Recipes for Bread/eggs
September 29, 2017
Pumpkin Pancakes
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
pinch of ground clove
½ teaspoon sea salt
4 eggs, separated
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
¾ cup pumpkin puree
1 ¼ cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove until combined in a large bowl.
Separate the eggs.
Whisk the yolks with the melted butter in a medium sized bowl. Stir in the pumpkin puree, milk and vanilla.
Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff, about 2 minutes.
Mix the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Gently stir 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the pumpkin mixture. Carefully fold in the remaining egg whites.
Make three-inch pancakes with a ¼-cup measuring cup, and cook in a lightly buttered cast iron skillet or griddle. Serve with apple cider syrup.
Yield about 24 pancakes.
April 9, 2017
Spring at last. Which means the chickens are beginning to lay eggs again. Which means it’s deviled egg season.
Before you begin, a little digression on hard-boiling eggs.
When eggs are new, the membrane beneath the shell sticks tightly to its shell, making peeling them a serious challenge. As eggs age, the protective coating on the shell becomes porous and begins to absorb air making the whites less acetic. (This is why the whites of freshly laid eggs are cloudy; as they absorb air they lose some of the carbon dioxide in the albumen, the ph rises, and the whites become clearer.)
But while the egg whites are losing their acidity, they are also getting thinner, meaning that the yolk is moving farther from the center. So if you’re intent on perfect deviled eggs, begin with organic, new-laid eggs but put them in the refrigerator for a week and store them on their sides.
Bring the eggs to room temperature before cooking. This will prevent cracking.
Put your eggs in a pot that will hold them in a single layer, so that they cook evenly. Cover them with cold water and raise it quickly just to a boil. Cover the pot, turn off the heat and let the eggs sit for 12 minutes.
Chill the eggs, immediately, in a bowl of ice water. This will prevent the dread green circle around the outside of the yolk, which occurs because the iron in the yolk reacts with the sulfur in the white when the temperature of the egg reaches 158° F. Although perfectly harmless, it lends your deviled eggs a slightly ghoulish air.
If you don’t want to wait a week, steam your eggs. It’s easy. Put them in a steamer (or a colander over a big pot), and steam them for twenty minutes. Plunk them into an ice water bath until they’re cool enough to handle. Roll on the counter. The shells will peel right off.
Pink Deviled Eggs
Shopping list: 1 jar pickled beets, Sriracha sauce, sweet pickle.
Staples: 1 dozen eggs, mustard, mayonnaise, salt pepper,
Makes 1 dozen.
Once your eggs are cooked and peeled, put the whole eggs into a bowl with the juice from a can of pickled beets; add a bit of water if the eggs aren’t completely covered.
Before long the eggs will begin to turn a vibrant shade of pink. Leave them in the refrigerator overnight, and the whites will be the most beautiful color, a dazzling contrast to the marigold color of the yolks. (Leave them in the beet juice for more than 18 hours, however, and the yolks will turn pink as well.)
Cut the eggs in half lengthwise, then slice a bit off the bottom of the white of each half so they won’t wobble on the plate. It make them considerably easier to fill.
Remove the yolks and mash with mayonnaise, a bit of mustard, and salt and pepper. Add a splash of Sriracha for heat. If you want truly etherial tenderness, whip the filling in a food processor; it will make it smoother. Then pile the deviled yolks back into the pink shells. (A pastry tube makes this easier.) At the end, just for color, top each one with a little triangle of sweet pickle or a bit of sliced chile pepper.
October 15, 2016
Shirred Eggs with Potato Puree
4-5 yukon potatoes, about 1 pound, peeled and cut into half inch slices
one teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup cream
1/2 stick unsalted butter (4 ounces)
4 eggs
1. Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with an inch of cold water. Add the salt.
2. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes until a fork easily pierces the flesh.
3. Put the potatoes through a ricer. If you do not have a ricer use a fork to break up the flesh. Season with freshly ground pepper.
4. Slowly melt the butter in a sauce pan over a low flame. When it is melted, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream.
5. Whisk the cream in a slow stream into the potatoes, whisking all the while. In an instant the potatoes will transform into a smooth, airy, puree. Season to taste.
6. Heat an oven to 375 degrees.
Butter 4 ramekins and put about an inch of whipped potato into each one. Carefully break an egg into a saucer, and then let it slip onto its soft bed of puree. Repeat for each ramekin.
7. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place the ramekins in a deep baking dish. Pour boiling water into the dish until it comes halfway up the ramekins; be careful not to get the water into the ramekins. Place the dish on a baking sheet, and set the whole thing into the oven. Bake for 8 minutes, until the whites just begin to set. Remove from the oven and spoon a tablespoon of cream over the egg.
8. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny.
Garnish with any or all of the following and serve immediately.
grey sea salt
chopped chives
bacon
grated cheese
Serves 4.
May 10, 2016
The markets are filled with eggs – teal, tender blue, pewter, tan – and I can’t resist their new-laid beauty. Each time I crack one open I’m stunned, all over again, by the flash of that bright marigold yolk.
You can scramble them, of course, or fry them, boil them, bake them into cakes. You can whip them into souffles. But the eggs of spring deserve a starring role, and I can’t think of a better one than this.
Shirred Eggs with Potato Puree
4-5 yukon potatoes (about 1 pound)
one teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1/2 stick unsalted butter (4 ounces)
heavy cream
4 beautiful spring eggs
Peel the potatoes, cut them into half inch slices, put them into a pot and cover them with an inch of cold water. Add the salt, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, or until a fork easily pierces the flesh. Drain.
Put the potatoes through a ricer. If you don’t have one, use a potato masher or simply a fork to break up and mash the flesh. Season with freshly ground pepper.
Slowly melt the butter in a sauce pan over a low flame and stir in half a cup of cream. Whisk the mixture, in a slow stream, into the potatoes and watch them transform themselves into a smooth, seductive puree. Season to taste.
Heat an oven to 375 degrees and put a kettle of water on to boil.
Butter 4 ramekins and put about an inch of potato puree into each one. Carefully break an egg into a saucer, and then let it slip onto its soft bed of puree. Repeat for each ramekin.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and set the ramekins into a deep baking dish. Pour boiling water around the ramekins until each one is about halfway submerged (be careful not to splash yourself or the contents of the ramekins). Set the baking dish in the oven for about 8 minutes, until the whites just begin to set.
Spoon a tablespoon of cream over the egg in each ramekin and bake for another 5 minutes or so, until the whites are set but the yolks are still soft and slightly runny.
garnish with any or all of the following:
grey sea salt
chopped chives
bacon
grated cheese
Serve immediately to 4 lucky people.
January 8, 2016
I’m crazy about my vintage cast iron waffle maker. (Not pictured.) It’s turned out perfect waffles for 40 years. It barely needs cleaning. And it makes heart-shaped waffles that are, frankly, adorable.
My most satisfying breakfast ritual begins with hauling the huge base – it must weigh at least five pounds – up to my stovetop. When the pan begins to sing with heat I cover it with Fannie Farmer’s yeast-raised waffle batter, carefully close the top, and wait. When the top rises just a bit I turn it over and wait some more. The truth is that my well seasoned griddle cooks waffles almost as fast as my family can eat them – which is very fast indeed. They are always gone too soon. The only catch? My little Jotul waffle iron is no longer made, and the last one I found on Etsy cost way too much.
But I’ve just found a great buy on a humble version of my stovetop wonder. It has no base. The triangles aren’t hearts. But it’s also 24 bucks, and pure cast iron. And just to encourage you, here’s the time-honored Fannie Farmer Recipe, which makes light, crisp airy waffles that nobody can resist.
Fannie Farmer’s Yeast-Raised Waffles
Sprinkle 1 package of dry yeast over a half cup of warm water in a large bowl and wait for it to dissolve.
Meanwhile melt a stick of butter, add 2 cups of milk and allow it to just gently warm up. Add it to the yeast mixture.
Mix a teaspoon each of salt and sugar into 2 cups of flour. Add this to the liquid and beat until smooth.
Cover the bowl and let it stand overnight at room temperature. In the morning beat in 2 eggs and a quarter teaspoon of baking soda, stirring well. Cook on a very hot waffle iron until crisp on each side.
This makes about 8 waffles, and will keep for a few days in the refrigerator.
Note: If you want to make waffles the same morning you make the batter you can speed up the sponge process. Place the covered bowl with the yeast mixture in a larger bowl of warm water for an hour, or until doubled, and proceed with the recipe.