Fried Soft Boiled Eggs

There are two kinds of people in this world.  Runny yolk people and hard yolk people.  I am definitely in the former category.

I don’t see the point of overcooking an egg to death and not being able to enjoy the runny, gooey deliciousness that is a properly cooked egg yolk.

These eggs **sigh** these eggs were incredible.  Everything you want out of an egg and more.  They were amazing on top of our roasted asparagus side dish, but you could serve them just about anywhere at any time of day.

Thank you to The Novice Chef for the recipe.

INGREDIENTS
4 Eggs
2T. Flour
1 Beaten egg
1/2C. Italian breadcrumbs
Salt and Pepper
Oil for frying

DIRECTIONS
Bring a pan of water to a boil and gently submerge the eggs into the water.  Boil for 5 minutes.  Remove and place in a bowl of ice water to cool the eggs – this should take about 15 minutes.

When cooled, gently peel the eggs and set aside.

Heat 2C. oil in a saucepan.  While that heats, place the flour, the beaten egg and the breadcrumb in 3 separate bowls.  Mix a little salt and pepper into the breadcrumbs.  Dredge each soft-boiled egg in the flour, then coat with the egg and then finally with the breadcrumbs.  Then, re-dredge the egg in the yolk and a second time into the breadcrumbs for a nice thick coating.

When the oil reaches 350 degrees, gently place one egg at a time in the hot oil using a wire spider or other slotted spoon.  Gently turn the egg with the strainer to brown on all sides.  This should only take no more than 30 seconds. Remove the egg to a paper towel and continue with the rest of the eggs.

Serve immediately.

Husband Rating – 4.5 out of 5 – “I wish I hadn’t let mine get cool before eating – these are best hot – and boy are they good!”

Chicken Taquitos

I have a confession.  I hardly ever use my freezer.  Sure, for things like soy ice cream, frozen veggies and, of course, vodka it’s great…but I’m a bit of a freezer snob and can always taste when something has been frozen for a period of time.  Blech!

But, I have had to use my freezer a lot more often now that I am in school 3 nights/week and C is on his own. I refuse to let him eat nothing but take-out pizza and Chinese food.  Call me old-fashioned, but I like to be able to provide a tasty meal for my husband even if I’m not home.

These taquitos are perfect – I can make a bunch all at once and throw them in the freezer for C to heat and eat when he gets home from work.  And, from what I hear, they taste just as good as fresh.

Taquitos are not only tasty, but versatile!

I used the recipe from Our Best Bites and tweaked it a bit.  I subbed sour cream for the cream cheese and added tasty goodies like black beans, refried beans and corn.

Whip up some of these today to add to your Cinqo de Mayo festivities!

INGREDIENTS
3 oz. Soy sour cream
1T. Lime juice
1t. Cumin
1t. Chili powder
1/2t. Onion powder
1/2t. Granulated garlic
2T. Green onions, sliced
2C. Shredded cooked chicken
1C. Soy cheese (we always use SoySation 3-cheese blend – but of course feel free to use real dairy if you do not have any dietary restrictions)
Small tortillas (corn and flour are both good)
Kosher salt
Cooking spray

Optional add-ins
3T. Cilantro, chopped
1/4C. Salsa (we opted to dip the taquitos in the salsa instead of putting it in the filling)
1/3C. Frozen corn
1/3C. Black beans
1/2C. Refried beans

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 425.  Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

In a bowl, combine sour cream, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, granulated garlic, green onions and any of the add-ins that you will use (except for the refried beans).  Add cooled and shredded chicken and cheese and combine well.

Wrap a few tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave 20 seconds, or until soft and pliable.

If using refried beans, spread 1T. on the lower half of the tortilla.  Place 2-3T. of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet.  Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other.  (At this point, if you want to freeze for later, put the pan in the freezer for an hour, then package in labeled Ziploc bags – to cook directly from the freezer, just up the time to 25-30 minutes).  Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Husband Rating – 5 out of 5 – “Yum!  These are awesome!”

Culinary School Snapshots – Cakes!

Well folks, we’ve come to the end of another school block, so you know what that means.  More culinary school snapshots!!

The cakes section was a ton of fun and incredibly informative (if not down right confusing sometimes – there are so many different kinds of cakes and icings, and each one is only a tiny bit different from the other).

Here are a few pics from my adventures in cake making.  Enjoy!

Carrot cake with cream cheese icing and marzipan carrots

German chocolate cake

Traditional yule log with meringue mushrooms and marzipan holly

Chocolate peanut butter and Coconut cupcakes

Sacher torte

Chocolate mousse joconde cake

Tiramisu cake

Lime and black pepper rice pudding dacquoise cake

Espresso mousse joconde mini cake

Petit fours – carrot cake, red velvet cake and traditional raspberry

More petit fours – opera torte, dulce de leche and macarons

Cumin Crusted Pork Tacos

Is anyone else guilty of this…You have a shelf full of cookbooks, and yet you always turn to the internet for recipe ideas?  Yeah, me too.

I decided it was time for that to come to an end this week.  I closed my eyes and pointed to a random cookbook and decided I’d make at least two meals from that cookbook this week.  The winning book?  Cooking Light’s Weeknight Meals cookbook.  Awesome!  Tasty, healthy and quick.  I’m all for that!

This recipe is really great.  I made a few tweaks (we made guac earlier today so we put that on the tacos instead of the avocado/onion/cilantro toppings individually and it worked well).  The pork is super-moist and the toppings compliment each other perfectly.

Christopher is very excited that there are lots of leftovers so he can eat them all week while I”m in class (speaking of class – we finish cakes tomorrow – tune in later this week for a wrap-up on the cakes course).

INGREDIENTS
Pork:
2t. Ground cumin
1t. Granulated garlic
1t. Paprika
1/2t. Salt
1/4t. Black pepper
2 (1-pound) Pork tenderloins, trimmed
1T. Olive oil

Salsa:
2C. Frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1C. Cubed peeled avocado
1/2C. Diced red onion
1/3C. Chopped fresh cilantro
2T. Fresh lime juice
1/2t. Salt
2 (15-ounce) cans Black beans, rinsed and drained

Remaining ingredients:
2C. Sour cream (we use Tofutti soy sour cream)
1T. Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped
Corn tortillas

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425°.

To prepare pork, combine first 5 ingredients.  Rub cumin mixture over pork.

Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add pork; cook 4 minutes or until browned on all sides.  Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155°.

Remove pork from oven; let stand 5 minutes.  Cut pork across grain into thin slices.

To prepare salsa, combine corn and next 7 ingredients (through beans).

Combine sour cream and chipotle in a blender; process until smooth.

Wrap tortillas, a few at a time, in a damp paper towel.  Microwave at high 20 seconds.  Place pork onto tortilla, top with salsa and sour cream mixture.

Husband Rating – 4 out of 5 – “These are awesome!”

Chicken Taco Burgers

Elly Says Opa! is one of my favorite blogs.  Her food always looks fabulous and whenever I make a recipe it’s always brilliant!  Today’s recipe is no exception.  These chicken taco burgers were delicious!

INGREDIENTS
1lb. Ground chicken
1/3C. Scallions, sliced
1.5t. Chili powder
3/4t. Cumin
1/2t. Oregano
1/2t. Paprika
1/8t. Cayenne
1/2t. Salt
2T. Parsley, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, pressed
2T. Cornmeal
Buns and your favorite toppings (we used romaine lettuce and Sriracha mayo)

DIRECTIONS
Lightly mix together all ingredients (through cornmeal).   Form into 4 patties.

Grill or pan-fry the burgers until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes per side.  Place on buns and serve with your favorite toppings.

Husband Rating – 3 out of 5 – “Just OK.  Bella loved them, though”

–

NOTE: I finally have a break from school, so H and I are headed back to Amsterdam!  I’ll be away for a week or so, but never fear, I will return with gorgeous pictures of tulips!

Creamy Ranch Soy Mac & Cheese

Hubs and I both enjoy our usual mac & cheese recipe, but when I saw this one on Taste of Home, I figured it was worth a try (with just a few tweaks, of course).

Soy sour cream is a fabulous addition and helped this mac & cheese be much creamier than usual – the ranch mix also helped cut some of the ‘twang’ often associated with soy cheeses.

I added some cubed turkey kielbasa to the finished dish…it was delish!

INGREDIENTS
1 package (16 ounces) Small pasta shapes
1C. Unsweetened soy milk
1/4C. Butter or vegan margarine, cubed
1 envelope Ranch salad dressing mix (many of these mixes contain dairy, so if you are dairy-free, look for the Lipton brand kosher packets – they are dairy free!)
1t. Garlic salt
1t. Black pepper
1t. Lemon-pepper seasoning
2C. shredded Soy cheese of choice
1C. Soy sour cream
1/3C. Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
Cook macaroni according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, combine the milk, butter, dressing mix, seasonings and heat through.

Stir in cheese and when melted, stir in sour cream.

Drain macaroni and stir into cheese sauce.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Husband Rating – 4 out of 5 – “Very creamy, but also incredibly dense.  A little goes a long way.”

Chicken Salad

I’m not a big fan of chicken salad, never have been.  Most of the time it contains either fruit or nuts or **gasp** both!  Blech!  I’m just not a fan.

I was going to serve tuna on croissants for a baby shower I hosted this weekend, but then I learned that pregnant women shouldn’t consume much fish so I decided to change to chicken salad and went in search of a recipe.  This recipe from The Rookie Chef was delightful!  It wasn’t overly sweet like most chicken salad and the water chestnuts provided a nice light crunch.

Thanks to this recipe, I can now say that I like chicken salad!

INGREDIENTS
4 Chicken breasts
2 packets Knorr dry vegetable mix
1C. Mayo
1C. Sour cream
1 can Water chestnuts, drained

DIRECTIONS
Cook chicken (I happened to have the oven on for something else, so I just baked the breasts with a little salt/pepper/granulated garlic), but if you’d rather poach or use the crock pot – go ahead and do that.  Once done, cool and shred with two forks.

While the chicken cooks, crush up veggie soup mix in the packet by using a rolling pin over it.  Also, chop water chestnuts into fairly small pieces.

Mix sour cream and mayo together, add veggie mix and water chestnuts.

Add chicken to the veggie/mayo mix and toss to coat.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Hobby Class – Pulled Sugar

Yesterday I had the joy of taking a hobby class at my Culinary Institute about pulling sugar.  The 4-hour class only skimmed the surface of sugar pulling, but we had a ton of fun!

It is definitely not easy – the sugar is incredibly delicate and burns are common (thankfully nobody in the class was too terribly burned yesterday).

I cannot wait until we get to the full-length sugar course in a few weeks, so I can learn a lot more.

Here are a few pics of my work from yesterday.  Not bad for a first-timer, eh?

(you probably can’t see it all that well, but sticking up from the ‘sculpture’
is something called ‘bubble sugar’ – it’s awesome stuff)

Shrimp Po-Boys

I had a pound of shrimp that was burning a hole in my pocket freezer this weekend, but I wasn’t quite sure how I wanted to cook it.  So, off to Google Reader I went…didn’t stay there for very long, though, because the first recipe I found was from my friend Koko at My Adventures in Food.

These po-boys immediately caught my eye and I couldn’t wait to make them!

The cajun fish fry packet I picked up was delightful.  A little spicy and had a great crunch.  Can’t wait to make these again!

INGREDIENTS
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 package of Cajun fish fry (if you can’t find Cajun, plan fish fry is fine)
Oil for frying
Black pepper

French bread
Shredded lettuce
Tomato slices
Dill pickle slices
Remoulade Sauce (recipe follows)

DIRECTIONS
Pat shrimp dry with paper towels. Place egg whites in a shallow dish; place fish fry mixture in another shallow dish. Dip all the seafood in the egg, and then dredge in the fish fry, coating completely. Place coated shrimp on a plate and let sit for 5 minutes while heating the oil.

Pour enough oil in a fryer or Dutch oven to reach a 2-3 inch depth. Heat to 350˚F. Fry seafood in batches for 1 minute. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Season lightly with black pepper.

To prepare the po-boys, divide bread into sandwich-sized portions.  Slice bread open, and stuff with shrimp, lettuce, tomato, pickle and remoulade sauce.

Remoulade Sauce
1C. Mayonnaise
3T. Dijon mustard
2T. Prepared horseradish
1T. Chopped parsley
1 small Shallot, finely minced
1 clove of Garlic, finely minced
1T. White vinegar
1t. Lemon juice
1t. Tabasco sauce
½t. Paprika
Dash of cayenne pepper
¼t. Garlic powder
Dash of salt

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.

Husband Rating – 5 out of 5 – “I want to put remoulade sauce on EVERYTHING now!

Clams Casino Pasta

I’m a huge fan of clams casino and will often order it when it is on a restaurant menu.  I mean, what’s not to love … clams, bacon, peppers, butter, garlic …

**wipes drool from lips**

Ahem, sorry about that.  Anyway, I came across this recipe on How Sweet It Is the other day and couldn’t wait to make it.

This pasta dish is wonderful and tastes just like clams casino!  It was easy to put together and the flavor is really outstanding.  We’ll definitely make this again soon!

INGREDIENTS
2T. Olive oil or bacon grease
1/2C. Chopped red peppers
1/2C. Chopped onions
3 Cloves garlic, minced
2 cans Minced clams in clam juice, 13 ounces total
1/2C. Dry white wine
1T. Butter
4 Slices bacon, fried and crumbled
1/2lb. Pasta of choice
1/4C. Parmesan cheese + more for garnish
Freshly chopped parsley for garnish

DIRECTIONS
Cook pasta according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, heat a skillet on medium heat and add olive oil (or, if your bacon isn’t already cooked, cook the bacon first and reserve a little of the grease to use when cooking the veggies).  Add chopped onions and peppers with a pinch of salt and saute until soft, about 8 minutes.  Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds.

Add in both cans of clams + juice and bring the mixture to a boil.  Add white wine and let mixture simmer for about 5 full minutes.  Stir in butter.

Turn heat down to low and add cooked linguine. Toss to allow the noodles to soak up the sauce. Add Parmesan cheese, crumbled bacon and parsley.

Serve with additional Parmesan.

Husband Rating – 4.5 out of 5 – “I wanted to write a haiku about this dish, but it just wasn’t happening tonight – just know I loved it enough to spend 5 minutes trying to write a clams casino haiku.“