OMGSNAX!

so we returned from urbana (illinois) at 5am & spent the day, no, not sleeping, but GROCERY SHOPPING. b/c i am THAT DEDICATED to this project. & to having food available, yea, & juices to slake my thirst & provide me with vitamin c & calcium & also sugars. delicious, delicious sugars.

sometimes, when i’m at work, i spend my “lunch” “break” (neither a “lunch” nor a “break,” discuss) poking around on the internet looking for interesting recipes to try. emeril’s huevos rancheros was one of these finds. i especially like the part where he thinks we just have three or four skillets hanging around the kitchen. or a fancy deep-fryer, or an electric ice cream maker, or something else inane that we could use to make steak tartare (seriously, so gross).

INGREDIENTS
ranchero sauce:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped white onions
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup chopped tomatoes & their juice
1 cup chicken vegetable stock
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 large corn tortillas
1/2 cup warm refried beans
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 large eggs
1 1/2 cups pepper jack

METHOD
to make the ranchero sauce, in a medium pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. add the onions & bell peppers & cook, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes. add the cumin, salt, cayenne, jalapeno, & garlic & cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. add the tomatoes & their juices & cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. add the stock & simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes. remove from the heat & add the cilantro. adjust the seasoning to taste & cover to keep warm.

in a large skillet, heat 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. add 1 tortilla & cook until warmed through & just starting to brown, about 30 seconds. turn & cook on the second side. remove, cover to keep warm, & repeat with the remaining oil & tortillas.

in 2 medium skillets, melt 1 tablespoon of butter each over medium-high heat. break 4 eggs into each skillet & fry until beginning to set, about 1 minute. sprinkle the eggs with the cheese & cover to finish cooking, about 1 1/2 minutes.

place 1 warm tortilla on each of 4 plates & spread each with 2 tablespoons of warm refried beans. Place 2 eggs on top of each tortilla & top with the warm ranchero sauce. serve immediately.

DEVIATIONS & OBSERVATIONS
so call me slow, but i’ve recently begin to appreciate the benefits of prep work. i always used to half-ass it & then scramble to get the remaining ingredients prepped as i cooked, but lately i’ve been getting everything assembled & measured & chopped before even getting started, & there’s really a lot to be said for this approach.

just a portion of the prepped ingredients

all things being equal, though, a lot of this chopping went into making the ranchero sauce, which amounted to little more than a fresh salsa. it tasted good & all, don’t get me wrong, but i probably could’ve heated up some of whatever i’ve got in my fridge & i wouldn’t have really been able to tell the difference.

& speaking of the ranchero sauce, it really WILL thicken, even though it looks really liquidy once the stock is added.

simmering ranchero sauce

the only other adjustment i made was cooking up six eggs instead of eight (there were only three of us eating). i probably could’ve scaled back the cheese, but it didn’t occur to me till after it’d been grated.

eggy weggs

oh, & i used flour tortillas instead of corn, b/c that was what i had on hand. corn probably would’ve been a little less soggy, but the flour held up just fine.

daniel, brian, & i decided that these would be totally worth making again, even with the minor hassle that comes with vegetable chopping.

dinner!

 

 

“Huevos Rancheros” from Emeril Live, 2002.

passover + easter = a match made in heaven. except foodwise, not so much. but we do what we can b/c my mom’s family is jewish & my dad’s family is protestant, & hell, who doesn’t like chocolate eggs?

i figured i’d make a crustless quiche this year since the alternatives were lamb chops or salmon which just won’t fly with the vegetarian contingent (ie, me). my mom & i talked about this, & i told her how daniel had said, when i asked him if he’d eat the quiche, “is that that thing your mom made for dinner that one time? b/c i liked it but it was kinda eggy.” HA!

anyway, i managed to get her to email me her recipe:

INGREDIENTS
1-9″ unbaked piecrust
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened
1/4 pound shredded swiss cheese
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups half & half
3/4 teaspoon salt
steamed broccoli cut into pieces

METHOD
preheat oven to 425F. spread piecrust with butter or margarine. steam broccoli & cut into small pieces. sprinkle cheese & broccoli in piecrust. in medium bowl, beat eggs with remaining ingredients; pour into crust. bake 15 minutes. turn oven down to 325 & bake 40 minutes more or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. remove from oven & let stand 10 minutes before serving.

it’s eggy ’cause it’s made with eggs!!!

love,
moom

DEVIATIONS & OBSERVATIONS
ok, like i said, no crust — other than that, though, no major differences between my attempt & the recipe, which is pretty easy as far as recipes go.

exciting point #1: i got to use my new grater on the block of cheese i got! daniel picked it up for me at a garage sale but it only has one little rust spot on it & it’s still sharp enough to grate swiss cheese, so what do i care?

new grater

the other issue was that i had no idea how much broccoli to steam, but i only had the one head so that was all i could do. it seems to have worked out ok. also, & i’ll be honest with you here even though i feel kinda stupid, i had no idea how to steam broccoli. i mean, i get it — boil water, stick broccoli in, simmer — but how much water? for how long? & do you bring the water to a boil before you add the broccoli, or do you start with the broccoli in the pot already? & i have one of those steamer thingies but no clue how that factors in, so i just flew blind & it was fine.

steamed broccoli

oh, the last point to note was that i undercooked it by about 10 minutes b/c i was planning to bring it to my grandma’s house for easter & i wanted to finish cooking it there, but when i pulled it out of the oven, it was already brown & bubbly & totally cooked. i guess maybe my oven cooks hot? either that, or not having the crust in there really affected the cooking time.

after the first 15 minutes

finished quiche!

those of us who ate it at my grandma’s easter lunch thought it tasted fine but we all missed the crust. & my mom said that hers is fluffier. which it is. WELL, WE CAN’T ALL BE PERFECT.

 

 

“Broccoli Quiche” from The Fanny Farmer Cookbook (i think) by way of my mom.

passover for a vegetarian is rough. (passover for a vegan is pretty impossible.) not only is bread forbidden, but so is anything with flour, flat or not (ie, crackers, tortillas), & ditto anything remotely starchy, with the exception of potatoes. this means no grains (ie, cereal), no pasta (ie, pierogies, tortellini, ravioli — my three main staples lately!), no couscous — & you know what else? for the lucky ashkenazi (jews of eastern european descent), no legumes (ie, peanuts, peanut butter), no beans (ie, refried beans, soybeans, IE, TOFU), no rice (ie, NO DELICIOUS ASIAN CUISINES), no peas (ie, chickpeas, HUMMUS), no lentils, & no corn.

NOW do you feel my pain? my rage? my darkest darkest days?

so i’d been planning to give this frittata recipe a shot during passover, & then The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook started sucking it up real bad & i made very real threats about shelving it for good, so it was with great trepidation that i cracked it open this evening when i got home from work.

so let’s take a look at this recipe, shall we?

INGREDIENTS
1/3 pound trimmed asparagus or leftover cooked asparagus
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or unsalted butter
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint, or 1 teaspoon crumbled dried mint
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
6 large eggs
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

METHOD
place a rack in the upper third of the oven. heat the oven to 350F.

fill a large saucepan with enough water to cover the asparagus & bring to a boil over high heat. at the same time fill a large bowl with cold water & ice cubes, & line a colander with paper towels. plunge the asparagus into the boiling water. the moment they turn bright green, about 30 to 40 seconds, remove them with a slotted spoon & place them in the ice water for 15 seconds, to stop the cooking, then transfer to the colander to drain.

meanwhile, heat the oil or melt the butter in a 12-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium heat. swirl the pan to distribute the oil evenly over the bottom & sides. sauté the shallot, mint, & parsley until the shallot is soft, about 7 minutes. add the asparagus & sauté just to coat with the shallot & herbs. spread the asparagus in a single layer in the skillet.

break the eggs into a bowl, & beat them lightly with a fork or whisk. lightly beat in the cheese. pour the eggs into the skillet, over the asparagus, & stir lightly with a fork until the eggs start to set, about 2 minutes. once the bottom is firm & set to about 1/3 inch, use a thin, nonmetallic spatula to lift the frittata’s edge closest to you. tilt the pan slightly toward you so that the uncooked egg runs underneath. lower the edge & swirl the pan gently to distribute the egg evenly.

continue cooking for about 40 seconds, then lift the edge again, repeating the procedure above until the egg on top — while still not set — is no longer runny, about 4 minutes.

place the skillet in the oven until the top of the frittata is set & dry to the touch, 2 to 4 minutes. check each minute after two, b/c the frittata will turn tough if cooked too long.

run a spatula around the edges to loosen the frittata, & invert it onto a serving plate. season to taste with salt & pepper. serve at once, let cool to room temperature, or refrigerate & serve chilled.

DEVIATIONS & OBSERVATIONS
i halved the mint, b/c i am suspicious of using mint in a cooking scenario that doesn’t involve chocolate. even though this is Mint The Herb & i get that, it SMELLS like toothpaste & i remain skeptical.

other than that, i tried to do EXACTLY what ms shaw wrote since my luck with other recipes from her book has been less than stellar & i thought, for a fleeting moment, that it might be due, IN PART, to my adjustments.

i DID prepare the eggs before i even started cooking anything, b/c as nice as it would be to multitask, i just know that the potential for danger is too high — & i was right. if i’d waited till after the shallots & herbs were sautéeing to start with the eggs & the cheese, i’d've been screwed — b/c dried herbs sauté a lot faster than fresh ones, & the parsley & mint got a little, uh, brown.

beaten eggs w/cheese

shallots & herbs

i also wasn’t sure how to prepare the asparagus — i mean, was it supposed to be chopped after it was blanched? b/c i left it whole (after snapping off the woody end at the bottom, which i thought i’d mention in case you didn’t know to do that) & although it cooked up just fine in the frittata, it would’ve been probably a little bit easier to eat if it were in pieces.

blanched asparagus

actually making the frittata in the skillet was a little challenging b/c of my insanely slanty burners — nothing cooks evenly b/c my cooktop is defective & annoying, & when i’m boiling water for pasta i can work around it, but when i’m trying to sauté things or fry things, it’s important for me to keep a really good eye on everything to make sure i turn the pan & get everything to cook the same (& stay the same thickness).

starting to set

almost there

i ended up NOT burning myself on the skillet, even though i reached for the handle BAREHANDED on two separate occasions — after it’d been in the oven — only to recoil just in time. & when i flipped the finished frittata onto the “serving plate” (aka “just another dinner plate”), i only lost a tiny piece of it to gravity. you can see the crispy-looking (& ill-distributed) herbs in the photo below.

free ta ta

i WILL say that shaw lucked out, b/c i’ve been threatening all week to retire this cookbook if the frittata recipe sucked, b/c shitty dumples + bland curry = skating on thin ice, & i just won’t stand for it. this recipe was pretty delicious, if somewhat pointlessly involved (why not just scramble all the sautéed vegetables in with the eggs instead of meticulously making an eggy flapjack?), but shaw’s earned herself a reprieve. FOR NOW.

 

 

“Asparagus Frittata” from The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook by Diana Shaw, © 1997.