Storybook Eggs

Stranger I've Almost Forgotten: *Knock, knock*

Me: "Who is it?"
SIAF: "It's me."
Me: "Hmm? You sound familiar, but I've almost forgotten you."
SIAF: "It's me!!! Spring!"
Me: "Oh, of course! Well, in that case come on in, and I'll cook you up!"

Spring. As I'm typing this I can actually hear birds chirping outside my window. Asparagus and strawberries were available at the farmers' market last weekend, green garlic has been here for three weeks now, and the fresh milk I've been buying is thicker than ever. This is the season that always makes me think I should quit my job, pull out my big backpack, and live my life wandering around the countryside. I'm pretty sure I could live on wild onions and forest morels for at least a little while, but that's a fantasy for another day.

Three weeks ago the Dunwoody Green Market opened, which was great news for me. This means easy access to a few different farms that are growing slightly different veggies and such than my friends at the Morningside Market. Several wonderful little discoveries have come out of this market, but one of my favorites is duck eggs. I found them by accident. The day the market opened I loaded up one of my little friends (age 5), and we headed that way to see what we could find. He was very impressed by the white carrots and the free samples, but what most impressed him was a duck wearing a dress. Here's a picture of the duck and her owner:

You will notice that the duck (named Cutie Pie I later learned) is NOT wearing a dress in this picture, which is unfortunate, but so it goes. It cost 5 bucks to take a picture of the duck with the dress on, and I decided that money was better spent on what she'd produced: duck eggs. I'd never tried them before and was curious.

That afternoon I headed home with a dozen little treasures, proudly lifted the top of the carton, and watched Charlie's eyebrows raise in amusement. He suggested we fry them, and I couldn't think of a reason why we shouldn't, so we did!

Before we get into the part of this story that involves cooking and eating, let me take a moment to describe these little stars. The eggs are really beautiful. They're a very pale ivory with a gray tint and a few speckles here and there. They're longer and thinner than chicken eggs and are more difficult to crack. Because they come from water fowl, the eggs must have a slightly thicker shell with a more resilient membrane inside to protect the contents. One good whack on the side of the counter breaks through with no problem, and out slides a beautiful, orangey yolk and nearly-transparent whites. I was amazed by the size of the yolk. It's much larger than the yolk of a chicken egg and (I later learned) has a lot more protein.

What does one do with such a lovely new ingredient? Well, if you're me you create a recipe that features it. And so, Not-Quite-Benedict came to be. I am sorry to say that my stupid camera battery died before I could take a decent photo of the finished dish (that might have been my fault...), but I did manage to snap one not-so-great picture. This doesn't even almost do justice to the pretty eggs, but it's what I have. In fact, I think it looks kind of gross in this picture, so you'll just have to trust me when I say that it wasn't. It was delicious!

See! It's not gorgeous in the photo. Oh well.

Not-Quite-Benedict

serves 4

ingredients:

8 thick slices bacon

4 large duck eggs

8 buttermilk biscuits, recipe to follow

Hollandaise sauce, recipe to follow

salt

pepper

Place bacon slices in a large cast-iron frying pan. Place the pan on your stove-top and gently cook on medium-high heat, turning the bacon after 2 - 3 minutes and continuing to cook until it is cooked through and just beginning to crisp. Remove bacon from the pan and place on paper towels to drain. Do not discard the leftover bacon fat in the pan.

Carefully crack one duck egg in a small bowl, taking care not to puncture or otherwise break the yolk. Heat the reserved baking fat until hot but not smoking and gently slide the egg into the pan.

Allow the egg to cook until the whites set, 2 - 3 minutes, then carefully flip it over with a spatula, again taking care not to break the yolk. Cook another 1 - 3 minutes then remove from pan. Repeat with remaining eggs.

To assemble, split one warm buttermilk biscuit in half, and place two pieces of bacon on the bottom half.

Slide one fried egg on top of the bacon, and top with a generous spoonful of hollandaise sauce. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with an extra biscuit for sopping up the egg and hollandaise sauce. Serve immediately.

Buttermilk Biscuits

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups bread flour

1 Tablespoon honey

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk

1 Tablespoon milk (for brushing biscuits)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and honey and stir with a wooden spoon until a dough just forms.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead several times. Using your hands, form the dough into eight balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the top of each biscuit with milk, and bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until the biscuits are completely cooked through and are golden on top.

Serve warm.

*Note: If you prefer, biscuits can be cut into perfect rounds using a circular cookie cutter or the bottom of a glass. I just tend to like puffy, cloud-shaped biscuits so I form them by hand. Also, a handful of shredded cheddar and chopped rosemary can be thrown in with the dry ingredients for a more savory biscuit.

This is my wonderful mother-in-law's recipe for Blender Hollandaise. It's so tasty and will keep for 2 days. I used it on steamed asparagus the first night and then used the rest on the Not-Quite-Benedict.

Blender Hollandaise

ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, heated to a bubble

3 egg yolks

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

pinch of cayenne pepper

Put egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a blender and blend on low for 10 - 15 seconds. Add the hot butter, and blend 15 - 20 seconds more. Serve immediately.

The Whole Shebang!

Tonight I fully intended to write about ice cream, but instead I'm going with squid and fried oysters.  That's what I cooked for dinner tonight, along with a summery little tomato salad, and it was all fabulous.  Squid has been on my to-cook list for quite some time.  I've enjoyed it prepared a number of ways in restaurants, but I was a little intimidated when it came to cooking it myself. Now I wonder why.  It's so simple!  The most difficult part of the entire process was acquiring the squid.

After work I decided to drop by Whole Foods, pick up the squid and other needed ingredients, then go home and cook dinner.  This sounds simple enough, but I ran into trouble when the fish monger at Whole Foods informed me that they don't carry squid. (What?! I still think he's wrong.)  Whole Foods was also out of tonic water (disappointing!) so I left in a huff, muttering a few ugly words under my breath.  I headed to my trusty Publix but was delayed by a fire truck and some serious traffic.  Finally, I made it to Publix only to discover that, much to the surprise of the very helpful fish monger there, the calamari was frozen in a block of ice.  I meandered around the store and read labels while it thawed, then picked it up, and headed home.  Finally.  I left work at 5:00 and walked through my front door at 7:00.  Ugh.  

It was all shortly made okay because dinner was such fun to prepare and so tasty!  Also, Charlie is so wonderfully enthusiastic about food experiments.  I love that about him.  

This whole dinner was planned on a whim.  I found the winning recipe for the calamari on Epicurious after sorting through a few dozen others.  I really wanted something to showcase the calamari, which means no tomato-based sauces to muddy up the flavors.  A simple Italian preparation featuring linguini, anchovies, garlic, and basil won -- so fresh and summery.  It allows the calamari to really shine and focuses on fresh ingredients with crisp, clean flavors.  It proved to be the perfect choice for tonight as it was also quick to prepare.  While wandering around Publix with time to kill I decided to add fried oysters to the menu and a mixed tomato salad (after finding beautiful yellow tomatoes).  The salty, fried goodness of the oysters and the cool bite of the salad gently complimented the calamari dish.  I would serve these dishes together again in a second.  If you decide to try any of these dishes at home I strongly suggest trying all three.  None are difficult, and it makes for an impressive spread.

I made a few modifications to this recipe.   Calamari should be cooked gently, much like a scallop or shrimp.  The rubbery texture that is sometimes encountered is generally the result of overcooking.  The original recipe suggested cooking the sliced squid for a total of 6 minutes which I believed to be too long.  In order to avoid the rubber band texture I switched the order in which several ingredients are cooked.  Let me pause to say that I am a sushi eater -- the raw stuff -- and a  believer in erring on the side of undercooked when it comes to seafood.  It was easy for me to risk undercooking the calamari because I don't really care if it's fully cooked and would rather risk that than an unpleasant texture.  Just the same, it turned out well -- neither rubbery nor too raw.  If you are made uneasy by the possibility of undercooked seafood, then by all means cook it a little longer, but expect it to be chewy.

Linguini with Calamari and Garlic

serves 2

ingredients:

1/2 lb linguini (look for a brand that is imported from Italy and lists only durum semolina flour and water as ingredients)

4 rolled anchovies with capers, from a 2-oz tin; anchovies crushed, oil reserved

1/2 lb cleaned calamari (squid), thinly sliced crosswise)

3 large garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 tsp dried crushed red pepper

3/4 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Check out the calamari before I sliced it. Cool, huh?

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water (it should be as salty as the ocean) until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally.  Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, heat reserved oil from anchovies in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add garlic, crushed red pepper, and crushed anchovies with capers and stir 1 minute.  Add calamari and toss until just opaque, about 1 minute.  

Add white wine; boil until sauce is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.  Mix in basil.

Add pasta to mixture in skillet.  Toss until heated through and sauce coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid by Tablespoonfuls if pasta seems dry, about 2 minutes.  Divide pasta and calamari between two plates and serve.

If I were to make this again I would double the anchovies and add 2 - 3 Tablespoons capers.  Just the same, it's delightful as is.

On to the oysters!  This was my first go at frying oysters, and it was a success!  They were so delicious and will most certainly make an appearance at an upcoming dinner party.  The batter is fluffy, crisp, and light.  Anything heavier would be too much with the richness of the oysters.  Charlie and I marveled at how delectable they are and discussed making an aoili to accompany them next time just for kicks.  Tonight they were flavored with a simple squeeze of lemon, and that truly was enough.  Anything else might just be showing off.

We only fried 6 oysters (1/2 lb), but I'm including the party-sized recipe.  If you want to make fewer nothing really changes -- just make less batter.

Fried Oysters

Batter:

1 1/2 cups bread flour (or other high-gluten flour)

1 1/4 cups cold water

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp baking powder

2 Tbsp peanut oil

salt, for seasoning

lemon

5 cups peanut oil

20 medium-sized fresh oysters (removed from shells, patted dry, and dusted with flour)

The oysters were quite shocking before I cooked them.  Wowzer!

And here they are dusted with flour

Combine all batter ingredients in a bowl.  Heat oil in a wok or stock pot over high heat until it reaches 375 degrees F.   Dip each oyster into the batter until well coated.  Carefully lower the oysters into oil.  Deep fry 5 at a time until light brown, about 3 minutes.  Remove oysters from the oil and drain on paper towels.  Sprinkle with salt and spritz with lemon juice.  Serve immediately.

Here's an inside shot.

Don't forget the tomato salad...so pretty with the lacy lettuce and the bright colors.  Only make this during the summer when tomatoes are at their peak.  Otherwise you're just teasing yourself.

Simple Tomato Salad 

serves 2

Ingredients:

8 fresh cherry tomatoes

1/2 large yellow tomato

2 handfuls lacy spring mix lettuce

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

sea salt

freshly cracked black pepper

Quarter the cherry tomatoes and thinly slice the yellow tomato.  Divide and place into two shallow bowls.  Top each with a handful of spring mix and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Serve immediately.

Altogether this was one of my favorite meals of the summer.  It was lovely in the sun room with ice cold vodka tonics and The Heartless Bastards playing in the background.  A lovely meal for a lovely night!

A Modest Proposal

I seem to have taken Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal somewhat to heart.  A few nights ago my three-month-old niece, Sofia, came over for a visit.  I couldn't resist putting her in a stock pot and taking photos.  She's just the right size!  

Next time I'm going to dress her as a lobster and give her a stick of butter to hold onto.

”I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled ...”

from Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal

Searching for wheat bran

Two of the bread recipes I plan on trying out today call for wheat bran which sounds like a simple enough thing to find.  I usually make the hike to the Dekalb Farmers Market on Saturdays,  but today it's rainy and I don't really feel like getting out and doing much so I decided to just go across the street to Publix instead.  It turns out that it is super difficult, if not impossible, to find wheat bran at Publix.  I'm not sure if they carry it, but I was unable to find it if they do.  However, I did find the following similar-sounding things:

• Oat bran
• Raisin bran
• All-Bran cereal
• Wheat germ
• Cream of wheat
  

I really debated over just scratching the recipes I'd chosen.  Ordinarily I would just throw up my hands and go to either Whole Foods, The Fresh Market, or the farmers market, but I just didn't feel like it today!  Instead, I decided to choose one of the other things I found and make a substitution.  I have no idea if this will work, as I haven't even started baking yet, but I'm going to give it a go.

I first looked at the oat bran.  It's a hot cereal made by Quaker, and the only thing listed in the ingredient list is oat bran.  This pleases me because it suggests that it is a whole food with no additives.

Next I checked out the raisin bran.  I knew I wouldn't go this route, but I wanted to read the ingredient list and hopefully learn a little something.  Well, raisin bran contains all sorts of things I try to avoid, including high-fructose corn syrup, niacinamide, and a collection of vitamins.  I know it sounds great that Kellogg's adds vitamins, but I prefer to get them naturally through fruits and vegetables.  

All-bran cereal sounded promising so I checked the label.  The first ingredient listed was wheat bran (!).  So far, so good!  Unfortunately, seventeen other ingredients followed.  Again, a highly processed food containing high-fructose corn syrup.  

Wheat germ is all wrong, so I quickly marked it off my list along with cream of wheat.  I was left with nothing else to examine so I decided to go with the oat bran.  I know this will change the texture and taste of my bread, but I'm going to give it a shot!  With the oat bran I know what I'm substituting is a whole food with no preservatives or other additives.  

Since I had so much trouble finding wheat bran I decided to do a tiny bit of research and find out just what I was looking for.  I learned that a bran (such as wheat bran or oat bran) is the hard outer layer of a grain that becomes a byproduct when the grain is processed.  Good to know!  I'll keep looking for it when I'm out and about, but for now I'm going with the oat bran!