Sunday Baked Eggs

Nothing says Sunday more than a lazy day in with a pot of coffee and eggs ... unless your my fiancee where a Sunday consists of walking around, brunching, shopping, and doing any other activity to make someone tired. Luckily for me, I got my lazy Sunday this week as she was spending time with her sister. I put on some TV, made a pot of coffee, and searched through our threadbare cupboards to find something to make with eggs. 

I found some red lentils and whole wheat breadcrumbs, and thought I would use my new mini Le Creuset bake pan I bought last week by making baked eggs. I made sure to add a layer of breadcrumbs to avoid the eggs from falling between the beans. I was happy to see a nice crunchy crust develop underneath my eggs, separating with wet yolks from the hearty, spiced lentils. Try it your next lazy Sunday, and if lentils aren't you're thing, used some cooked spinach, some thick cut bacon, or whatever you have in your cupboards. Enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 1):

2 eggs

2 tbsp. whole wheat bread crumbs

2 tsp. olive oil

1/3 cup red lentils

1/2 cup vegetable stock

1 tsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. parsley flakes

1 tsp. tarragon

1 slice of butter

sea salt & black pepper

1.  Heat a pan over a medium heat. Add the red lentils, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, curry powder, cumin, parsley, and butter. Mix thoroughly, oat the lentils and leave over heat for 2 minutes. Preheat your over to 375 degrees.

2. Add half of the vegetable stock and leave the lentils to cook. When the stock cooks off, add some more. The lentils should be nice and tender, and cook in about 10 minutes or so. Add any more stock needed to get the beans to cook through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. In a bowl, add your bread crumbs and the remaining teaspoon of olive oil. Mix together until you have a nice paste. Moist bread crumbs cook and taste much better than plain ones (that's why fried food taste so glorious as the breadcrumbs get slathered in grease!).

4. Remove the lentils from the pan, and drain most of the excess liquid. Reserve about a tablespoon's worth and add back to the lentils.

5. Add the lentils to your bake pan. Top with the breadcrumbs, making sure you spread them evenly over your beans. Crack two eggs over the bread crumbs and season with pepper and tarragon.

6. Put the pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Check the eggs periodically to ensure the yolks don't cook through. Remove from the stove and let sit for 1 minute on a trivet before serving.

Farmer's Market Pasta

Farmer's Markets are everywhere nowadays. Twenty or so years ago, it would have been difficult to find produce from local growers, now on any given day here in New York City there are several markets running. You can find a market close to you fairly easily. Some will argue that farmer's markets are the best place to shop, others argue that they are overpriced. For me, I think they are fantastic. I walked to a market by my apartment and found some amazing produce from local farmer's.

I bought garlic still on the stalk, fresh tomatoes, great looking summer squash, and a bunch of fresh arugula. I decided to pair those items with a basic tomato sauce (see my spaghetti al tonno post) and fresh fettuccine to make a wonderfully fresh salad. Go to your local farmer's market this weekend and find your own ingredients for a great pasta dinner. Enjoy! 

Ingredients (serves 2):

Basic tomato sauce recipe

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 summer squash

2 tomatoes

2 garlic cloves

2 cups arugula

1/2 lb. fresh fettuccine

sea salt & black pepper

1. Make your tomato sauce ahead of time. Make enough for just the two of you or make a full batch for the week. Put the heat back on the sauce before you start to cook the vegetables.

2. Slice your squash, roughly chop your tomatoes, clean your arugula, and set aside.

3. Boil water in a pot for your pasta. Heat a pan over a medium heat and add the olive oil and garlic cloves with the skin on. Let the garlic brown for 3 minutes. The skin should easily come off once the garlic cooks.

Note: Cooking garlic with the skin on yields more flavor.

4. Add the squash and tomatoes to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes. If you are using dried pasta instead of fresh, add the pasta to the water at the same time. 

5. Reduce the heat on the pan and add sauce to vegetables. Add your fresh pasta to the water and cook for 3 minutes until al dente.

6. Drain your fettuccine and add the the pan with the vegetables and sauce. Mix in thoroughly. Add your arugula to the pan and work in.

7. Remove from the pan and serve.

Butcher's Lunch Part Two: Hanger Steak

The first sentence of the Wikipedia page for Hanger Steak sums up this cut of beef. It is prized for its flavor. Hanger steak has great marbling and when cooked is as juicy as any steak out there. I bought some from my butcher this week and had a great lunch during a stressful work day. Even better, a four ounce cut of hanger steak has only 200 calories. 

Ingredients (serves 1):

4 oz. hanger steak

1 handful spinach

2 marinated artichoke hearts

1 tsp olive oil

sea salt & black pepper

1. Season your steak with salt and pepper.

2. Heat a pan and cook the steak for around 6 to 8 minutes. Let it rest on a plate for 2 minutes before serving.

3. While the steak cooks, roughly chop the artichoke hearts.

4. Heat a small pan over a medium-high flame, and add the artichokes. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, tossing regularly, until the artichokes begin to brown then remove from heat.

5. Add spinach to a mixing bowl and drizzle olive oil, tossing until the spinach is covered. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Add the spinach and artichokes to a plate and top with the steak. Enjoy!

Butcher's Lunch Part One: Pork Chop

When heading into my local butcher's shop to grab something for lunch the other week, I avoided the sandwich trap. I was working from home and could use a little break from the items on my to do list at my job, so instead I bought myself a pork chop and a marinated mozzarella salad. I rarely get to eat pork at home as my fiancee does not like it. Unless it is pulled pork... or prosciutto ... or ... well she mostly doesn't like it! Making a small pork chop for one takes no time at all. It certainly alleviated any stresses from work to take 10 minutes from my day to make lunch and it tasted great. I thought it would be interesting to see what types of lunches I would be able to make from food just at my local butcher, and so this will be the first installment of a series of "Butcher's Lunches".

Ingredients (serves 1):

1 pork chop bone-in

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 mozzarella salad (cheese, roasted pepper, basil, olive oil)

sea salt & black pepper

1. Add some of the mozzarella salad to your plate. If your butcher doesn't have a pre-made version, mix the following ingredients: mozzarella balls or sliced mozzarella, roasted red peppers sliced, a few basil leaves, and olive oil. Season with black pepper.

2. Season your pork chop with sea salt, black pepper, coriander, and cumin. Rub over the whole chop.

3. Heat a pan over a medium heat. Add the olive oil and the pork. Add a drop of your broth to make sure the pork doesn't dry out (which is often a complaint of most anti-pork eaters).

4. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, adding more broth as needed. Then flip the chop and cook for another 3 to 7 minutes depending on its thickness. The same rules for seeing if a steak is cooked apply to all meats, even pork. Check out step 6 of my Cooking a Steak post to determine when the chop is cooked properly to your liking.

5. Remove the chop, add to your plate of mozzarella salad and enjoy!

New Segment: The Butcher's Lunch

After moving to a new neighborhood, I needed to find the best place to buy meat. Luckily for me, the butcher nearby is a good one. I walked in and saw much more than just chicken cutlets. In trying out their products, I thought I would add a new segment for the next few weeks that I will call The Butcher's Lunch. I will be buying food only from my local butcher shop and making quick recipes that anyone can cook for a weekend lunch or weeknight dinner.