Thursday Night; clean the fridge out dinner… Baby “Chicken” Parma (aka Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce)

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So last night was once of those nights, that I get every so often. I know I want to eat at home since we were planning to go out the next night. But also wanted to use up what I had in the fridge.

So after an assessment;

  • I had lots ( and I mean lots) of eggs
  • Left over assorted cheeses and spiced meats from  Saturday night’s cheese plate
  • A few jars of good quality crushed tomatoes.

All that prompted me to remember a dish from the past, where you essentially “poach” eggs in tomato sauce and cheese in the oven.

So my dinner menu was hatched.

For the full recipe visit;

 

Baby "Chicken" Parma (aka Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce)

A quick and simple makes egg, sauce and cheese dish for a simple supper with a side salad or bread. 

  • 8 eggs
  • 2 small jars of crushed tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 -1 1/2 cups chopped assorted cheeses
  • 1/2 cup grated parmagianno cheese
  • 1 tsp Black Pepper
  • 1-2 teaspoons Parsley (I used dried, but fresh would-be great too.)
  1. Heat the stove to 350.

  2. Chop up the cheeses and meats, set aside.

  3. Mince garlic.

  4. In an oven proof skillet, add 1/2 teaspoon of oil, toss in minced garlic and sliced meats, saute’ over medium until the meat begins to render some fat and get curled.

  5. Add the tomatoes, black pepper, and parsley to taste.

  6. Simmer on medium for 15 – 20 min. Taste for seasoning.(Salt, pepper etc)

  7. Turn off the burner

  8. Crack the eggs into the sauce – gently in. circular pattern with one in the center.

  9. Then surround and cover with the cheeses

  10. Place in the oven for 20 – 25 min on the upper middle rack until the cheese is bubbly.

 You want the eggs to be cooked but yolks still runny. Sprinkle some more grated cheese on it, toast up some bread and ladle it on.

Mind-mapping & Brainstorming starts on a full stomach

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I needed a “me day” today. Too many big thoughts, changes & transitions to track, so wanted some creative alone time to plan, draft and brainstorm.

But first it needed to start with some coffee, then a walk to West Portal for a little nosh at Toast,


Then it was a stroll trough the Goodwill store for a few new dress shirts (with tags no less) – three dress shirts and an orange polo jersey for the summer, all brand new for less than $40. Score!

It was such a mild Friday night; albeit a lot of “full moon freakiness” out and about, we went for a  mani-pedi then opted for a comfort dinner at the Cove before walking home to prep for dinner on Saturday night. 

Went to make some layer cookies for dinner tonight (as a back up if my Apple & Pear Tart crashes and burns) at the house for Louis Karim, then realized I only had 1 can on evaporated milk; what to do? Original Version

Simmered almond milk down to replace the ev milk, then figured I would add dried cranberries and crystallized ginger to the chocolate and butterscotch chips. 

I think the adapted version tastes as good as the original but moves it from cookie bar, to gooey bar. 

Note: This means it’s one step closer to dairy free!

And Just because it was worth it to me… we can all use a reminder

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“For Good” – Out of Oz Studio Sessions with Kristin Chenoweth
Because we can all use a reminder

Reposted from her page; Sang with my girl Kristin Chenoweth for the first time in 12 years to honor WICKED The Musical producer David Stone at the Second Stage Theatre Gala. Very emotional. Hope you guys like!

She is on tour! Find out more on her Fb Page

AUG26
Sat 8 PM · Hearst Greek Theatre · Berkeley
Jeff likes this place
MAY27
Sat 8 PM EDT · Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall · Sarasota, FL
Concert
JUL22
Sat 8 PM EDT · The Fox Theatre · Atlanta, GA
Colby and 11 friends like this place

Another Bookclub Saturday; The Angel: The Egyptian Spy Who Saved Israel with a side of Meat Pie!

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Another Bookclub Saturday, the book that was chosen was supposed be to be an “action” theme – so we selected  The Angel: The Egyptian Spy Who Saved Israel. I can’t say its the best read. But the historical information was interesting. The constant list of “who’s who” got tiring  after the first chapter, yet the discussion bid yield some interesting insight on the book.

That aside – it provided a great day for a food theme. I opted to bring an Isreali Meat Pie recipe I found on the NYT Cooking site. Which is in itself an adaption.

For my version, I omitted the dill (a few folks around here don’t like it) and added more cinnamon but thats to taste I think.  This version was super simple and can be prepped the night before or over the course of an afternoon. Depending on your time. My edits to this variation are in red. Now having made and eaten it – it was a win – great taste, simple and clean flavor. I definitely could serve as a base for adapting; by adding ginger, garlic, cheese etc. It traveled well – but seems to taste best while still warm and crisp.

According to NYT’s Melissa Clark ; this was featured in: In ‘Zahav,’ Michael Solomonov Explores Israeli Food.

Full Recipe Here

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Some old-school “Coddled” eggs for Sunday

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Last week, the conversation came up about eggs. Now I happen to live with someone who is a be “egg-ceptional” when it comes to those protein bombs of goodness. He can eat them at ant time of the day. breakfast or dinner. But on Sundays, I generally make them for breakfast, but even for me – I can only make so many frittata’s, omelettes and scrambles before I am over it. During a dinner parted the topic of “coddled” eggs came up and at the same time I happen to see a few recipes for these simple “steamed” style eggs on tv.

So today I thought I would give them a try. Essentially preparing coddled eggs is just a fancy way describe gently or lightly cooked eggs. In the past – they even had a bunch of really lovely glassware called “coddlers” to use to cook and serve them in. Some ways of preparing them include cooking them in the eggs shells themselves, or cooking & serving them in the coddlers or ramekins or  the coddlers serving as a cooking mold and they are up-ended out onto the plate. Chefs and cooking host from Martha Stewart to Jacque Pepin have plenty of recipes for them. In fact it was the Heart & Soul recipe series from Pepin that prompted this breakfast. You can find a bunch of those versions here. Cooking them doesn’t need any fancy equipment; you can use regular style 4 or 6 ounce shuffle ramekins or the ones I tend to use; the 6 ounce pyrex custard cups. You can even find specialty ramekins or “coddlers” as they are known at antique stores or Amazon.

After reviewing several recipes; I decided to try two ways.

The first was a straight forward, no frills version topped with simple sea salt and pepper with toast.

The second was an parsley version layered over warm roast beef slices and cheese.

Over all they were simple to make, once you get the timing down.

Simple & Straight Forward Coddled Eggs

This simple steamed egg dish is a perfect, quick and easy way to make eggs. This is to prepare two eggs. But keep in mind if you use smaller eggs; double up!

  • 2 XL Eggs (Room temp, the fresher the better. I tend to suggest XL or Jumbo lied. But Large will work too.)
  • Salt & Pepper (To taste)
  • 2 tbsp Chopped Parsley or other herb (optional; to coat the sides of the ramekin)
  • 2 4 – 6 ounce Ramekins or Coddlers
  • 2 tbsp Cheese, sauces or heated veggies etc for toppings
  1. Remove the eggs and allow to come to room temperature

  2. In a skillet or other pan that has a snug fitting lid, bring enough water to soft boil. The water should come up half way up the sides of the ramekins

  3. While waiting for the water to heat, prepare your glassware. You can use regular style 4 or 6 ounce shuffle ramekins or the ones I tend to use; the 6 ounce pyrex custard cups. You can even find specialty ramekins or “coddlers” as they are known. 

    Butter the sides and bottom of the ramekins; both for flavor and to make up-ending them out on a plate easier. If you are choosing to use chopped herbs, coats the bottom and sides of the buttered ramekin.

  4. Place the ramekins in the water bath, medium-high heat, and cover for 7- 8 minutes. This is too taste – the longer they steam, the more firm they become. 

  5. Toast & butter some bread, or heat up some meat etc. What ever you choose to eat with them

  6. Remove from the bath, and dry the ramekin with a towel. Slide a small knife around the edges too loosen. If you plan to up-end them on a plate and serve on bread, potatoes etc. You might need to use the tip of the knife to get air inside under the bottom to get them to slide out. 

  7. You can top with cheese, salt and pepper. Drizzle with warmed tomato sauce -pretty much what ever is handy and dunk-worthy. Serve warm

  8. Note – Coddled eggs are definitely aimed at lovers of poached eggs and those that love the deep yellow yolk, runny and warm. Its all about the dipping of the bread!