Oeufs en cocotte

I recently made my first (sans-recipe) attempt at oeufs en cocotte, a french dish otherwise known as coddled eggs.  For me, this was a last minute, makeshift breakfast comprised of eggs, leeks, aged cheddar, bacon, rosemary and pine nuts - all thrown into a ramekin and baked in the oven.  It wasn't until I accidentally overcooked the egg to the point that the yolk was completely solid, that I realized placing the eggs on top of all other ingredients might have been the way to go.  Ideally, my egg yolk would have been just runny with the whites cooked fully through.  Nonetheless, this simple and quick brunch was incredibly delicious.  Now that I know what not to do when making this dish again, I'll be sure to include a yummy recipe with great results next time!

Here's a New Year's bonus for all of you wonderful readers:  My simple recipe for apple & rosemary glazed bacon!

Ingredients:

1 package of thick smoked bacon

1 cup apple juice (I used Martinelli's)

3-4 sprigs rosemary

splash of soy sauce

dash chili powder and/or crushed black pepper if desired

Method:

1)Cook bacon in skillet or microwave until nearly crisp

2)Set bacon aside on paper towels to remove excess grease

3)Combine apple juice and rosemary in skillet and let simmer

4)Add bacon, chili powder, black pepper and soy sauce

5)Let liquid reduce, stirring occasionally

6)Remove bacon from heat when fully glazed and no liquid remains

Soon to come: a peek into the delicious street food fare of San Francisco's Off the Grid and my favorite BLT!

'wichcraft

My morning began with a quick trip downtown to Tom Colicchio's sandwich spot, aptly named 'wichcraft.  I often like to try new sandwich varieties here, as the flavor and quality of each is superb; but my favorite (which has retained the top spot for years) is their "heritage smoked ham and cheddar" sandwich.  I also tried the fried egg sandwich which was pretty darn good too!  Thanks to Tom Colicchio's ingenious idea, both of these sandwiches are also featured in the 'wichcraft cookbook.  Here are the recipes in case you don't get a chance to go to one of their sandwich shops.  

Fried egg sandwich:
Ingredients:
8 thick slices bacon
4 ciabatta rolls
4 tbsp gorgonzola
2 cups frisée
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp unsalted butter
8 large eggs
salt and pepper to taste
(makes 4 sandwiches)

Method:

1) cook bacon in skillet until crisp over medium-high heat and

   transfer to paper towel to drain

2) slice ciabatta rolls in half, spread 1 tbsp of gorgonzola
   each

   bottoms slice and toast in oven

3) toss frisée in oil and vinegar, and season with salt and pepper

4) melt butter and fry eggs over medium-high, flipping halfway

   through so yolks are nearly cooked through, and season with
   salt

   and pepper

5) remove bread from oven once toasted and cheese has melted

6) place eggs, bacon and frisée on top of the gorgonzola and top

   with bread

7) serve and enjoy

Although the fried egg sandwich was very tasty, nothing tops 'wichcraft's delectable combination of cheese, ham and pear in this grilled cheese sandwich.  I can't wait to make it for myself one of these days! 

Ingredients:

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup cider vinegar

1 piece star anise

1 tsp black peppercorns

2 whole cloves

pinch of red pepper flakes

1/2 cinnamon stick

2 bartlett pears (cut into 1/8 inch slices)

8 slices sharp vermont cheddar cheese

8 slices cranberry pecan bread

8 slices smoked ham

2 tsp dijon mustard 

(makes 4 sandwiches)

Method:  

1) combine first seven ingredients with 2/3 cup water in saucepan

   and bring to a boil

2) reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes

3) add pears, making sure liquid is still simmering, and cook 2-3

   minutes until tender

4) remove mixture from heat and let cool

5) place 1 slice of cheddar, 1 slice of ham and 4-6 pear slices on 4

   pieces of bread each

6) top with remaining cheese and 4 remaining slices of bread after

   spreading them with mustard

7) place in (preheated) sandwich press, close lid and apply light

   pressure

8) cook 5-8 minutes, flipping halfway through to ensure even

   cooking, until cheese is melted and bread becomes golden brown

9) remove when fully cooked, cut in half, and devour

A sandwich is never just a couple ingredients wedged between two pieces of bread.  Sometimes I find these bundles of flavor more delicious than traditional meals, and often, for a much lower price!

Oven-dried blueberries

In light of my recent creation of yummy granola, I've decided to make another batch (sometime in the near future).  Of course, always using the same fruits, nuts and sweeteners could make the consumption of granola a bit monotonous; so I wanted to try my hand at making oven-dried blueberries.  For my attempt, I chose to use the smallest, least sweet and juicy blueberries I could since honey is used to sweeten them anyway.  I also cut the recipe, using only 1/3 cup of blueberries and ended up leaving them in the oven for 3 and a half hours (oops!).  In the end, they still turned out better than I had expected.  

Ingredients:

1 cup blueberries

1 tsp honey

Method:

1) Mix blueberries and honey in small bowl

2) Preheat oven to 225F and bake on lined baking sheet for 2 hours, 

   or until fruit has shriveled slightly

Cherry chocolate chip muffins

Here are some muffins that I grew up eating.  They're so easy to make, extremely chocolaty and filled with delicious dark cherries, and I always find myself coming back for seconds (or thirds...)!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup (1/2 bag) mini chocolate chips

1 cup frozen dark cherries (cut in half) 

Method:

1) Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips   

   in large bowl

2) In small bowl combine egg, milk and oil

3) Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients, stirring until almost  

   moistened

4) Gently fold in frozen cherry halves, making sure not to over

   mix

5) Preheat the oven to 400 F

6) Spoon mixture into lightly greased muffin pans (or greased

   paper liners), filling 2/3 full

7) Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, checking first at 20 minutes

8) Remove from muffin pans, cool on a wire rack, and enjoy

Just an average weekday

      Tuesday morning began with a walk through Noe Valley.  I soon decided to trek across Dolores Park and grab a pastry from Tartine Bakery.  Here’s a taste of what I encountered.

After waiting in the long and anticipated line at Tartine, one pastry in particular caught my eye.  

It was a savory Gougère pastry filled with subtle Gruyère cheese, black pepper and one of my favorite herbs: thyme.  

Though mostly hollow within, its depth of flavor provided just the right amount of satisfaction and saltiness to start my day.

Blueberry pancakes

Everybody loves pancakes, especially deliciously fruity ones.  Here’s my recipe for blueberry pancakes that serves two (or one very hungry person).  

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

blueberries as desired

Method:

1) Whisk together all ingredients except for blueberries

2) Heat pan over medium heat & add butter or oil

3) Pour out small amount of batter onto pan & add blueberries as desired

4) Cook until bubbles appear on surface & underside is golden brown

5) Flip and cook other side for about one minute more

6) Top with butter & syrup, and enjoy

Weekend discoveries

Saturday morning started off as one of those dreaded winter days in San Francisco: cold, foggy and constantly raining.  See for yourself.   

A view of Twin Peaks from my backyard

Rather than jumping up out of bed and walking to the Noe Valley Farmer's Market as I had planned, I decided to stay in for the morning and fix myself a delicious bowl of oatmeal.  

Final product: a bowl of oatmeal, blueberries, banana, walnuts, soy milk and maple syrup... oh and hot tea of course