Tag Archives: egg

I Feel Like an Omelette Today

On Saturday, wonder of wonders, I had the day off! So the Lovely Bride and I went to the movies (we don’t do that very often).

This movie was so wonderful, and not just the parts about the cooking!

We laughed, we got teary-eyed. Simply a beautiful story of hard work, of love, of family and determination.

I have been thinking about it for days now, and this morning it made me feel like making an Omelette. I had some stuff that I wanted to use and thought it would work nicely together:

  • Andouille Sausage – cooked whole, then chopped
  • Chopped Red Bell Pepper
  • Coarsely chopped fresh White Mushrooms
  • Grated Smoked Cheddar
  • 1 Garlic clove, minced
  • 1 slice of Onion, chopped
  • and a Green Onion for garnish

(this makes enough filling for two omelettes)

sausage onions peppers garlic cheddar

Melt some butter in a saute pan and cook the Onion and Pepper until they start to get tender. Add Mushrooms and Sausage, continue to cook for about two more minutes, then add the Garlic.

When the Garlic starts to caramelize remove the mixture from the heat and reserve in a bowl. Return the pan to the heat.

saute-veggies-and-sausage
Don’t burn the garlic!

For each omelette get a mixing bowl –  combine 3 eggs with a 1/4 cup of Milk, a dash of Salt & Pepper and a pinch of Paprika.  Whisk assertively for 30 seconds and pour into the pan.

Let the egg mixture on the edges of the pan set, then use a spatula to slide under the edge, allowing uncooked egg mixture to flow beneath and cook. Take your time and be gentle.

When most of the egg is cooked, add the cheese, scattering it all over the surface of the omelette. Next, add the filling mix to the pan, in a line across the omelette:

add-veggie-cheese-and-meat-filling

Voila!

omelette with cheese and sausage
Yum! You can garnish with Green Onion, Sour Cream, Salsa… you name it!

Experimental Recipe – Green Onion Aioli

Last night I had a friend over after work. We drank a couple of beers and talked about food and cooking. He is going to come over next week to spend some time with me in the kitchen, I am going to teach him how I make some of my favorite dishes (yes, there will be pics and posts!).

I had him try some baby potatoes with garlic aioli – a recipe that I made out of a Tapas cookbook I picked up this weekend – and he just about fell over. It’s a dead-simple thing, making aioli, but getting the proportions right is the key.

This morning I woke up thinking about that aioli, and how would it taste if I subbed out the garlic for green onions? I let the thought simmer on the back burner of my mind while I took care of some housekeeping and decided to try an Experimental Recipe.

Extracting the Green Onion Flavor

The most important part of this experiment, for me, was getting the most flavor out of those fresh green onions. They are one of my favorite garnishes, with such a lovely green flavor and lightly pungent aroma.

I took five of them, cut them down to 2″ lengths, and put them in the NutriBullet with a 1/4-cup of water and about a 1/4 teaspoon of fresh-ground peppercorns (I am using a blend of Black, Pink and White peppercorns right now). I pureed this for about 40 seconds, making sure all of the stems were broken down.

The result was an intensely green onion-flavored froth with an amazing aroma.

Green Onion Puree
Green Onion Puree

The second step was to get some of that extra water back out of the puree. I put it into a small pan and reduced it on low heat for about five minutes, stirring gently to release the air. When it began to look more ‘liquid’ I took it off the heat to cool down to room temperature. I also stirred in one tablespoon of Champagne Vinegar so it could start working on permeating the onion puree.

Mixing Your Aioli

      Puree:

    • 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
    • 5 Green Onions
    • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • pinch of salt
  • 5 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 4 tablespoons Canola Oil

Separate the yolk from a large egg and put it in a small dish to warm up to room temperature. When the yolk and puree are right, add them together in a mixing bowl with a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of lemon juice and whisk.

Note: When I initially made this I did not include the lemon juice. When I tasted the finished product I found it needed a little more ooomph, so I whisked in the lemon juiceBoom! Perfect.

Once the sauce has achieved a creamy, uniform consistency, start drizzling in your olive and canola oil while whisking briskly.

Serving Ideas

I had some blanched veggies left over from the other night’s dinner so I used them for dipping:

Blanched Chilled Veggies with Green Onion Aioli
Blanched Chilled Veggies with Green Onion Aioli: Asparagus, Red Bell Pepper, Zucchini, Carrot, Mushroom and Snap Peas

I have to say that it is simply amazing with the asparagus and the snap peas.

Give it a try, I’d love to hear what you think.

Souped-Up Short Stack Pancakes

The Lovely Bride has a favorite breakfast – pancakes!

Before I learned about my gluten-sensitivity I used to make them for our breakfast almost every Sunday. When I decided to eliminate gluten from my diet (as much as possible, anyway) this little tradition fell by the wayside.

Recently we discovered a gluten-free pancake mix, Glutino, which is very tasty and easy to use.

Glutino gluten-free pancake mix

The directions say to stir together equal parts of pancake mix and milk, plus oil and an egg. Starting with 1 and 1/2 cups of mix, I put in the oil (I used Olive Oil, of course!) and the egg first, then started stirring in a cup of milk. The batter was very wet and runny, so I opted not to add that additional 1/2 cup.

I let the batter sit while the electric griddle warmed up and I fried a few slices of Black Pepper Encrusted Turkey Pastrami (in lieu of Bacon). I brushed the griddle with butter and poured out eight medium-sized pancakes.

gluten free pancakes on the electric griddleThe pancakes fluffed up nicely and turned a beautiful golden-brown. I took them off the griddle and put them in the warmed-up oven while I fried a couple of eggs over-easy.

My Favorite Breakfast “Sandwich”

To make the Souped Up Short Stack you’ll need some American Cheese slices and Bacon (I sub in the Turkey Pastrami). When the eggs are fried the way you like them, start building your sandwich (starting with the foundation). You can use as many layers of pancakes as you want:

  1. Pancake
  2. Fried Turkey Pastrami
  3. Pancake
  4. Slice of American Cheese
  5. Pancake, smear with a little butter
  6. Over-easy Egg
  7. Pancake
  8. Over-easy Egg
  9. Drizzle with Maple Syrup and Sriracha Hot Sauce

Enjoy!

Souped Up Short Stack Pancake Sandwich