Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!! No parties for me this year, we got word on Tuesday of this week that our sellers (of the house we've been trying to buy for months!) had their short sale approved by the bank (YAY!!!!!) so J and I decided to be low key and stay home so we could get some things done now that we know we'll be moving for sure in a few weeks! Looks like we'll close the week of the 9th, and hopefully be all settled in by Thanksgiving!

I spent the day carving pumpkins, (albeit badly!), and baking these delicious Ham and Cheddar Pretzel bites with Jalepeno Mustard, courtesy of Gourmet magazine's spread on Chef Edward Lee (from the October issue). A little time consuming, as pretzels are, and mine are nowhere as pretty as the ones pictured in the magazine are, but they were delicious and I plan to make them again! The recipe calls for "Country Ham" which is a southern thing, and I'm nowhere near the south and could not find any or anyone who knew what that was at the grocery store, so I picked up a hamsteak and diced part of that up for the recipe. The bonus is that J can have some ham with his eggs and bagel in the morning.

We got a lot of Trick or Treaters this year, all the little kids come early in the night, and then the last half hour are all teenagers. It's pretty funny!

Apple Bread with Cinnamon & Walnuts

Another fall favorite! The quick bread.

I'm not sure where I got this recipe. It seems to be one of those things that just ended up in my recipe collection years ago and I can't call it my own but I make it often enough that I no longer need to look at the recipe card (which for me is RARE! ha!).

I love this because it's easy, I usually have all the ingredients on hand and like most quick bread recipes, you bake it in two loaf pans so you can eat one now and freeze one for later! It's great for breakfast or dessert and everyone that I've made it for has loved it. Bonus. I like to sneak whole wheat flour into the bread (50/50 all purpose and whole wheat). It comes out a little heavier and doesn't rise as much as using all white flour but it makes me feel a little less bad about eating it!

Ingredients

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups diced apples
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional of course!)
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease two loaf pans. Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Next, beat the eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in apples and walnuts (if using) and stir together gently. Pour evenly into the two loaf pans and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes (or until toothpick inserted comes out clean). Let cool before removing from loaf pans.

Slice and enjoy for dessert (it's great with ice cream or a rum glaze), breakfast or a snack!
All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley

Sausage and Butternut Squash Lasagna

This Lasagna was the result of looking in the fridge and freezer and trying to figure out what I could make for dinner with the ingredients I had. There are a lot of flavors here: squash, pesto, sausage, eggplant, sage, parmesan. It's not for the faint palated or unadventurous eater.

While it's not perfect and I may do some tweaking on it down the road (I'm not sure how I feel about the eggplant in it yet!), it was yummy, comforting and something different for dinner. True lasagna fans will probably want to use more cheese. I felt that since my sauce was creamy, I didn't really need much of it. Here I used frozen butternut squash despite it being in season fresh where I live but that's only because I needed to use it before it got freezer burn! Fresh butternut squash would be absolutely delicious here. I would boil it or roast it in small pieces if I substituted it for the frozen.

Ingredients

9 Lasagna noodles, cooked
1 bag of frozen butternut squash, defrosted
1 lb hot italian style chicken sausage, casings removed
1 large vidalia onion, diced
2 lrg garlic cloves
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
6 tablespoons homemade pesto (or a store bought pesto that you really like)
1 1/4 cups milk, heated in the microwave for 1 minute
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2.5 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 medium sized eggplant, sliced 3/4 in thick (6-8 slices
kosher salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a 4qt sauce pan or dutch oven over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan when hot and cook onion and garlic until the onion is translucent. Remove onion and garlic and add sausage to pan, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as you cook. When sausage is cooked, add onion and garlic back to pan and stir in defrosted butternut squash, sage and kosher salt and pepper. Stir and cook until blended. Stir in 2 tablespoons of pesto. Set aside.

Next, melt butter in a saucepan and then whisk in the flour, stirring constantly until the flour and butter are well mixed and begin to brown (about 5 minutes). Slowly pour in the warm milk and bring to a boil while stirring. Simmer until the sauce begins to thicken. Add 3 tablespoons of the pesto and 1/2 the parmesan cheese and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

While you are making the sauce, lay eggplant slices on a cookie sheet that has been covered with foil and baste on both sides with 1 tablespoon pesto mixed with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Place in oven and cook for 13-15 minutes or until tender. Lower the oven heat to 375.In a rectangular baking dish (9x13 or so), layer the lasagna, starting with a tiny bit of the sausage squash concoction, then noodles, then 1/3 of the pesto cream sauce, then all the eggplant slices (cut in half if they are large), then more noodles, sausage squash mixture, 1/3 of the pesto cream sauce, noodles, last of the sausage squash, last of the pesto cream sauce and then top with 1/4 cup of grated parmesan. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes and then turn on the broiler. Broil until the cheese is browned (2-3 minutes). Let set for 10 minutes before slicing.All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley

Apple Crisp (Mom's recipe!)

It's fall. And I apologize once again for being so quiet! Things have been busy and while I have been cooking and baking plenty, I haven't found the time to post anything. J and I still haven't closed on the house. It's a long story, but the short version is that our sellers are working on getting approval for a short sale and that is taking some time. Trying to be patient and not get too bummed about it but it is what it is and I can't do anything to speed up the process. Just keeping my fingers crossed that their short sale is approved and everything goes as planned. Anyhow, back to food!

The air has definitely gotten cooler, the leaves have changed and are falling off the trees, and I'm reaching for a sweatshirt or fleece every night. That means it's time to bake lots of stuff with apple or pumpkin in it! Went apple picking with J a few weekends ago so first up: Apple Crisp!

This is my Mom's recipe. It's super easy and one of the things I like about it is that it doesn't contain oats! Nothing against oats for breakfast or in an oatmeal cookie but I personally don't think they belong in apple crisp. At least in not in mine!

Ingredients

5-6 apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I use Cortland for baking)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the sliced apples in a rectangular baking dish (9x12 or 9x13), piled high (cut more apples if you need to). Mix the white sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon together in a small bowl and then sprinkle on top of the apples and mix with your hands to coat. I love spice so I use a little more cinnamon and nutmeg than the recipe calls so add whatever amount suits your taste.
Next put the flour, brown sugar and butter in a bowl. Using two forks, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with flour and sugar until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Distribute on top of the apples and pat down. Bake for 30 minutes or until the apples are tender and the topping is browned.Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Happiness!All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley

Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Zucchini Quesadillas with Chipotle Sour Cream

Random weeknight concoction that came out delicious! A coworker has been talking about a sweet potato and black bean quesadilla that she had recently and I realized I had the makings and then some at home! Love when that happens! The sweetness of the sweet potato combined with the tartness of the sour cream and spice of chipotle was awesome and really filling.

Ingredients

4 large tortillas
1 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large zucchini, chopped roughly
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can black beans, rinsed well and drained
1 large sweet potato
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
sour cream
2 teaspoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce pureed
kosher salt and black pepper

Begin by washing the sweet potato and poking a few holes in it with a fork. Place in microwave and cook for 7-10 minutes or until soft (the amount of time it takes will depend on how big your potato is). While the potato is cooking, heat a pan and the olive oil over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the zucchini, cumin, chili powder and cayenne and cook for two minutes. Add the garlic and black beans and cook the entire mixture for 1 minute more. Season with kosher salt and black pepper and remove from heat.

Take your sweet potato out of the microwave and let it cool.

While the veggie and bean mixture is working on the stove, mix 2 teaspoons of pureed chipotle peppers in adobo sauce into a half cup of sour cream (I use light-gotta cut calories wherever I can!). Most grocery stores sell small cans of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I take the entire can and puree it in my food processor and then freeze portions in a plastic wrapped lined ice cube tray. Individually wrap when frozen and you have a ready burst of chipotle when you need it! If you aren't familiar with chipotle, add a little at a time to the sour cream and taste it. Otherwise it could be spicier than you like.

When your sweet potato is cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise and peel off the skin (or leave it on if you want a little extra fiber!). Dice or slice the potato into small pieces.

Heat another skillet (a little large than the tortillas) to just below medium heat. Place one tortilla in the dry skillet and top with 1/4 cup of the cheese, half of the diced sweet potato, half of the zucchini and black bean mixture and another 1/4 cup of cheese. Top with another tortilla and let cook until the cheese melts and the bottom tortilla is stiff when you slip a spatula underneath (it will take 2-3 minutes for it to brown and crisp up). Flip quickly and cook the other side for another couple of minutes, or until slightly browned and crispy.
Turn onto a plate and repeat the process with the other 2 tortillas and the remaining ingredients. Cut each quesadilla into six pieces and serve with the chipotle sour cream.

All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley

Quinoa Salad with Feta, Roasted Peppers, Artichoke Hearts & Chicken

(I'm no longer posting on this blog - enjoy the recipe but if you want to see what I'm up to, visit me here.)

Finally have HOT weather here in NH, with minimal rain! Which means I like to make a big batch of something one day of the week and eat on it for several days so I don't have to heat the kitchen up too much. This was relatively quick to make and healthy. As a bonus, the feta and olives gave it a nice kick so it tasted more indulgent than it is.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: If you are still a quinoa virgin go out and get yourself some already! It's one of the most versatile and quick cooking grains out there and it has an an awesome nutty flavor that is delicious all on it's own. One of the coolest things quinoa is that it's one of a very small group of foods that are considered a complete protein (have all 9 essential amino acids and in the right proportion). In the non-animal food source world this is a very rare thing. Most of the time you need to combine two or more sources to get a complete protein (like rice and beans, yogurt & almonds etc) but quinoa can stand all on it's own. It's a super food!

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa
3 red bell peppers, cut in half, seeded and roasted
1 can artichoke hearts, cut in pieces
1/2 red onion, diced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 chicken breasts, cooked, diced
2 oz feta, crumbled
a handful of parsley
1 can sliced black olives (small can)
1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice
kosher salt and black pepper

Put the quinoa and 2 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and turn the heat down to a simmer. Let the quinoa cook for 15-20 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the grains are soft and fluffy.

While your quinoa is cooking, pre-heat the broiler to 500 degrees (if you are roasting your own peppers) and cut the peppers into two equal halves. Place each half cut-side down on a cookie sheet and place in the oven on the middle rack. Leave peppers in the oven until the skins are mostly charred. This will take about 15 minutes. (If you'd rather use jarred peppers, feel free to. Just drain well and pat dry.) Take the peppers out of the oven and let cool. When they're cool enough to handle, peel off the blackened skin (which should come off easily) and chop the peppers roughly.
While your peppers are roasting, heat small pan to a medium-low heat. Pour in the 3 tablespoons of olive oil and toss in the sliced garlic. Let the garlic cook in the warm oil for just a minute or until the pan gives off a strong smell of garlic. Separate the oil and the garlic pieces with a strainer and throw out the cooked garlic. Set the oil aside.
Put the artichoke pieces and chopped red peppers in a bowl and pour in the garlic oil. Stir to combine. In a separate large bowl, combine the quinoa, the cooked chicken pieces, red onion, feta, parsley and olives (I used canned ones because I was out of kalamata but again, use what you have on hand or like!). Add the artichoke, oil and pepper mixture and 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Stir until all ingredients are combined. Serve right away warm, or chill for a few hours and serve as a cold salad.

All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley

Cookies & Cream Heart Attack Bars

Yeah, that's right. I call these Heart Attack bars. I'm sure that's not going to get me any ranking in the search engines, haha, but it was a fitting name back when I came up with the idea. It's a mixture of chocolate sandwich cookies, butter, cream cheese and sugar, the only thing I could add that would make it worse for you is bacon and I have a feeling that wouldn't taste so good here.
I've got to apologize because I don't have any pictures of the bars cut up into squares. I was making them for a cookout I was going to and we were running late so I ended up just grabbing the pan hot out of the oven and bringing it with us (the squares need to chill for a while before cutting) and cutting them there. So, it's hard to tell what you're looking at but they're really yummy so it doesn't really matter does it?

Ingredients

1 package of Chocolate sandwich cookies (with vanilla filling)
2 8oz packages of light cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 stick of unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place sandwich cookies in a large plastic freezer bag. Seal. Using a meat tenderizer (or something equally blunt), smash the cookies in the bag until all are roughly crumbled. Try not to tear the bag because it will make a big mess! Put the crumbled cookies into a medium-sized bowl and pour the melted butter over them. Stir to combine. (The butter will help the cookies form a "crust" and also prevent the bars from completely sticking to the pan.)

In another bowl, mix the remaining ingredients (cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla) with an electric hand mixer until smooth.

Spread half the cookie mixture in the bottom of a 13x9x2 baking dish. Carefully spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the cookies and then top with the remaining cookies. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top is set. Let cook and chill for 2 hours before serving. Cut into 24 squares and make sure to eat any crumbs left in the pan.All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley

Cheddar Horseradish Bacon Dip

(I'm no longer posting on this blog - enjoy the recipe but if you want to see what I'm up to, visit me here.)

This is a dip I came up with for a BBQ when I didn't feel like going to the store and I wanted to come up with something low fiber for a family member's dietary needs. Luckily, you can't really go wrong with bacon, cheese and cream cheese. I feel kind of dirty just posting this because it really doesn't have any redeeming nutritional value (well maybe calcium and protein) but it was fricken delicious so I thought I'd share. I promise this will be the last dip I post for a little while. You must think my refrigerator is just packed with a whole shelf of cream cheese. Haha. You could be right.

I served this with homemade Olive oil crackers. I found the recipe at 101 Cookbooks. I modified the recipe by making lots of tiny crackers instead of several large ones. They came out great and took almost no time to make. Lots of crunch and the flavor was light enough to not overwhelm the dip.

Ingredients

8 oz light cream cheese, softened
1/3 block of cheddar horseradish cheese**
1/2 cup of grated sharp cheddar
1 tablespoon horseradish sauce (Kraft or Ingleoffer)
2 tablespoons cream or milk
7 slices of nitrate free bacon, cooked
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
kosher salt and black pepper

**Cabot makes a great one, if you can't find it, use 1/2 tsp of grated horseradish or an extra tablespoon of horseradish sauce and an extra 1/2 cup of grated cheddar.

Crumble bacon and put into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to break down some more. Add all the other ingredients and pulse until well blended. If it seems too thick, add another tablespoon or two of milk or cream. Season with Kosher salt and pepper to taste.


All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley

Shrimp and Spinach in Spicy Chipotle Tomato Sauce over Orzo

Blogging community, I haven't abandoned you! Just a wee bit busy! Went camping this past weekend, signed papers for mortgage pre-approval, met with a realtor, and hopefully see some more houses this weekend (although I had my heart set on the one we saw at an open house recently-and someone put an offer on it :( before we got our financing). You can expect to see lots of house talk from here on out! Feel like I haven't been home much since we went to Cape Cod last month!

This is something I made a few weeks ago when I had a whole bunch of leftover chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and didn't know what to do with them (and there is no wasting in this household!). I pureed the peppers in their sauce in my food processor and then froze the puree in an ice cube tray. I then popped them out when frozen and wrapped individually in plastic wrap and tossed them back into the freezer. I'll use the rest of them for chilis or chipotle mayo for sandwiches. I love the flavor chipotle adds to things, especially when you combine that with cooking with wine.

Sorry the pictures are kind of suck-ass. Eating dinner so late at night when the sun has gone down (and being too ravenous to set up any type of proper lighting!) makes it hard to get decent pictures. I used frozen spinach here but definitely feel free to use fresh baby spinach. It will look a lot prettier.

Ingredients

2 tablespoon unsalted butter & 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup low sodium chicken stock
1 cup dry white wine
1 can diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons (or 1 frozen cube) chipotle peppers in adobo, pureed
1 lb medium cooked shrimp, rinsed, shells removed
2 cups defrosted chopped loose leaf spinach (or fresh baby spinach!)
6 servings of orzo
kosher salt and black peppers
lrg handful of cilantro

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the orzo according to the package directions. While your water is heating, start cooking the tomato sauce. Heat oil and butter over medium heat in a large sauce pan or deep skillit until butter melts and the liquids are hot. Cook the onion for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally until translucent. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine, chicken stock and tomatoes to the pan, simmer until the alcohol from the wine is cooked off (about 5-6 minutes). Next, stir in the chipotle pepper puree, Worcestershire sauce, spinach and the cooked shrimp and cook until the spinach and shrimp are warmed through. Season with kosher salt and pepper, turn off the heat and stir in cilantro. Serve over the cooked orzo.

All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley

Like orzo, shrimp and spinach but don't dig smoky chipotle or wine in your food? Visit the link from Foodista below and check out other recipes with the same ingredients.

Creamy Garlic & Chive Goat Cheese Dip

Hi!!! I'm back! Sorry I've been so quiet!! So, I was planning on getting on here this weekend but J and I went house hunting and were way too excited to do anything but talk about and look at houses. The internet has been the last thing on my mind. Anyhow, let's talk food . . .

Earlier this week, I went to the store to buy goat cheese for a salad I was making. I usually only buy the 4 oz packages because as much as I love the stuff, a 12 oz log is just way too much cheese for J and I to eat in a short period of time. Unfortunately, all the store had was the large size this time so that's what I bought. Which means that I have a ton left over, and being the type of person I am, I can't let it go to waste and need to find a way to use it other than just slicing off creamy slabs and tossing it in my mouth. Soooooo, I peeked in the fridge to see what else needed to be used up and voila, we've got ourselves another yummy dip. I realize that I have a problem with dips being the only appetizer I make. I'm stuck in 1986 apparently. I know. I don't care, dips taste good!

Ingredients

4 oz Goat cheese, softened/room temperature
3 heaping tablespoons light mayo
1/3 of a 16 oz container of light sour cream
1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried minced onion
large handful of chopped chives
dash of hot sauce
kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Put all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until well blended, scraping down the sides as necessary. If it's too thick add a tablespoon or two of half and half or milk and pulse until combined. Let chill for an hour before serving (to bring out the chive and garlic flavors). Serve with pita chips, crackers or vegetables.
All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley

Tahini Sauce for Vegetables & Pilafs

(I'm no longer posting on this blog - enjoy the recipe but if you want to see what I'm up to, visit me here.)

Sometimes I get really sick of eating my veggies in the same old ways: salads with vinaigrette, crudites (have I told you how much I hate that word?) with hummus, or just plain. I love my veggies and I eat lots of them but sometimes I want them to taste like they're terrible for me! I want them to taste indulgent! Taste like they could be drenched in butter or covered in cheese and bacon! . . .But I don't really want to cover them in any of those things so I make a sesame tahini based dipping sauce to use when I have that urge.

No, it's not diet food. I'd be lying if I told you it was low calorie but it's still healthy. Tahini, the main ingredient here is made from sesame seeds which are pretty fatty. However, the fat in Tahini is the monounsaturated kind, the good fat, and it's also loaded with calcium, magnesium and iron. So you can enjoy all the deliciousness of tahini without feeling bad (provided you don't sit down and eat it with a spoon!).

Try this sauce on raw veggies, steamed veggies, roasted veggies, as a salad dressing or stir into pilafs, and other grain dishes that need a little boost. It's rich, sweet, garlicky and creamy all at the same time. Let me know what you think!

Ingredients

1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup water
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

This is the most complicated recipe ever. I had to warn you. It will take all day to make so make sure you set aside 8-10 hours to prepare it. HAHA. Just kidding. Toss everything into a bowl and wwhisk until well blended. Serve. Yum!

I'm heading off to Cape Cod until Tuesday so don't expect any posts from me until after that! I actually have the whole week off (yay!) but have family coming to visit from AZ so I'm not sure how much time I'll have online. It won't kill me to get away from the computer for a few days . . .

All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley

Overcoming Fears of Baking with Yeast: Bagels

Of all the breakfast foods out there, bagels are the one that have my heart. Sure, I dig into a bowl of steel cut oats or yogurt & fiber one most days but if I'm feeling naughty, it's a big fat toasted bagel (preferably garlic or everything, or anything that stinks! haha) slathered with an inch of cream cheese that I go for. Well maybe not a whole inch of cream cheese, but close!

I've wanted to make bagels for as long as I can remember but have been afraid to even try since I have about as much experience working with yeast as I have with building houses (i.e. none) House building seems like so much work and seems to have slightly more consequences if you screw up so in comparison, making bagels actually seems pretty easy! Plus, there are no slivers with bagel making!

I've stumbled over lots of yummy looking bagel recipes on blogs over the last few months but ultimately decided to follow a wonderful bagel recipe I found posted at Thibeault's Table, particularly because of her beautiful and easy to follow step by step pictorial on making them. It made all the difference! Here's the page with the actual recipe I used.

I ended up making an assortment of bagels: garlic, onion, everything, asiago cheese, poppyseed, sesame and even a plain one. I used dried minced garlic and onion (the kind you find in the spice aisle) and for the cheese bagels, I mixed a little bit of grated asiago with grated parmesan and it worked pretty well (just make sure to grate your own cheese of course!). The recipe is originally for 48 mini bagels but I made about 15 normal sized ones. I like me a big bagel!

Two things I will do differently the next time I make them: #1, add a little salt to my toppings. Bakery bagels always have a salty bite to them and these didn't. I think there is plenty of salt in the recipe but a little coarse seas salt tossed on towards the end of baking would be nice. #2, watch my bagels more closely when boiling. J and I had a couple cocktails while doing our baking on Saturday (J made pretzels while I made bagels. Adorable!) and definitely didn't focus on timing as much as I probably should have! (It's also why my pictures get progressively blurrier)

Anyhow, these came out great and were so much easier than I thought they'd be! I'm no longer afraid of working with yeast and am plotting my next baking adventure. Try these-you'll be impressed with yourself too!

All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley

Eggs Benedict Caprese on Grilled French Bread (with Cheddar Bechamel)

(I'm no longer posting on this blog - enjoy the recipe but if you want to see what I'm up to, visit me here.)

I think I've mentioned before I'm not so hot when it comes to cooking breakfast. Most of the time the meal for me consists of greek yogurt and whole grain cereal or a bagel with veggie cream cheese. Maybe some steel cut oats if I have 20 minutes. Low maintenance and light workload. Frankly, I'm not awake enough in the morning to put together anything else. But on the rare occasion that I've gotten enough sleep and have some time to kill, I will try to make something special of the meal. It's not always successful, haha, but this particular one was.

I had some leftover french bread yesterday that I wanted to use up and when checking on my little plants outside, I saw that my basil and chives were thriving and I wanted to eat some right away. So the plan was to poach some eggs, grill the bread and top with tomatoes and basil and make a cheddar bechamel sauce. My first time poaching eggs actually! And they were much easier than I thought they'd be! My clumsy oxen-like movements didn't break the yolks so I think you could handle it too. This came out delicious and despite the bechamel sauce, is not nearly as high calorie as you think. The same type of meal at a breakfast restaurant would run you about 900 calories-mine is only going to cost you abou 580. Not saying that 580 is low calorie, haha, but it's a feat of amazment considering I'm covering the eggs with butter, cheese and milk. Now stop drooling and go make some yourself.

After eating it, J said "Shit, I guess I should marry you." Maybe I should change the name to "Marry me Eggs". He knows he has a good thing.

Serves 2 (but enough bechamel for 4)

Ingredients

For the grilled bread
8-10 inches of fresh french bread
olive oil (optional
kosher salt

4 large basil leaves
2 ripe roma tomatoes, sliced
olive oil (optional)

For the poached eggs
4 eggs
1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
dash of kosher salt

For the Bechamel (makes about 1 cup)
2 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese
1.5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup 1% milk
couple shakes of Worcestershire sauce
couple pinches of dry mustard
kosher salt to taste

Heat a stove top grill pan over medium high heat. If you don't have one, you certainly can grill the bread on a gas or charcoal grill but I don't do well over open flame (yet!) so I can't give you directions there! Cut french bread in half, and then split each half as if it were a sandwich roll. When the pan is hot, place the four pieces of french bread on the grill, soft side down. Grill bread for 3-4 minutes and remove when desired color is achieved. Season with kosher salt and drizzle with a little olive oil (if desired).

While your bread is grilling, fill a saucepan half way with water and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of vinegar (the vinegar helps the egg to keep it's shape). Crack each egg separately into a small cup or bowl and then poach eggs one at a time by pouring them into the center of the simmering (not boiling) water. Use a wooden spoon to gently loosen the sides of the egg from the bottom of the pan if necessary but be careful not to nudge too much. They're very delicate. Cook each for 2-5 minutes depending on how runny you like your eggs. If you're feeling nervous about whether you're doing it right, check out some video's on youtube on how to poach an egg. Remove carefully with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. If you are making eggs for a large group and and your first eggs get cold, just drop them back into the hot water for a couple of seconds to reheat.

If you're a good multitasker, while your eggs are poaching away, melt the 1.5 tablespoons of butter over medium low heat. Add the tablespoon of flour and stir continuously to incorporate. Raise heat to medium and cook flour and butter until a golden brown (4 or 5 minutes). In a separate sauce pan or in the microwave in a large bowl, heat 1 cup of milk until hot but not boiling. Slowly add the hot milk to the butter and flour roux , whisking the entire time until smooth. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened (5 or 6 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in 2 oz of grated cheddar cheese (grate it yourself, don't buy pre-grated if you can), the Worcestershire sauce and a hearty pinch of dry mustard. Season with kosher salt.
Place two pieces of grilled bread on two plates, top each piece of bread with 1 large basil leaf, two slices of roma tomatoes (and a drizzle of olive oil if you want to be true to the caprese style) and a poached egg. Spoon about two tablespoons of bechamel onto each egg. Add a twist of freshly ground black pepper and chives to garnish (optional of course!).
Use the leftover bechamel for pasta or just to dip extra bread in. I'm so excited about how this came out! Expect to see more attempts at breakfast foods in the future. :)

All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley