Poached Egg on Fried Polenta

 

Maybe I should have had a nice green salad for lunch. But some days, leafy greens are just too hard to wash... So for a day when comfort is my top priority, it is hardly surprising that I reached for a farm fresh egg from my friend Marc. 

I stopped in at Marc's house yesterday. Marc lives in the middle of a busy town with his wife, my friend Marguerite, and his beautiful brown chicken, Joanne. Joanne has lived in Marc's backyard for about a year now and she is a VERY happy hen. She has an elaborate home, two compost piles to root around in, and enough space for her to be extremely "free-run" - all in the small area of a townhouse backyard. With a lot of ingenuity, Marc has created a little oasis that come the summer, will also be full of tomato plants, blackberries, and a prolific pear tree. 

While we were out admiring Joanne, Marc checked her roost and gave me the honours of picking up a slightly warm egg. I somehow got the egg home without incident and the results were my lunch today. Another fun note about Joanne - she doesn't mind traveling. Joanne drove (in her crate, in the back seat) 3+ hours for Thanksgiving last year. Although I imagine Marc being quite content to cart Joanne around for family get-togethers, the whole business of egg laying in the backseat quite possibly put his wife over the edge!

Along with my poached egg, I fried some leftover polenta in a little olive oil. The edges of the polenta get nice and crispy and the soft yolk soaks into each piece. A sprinkle of sea salt and freshly ground pepper topped it off. And a good cup of tea. Happiness. 

Polenta

Serves a crowd.

The cheeses in this recipe are just a suggestion. I would use whatever combination you have handy. Polenta can act like bread or it can replace potatoes. It is a jack-of-many-trades.

6 cups water

1 tsp. fine sea salt

2 cups stone ground polenta (I used Bob's Red Mill corn grits)

3 Tbsp. butter

1 cup grated aged cheddar

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Set aside until needed. 

Heat the water and salt to a boil in a large stock pot. Stir in the polenta and continue stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Cook for about 25-30 minutes, until the mixture is very thick. Remove the polenta from the heat and stir in the butter and cheeses. Spread evenly in the prepared pan and serve immediately or cover and refrigerate. Once the polenta is cool, it can be sliced and fried in olive oil till crispy. The insides will be nice and creamy. Will keep for up to 5 days.

Here is my ritual for making poached eggs (taken from "The Good Egg Blog"). 

Bring a small saucepan of water to a gentle boil. Add a splash of white vinegar. Crack one very fresh egg into a ramekin and slowly let the egg slip into the boiling water. If you are cooking more than one, repeat this step. I don't like to poach more than two at a time in a small pan. Don't let the water boil too vigorously once you have added the egg. A gentle boil is good. If the egg seems to be stuck on the bottom of the pan, carefully nudge it off the bottom of the pan with a spoon. For a medium egg, it usually takes around 3 minutes or so to cook. When the egg is cooked to your liking, remove from the water and drain on a piece of paper towel. Dry well. Place on the toast of your choice and mash with a fork. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Enjoy!

Chocolate Silk Icing

For my friend Allana's (see note below) 40th birthday party on Saturday, I made cupcakes. As per usual, I obsessed over the flavours, the icings, the timing, and the transport of the little cakes, amongst other slightly less important details like - what to wear... By Friday I had my list narrowed down to two.

1. Chocolate cupcakes (made from the Double Double Chocolate Cake from The Harrow Fair Cookbook) with their tops cut off and a small scoop taken out, filled with white chocolate/peanut butter mousse, tops replaced and a swirl of mousse to finish it off. YUM.

2. Red velvet cupcakes with a fluffy white icing. These aren't my favourite, but I wouldn't turn them down if I was desperate for a sugar fix.

My kitchen bakery was in full swing by Saturday afternoon. My family and some friends were out on a garbage hike around town (which I had bowed out of). I knew when the gang got back to the house there would be a lot of disappointed faces when they were told that the finished cupcakes were off limits. So I whipped up a batch of yellow cupcakes and made this chocolate silk icing to go with them. They turned out to be my favourite ones.

This is the most beautiful chocolate icing I have ever made - and that is saying something! Do not refrigerate this icing unless you like your cupcakes with hard caps on. I would also suggest not making this when you are really hungry....

Chocolate Silk Icing 
(adapted from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread by Amy Scherber & Toy Kim Dupree)

3 cups bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chocolate (chips are fine)
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 pound butter, at room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Set the chocolate aside to cool. Sift the sugar and cocoa powder together in a separate bowl.
Cream the butter at medium speed for about 2 minutes in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the sugar mixture and continue to mix of low-medium speed until the sugar and cocoa are well incorporated. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla and mix again on medium speed until it is smooth and a good spreading consistency. The icing can be used immediately or stored in an airtight container at room temperature, but it should be used within 3 days.

** For more information about Allana Harkin, read her blog on babble.com called "Eating Over The Sink". It is laugh out loud funny!

Fresh Mango Sorbet

The mangoes that I used for this sorbet are called "ataulfo" and they come from Mexico. The case I bought are perfectly ripe and sweet, nothing at all like those big green-red things that are supermarket staples. I bought mine at a Thai grocery store and the woman told me that they sell about 100 cases of those mangoes a week when they are in season. She said that they started arriving the beginning of March and that restaurants in the area buy many cases while they are so perfect, cutting them up and freezing them to use for the rest of the year. Sounds like a good endorsement to me!

The "ataulfo" is not to be confused with the "alphonso" from India. According to my sources, the majority of the crop from India is bought and canned to be sold throughout the year. My Thai grocer doesn't carry the cans of alphonso mangoes, but I will continue to keep my eyes peeled. My impression is that they have no equal in the world of mangoes.

  
Fresh Mango Sorbet

4 cups ripe Ataulfo mangos, peeled and diced
1 cup berry sugar (or to taste)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 cups water

Check to be sure that your ice cream maker is ready to go.
Place the mangoes in a food processor with the sugar and lemon juice. Add the water and process until smooth. Taste for sweetness and add more sugar if needed. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve to remove any bits. Freeze the sorbet according the manufacturer's directions.
Serve small serving garnished with fresh mango and berries.

*I served the sorbet on meringues for a gluten-free, dairy-free dessert for company.

Roasted Eggplant with Buttermilk Sauce

 Since I began teaching cooking classes almost two years ago, I have had several requests for vegetarian classes. Although there may be vegetarian recipes interspersed here or there in my classes, I haven't done a class strictly devoted to vegetarian cooking. I prefer thinking of myself as a "thoughtful flexitarian" or a "happy omnivore".

Last weekend I was coming down off the high of teaching the Celtic Feast class (definitely not for vegetarians!) and I spent an enjoyable afternoon reading through some cookbooks from the library. I found the book Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi totally inspiring. Before I knew, I had a new class planned (see the cooking class schedule) and I've been testing and trying recipes ever since.

You will see that the spice za'atar is called for in this recipe. I have to confess that I had polished off two halves of the eggplant before I realized that I hadn't sprinkled the za'atar over any of it. I did sprinkle some over the remaining two halves and had a couple of bites. It does add a little something, but it's by no means necessary. Za'atar is available at finer spice shops or Middle Eastern grocery stores. If you want to make your own, see the recipe below.

When I made this earlier today, I used two baby eggplants instead of the large ones. The eggplant turned out to be so delicious, I'm kicking myself now.

Roasted Eggplant with Buttermilk Sauce
Serves 4.

2 large eggplants
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Finely chopped fresh chives
Fleur de sel and freshly ground black pepper
Finely chopped red onion
1 tsp za'atar (optional)*

Sauce:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil + more for drizzling
1 small garlic clove, minced
Pinch fine sea salt


Preheat the oven to 400 F. Cut the eggplants in half lengthways, cutting straight through the stalk. Make several cuts on each side of the eggplant with a sharp knife, without cutting through the skin. Place the eggplants, cut side up, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush each half with olive oil and continue brushing until all of the oil is used up. The oil will soak into the eggplant nicely. Sprinkle with the chives, salt, and pepper. Roast for 50-60 minutes, depending on how big the eggplants are. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
Whisk together all of the ingredients for the sauce. Taste for seasoning and chill until needed.
To serve, generously spoon the buttermilk sauce over the eggplant halves without covering the stalks. Sprinkle with the finely chopped red onions and the za'atar, if using. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.
 

*Za’atar Spice: 1 part ground sumac berries, 2 parts dried thyme, 1 part sesame seeds. Mix all together and store in an airtight container.

Neeps & Tatties Soup

You might be wondering what in the world "neeps & tatties" are. Turn'eeps and Po'tatties, of course! I've been on a good-for-you soup escapade that has had some delicious results. It all started with a book by vegetarian cookbook author, Anna Thomas. Love Soup is my favourite book this week, but you may also know her by her very popular book The Vegetarian Epicure.

The first step to the soup is making a quick vegetable stock. I make countless pots of chicken stock throughout the year, but I rarely make veggie stocks. I think I've found a good reason to turn over a new leaf! For my veggie stock I used: onions (with their brown skins on for added colour), celery, carrots, leeks, fresh tarragon, 1 clove of garlic, parsley, and the stems from a bunch of kale. Cover all of the above with cold water and simmer for 45 minutes. I think the bunch of tarragon that I threw in really pumped up the flavour.

I must admit that turnips aren't my usual veggie of choice, but this soup is so much more than just turnip. It is savory and creamy and just plain good.

Neeps & Tatties Soup

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
1 pound turnips
1 tsp fine sea salt
2 large leeks, white and light green parts
2 Tbsp butter
4 cups veggie stock
Freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp whipping cream
Extra virgin olive oil

Peel and chop the potatoes and turnip into half-inch dice. Place the potatoes and turnip in a large stock pot. Cover with 4 cups of cold water, and a teaspoon of salt, and bring the water to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for at least 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. 
Meanwhile, trim and thoroughly wash the leeks. Dice the white and light green parts of the leeks. Melt the butter in a large skillet and cook the leeks over medium heat, stirring often, for about 10 minutes. Add them to the potatoes and turnips and simmer another 10 minutes. Add the veggie stock.
Puree the soup in batches in a blender or with an immersion blender. Be careful not to overprocess. Return the soup to a clean pot and bring it back to a simmer. Taste the soup and add more salt if needed. Grind in plenty of black pepper and add the cream.
Bring to a simmer until it is just heated through. Garnish each bowl with swirl of olive oil.

Egg Nog

 For the Holiday Gift Class last weekend, we started with this blender egg nog based on one from The Essential New York Times Cookbook by Amanda Hesser. If you haven't seen this book yet, it is full of amazing recipes and Amanda's introductions to the recipes will have you hooked instantly. If you haven't made homemade egg nog yet, well, now is your chance. Seems that people either love egg nog or they hate it. I'm definitely an egg nog lover, but I prefer to make it at home where it's like drinking a lovely custard laced with rum. The great thing about this recipe is it's speediness. I needed to make another batch to do a photo shoot with (yes, I did feel slightly guilty for drinking rum by myself, before 11am no less, on a Monday morning) and I had the nog ready in a matter of a few minutes.

Egg Nog

4 fresh eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup rum (our preferred brand is Mount Gay)
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup whipping cream

First off - divide this recipe into two batches as one batch won't fit into a standard blender. Crack the eggs into a blender and process for 1 minute on medium speed. Slowly add the sugar and blend for another minute. With the blender running, add the rest of the ingredients until combined. Transfer the nog to another container, preferably with a spout, and repeat with the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or up to overnight.
Serve the eggnog chilled with fresh grated nutmeg on top.

Lemon Honeycomb Jelly

I think of church suppers as fertile testing grounds for recipes. I love the sign up sheets that go up on the kitchen bulletin board before big events. What will I make this time? For the roast beef dinner this past weekend, there was a sign up list to make jello salads, and I happened to have a couple of recipes that I wanted to try. This recipe is from More Home Cooking: A Writer Returns to the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin. I highly recommend both this book and her preceding book, Home Cooking.

The amazing thing about this recipe is the fact that you mix all of the ingredients together in one bowl and miraculously it separates into three layers. The bottom layer (which ends up on the top if you turn the jelly out onto a serving plate) is a yellow, clear jelly. The top layer is the "honeycomb" - a pale yellow, airy yet creamy layer that is very delicious. The middle layer is sort of a custard-y combination of the top and bottom.

Not only is this delicious, it's a great way for kids to enjoy "jello" without having the boxed stuff. It's been my experience that Jello makes my kids CRAZY. But this is purely anecdotal.

Lemon Honeycomb Jelly

3 eggs
Freshly grated zest of 1 lemon
1 envelope unflavoured gelatin
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 cups milk (or half & half)
5 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Separate the egg yolks and whites. Whisk together the egg yolks, lemon zest, gelatin, sugar, and whipping cream. Heat the 1 1/2 cups of milk (or cream) to just under boiling and whisk it gradually into the egg yolks. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir the mixture until you have a thin custard. The custard will thinly coat a spoon when it is ready.
Mix in the strained lemon juice. Working quickly, beat the egg whites until they are stiff and fold them into the hot custard. Let the mixture stand for 4 minutes. Pour the mixture into a 1-quart mold or bowl and chill it, covered, overnight. Run a knife around the edge of the pudding, dip the mold in warm water for 10 seconds, and turn the pudding out onto a plate.