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Posts Tagged ‘eggs’

A Rainy Weekend Needs a Good Brunch

Posted in American Cuisine, Latin American Cuisine, tagged , , on December 1, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

So it’s storming here in Northern California. It’s windy and we’ve got flood warnings. Although I managed to do a “speed walk” with my sister during a break in the rain, it is definitely a perfect day to stay in.

Earlier this week we had Turkey Enchiladas to use up the last of our Thanksgiving leftovers. Since it was just the two of us, I didn’t end up using all of the corn tortillas, salsa or cheese. And what better to make with all of these ingredients on a rainy Saturday morning?? Huevos Rancheros!

This is such a comforting brunch meal and will surely send you into a food coma afterwards! Steps for this:

* Heat refried pinto beans in a small pot with some chopped onion.
* Fry some bacon and / or sausages.
* Toast the tortillas straight on a gas stove or in a frying pan.
* Fry eggs on high heat with a lid just until the top of the yolks turn white.
* While the eggs cook, plate the tortilla, beans, shredded cheese and meat.
* Place eggs on top and finish with fresh salsa, sour cream and cilantro/coriander leaves. Extra hot sauce is optional!

Highly recommend you pair this meal with a glass of orange juice and a nap! Enjoy :-)

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Quick Dinner or Brunch : Frittata or ‘Spanish Omelette’?

Posted in French Flavors, Italian Cuisine, tagged , , on February 25, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Last week, I needed to come up with a quick dinner that didn’t involve rice or pasta or fish & chips. My husband suggested a ‘Spanish omelette’ – to which I said “Huh?!”. We proceeded to have one of our very funny arguments/discussions that are common when you have a trans-atlantic relationship. Others have included “what is a ‘cup’ as a measuring unit?” and “why don’t you have to refrigerate squash”.

So the ‘discussion’ got me thinking on how exactly do you differentiate between an omelette, frittata and ‘Spanish omelette’? So here goes:

  • A frittata is an Italian word which is a general term for cooking eggs in a skillet. Typcially a frittata is made with eggs that are whipped to create a light texture. It’s cooked slowly and is flipped as a whole or finished under the oven. The additional ingredients are often cooked first and the eggs are added in after.
  • A standard omelette (according to Escoffier) consists of three eggs with seasoning of a small pinch of table-salt and a little pepper and requires 1/2 oz of butter. It is effectively “scrambled eggs enclosed in a coating of coagulated egg” (The Escoffier) and is therefore cooked on low/medium heat.
  • A “Spanish Omelette” or as it is known in Spanish a “Tortilla” traditionally consists of eggs, onion and potato. I’ve read a few different methods. Some cook the onion and potato first and pour the egg right in. Some cool the onion and potato after cooking and add to the raw egg mixture to let the flavors mingle. Some put it under a grill/broil to cook the top or in an oven. And some let the bottom set and then use a plate to flip it out and then tip it back in.

So there you have it. The differences between frittata, omelette and a Spanish omelette. Also in case you’re wondering, “omelet” is the way it’s often written in the US but “omelette” is the actual French spelling. Now seeing that I studied in Spain (Sevilla) for 6-months during college, I’m a purist and believe that a Spanish omelette can only be called such if it’s potato, onion and egg. However, my husband was insisting that he grew up with Spanish omelettes being an omelette with any type of vegetable or leftover. And I had to bite my lip after strongly disagreeing when I saw Tesco selling a “Spanish Omelette” – one with potato and the other with red pepper and chorizo.

So hope you enjoyed all those little facts! After all that, I ended up making what my husband affectionately called a Spanish omelette and what I will continue to insist is a frittata for dinner last night. The method I chose was to chop into small dice – potatoes, leeks and a red (bell) pepper. I cooked the potatoes first until they were starting to soften and then tossed the leeks and pepper in. Let it all cook a few more minutes. Cracked my eggs, seasoning and a splash of milk in a bowl and whisked. Drizzled a bit more olive oil around the edges of the vegetables and poured the eggs in. On medium heat, I let the egg start to cook and gently moved it all around until I had at least a third of the egg cooked and a layer on the bottom forming. I had the grill (in the US we call it a boiler) on mark 4 and popped the ‘frittata’ into the oven. Make sure you have a pan that is oven proof though! And I just let it cook until the top was golden and it was springy to the touch. Serve with some salsa or salad!

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The Perfect Fried Egg

Posted in Asian Cuisine, tagged on February 4, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

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This morning I made my hubby and I a goodie but an oldie – Vietnamese style fried rice and perfectly fried runny eggs. I’ve posted about fried rice before (here and here).. This dish will never get old for us. And this morning he was particularly happy with just how runny his eggs were..

It made me remember living in Vietnam in the summer of 2006.. The eggs you’d have for breakfast with fresh mini baguettes were always perfectly crispy around the edges with perfectly runny yolks. I’m not 100% certain how they get this crispy edge.. It might be because they almost deep fry it as they put quite a bit of oil in a frying pan.. Or it may be they use cast iron pans that are kept on high heats during service.. Or maybe it’s all about having the perfectly sized frying pan so the edges are up against the sides of the pan..

But in my humble kitchen in our 2-bedroom flat, my method seems to work every time.. At the moment I’m stuck with an electric stove but either way it’s key to have a hot stove but not smoking. Use a small frying pan and add a knob of butter and splash of plain oil. The butter should melt but not burn right away. Crack the eggs in and sprinkle some black pepper. Put a lid on and keep an eye on it. As soon as the tops turn white they’re done! If you don’t like your eggs too runny, I use the very technical “wobble” method. Aka gently shake the pan and let the eggs cook until they wobble a little less! We don’t add any salt because we like to drizzle a little bit of Maggi (lite almost sweet soy sauce) or regular soy sauce. Serve over fried rice, warm white rice or dip some freshly toasted buttered baguette!

Hope you have a lovely weekend!

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Oh How I Miss California Cuisine

Posted in French Flavors, Gourmet, Re-"vu"-s, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 25, 2011 | 1 Comment »

Every chef book I’ve read and each of my chef instructors in school always talk about the food from their childhood. It’s funny how so many of us, even if you’re not a chef or foodie, have childhood memories that involve or center around food. Most of my childhood was spent in the San Francisco Bay Area – an absolutely beautiful and diverse place. As I’ve gotten older, I always feel so fortunate to have grown up in a place where cultures collide and people are genuinely interested in each other. There are, of course, conflicts but again I was fortunate to not be too exposed to any sort of intolerance. I grew up with friends from many races and religions. And from that exposure, I developed a great love for learning about others. Every culture, every community is so unique. This upbringing also inspired me to travel the world. Even as a young teenager I fulfilled my dream of seeing the Eiffel Tower and eating a “real” croissant. Of course it all comes back to the food!

So back to why I’ve decided to write – recently my lovely sister and her fiance moved back to the Bay Area where they both grew up. I went to visit them and wanted to share some photos from the trip. It was funny though being back in the Bay as an adult as my parents left California while I was in college. It was the same yet much more sophisticated than I remembered. All the food was delicious, rich, complex yet incredibly fresh. I have already posted some Yelp reviews for two of the places, so I’ve included the links for them. But hope you enjoy the pictures!

Moscow Mule

First up – Cafe Des Amis. (Click here for my Yelp review). This place was very charming. It was one of those French restaurants that is trying to be authentic which it did a pretty good job at without trying too hard. We had a cozy table in the back next to the fire – very romantic actually. Our whole group was really happy with our dishes (steaks, mussels, lamb, escargot, salmon) but we were even happier with the drinks! They make a great Moscow Mule!

Oysters for the group

Gorgeous buttery, garlicky escargot

Perfectly cooked medium rare salmon on a bed of lentils

For brunch the next morning, my sister and I managed to drag ourselves (and I’m so glad we did!) to Foreign Cinema. My sister’s friend had been to a wedding there and raved about their brunch. They were right.. I’m only sad that I can’t go back to try more dishes!

Slow-cooked, brown sugar smoked bacon

(No longer on the menu) Fried eggs with zucchini, fried prosciutto, harissa and chicken sausage on bed of creamy palenta

Classic Croque Madame with super crispy fries!

The last place we visited was Morocco’s Restaurant in downtown San Jose. (Click here for my Yelp Review) My review says it all, so here are a couple pictures!

Imperial chicken couscous with caramelized onions and raisins

Briwatt phyllo turnovers with mixed fillings such as chicken with cinnamon

I could dream about these turnovers all night long!  The chicken briwatt tasted just like the traditional Moroccan pastilla that I’ve written about. It’s such a surprising combination of flavors. I love it when food catches you off guard like that – just when you think something should be sweet, it’s even better savory!

Hope you’ve enjoyed the photos! What have you been eating lately??

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My Ongoing Love Affair With Meat

Posted in British Cuisine, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Cuisine, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on October 1, 2010 | 2 Comments »

As you all know I am quite carnivorous. I do love my veggies and am improving on my fruits, but nothing can really beat a juicy steak or Sunday roast (except for maybe anything fried).  So I thought I’d share a little slide show of the meat I’ve been eating. Hope you enjoy! 

Sunday Roast - Rosemary Garlic Lamb

Perfectly crispy, fluffed, roast potatoes

So many people give the Brits a hard time about their “plain” food, but as I’ve come to learn plain is just another word for simple. And if you have good quality ingredients, you don’t always need a whole lot of them. The above is courtesy of Mr. Chris Hutton (the boyfriend). Lamb was the very first thing Chris ever cooked for me, and three years later I’m still around! He stuffs garlic cloves and rosemary into the meat and rubs English mustard powder and a bit of flour on the outside. Since rosemary is such a fragrant herb, it can really stand on its own. (Tarragon and sage are other unique, distinct herbs) Be sure to keep it covered ~75% of the cooking time so moisture isn’t lost. It’s SO simple, but when done right it’s such a comforting meal.. Especially when it’s accompanied by perfectly crisp, fluffed potatoes! It’s not fair the Brits get such good potatoes. I have neeever been a potato person, but I’m definitely a convert! A classic trick is to use some goose fat to brown your potatoes in. It’s a natural product and will give you super crispy results! For crispy fries/chips, ensure you have dried, cooked potatoes before frying. Stick them in the oven for just a minute or two to finish off the drying process and voila! 

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A Bit Of MY Soul Food

Posted in British Cuisine, French Flavors, Italian Cuisine, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 9, 2010 | 10 Comments »

As the weather begins to turn here in England, I find myself craving for really hearty, comforting, food for the soul. The kind of food you smile at or smile thinking of. The kind of food your fork lingers over. Most importantly the kind of food you finish then curl up onto the couch and sleep a blissful sleep… 

For now I’d like to share three examples of the kind of food that makes me just simply happy… 

Let’s get right to it, shall we? As I’ve mentioned before, one of my favorite weekend pastimes is to cuddle up with Chris and watch BBC’s Saturday Morning Kitchen. Just a couple weeks ago, we watched the well known British chef Sat Bains (who runs Nottingham’s only Michelin-starred restaurant “Restaurant Sat Bains”) whip up one of his family’s favorite brunch dishes – Chorizo Eggs with Scallops and Coriander Salt. As neither of us had had breakfast yet, Chris got inspired to run out to the store and make us breakfast. He came back and did a wonderful job of whipping up this incredibly satisfying breakfast below. It’s incredibly simple but made even better with high quality sausage and high quality bread. Any spicy sausage would really do. For the bread, Chris nipped to our local Italian delicatessen (Filippettos) for some ciabatta. Believe it or not this little delicatessen is perfect. The owner is actually Italian and many of his products are imported directly from Italy (with the packaging written in Italian only!). If you’re ever around, you must have some of their ice cream… But more importantly they have a wide variety of cured/smoked meats and fresh bread. 

Chorizo Fried Eggs with Sauteed Mushrooms on Ciabatta

As you can see Chris added his own little addition of mushrooms sautéed in butter… I think any egg-lover will agree with me when I say there’s something SO satisfying about breaking a perfectly runny yolk. The gooey liquid spills out everywhere and drips off your bite of egg, spicy/smoky chorizo, buttery mushroom and crispy but light toasted ciabatta. And that’s when I look over at Chris and remember why I love him :-) Because he knows exactly how to make me happy! 

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A LITTLE CALIFORNIA LOVE

Posted in American Cuisine, Asian Cuisine, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 7, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

There are two things I absolutely love to eat when I go to LA – sushi and Mexican food. It’s a Mexican breakfast that I often day dream about – some huevos rancheros, chilaquiles or a breakfast burrito. Growing up in California I obviously love Mexican food, but when I moved to LA I was delighted to find such a variety of good quality Mexican places from gourmet to hole-in-the-wall. Even better, it’s not just Mexican restaurants that have good quality Mexican food. Since the ingredients are so widely available and so many Californians have grown up with Mexican influence, you can eat pretty decent Mexican food at places that have “California cuisine” or “American cuisine”.

For lunch one day in LA, Adi took me to Toast Bakery Café on 3rd Street. I had driven past this place a lot and the line was always around the block for brunch. So I was excited to finally try it. I was really torn between the breakfast burrito and the Oscar (thin strips of chicken, guacamole, fresh salsa, eggs over medium and melted cheese, sit atop grilled corn tortillas), but I didn’t want to eat too heavily so I went for the Oscar. It was the perfect portion size. Every ingredient tasted incredibly fresh and natural. The corn tortillas tasted authentic and the dish in general wasn’t over salted. It made me really consider getting that tortilla press I’ve been thinking of… Because so far I’m capable of making everything that goes into a Mexican breakfast except for fresh tortillas. And I know when I go back to the UK, I won’t have easy access to homemade tortillas like I do in Arizona (a little corner shop 2 minutes down the road).. Ah well you make do with what you have right!? Maybe that’ll be a Christmas present from Mom and Dad?

The Oscar @ Toast

 ** For all my former NBCU friends working on the Universal lot, please have a breakfast burrito at the commissary for me, with extra salsa.

Now SUSHI.

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NY TRIP (PART 4) : FOODIE HEAVEN

Posted in American Cuisine, Gourmet, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 9, 2010 | 1 Comment »

At last, my final post about my trip to New York last month. If you’ve read the other posts, you’ll know my dear friend Adi took me on a little culinary adventure. For two days we ate and walked our way around Park Slope, Chelsea, the West Village and SoHo. We re-visited some of my favorite places, went grocery shopping and checked out the new High Line Park.

But the highlight of my week-long stay in the city was not only a great experience, but was an exceptionally unique and intimate experience. The restaurant is Degustation in the East Village. The layout, itself, is a unique concept – a gourmet spinoff of a Japanese sushi bar. As you can see, it is a pretty small space that only seats 19 with all the cooking being done in the middle by four chefs. There was a grill/fry station, sauté station and plating area. It is categorized as a tapas bar due to its small-plate-style. While some flavors and ingredients are definitely Spanish, I would sway more towards American cuisine.

We had the pleasure of sitting in the far left corner of the bar next to the plating area. And we took full advantage of eyeing every single plate that was assembled. They even let us replace one of the dishes on the 5-course tasting menu. The chefs were really nice and accommodated all of our questions. Correction, he accommodated all of MY questions! But it was so much fun watching the intense concentration, the artistry, the flow. If one vegetable was plated facing the wrong direction, it would have to be thrown out and re-plated anew facing the right way.

For me, this is what made the experience foodie heaven. It was being so close to the action. It was seeing exactly why they call it Culinary ARTS. Each plate was the artist’s blank canvas. His mise en place (all the prepped items) was his paint palette. Even if the food had not turned out to be amazing, I would have enjoyed this experience. It’s one thing to watch sushi chefs but a whole other thing to watch a chef make such delicate, thoughtful food. (That’s not meant as an insult to sushi chefs, especially since my brother is currently training to be one!)

The entire restaurant, as Adi put so eloquently, was like a “finely choreographed song and dance”. Every plate was timed perfectly. The moment you finished your dish, it was removed in the most nonintrusive manner. And voila your new dish was placed in front of you.  The waitstaff was very friendly and knowledgeable, and (at least when I was there) all the patrons seemed to be really enjoying themselves.

But now to the food. As I mentioned, we ordered the 5-course tasting menu but we also couldn’t resist trying the ham and apple croquettes. Croquetas are a classic Spanish tapa. It’s a small, lightly fried fritter and is usually made with ham (the Spaniards do love their ham!). It’s a wonderfully delicate little morsel of crispiness and creaminess. Having both studied abroad in Spain, Adi and I have had our fair share of croquettes. And I have to say that I never ever tire of them. How can you say no to something fried? Something creamy? Something with ham? The best croquettes are the ones that are almost fluffy and don’t leave you feeling greasy (like fried mozzarella sticks do). And Degustation’s version were perfect. The crunch, the explosion of flavor and gooey-ness. I could have eaten 50 more if anyone let me.

Ham & Apple Croquetas (one order came with 4)

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Cooking For One – Part 2

Posted in American Cuisine, Latin American Cuisine, Sandwiches, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 27, 2010 | 1 Comment »

This time around I decided to stop being redundant and put up my recipes first. This way on my posts you can look at the more important thing – the pictures :-)

Next up in my cooking for one was a spinach salad. Spinach just happen to be on sale the other day, so I bought two huge tubs of it and it lasted me more than a week. Basically I’ve been super loaded up with iron these days. But I never get tired of it somehow. I love it in a salad, or sandwich or sauteed. And I might just stop using frozen spinach if I can help it. The flavor just isn’t the same. Anywho – you can find the recipe here.

This time I tried something a little different and made my super basic balsamic vinaigrette with white wine vinegar instead. As you can see I’m not super creative when it comes to salad dressings. I stick with my basics because normally when I feel like a salad, it’s a last minute thing and I want it to be simple. I also used some of the leftover chicken I bought on sale (and used in the last post). Because I didn’t want to mess up my Dad’s grill, I decided to just quickly pan “grill” it. I pounded it thin since I find it cooks faster and I like to take little bites. Seasoned it with garlic salt, black pepper and chili flakes. After cooking, I sliced into strips, used some in my salad and saved the rest for another day.

Healthy chicken fajitas

Chris arrived the next day and because I had so much darn chicken I decided we were going to have fajitas! In the spirit of being healthy, I decided I would make my own seasoning since it’s pretty easy to look up online and allowed one less ‘store-bought’ thing in our meal. I didn’t really measure and kind of just threw in an assortment of ingredients I found in various recipes online (the basics really). Find the recipe here.

For veggies, I decided to go a slightly different route since I’ve been reading lots about how bell peppers give you heart burn (aka make you gassy, not exactly romantic). Even though it is a summer squash, I’ve recently read about the benefits of eating zucchini (or known in the UK as courgette). It’s low in calories and a good source of vitamin A.

Healthy, homemade chicken fajitas

I also used mushrooms since (1) Chris and I both love them, (2) they also have great health benefits like being low in calories and a good source of potassium, and (3) we were at Costco and decided to get a huge box of them.

As you can see, we had a corn salsa with our fajitas. I decided to omit the black beans and bell pepper this time to make it a little lighter.

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My Mom – Hostess With The Most-ess

Posted in Vietnamese Cuisine, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 17, 2010 | 1 Comment »

As previously mentioned, this past Sunday was not only Valentine’s Day but also the first day of the Lunar Year. On Saturday evening, my parents, aunt, uncle, grandmother and boyfriend sat down to a traditional Vietnamese New Year dinner. This was my first time being home for Tet since leaving for college some 7+ years ago. So it was a real treat to be with my family and to also teach Chris about our Tet traditions.  

It was rather funny and challenging to actually explain these things to someone. I had to look up a few things, but how do you explain why the Vietnamese (and most Asians really) are so superstitious? They just are? How do you explain that money is an important part of Tet without making Vietnamese people sound superficial?  

My summary of Tet for Chris was mainly that (1) red is important and symbolizes luck, (2) giving money to family [li xi] in red envelopes also symbolizes luck, (3) you have to be happy and nice to others or else you’ll have bad luck all year, (4) oh and you should eat lots because it’ll make you happy and will bring you good luck!  

Not having celebrated Tet for seven years is quite a long time – especially when those years include college, living in seven different cities and five different countries. More than anything, it’s made me think about culture and tradition and what it all means to me. Being a Vietnamese-American or just being a first-generation born in the US (like those of any ethnic background) often makes me feel conflicted. I feel more American than Vietnamese. I lived in Vietnam during the summer of 2006, and I was treated like a foreigner. Yet I have a lot of respect for my family and our traditions, even if I don’t really celebrate them when I’m not home. In the end, I concluded this weekend that having traditions are good for any family. Whether it’s as basic as having Sunday dinner or holding the family’s annual sports challenge (complete with trophy) – it’s a reason for family to be together, eat well and share family stories.  

Now for the name of this post – my mother the hostess. For as long as I can remember, my mom has wowed her guests with her flowers, her table settings and of course her food. She always has each course  timed perfectly and with the help of my aunts – you’ll finish your meal and see that all the dishes have already been washed and the kitchen is spotless. This is something I am constantly working on despite the many small kitchens and apartments I’ve lived in. Nevertheless, I persevere and hope to be able to create dinner parties as beautiful as Mom’s – because, after all, taste is one thing but presentation brings it all together! 

Below are photos from Christmas 2006 and this past weekend for Vietnamese New Year. Enjoy!

Christmas at Home 2006

 

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