Stella’s Perfect Scrambled Eggs

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Texarchivist

I eat a lot of eggs. I have two or three eggs for breakfast at least five days a week. Most of the time, I have a couple of rashers of crispy bacon; sometimes I have salsa, herbs, migas, cheese, and/or breakfast sausage. Over the past few months, I’ve really perfected my scrambled eggs recipe. They turn out light, fluffy, rich, and delicious. The secret is in the pre-scrambling, and to cook over low heat.

Next time you’re hungry for some eggs—for breakfast, lunch, or dinner—give these a try! This recipe is for a single serving. Double for two people, etc.

Ingredients:
Three large eggs
1 Tbsp softened butter, halved
2 Tbsp heavy cream (or milk)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Equipment:
Medium mixing bowl
Whisk
Small to medium skillet
Flat spatula

1. Crack the eggs into the mixing bowl.

2. Using the end of the whisk, break up the yolks with light pressure.

3. Lightly whisk the eggs until just well mixed.

4. Add salt and pepper; slowly pour in cream while continuing to whisk lightly.

5. Let eggs sit for a few minutes at room temperature.

6. Meanwhile, melt butter in the skillet over low heat.

7. Pour eggs into skillet, and stir lightly with spatula.

8. Allow to cook over low heat for a couple of minutes, until the eggs are partially set, then stir, using the spatula to scrape up the cooked egg from the bottom of the pan. Stir well and allow to cook for another minute or two.

8. Increase heat to medium low. Turn eggs over constantly, but gently, with the spatula until well done and fully firm. Fold, don’t stir.

9. Slide eggs out of skillet and onto a plate using the spatula. Garnish with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.

Serves one.

Scrambled eggs with deconstructed pesto

To jazz up these basic scrambled eggs, consider:

adding some minced garlic to the melting butter (or garlic powder to the egg mix);
folding in some grated cheese at the end of the cooking;
including finely diced onions or chile peppers;
garnishing with fresh herbs or salsa.

Pizza Eric

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Texarchivist

This recipe was inspired by the Pizza Sagra at—you guessed it—Sagra Trattoria and Bar. Now that Eric has mastered the fine art of a crispy thin crust pizza, we decided to try one at home, complete with our not-so-secret favorite ingredient: eggs!

The first time I ever encountered the eggs-on-a-pizza thing was at Pizza Express, a chain in the UK. Their Fiorentina pizza with spinach, grana padano, garlic oil, black olives, and a cracked egg blew my mind. This is how unsophisticated my palate was! So, you see, I’ve actually come a long way! (Besides, I never said I was a role model.) And now I’ve convinced Eric that eggs are the ultimate pizza-perfecting ingredient.

At a loss as to what to name this one, and considering that it includes some of his other favorite inclusions (like fresh kale and homegrown herbs), I’ve decided to christen it simply “Pizza Eric.”

First, make Eric’s Easy Pizza Dough.

Pizza Eric
Dough (as prepared ahead, above)
6 oz. tomato paste (small can)
1 tsp fresh chopped oregano
two eggs
fresh mozzarella, too taste*
1 cup shredded kale
1/3 cup chopped basil
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan
2 Tbsp olive oil, halved***
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 300°. Meanwhile, drizzle one half of the olive oil on the pizza stone and spread with your fingertips.

2. Next, take the ball of pre-made dough in your hands, and spread it out on the stone so that it covers the whole thing thinly and evenly, curling up at the edges. You can make the crust as thin or as thick as you like, but for this recipe (and according to my personal taste), you will want to spread it comparatively thin.

3. Once dough is evenly spread on the stone, bake it in the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes.

4. Remove the stone from the oven and turn up the heat to 425°. Meanwhile, spread the remaining olive oil evenly over the dough using a spoon. Next, spread tomato sauce. Crack the two eggs over the pizza, and add oregano, salt, and pepper as desired. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

7. Remove the stone from the oven; add mozzarella, basil, and kale, and return entire to oven. Bake at 425° until the crust is brown and crispy around the edges and the center looks firm.

9. Carefully remove the pizza from the oven, sprinkle the parmesan over it, and let it cool for a few minutes. Cut with a pizza cutter or wheel, then serve immediately.

You won’t have any leftovers.

*Enough to cover the pizza, as desired. Here, we used a couple of mozzarella balls, sliced and spread out over the pizza. You could grate it if you prefer.

Eric’s Easy Pizza Dough

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Texarchivist

3 cups bread or all-purpose flour
1 cup of lukewarm water
1 Tbsp of salt
Drizzle of olive oil
1 packet of instant yeast (~1 tsp)

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Cover, and let it sit as long as you want (the longer it sits, the more sourdough flavor it will have).

2. About an hour before baking, remove the dough from the bowl and place in a foil “tent” (get a couple of large pieces of foil and wrap your dough up in them, with enough extra space for the dough to rise further – they tent does not need to be completely sealed).

3. Before preparing pizza base, flour your hands and work surface to avoid sticking. Fold the dough over a couple of times with your hands, and then make a medium-sized dough ball – this will become your pizza crust. The size of the dough ball will depend upon the size of the pizza you plan to make and the diameter of your pizza stone, so results here will vary.

Homemade Cheese Enchiladas

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Texarchivist

Last night, to celebrate the fact that I just quit my job (more on this soon), and in lieu of spending $20 at the local Tex-Mex establishment in light of of this same fact, I made a big batch of cheese enchiladas! And they turned out fantastic. I made ten, and we only have two enchiladas left over! Oops!

Here are full instructions on how I make my Old School Tex-Mex Enchiladas, including my super easy and very addictive Fieldmarshal’s Basic Tex-Mex Enchilada Sauce.

I taught myself how to make this stuff while living in England for four years, with nary a decent Mexican restaurant in a thousand mile radius (let’s pause to consider that for a moment, shall we?).

It’s so easy, just as good as the restaurant version (if not better), and great for the budget cook. Of course, enchiladas also make great leftovers. This sauce is so good, I could drink it. I lick the spatula like it’s cake mix.

This batch of enchiladas were stuffed with a mix of cheddar and pepper jack cheese and topped with sauce, chopped onions, and more cheddar. That’s it. I served it with leftover Stella’s Frijoles Refritos Negros (also cheap but delicious), homegrown jalapeño slices, and a dollop of sour cream (I am also addicted to sour cream. I could eat the whole tub in one sitting!). I thought I had made so many enchiladas that we’d have leftovers to eat for days, but someone liked them so much he ate seven enchiladas!

I told you they were good.

Stella’s Colcannon

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Texarchivist

Did you ever eat Colcannon, made from lovely pickled cream?
With the greens and scallions mingled like a picture in a dream.
Did you ever make a hole on top to hold the melting flake
Of the creamy, flavoured butter that your mother used to make?

The Queen planting a tree in Ireland.

Well, it’s the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and I am a hardcore Anglophile, but I just couldn’t help whipping up some delicious Irish comfort food this week, so that’s what you’re getting! Hopefully, as heralded by Her Majesty’s recent trip to the Emerald Isle (the first by a reigning British monarch since her grandfather King George V visited in 1911), relations between the two countries will continue to improve. Meanwhile, we can all enjoy the best, butteriest foods from both windy isles.

Colcannon

3 lbs. potatoes (about seven medium-sized potatoes), peeled and chopped
1/2 head of green cabbage, roughly chopped
2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
2 sticks of butter
6 additional pats of butter, pre-sliced and softened
1 cup of cream
10 slices of bacon
salt and black pepper
3 spring onions, finely chopped (optional)

1. In a large stock pot, cover potatoes with water, lightly salt, and bring to a boil. Cook for about fifteen minutes, or until fully softened.

2. Meanwhile, heat bacon in a large skillet over medium low heat. Allow to sizzle for about ten minutes, turning occasionally, until nicely browned. Drain on paper towels, crumble, and set aside.

3. In a medium stock pot, cover cabbage and spinach with water and bring to a boil. Allow to cook for about five minutes, until cabbage begins to darken, and add a pat of butter. Stir and cover. Boil for a further ten minutes, then drain and set aside.

4. Once potatoes are cooked through, drain and return pot to stove. Lower heat to simmer and add about half the remaining butter, plus salt and pepper to taste. Mash until potatoes are as smooth as possible, slowly drizzling in cream. Taste, and add more salt and pepper as desired. Add the cabbage and spinach, along with the rest of the butter, reserving four pats. Stir thoroughly so that all ingredients are evenly mixed.

5. Serve immediately by ladling the colcannon out into bowls and smoothing the top with the back of a spoon. Add reserved pats of butter, one per bowl, and allow to melt into the grooves created by the spoon. Top with crumbled bacon, chopped spring onions, and additional black pepper, if desired.

Serves 6. Also makes great leftovers. Just throw a pat of butter on there and reheat!