breakfast, and within a half hour or so of waking up I'm in need of food. While our fridge can get pretty sparse during the week, there are some staples I like to keep on hand. Eggs, cream (for coffee/tea), and cheese are three of them, along with frozen fruit and almond milk for smoothies. 

This brunch recipe creates a crustless quiche--a custardy and savory egg dish that comes together really easily with basic kitchen staples. While I do love flaky pastry dough, this crustless quiche is healthier, easier, and quicker to prepare.  

This genius recipe comes from Mark Bittman of the New York Times. You can add in chopped up roasted vegetables for a dressier look, particularly if you are serving this at brunch with friends. 

I'm out in New York right now (will be for ~10 more days or so), and I'm dying for a home cooked meal. DC is on the agenda for the weekend, and I'm hoping I can convince my friends to cook at home for at least one meal. Crustless quiche in pajamas on my own couch sounds pretty great right now. 

More brunch recipes: Blueberry muffins and shirred eggs

Crustless Quiche Recipe

From Mark Bittman

1 cup cream, half-and-half, or whole milk, gently heated until just warm

3 eggs, at room temperature

3/4 cup grated Emmenthal or Gruyere cheese

1/4 cup grated pecorino ro Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Butter

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine all ingredients in a bowl until well blended. 

Butter 4 to 6 ramekins, and pour egg/cream/cheese mixture evenly into ramekins. Bake in oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until almost firm. It should jiggle just a little in the middle.

Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Shirred Eggs

Move over poached eggs, meet my new favorite brunch dish, shirred eggs.

Shirred eggs are baked in the oven, maybe with a splash of cream, a sprinkling of herbs, or some roasted vegetables. I made a version below with leftover farro, scallions, cream, and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Feel free to add in whatever leftovers you have!

This dish is also great for holiday guests--it's easy to scale the recipe for visitors. Shirred eggs are the easiest of easy brunch dishes, and practically foolproof!

Shirred (Baked) Eggs

Serves 2

from Mark Bittman

Butter or oil as needed

1/4 cup farro (optional)

Cream (optional)

1 scallion, chopped

2 eggs

1 teaspoon parmesan cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Smear a bit of butter or oil in 2 custard cups or small ramekins. If you like, split the farro between the cups and put a couple of teaspoons of cream in the bottom of each. Add the scallions on top.

Break one egg into each cup, and sprinkle the cheese evenly between the two cups.  Put the cups on a baking sheet.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the eggs are just set and the whites are solidified. Because of the heat retained in the cups, these will continue to cook after you remove them from the oven, so it's best to undercook them slightly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.

Back to Basics: Poached Eggs with Ramps

I am about to change your life. Seriously.

Okay, maybe not so seriously. But trying ramps a few weeks ago WAS a life-changing experience for me, and it could be for you too.

Now, you are probably thinking to yourself: 1) what in the world is a ramp? and 2) why is it life-changing?

Ramps are garlicky-spring onions that bring a garlicky punch that mellows as you cook it. If you like garlic and onions, you will LOVE ramps.

Now, for the sad part...ramps are typically only available late March through June. Also, it's very rare to find them at the grocery store. You'll be better off looking for them at your farmer's market. 

This poached egg recipe below is my favorite way to make ramps. It showcases the ramp flavor beautifully, and though the finished product looks pretty impressive, it only takes about 15 minutes to make. 

Serve this poached egg and ramp recipe for brunch or turn it into your next Meatless Monday dinner. 

Why is this recipe part of my back to basics series? Even though ramps aren't necessarily a basic ingredient, poached eggs should definitely be in your repertoire.

Enjoy!

Poached Eggs with Ramps

Inspired by Bon Appétit Magazine

1 pound ramps

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper
4 slices country style bread

4 poached eggs (recipe below)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Flaky sea salt (like Maldon)

Rinse the ramps really well in cold water. Cut dark-green leaves from ramps and slice into 1" thick sections. Trim off the end of the bulbs. Slice the rest of the bulbs and stems into 1/4" thick sections.

Heat butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the bulbs and stems, then seasons with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring often, until the bulbs and stems soften (about 5-8 minutes). Then add in the leaves and continue cooking for approximately 3 minutes, until the leaves soften.



Toast bread, then brush with olive oil. Top each piece of toast with ramps and then a poached egg. Drizzle with olive oil, and then top with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.

Poached Eggs

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

4 large eggs

Bring 2" of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat so water is at a gentle simmer, then add the vinegar. 

Crack an egg into a small bowl. Gently slide the egg into the simmering water. 

Repeat with remaining eggs, waiting until the whites are opaque before adding the next egg (you should wait approximately 30 seconds between eggs).

Poach for about 3 minutes--the whites will be set, but the yolks will still be runny. Using a slotted spoon, transfer eggs to paper towels as they are done. 

Sweet Potato and Apple Hash

Cooking dinner is often one of the highlights of my day, but even I come home exhausted some days after work. Those nights, I often try to piece together some form of a meal with the odds and ends I have at home. Typically, it's some form of grilled sandwich or quesadilla--but sometimes you need a change.  

Looking around my kitchen, I noticed some sweet potatoes that were about to go bad and eggs sitting on the top shelf of my fridge. With the addition of an apple and some shallots, I created a lovely sweet potato and apple hash that I topped with an over easy egg. 

While this recipe is great for dinner, it would also make a unique brunch dish! Just think how great this would be after an awesome Zumba or yoga class...

Sweet Potato and Apple Hash

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and then diced

1 tablespoon, butter

1 apple, diced into small pieces

1 shallot, chopped

3 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed

Salt and pepper to taste

Boil a pot of water, and then add in the sweet potatoes once the water hits a rolling boil.  Cook the sweet potatoes for four to six minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender. Drain the sweet potatoes.

In a medium sized pan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the sweet potatoes, apple, shallot, and thyme to the pan, and sauté until the hash begins to caramelize and turns brown and crispy around the outside.  Add a dash of salt and pepper to season the hash.

Serve with an over easy egg.

Back to Basics: Eggs over Easy

Breakfast is probably my favorite meal of the day. I could eat eggs, french toast, pancakes, and any other early-morning food at really any point in the day.

For me, eggs are only perfect if they are have a wonderfully runny yolk to mop up with toast. My grandmother and sister were infamous for hating runny eggs. I never quite understood the appeal of an egg over hard. Though my grandmother, stubborn as she was, never outgrew her distaste for runny yolks, I am so glad my sister and I have similar egg preferences now...it makes it so much easier to share when we go out for brunch!

These eggs, eggs over easy, are fried eggs that have been cooked on both sides, but still retain the perfect bright yellow soft yolk. Not only are these eggs a great way to start the day, they work perfectly on top of brown rice, greens, or in a sandwich for dinner.

I know it's a Tuesday. You're probably going to rush out the door on your way to work with just a cup of coffee and a banana in hand. I challenge you though to sit down one day this week and eat a real breakfast. Eating a real breakfast during the week, even though it only takes about 10 minutes, feels so luxurious, and the extra protein will keep you powering through those Excel and PowerPoint slides until lunchtime. 

Hope these spruce up your typical breakfast routine!

Eggs over Easy

1 tablespoon butter

1 egg

Over low heat, melt the butter in a small saucepan.  

When the butter begins to foam, crack the egg into the pan.

Cook over low heat until the whites become opaque.

When the whites are opaque, jiggle the pan to loosen the egg.  

Using a spatula, gently flip the egg over.  Cook the egg for 10 seconds.

After 10 seconds, serve the egg with toast.

Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Frittata

Every year, Zach surprises me on Valentine's Day with Nutella, strawberries, and mimosas in bed. Now that we live on opposite coasts, I find myself clinging to little traditions like this. This year, I was hoping since Zach was going to be in town for Valentine's Day, he would find a way to recreate this special tradition.

Then Storm Pax happened, and Zach's flight was delayed until Saturday morning.  So long Valentine's Day tradition of decadent breakfast in bed. I took the news by moping around and feeling sorry for myself.  After a day of being very annoying, I came to understand that change is natural, and though traditions are meant to tie us to the past, they can also adopt to our lives now.

So this morning, I woke up early, went to the store, and bought the ingredients for a great brunch at home. I kept with our traditional theme of strawberries and mimosas-but had to make a few changes to add my own flair (and to adjust for Whole Foods choosing not to carry Nutella...really Whole Foods?). 

I ended up surprising Zach with blood orange mimosas, Philz Tesora coffee, strawberries, croissants, an arugula salad, and butternut squash, onion, and goat cheese frittata. The menu was different from how we typically celebrate Valentine's Day, and we were not celebrating on Valentine's Day, but it was still lovely and romantic.

This frittata is an easy brunch dish to throw together--especially if you cook the butternut squash the day before.  

Hope you all are having a lovely weekend with your Valentines!

Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Frittata

3/4 cup butternut squash, diced into cubes

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 teaspoons salt, divided

2 teaspoons black pepper, divided

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 onion, chopped

3 ounces of goat cheese (feel free to add more)

6 eggs

1/2 cup whole milk

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. 
• Toss the butternut squash with olive oil, one teaspoon of salt, and one teaspoon of black pepper. Bake in the oven, turning the squash occasionally with a spatula, for 30 minutes, or until the squash is tender. Leave the oven on--you are going to need it again soon!
• Meanwhile, in a small pan on medium heat, melt the butter.  Add onions, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and beginning to brown.
• Spray an 8x8 in. Pyrex dish with cooking spray. Layer the squash, onions, and goat cheese in the dish.

• In a medium sized bowl, whisk the 6 eggs, and remaining salt and pepper together.  Add in the milk, and whisk again.
• Pour the egg mixture into the Pyrex dish.

• Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the eggs are completely set on top. The frittata should look similar to very firm scrambled eggs.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Home for the Holidays

I flew home to San Diego late last night, and I am so excited for a week full of the four F's: friends, family, football (GO CARDINAL!), and of course, food.

My sister has recently become obsessed with eggs.  I am actually quite happy with this, because she spent years refusing to eat any sort of eggs.  Today, she had a hankering for deviled eggs, so she and I whipped up a quick batch of them.  These are a perfect appetizer or snack--so easy to make, especially if you have hard-boiled eggs lying around in your refrigerator.  The recipe below is for traditional deviled eggs, but feel free to add in whatever herbs you like!  The possibilities are endless--curry, anchovies, capers, tarragon, etc.  

I have also included a recipe for hard-boiled eggs.  Hard-boiled eggs should never ever have gray yolks.  

Deviled Eggs

From Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything"

Serves 6

6 hard-boiled eggs

Salt to taste

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Paprika, as a garnish

1. Cool, then peel the eggs.  Cut them in half the long way.  Carefully place the yolks in a medium sized bowl. 
2. Mash the yolks with the salt, mayonnaise, mustard, and cayenne.  Taste, and adjust the seasoning to your preference.  Spoon the filling back into the whites. 
3. Garnish with paprika and serve, or cover and chill, well wrapped, for up to a day before serving.

Hard-Boiled Eggs

Makes 6 eggs

Six eggs

Place six eggs in a medium saucepan, and fill up the pan until the water rises one inch above the eggs. 

Bring the eggs to a boil over high heat.  Remove pan from heat, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes.  

Meanwhile, fill a medium bowl with one quart of water, and one tray of ice cubes. 

Transfer the eggs to the ice water with a slotted spoon.  Let the eggs sit in the ice water for five minutes.
Peel the eggs and used as desired.

Back to Basics: Perfect Scrambled Eggs for One

My boyfriend and I are trying the whole long-distance thing.  He lives out in the Bay Area, and I am now a Washington DC resident.  Most days, it's manageable;  I go out with my girlfriends, stay late at work when I need to, and spend a weekend every month with my boyfriend.  

And then there are days like this past Saturday, where all I wanted to do was eat breakfast in bed with my boyfriend.  Instead, I was sitting at the breakfast table by myself, eating scrambled eggs for one.  

Scrambled eggs seem so simple, yet there are so many ways to mess it up.  Too rubbery, too firm, burnt, undercooked--the list of scrambled egg sins is pretty long.  I wanted a perfect scrambled egg that would leave me with big, fluffy curds to pile on top of my buttered toast.  This Cook's Illustrated recipe does just that, and it's easy to follow.

Scrambled Eggs

One Serving

2 eggs, plus one yolk

1 tbsp half and half

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

1/4 tbsp butter

1. Whisk eggs, half-and-half, salt, and pepper, in a bowl until they are combined and a pale yellow.  Don't over whisk!
2. Melt butter in a small pan over medium-high heat, until the butter is no longer foaming.
3. Add egg mixture to the pan, and constantly scrape the bottom of the pan using a rubber spatula. Once the eggs begin to clump, and the spatula leaves a trail (30-60 seconds), turn down the heat to low.
4. Gently continue scraping the pan for 30-60 seconds longer.  Eggs will be done when they are clumped, but still wet.  Eat immediately!