Caesar Salad Deviled Eggs

Caesar Salad Deviled Eggs

From Smitten Kitchen 


As I'm sure everyone knows, last night was the epic basketball match up of Western Illinois University versus University of Illinois at Chicago.  What's that?  You didn't watch???  You didn't even know it took place?  Well by golly, you missed a heck of a game!  John, my parents and I were lucky enough to procure 10th row seats thanks to my dad's active membership in the WIU alumni association.  Since my parents are WIU alums, my dad is also a UIC alum, I am currently a grad student at UIC, and John has the honor of paying for my UIC tuition, this was clearly a very meaningful game to us.  So much so that we left with 2 minutes remaining and missed UIC's come-from-behind victory in the last second.  Woops.


Ok, so the game wasn't the highlight of the evening, but it did give us an excuse to get together and have a few drinks.  And since those drinks took place at our house, it FINALLY gave me a reason to cook something!  Last time I served deviled eggs was at my book club, and I was stunned to discover that a lot of people don't eat deviled eggs or are scared to try one.  Since they're a bit of work to do, I've been hesitant to make them again lest they go to waste.  But with just my parents and John I was sure they'd be a hit, so I whipped up a batch.  And since John's all time favorite salad is Caesar, they were enough to ensure a speedy departure from work to make sure he got a few before we left for the game.


Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp anchovy paste (original recipe called for 1 anchovy, minced, but paste was all I had on hand)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup panko break crumbs
• 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese (obviously fresh is ideal, but I used the green can and it was perfectly fine)

Preparation

1. Boil the eggs.  I put the eggs in a pot, covered with cold water.  Brought to a boil.  Removed from heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes.  Immediately place in an ice bath for at least 5 minutes.  This makes very pretty, but somewhat tender hard boiled eggs, so take care when slicing and scooping the yolks.
2. Peel eggs.
3. Slice eggs in half, long ways.  If you don't have a deviled egg platter, slice slivers from each side to create a bottom for them to sit on.
4. Scoop egg yolks into the bowl of a small food processor or small bowl.  Set whites aside.
5. Add mayo, mustard, Worcestershire, and lemon juice to the yolks.  Mix in food processor or by hand until creamy.
6. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, stirring and tasting to check flavor.
7. Spoon yolks back into whites, or pipe them in with a pastry bag.
8. Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat.
9. Add anchovy and garlic to olive oil and cook, stirring constantly, for about one minute or until anchovy dissolves into oil.
10. Add panko and saute until golden, about 2-3 minutes.
11. Stir in Parmesan cheese.
12. Sprinkle panko mixture over eggs and serve.

Makes 12 pieces.

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Curried Egg Salad

Curried Egg Salad
From 101 Cookbooks 

Things in the HMK have been busy busy busy lately.  Well, not the "K" part so much, since the kitchen hasn't been seeing much action these days.  In between Christmas shopping, running errands, working and heading out to endless festivities, restaurants and takeout have become pretty common around here.  So today when I had a few hours at home mid-day, I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a home-cooked lunch.  I managed to swing through the grocery store on the way home from work and grab the short list of ingredients for this egg salad.  It comes together pretty quickly - while the eggs are cooking you can get everything else chopped up and ready to go.  The title makes it sound punchy, and the apple seems a little suspect, but it really melds together and no one flavor dominates the dish.  Serve it on crackers, toasted bread, or on top of a bed of lettuce for a refreshing little lunch any day of the week!


Ingredients

• 5 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 4 Tbsp plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp finely minced onion
• 1/2 medium apple, chopped fairly small, but not minced
• 1/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
• 2 Tbsp chives

Preparation

1. Hard boil the eggs.  I think I use a different method for boiling eggs every time, but in this case I went with the recommendation in the recipe, which was to place the eggs in a pot, cover with cold water by 1/2 inch, bring to a gentle boil, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 7 minutes.  Immediately remove eggs and place in ice water for 3+ minutes.
2. Combine yogurt, curry powder and salt in a large bowl, mixing to combine.
3. Add onion, apple, pecans, chives, and peeled eggs to bowl.
4. Mix everything together using a wooden spoon, smashing the eggs with the back of the spoon.
5. Serve as a sandwich, on crackers, or on a bed of lettuce.  Or just eat with a spoon!

Serves 3-4

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Fennel, Sausage and Caramelized Apple Stuffing

Fennel, Sausage, and Caramelized Apple Stuffing
From Cooking Light 

As you are probably aware, Thanksgiving is tomorrow.  And as you probably don't know, John and I attended a fabulous "Friendsgiving" feast on Sunday.  Both of these events involve stuffing.  Lots of delicious stuffing, some of which may even be offered to us as left overs, which is great since we love stuffing.  In fact, love might not be a strong enough word.  Case in point: on Tuesday we made a MASSIVE (i.e. 12 serving) batch of stuffing...for the two of us.  Of course we didn't eat all of it in one sitting, but I'd be willing to bet we polish it off before the week is out.

I blame magazines (obviously I'd never blame our lack of self control...) for this act of gluttony.  The magazine shelves are currently brimming with outrageous cover stories about caramelized veggies, potatoes galore, and of course every variety of stuffing known to man.  The average person only gets to contribute one or two dishes to their family's feast, so for cooking addicts like us there's just not enough Thanksgivings in a lifetime to make everything that looks amazing.  Thus, we had no choice but to cave in and make this awesome stuffing recipe on a random Tuesday night sandwiched between two legitimate holiday feasts.
Don't worry, we turned it into a real meal by sauteing some extra sausage with red pepper and red onion strips and having some garlicky broccoli on the side, but in the end this stuffing stole the show.  The apples add a hint of sweetness without over powering it, and the sausage is the perfect savory note.  It's certainly not traditional Stove Top style, but it's not so far off that traditionalists would be insulted.  So if you're one of the lucky ones that gets to contribute stuffing this year and for some reason haven't found a recipe yet, consider giving this one a try!


Ingredients

• 12 oz sourdough bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• cooking spray
• 9 oz Italian sausage (we used hot Italian sausage, but mild works too)
• 5 tsp olive oil, divided
• 4 cups chopped onion
• 1 1/4 cups fennel bulb, sliced
• 1 1/4 cups carrot, chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves (the recipe called for 2 Tbsp chopped fresh sage, but we didn't have any)
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
• 5 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, divided
• 3 cups apple, chopped (we used Honey Crisp, the recipe called for Golden Delicious)
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 2 large eggs

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Bake for 16 minutes, stirring after 8 minutes.  Place toasted bread in a large bowl.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat with cooking spray.
4. Remove casings froms sausage and add to pan.  Cook 8 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble.  Add cooked sausage to bread bowl, reserving sausage grease.
5. Add 3 tablespoons oil to sausage grease, swirling to coat.
6. Add onion, sliced fennel bulb, carrot, thyme, crushed fennel seeds, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to the pan.  Saute 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.  Add veggies to bread mixture.
7. Add 2 tsp oil to pan, swirling to coat.
8. Add apple and sugar, and saute 5 minutes or until apple caramelizes, stirring occasionally.  Add apple mixture to bread mixture.
9. Whisk broth and eggs in a small bowl.
10. Add broth mixture and 1/4 tsp pepper to mixture, tossing well to combing.
11. Spoon mixture into a 13x9 inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray.
12. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
13. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until browned and crisp on top.

Serves 12.

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Chilaquiles

Chilaquiles
From the Honeymoon Kitchen

Probably one of the biggest things John and I have going for us as a couple is a mutual non-pickiness when it comes to food.  I mean, we both prefer good food, but as ingredients go, we're not opposed to much.  We use this to our advantage regularly in our quest to sample as much good food as possible.  For example, we almost always split food at restaurants, allowing us each to eat two entrees.  This strategy makes me happy ALMOST all the time.  Brunch at Feast, a restaurant we've been frequenting for years, is the exception.

Feast has, hands down, the best chilaquiles I have ever had.  We've tried them at countless other venues and nothing compares.  The only problem is that we can't find a single other half decent item on the brunch menu.  As a result, the same scene plays itself out time and time again.  We sit down, order chilaquiles and XYZ mediocre second dish, relax until the food comes, and then engage in an all out battle for more face time with the chilaquiles, alternating choking down the crappier dish and scarfing the as much chiliaquiles as possible before the other person demands a switch-back.  In theory we could just get two orders of chilaquiles, but it just feels too defeatist.

In an attempt to reduce our trips to Feast, and thus our morning stress, we've resorted to making our own version of chilaquiles at home.  While it's certainly no Feast, the version is pretty delicious and definitely satisfies our craving...at least for a little while!


Ingredients

• 4 oz Mexican chorizo (the tube of raw, crumbly stuff)
• ¼ of a white onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
• 2 dried chilis
• 1 cup of your favorite jarred salsa (something saucy like most jarred varieties, a pico de gallo won’t really work here)
• 1 Tbsp heavy cream
• ¼ tsp salt
• 30 Tostitos rounds tortilla chips (I guess they don't HAVE to be Tostitos, but I find that they perform best when baked)
• ¼ of a white onion, sliced
• ½ cup shredded chihuahua cheese, or a Mexican shredded cheese blend
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 green onion, sliced, for garnish

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place chorizo in a cold skillet and cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes, until cooked and fat is released.
3. Remove chorizo and drain over paper towels.  Leave drippings in pan.
4. Add onion, garlic, and whole dried chilis to drippings and turn heat up to medium-high.  Saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.
5. Add salsa, cream and salt to pan.  Turn heat down to low and simmer 10 minutes.
6. Remove both chilis and set aside.  Taste the sauce and decide if you want it hotter.  Chop up the reserved chilis and add back in the amount needed to reach desired level of heat.  We added one back in and tossed the other.
7. Spread 15 tortilla chips across the bottom of an ungreased baking dish.  Sprinkle the chips with ½ of the onion slices, ½ of the cooked chorizo, ½ of the sauce, and ½ of the cheese.
8. Add another layer of 15 tortilla chips, the remaining onion slices, chorizo, sauce and cheese.
9. Bake for 25 minutes.
10. When the chiliquilas are almost done baking heat butter in a small skillet over low heat.
11. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and then pour them into the skillet.
12. Cook over low heat, stirring gently but constantly for about 5 minutes, until eggs are soft scrambled.
13. Remove chiliquilas from oven and top with eggs and green onions.

Serves 2-3.

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Deviled Eggs

 

Deviled Eggs
From Ezra Pound Cake 

 

Next up from the book club menu is deviled eggs.  I love deviled eggs, but have never attempted making them myself before.  And I have to admit, I may have over committed myself on this one.  Deviled eggs pretty much have to be made right before the party, since the yolk center gets kind of crusty if it sits around too long.  This isn't the end of the world for, say, a Saturday party, but for a Tuesday at 7pm shindig...boy was I like a chicken with my head cut off.  I had boiled the eggs before leaving in the morning, but when I got home at 6 I still had to peel them, scoop them, blend up the filling, and re-fill them.  This is normally where my sous chef/husband comes into play, but as I mentioned in my Salted Toffee Squares post, he had wisely fled town before book club.  I had the best intentions to pipe the filling back into the eggs like the lovely Rebecca Crump did...but at 6:45 that really wasn't in the cards.  So spoon plopping it was.  Actually, with a sprinkling of chives I don't think they looked too shabby after all.

 

Ingredients

• 12 large eggs, preferably not too fresh, for easier peeling
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise (I used the canola kind)
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp cayanne pepper
• coarse salt & freshly ground pepper
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped chives, plus more for garnish

Preparation

1. Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and fill with enough water to cover the eggs by about 2 inches.
2. Bring pot to a gentle boil, then immediately remove from heat and cover.
3. Allow eggs to sit, covered, for about 18 minutes.
4. Place eggs in an ice water bath for about 5-10 minutes.
5. Peel eggs immediately, or place in the fridge for later peeling.  FYI, peeling 12 eggs is a pain.  Eventually I came up with this decent strategy: crack the egg on the top and bottom, and then all around by rolling on the counter.  Start chipping off the shell at the fat end, and make a little chipped off tunnel up to the skinny end.  Then, using the side of your thumb, try pulling off larger sections as you work around the circumference of the egg.
6. Slice eggs in half long ways (hot dog style, if you remember paper folding guidelines from grade school).  Slice little slivers off what will be the bottom of each egg, to help them sit still on the platter.
7. Gently scoop out yolks with a spoon.
8. Using a food processor or blender, combine yolks, mayonnaise, butter, Dijon, cayanne, and salt & pepper taste.  Mix until very smooth and creamy.
9. Add chives and mix just until combined.
10. Using a pastry piping bag or a zip lock baggie with the corner cut off, pipe filling back into egg whites.  Or, if you're me, plop it back in with a spoon...
11. Sprinkle chives over eggs.

Makes 24 egg halves.

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Mix and Match Breakfast Sandwich

Mix and Match Breakfast Sandwich
From the Honeymoon Kitchen

First and foremost, I have to give a shout out to my FABULOUS new sister in law, Mary, for changing the entire course of Honeymoon Kitchen's future.  Ok, well maybe it's not that drastic, but it's pretty awesome.  She gave lent us her amazing Nikon digital SLR camera for use in the Honeymoon Kitchen!!  AND she's been showing us some nifty Tumblr tricks, so hopefully we'll have some cool new features pretty soon.  She's also our one-woman PR team, and thanks to her we've got a following of like 5 people.  Sure, they're all related to us, but still!

Now, back to the lovely mix and match breakfast sandwiches at hand.  We are those people who get up 6/7 mornings a week and make a real breakfast.  What can I say, I wake up hungry!  Sometimes we get creative, but most days we fall back on some sort of breakfast sandwich.  The beauty of this thing is its ability to clean out your fridge.  Today's version was pretty classic, with ham, egg, and cheese, but there are SO many alternatives out there.  Basically, if you've got it in your fridge, heat it, salt it, stack it, and you're golden!

Ingredients

• BREAD: Today we used sandwich rolls that doubled as sausage buns the night before.  Other great options include English muffins, baguettes, ciabatta, bagels, or just regular sandwich bread.
• EGGS: Our favorite is to fry them up over-easy.  However, in our morning haze we often break the yolk or just forget to pay attention and they end up over-medium or just scrambled.  It's all good.
• MEAT: You don't need meat, since eggs are pretty filling, but if you've got some on hand, go for it.  This morning we used deli ham, but bacon, other deli meats, and even crazier things like summer sausage have all made appearances.
• CHEESE: This one has provolone, but of course any cheese will do.  Don't be afraid to think outside the box with something like a goat cheese.
• VEGGIES: Today's version skipped this section of the ole' food pyramid.  However, we do often include any left over roasted veggies from the night before, such as asparagus, zucchini, peppers, and onions.
• SAUCES & CONDIMENTS: Our number one condiment is giardiniera.  We LOVE it.  A lot.  Other than that, John is a devoted honey mustard guy, and I like to add a light layer of fruit jam if the mood strikes me.

Preparation

1. Toast your bread product so that it can handle any condiments or soft cheeses you'll be spreading on it without tearing or becoming soggy.
2. Add condiments to bread.
3. Cook or heat your meat in a skillet.  Even deli meats - the get a little crispy on the edges and release some of their oils - it should only take a minute.  Remove meat and place on bottom half of bread.
4. Add a little cooking spray or oil to the skillet.  If your meat was something like bacon and gave off a lot of grease, you can skip this step.
5. If your veggies need to be cooked or reheated, you can do this in the skillet now.  Remove veggies and place on top of meat.
6. Add more cooking spray or oil to pan if needed, and cook your eggs however you like.
7. Place cheese on sandwich, followed by egg and top half of bread.  Squish everything together, helping the hot eggs to melt the cheese and allowing beautiful runny egg yolk to run out if you went with over-easy.
8. Eat immediately and enjoy being full all morning at work/school!

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