Eggs Benedict

Happy Holidays
Merry Christmas
Joyous Kwanzaa
Season's Greetings
Happy Hanukkah (okay, I think I'm late with that one this year!)
Joyeux Noel
Feliz Navidad
Mele Kalikimaka
.....and all the others..... :o)

Well, here we are - it's Christmas Day.  Thoughts and good wishes are sent out to family and friends, near and far.  Gifts from Santa have been opened and appreciated (hopefully you were all good this year :o).  A day long 'The Big Bang Theory' marathon has begun on the Comedy channel.  The cats have played with their new toys, stuffed their faces with treats and are now in a comatosed state in separate rooms (nothing new there then!).  Hubby and various other online warriors are saving the cyber world via his latest xBox game.....and our bellies are full from my Christmas Day breakfast of eggs benedict.  Roll on the turkey and stuffing...

If you feel so inclined, by all means make your hollandaise sauce the longer, more labour intensive way of whisking until your arms feel like wet noodles, but this blender method is soooo much easier, and if the empty plates are any indication, just as good :o) 

Eggs Benedict
serves 2 (hungry people on Christmas morning)

2 english muffins
4 slices canadian back bacon
4 large eggs

hollandaise sauce
3 egg yolks
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp dry mustard powder
1/4 tsp salt
pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 cup butter

• starting with the hollandaise sauce, in a blender add the egg yolks, lemon juice, mustard, salt and cayenne pepper; blend on high for 1 minute until slightly frothy and lighter in colour.
• melt the butter until hot but not boiling, either in a small saucepan on the stove top or as I did, in the microwave.
• with the blender on the lowest setting, slowly pour in the hot butter and watch the sauce thicken (the sauce should stay warm enough until everything else is ready but if you're concerned you can place the blender container in a bowl of hot water to keep it warm and give it another very quick blend before serving.)
• meanwhile, split the muffins and pop them in a toaster (or under a broiler) to toast.
• in a frying pan sprayed with a little non-stick cooking spray, fry the bacon until cooked.
• either using a 4 pan egg poacher (I have one that my Mum bought me :o), or whichever method you like, poach your eggs to your own preferred 'doneness' - we like ours runny for eggs benedict.
• assemble the eggs benedict;  english muffin, slice of bacon, poached egg, hollandaise sauce and sprinkle with a little black or cayenne pepper.
• we only wanted the eggs benedict today, but if we're really hungry (or usually if we're out at a restaurant and someone else is cooking we might have some pan fried potatoes alongside :o)

 Eggs Benedict ingredients.

 put all the hollandaise sauce ingredients, except the hot butter, into a blender.

blend on high power for a minute until light in colour and slightly frothy.

frying off the canadian back bacon - mmmmmmm.

this is part of my 4 pan egg poacher (the frying pan part is on the stove top heating up).

start assembling - toasted muffins...

(as a side note, don't you just LOVE our beautiful daisy plates :o)

yummy bacon...

poached eggs...

slather with creamy, buttery hollandaise sauce and sprinkle with pepper.

delicious!!!

Ginger Icebox Cookies

Christmas baking is the order of this week I think.  I want to bake a lot of the old favourites, like sugar cookies, and shortbread, and these ginger icebox cookies, but I'm also going to try some totally different cookies/treats too.  I'm going to adapt a basic butter cookie recipe to incorporate my homemade raspberry jam somehow (not 100% sure what I want to do yet), and I've also promised some people that I'd attempt some peppermint patties.  So I apologies to my hubby in advance if he doesn't get any 'food' this week, just cookies to live on! :)

Ginger Icebox Cookies
makes 35-40

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt

• in a small bowl combine the flour, ginger and salt and mix well; set aside.
• in an electric stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
• add the egg until incorporated, and then add the molasses and mix well.
• mix in the dry ingredients and blend to form a stiff dough.
• divide the mixture into 2 'logs', approximately 2-3 inch diameter and wrap each log in wax paper.  Refrigerate for 2 hours to harden dough.  (The dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week, or freeze and you can have fresh baked cookies whenever you want them :)
• when ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 F.
• remove one of the logs from the fridge and slice into 1/8 inch thick cookies; place onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
• bake for 8-10 minutes, until edges are beginning to brown.
• transfer to a wire rack to cool.

 Ginger Icebox Cookie ingredients.

cream together the butter and sugar.

the mixture turns a wonderful colour when the molasses is added.

once you've added the dry ingredients, form the dough into 2 'logs' and wrap in wax paper.

slice the dough into 1/8 inch thick cookies.

place the cookies onto ungreased cookie sheets - because the dough is cold they won't spread very much, if at all.

bake until the edges are just browning.

and enjoy! :)

Chocolate Chip Meringues

I'm figuring with the holiday season barrelling towards us at a break neck speed, there are about to be copious amounts of scrumptious treats due to be coming out of my kitchen.  Undoubtedly, a good portion of those, although good for our taste buds, they might not be so good for our waistlines - what can I say....Christmas comes but once a year :o)

So, even though I had a hankering to make something chocolatey today, I opted for something low in fat, in the spirit of 'under-indulgence'.....for now anyway!!!

Chocolate Chip Meringues
makes 15-25 cookies (depending on size)

2 egg whites
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs cocoa powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips

• preheat the oven to 250 F, and cover two cookies sheets with foil or parchment paper.
• in a clean metal or glass bowl whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar with a hand or stand mixer, until soft peaks.
• gradually add in the sugar, while whisking, until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
• mix in vanilla and cocoa powder on low speed.
• fold in chocolate chips by hand.
• drop heaped teaspoon size mounds onto the prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
• bake for 1 hour; turn off oven heat and leave the sheets in the oven for another hour.
• store in an airtight container.

 Chocolate Chip Meringue ingredients.

whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar - it doesn't take long to go from this, frothy, stage to soft peaks.

you can sift the cocoa if you want, but I didn't bother, and they came out fine.

I opted for the foil today, and they peel off pretty easily as long as you go careful.

these are great on their own for a little chocolate 'fix', but they'd also be wonderful popped into the top of a decedent chocolate mousse.

because of the slow, low cooking the chocolate chips keep their shapes pretty well.

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

It took me years of trial and error to get the perfect hard-boiled egg (to my taste anyway - I don't like the yolk too dry).  I would usually get them either with runny whites or the other extreme of having that horrible gray line around the yolks - eeekkk!!  I often boil up a batch of these and keep in the fridge in a bowl for all sorts of different, delicious things.  They'll stay good in the fridge for up to a week.

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

• place as many or as few fresh eggs as you want into a deep saucepan - try not to pack in too many, you want them to move around a little in the water.
• add cold water to cover the eggs by about 1 inch.
• bring the pan to a 'rolling' boil on high heat.
• when a 'rolling' boil is reached, immediately turn off the heat.
• leave the pan on the heating element for 10-12 minutes (depending on quantity of eggs).  I left them for 10 minutes using 7 eggs.
• quickly cool the eggs down by running under cold water while in a colander and then leave immersed in cold water for 5 minutes to cool completely.

 make sure the water is about 1 inch above eggs.

you want a rolling boil, hard enough to move the eggs around.

immerse the boiled eggs in cold water (I leave the colander inside the saucepan, in the sink just for ease)

of course I had to peel and cut one in half, just to check they looked right.

Then I had to sprinkle a little sea salt and eat it, just to check it tasted right :)

Breakfast Tortilla Wraps

Another fairly lazy weekend morning - catching up on laundry, and emails, and generally pottering around the house while it rains outside.  We also had the hour clock change overnight so things were a little 'out of sinc' for me, hence breakfast didn't get sorted out until well into brunch today - and what better food to indulge in but eggs and bacon, just in an easier to transport way, so that I could use up the last of the tortillas :)

Breakfast Tortilla Wraps
2 servings

3-4 tortillas
4 eggs
1 red pepper, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
4 rashers of bacon, chopped
splash of milk
1/4 cup cheese, grated
dash of Tabasco sauce
salt and pepper

• in a bowl mix together the eggs, cheese, milk, Tabasco and seasoning; set aside.
• in a large skillet fry the bacon for a couple of minutes until starting to brown.
• add the peppers and onions to the bacon and cook until bacon is just under your preferred doneness.
• add the egg mixture to the skillet with the bacon, peppers and onions, and cook while stirring until eggs are set and scrambled.
• divide the egg mixture between the tortillas and roll up, tucking in the ends.
• return the tortilla wraps to the hot skillet and heat on both sides for a couple of minutes to warm through.

 mmmm.....bacon......

 chop the vegetables fairly finely.

I always find it easier to cut the bacon with scissors straight into the pan.

I like the peppers to still have a little crunch to them, so they're not cooked for very long.

this is when I nearly changed my mind and just went with a straight omelette :)

my rolling and folding needs a little practice.

you can even prepare these in advance and reheat in the microwave.

Raspberry French Toast

Saturday morning.  A late lazy start, which probably would of been even later if the cats hadn't decided it was way past time for us to get up to feed and play with them.  A cup of freshly brewed coffee while watching chef Lynn Crawford on Pitchin In milk her first ever goat, and then a delicious plate of raspberry jam filled french toast.....mmmmm, if only every Saturday were like this....

Raspberry French Toast
2 servings

6-8 slices bread (any bread you have)
raspberry jam (I had homemade, but use your favourite)
3 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs butter
icing sugar to sprinkle

• in a deep dish mix the eggs, milk and cinnamon until well combined and set aside.
• spread the jam onto half of the bread slices and top with the other bread to make sandwiches.
• submerge the sandwiches in the egg mixture, turning to coat both sides.
• meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt the butter over a medium heat until bubbling slightly.
• transfer the egg coated sandwiches to the skillet and fry on both sides until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes each side.
• serve, sprinkled with icing sugar.

 I had plain white bread, but experiment with all kinds.

don't use too big of a dish, you want the depth of liquid so that the bread can get coated on all sides.

mmm....jam sandwiches

alternate the sandwiches so that each is coated sufficiently.

use a big enough skillet so that you can fry them all together if possible.

delicious also served with crispy bacon or a fruit salad.