November Daring Cooks Challenge: Rise and Shine! Cheddar, Bacon and Scallion Souffle

Dave and Linda from Monkeyshines in the Kitchen chose Soufflés as our November 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge! Dave and Linda provided two of their own delicious recipes plus a sinfully decadent chocolate soufflé recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s recipe found at the BBC Good Food website.

Our hosts were generous enough to let us go rogue and pick our own recipes as well as long as we made a real souffle and not some cheap knockoff.  I knew I wanted to do a savory souffle first (although the chocolate souffle sounded to die for), so I hunted around.  I also knew that I had one big souffle dish and not quite as many ramekins as most of the recipes called for.  So I went to Epicurious and Gourmet Magazine and tried the Cheddar, Bacon and Scallion Souffle.  It was as good as it sounds. 

I understand completely why souffles are a natural choice for a Daring Cooks challenge.  There is a lot of mystery around souffles.  It's mostly nonsense.  I'm not saying that souffles are easy.  They are certainly not. But they only involve the mastery of some basic skills that you should have in the kitchen anyway.  

First, carefully read the recipe before you begin.  The timing of a souffle is somewhat delicate, since you're dealing with heat and eggs and cheese.  This recipe lent itself perfectly to pretending you are a TV chef and filling up your little bowls of ingredients and getting your mise en place together before you do anything.  Then, proceed to master skill number two.

Almost final souffle batter ready for egg whites. Second, at least the first time through, follow the recipe exactly.  I think you can get spontaneous with a souffle once you understand the way it works.  A good abstract thinker might even be able to look at ten recipes and come up with one independently.  I'd recommend, however, taking a good basic recipe and working it through before playing with it.  There are souffle-sasters and following a recipe to the letter will help the first one be a confidence booster instead of a story to tell at the dinner party where you end up ordering pizza.

Mysterious stiff egg white peaks.The third and final skill that I think you need for a souffle is a little bit subtle since most recipes seem to assume this knowledge.  You must know how to very carefully separate eggs.  For any dish where you need to get your egg whites into stiff peaks (and since much of the drama of a souffle comes from that airy light rise), it is crucial that there are no yolks in your egg whites.  The separated yolks can have a bit of white in them if things get messy, but no yolks in the eggs at all. The contamination can ruin the whole adventure.

Fold, baby, fold. (Note: don't fold with a whisk!)I'm happy to say that, having already gotten wind of the egg white secret, I worked my patience and skills and ended up with a delicious savory souffle! I felt very American using what also amount to fantastic cornbread ingredients in a souffle, but it fit the ingredients we had available and sounded like something I could my husband excited about.  Now that he's had one, I have all kinds of other ideas and will get cracking on a sweet version as well.  

Souffles are also a great way to feature local and organic dairy products! I used New York Cheddar, Ronnybrook Farms Creamline whole milk, Vermont farm fresh eggs and Amish butter.    I had hoped to use the last of our garden scallions, but I couldn't get as much as I needed from our remaining harvest.  The dairy products were great, though, and made the dish! 

Cheddar, Bacon and Scallion Souffle (from Epicurious)

1/2 cup finely chopped scallion

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 slices of lean bacon, cooked, drained, reserving 2 tablespoons of the fat, and crumbled

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cups milk

cayenne to taste

1 1/2 cups coarsely grated Cheddar (about 6 ounces)

4 large eggs, separated

1. In a small heavy saucepan cook the scallion in the butter and the reserved bacon fat over moderately low heat, stirring, until the scallion is softened, stir in the flour, and cook the roux stirring, for 3 minutes.
2. Add the milk in a stream, whisking, and boil the mixture, whisking, for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cayenne, the Cheddar, and salt and pepper to taste, whisking until the cheese is melted.
3. Add the egg yolks, 1 at a time, whisking well after each addition, and whisk in the bacon.
4. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold stiff peaks, whisk about one fourth of them into the cheese mixture, and fold in the remaining whites gently but thoroughly.
5. Pour the mixture into a buttered 1 1/2-quart soufflé dish and bake the soufflé in the middle of a preheated 375°F. oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until it is puffed and golden. Serve the soufflé immediately.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cheddar-Bacon-and-Scallion-Souffle-12789#ixzz15Gdnh7pr

Vermont Special: Earl's Eggs with Chinese Chives

Occasionally I've posted about our trips up to Vermont.  Aside from the fact that anyone could find a bounty of local food stuff in that region, I've also mentioned that we are lucky to have (currently) Vermont-local family who also greatly appreciate great local products.  That family also happens to be the source of my most authentic Chinese recipes. Again, this combination has served me well.  

We arrived home from our last Vermont trip laden with a multitude of greens picked right from the family garden and a carton of the oddest shaped (and tastiest!) eggs I've ever seen courtesy of Earl.  I've cooked with spinach and arugula a million times, and so these were slotted into familiar recipes.  What, however, would I do with the great abundance of Chinese chives? 

Chinese chives are also known as garlic chives which should give you a pretty decent sense of their flavor profile.  When I took a nibble of the uncooked chives, they tasted like ramps on crack with a heavy dose of garlic.  Yes, please! Once cooked, the flavor does become more subtle, but not much.  

In the past, I've pretty much exclusively had these lovely greens chopped up in pork dumplings (and maybe once sauteed on their own).  Life has been busy and while dumplings are on the list for future adventures, this was not happening in the middle of the week without planning. 

Action shot: A shoots while I whisk.Once accompanied by Earl's eggs, the chives pretty much cook themselves.  In a traditional family interpretation, I scrambled four of the largest, most golden yolks you have ever laid eyes on with a mountain of chives.  Usually a side dish, we ate it as a main course served over rice with a spicy cucumber and radish salad.  

It would have been satisfying even without the esteemed provenance of our eggs and chives, but the flavors were elevated to fabulous by keeping it close to home.  If you don't have access to my particular purveyors, good farmers' market eggs will do and I have seen the Chinese chives at the Union Square Greenmarket.  Give it a try! 

Earl's Eggs with Chinese Chives

• 1 large bunch of Chinese chives, chopped in roughly 2 inch lengths 
• 3-4 farm-freshest eggs you can find, beaten
• 1-2 tbsp light tasting oil (olive oil is fine, but something light is preferred), divided. 
• pinch of sea salt

1. Heat half of oil in large pan. Pour beaten eggs into oil and cook about halfway.  Remove eggs from pan and set aside. 
2. Heat remaining oil in same pan.  Add chives and stir fry over high heat.  When almost cooked and still bright green, add eggs to chives.  Sprinkle with salt and cook until just formed, but still moist. 
3. Enjoy over rice. 

Meatless Monday: Polenta with Poached Egg and Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions

Awhile back, I came across the apparently viral Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions that had been all over the internet.  I was late to it even then, but it looked so simple and tasty that it went into the remember-to-make-soon brain folder.

I finally got around to it and have to say that I was pleased.  I am a fan of a simple smooth slightly sweet tomato sauce.  This is exactly that.  It satisfies in a soothing way and certainly comes together in a snap. All you need, I kid you not, is canned San Marzano tomatoes, butter and an onion. Period.

In the comments section for the tomato sauce recipe at Smitten Kitchen, there were a few variations including using a poached egg or eating the cooked onion (which gets removed in the recipe) on toast with some balsamic vinegar.  I thought, why not do all of those!?! And, my friends, I did.

I pan-fried some organic polenta (yes, the kind in a tube, but I had to use it up) and topped it with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, some onion, a bit of sauce and a poached egg.  Some fresh parsley or basil would have made a lovely addition, but the beauty of the dish is that all of the aforementioned things are around my kitchen pretty much all the time. 

Polenta with Poached Egg and Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions

• 2 1-inch slices of prepared polenta (or your preferred serving of polenta from scratch)
• 2 good drizzles of balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions, divided
• 1/4 onion from Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions
• 1 egg, poached
• 2-3 sprigs fresh basil
• fresh cracked black pepper

1. Pan-fry polenta cakes.
2. Set on plate.  Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.  Top with 2 tbsp tomato sauce and onion. 
3. Place poached egg on onion.  Top with additional 1 tbsp tomato sauce.  Garnish with basil and fresh black pepper to taste.
4. Dig in, yolk first.  Enjoy!

Paper Chef 50: Poached Egg on Dill, Ricotta and Onion Tartlet

I've been following the Paper Chef challenge for awhile now from afar.  Each month I thought I would give it a shot and wimped out in the end for a variety of reasons.  Not this time.

For those who aren't familiar with the challenge, this is a mini-Iron Chef with a lot more notice and more secret ingredients.  The event takes place the first full weekend of each month.  The winner of the previous month selects three ingredients at random (from a list compiled earlier that week) and then gets to add a fourth item - either a theme or an ingredient.

This month, the ingredients were dill, ricotta and honey. Our host at Prospect: The Pantry added a fourth to reflect spring and new beginnings - eggs.  I could not have been more excited.  And again, I thought about wimping out, but honestly, these are four of my favorite things ever.

I struggled with how to combine them since all of my ideas included three (usually dill in one set of three and honey in the other).  I went, with hope, to Eggs by Michel Roux which frankly should have been my first stop.  There were tons of almost-right recipes that got me dreaming.  It was his "poached egg on onion tartlet" that won the prize. 

My tweaks included using ricotta instead of cream and dill instead of thyme, as you might imagine.  There was no honey in the original recipe either, so that got added in as well.  I also had tons of lovely local onions from Philips Farms just screaming to be caramelized and spread on puff pastry. Et voila! Poached Egg on Dill, Ricotta and Onion Tartlet. 

Poached Egg on Dill, Ricotta and Onion Tartlet (inspired by Michel Roux)

• 1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• freshly ground black pepper
• sprinkle ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp fresh ricotta cheese
• 1 tsp milk (I used skim, but any will do)
• 1 tsp honey
• puff pastry
• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 large organic egg
• 1 sprig fresh dill, roughly chopped

1. Melt butter and oil in pan over low heat.  Add sliced onions and cook until caramelized, about 20 minutes, stirring often. Set aside.
2. Cut 4-inch rounds from puff pastry (I made three since I pulled out extra, but one will suffice).
3. Drizzle olive oil on small baking sheet.  Place puff pastry round(s) on sheet and chill for about 20 minutes.
4. Preheat oven (I used my convection toaster oven since I just made one) to 325F. 
5. Mix ricotta, milk and honey in small bowl and chill.
6. When pastry round(s) are ready, prick each 4-5 times with a fork.  Top with ricotta, then onions.
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until pastry are golden and crispy.
8. Just before pastry is done, heat 4 inches of water in a wide pan along with 3 tbsp vinegar.  Bring to a boil.  Crack egg into separate bowl and pour into water.  Poach for about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes.
9. Top pastry with egg.  Garnish with fresh dill.  Serve immediately.

 

Meatless Monday: Chinese Marbled Tea Eggs

I've been focused on big batch cooking to keep our take-out to a minimum both to save money and eat more healthfully in general.  It's no secret that a hard-boiled egg makes a good quick snack with lots of protein.  It probably is also no secret that they can get a bit dull. The answer to that in our house is to make our hard-boiled eggs Chinese-style.

To make hard-boiled eggs a more interesting treat, I went to Steamy Kitchen.  Her recipe calls for you to crack the already hard-boiled eggs by tapping lightly with the back of a spoon (keep the shell intact, just crack it all over).  Then place the eggs in a pot of hot water with soy sauce, two black tea bags (there could be a lot of tasty substitutions here if you want to get creative), star anise and peppercorns.  Simmer for 40 minutes and then let the eggs steep for anywhere from a couple of hours to overnight. 

When the eggs are ready, they have a built-in sweet spicy salty flavor and are beautifully marbled, making them very pleasing to the eye and the palate! The inside of the shell is particularly artful even in the early stages of steeping and the eggs themselves get more dramatically marbled the longer they are in the tea mixture.  Our first egg  (below) was tested after about four hours of steeping.  I let them continue to sit in the tea overnight, but those eggs got gobbled up to quickly to document.  All in all, very successful and so easy to snack on in the afternoon.