Cook Like Mad

Today has not been the best day. Few things could boost my spirits after a day full of frustration and irritation, but this dish has (thankfully) managed to. What I needed was a quick, calming sweet treat, and this is just that. Crepes are easy and fast to make, and the pear caramel uses ingredients you already have in your fridge. What’s really great is that this little treat really isn’t that big of an indulgence, so the end of my night isn’t going to end with a sugar high. The pear caramel is more pear than caramel, but the sauce has an undeniable caramel flavor that ties the soft crepe and tender pear together.

What may shock you about the recipe is my use of milk instead of cream. While cream and butter are traditionally used to make a thick, rich caramel, using milk allowed me to create a thinner caramel with the same bold flavor you’re used to. There is still a touch of butter included for a boost of flavor, but overall, this is a delicate and largely healthy dessert. In fact, since each serving contains 1 whole pear, I would even say this would be great for breakfast, too. Surely this has less sugar in it per serving than the maple syrup you pour on your pancakes, or the brown sugar you add to your oatmeal, so why not start your morning right with with these crepes, loaded with fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals? Day or night, these pear caramel stuffed crepes are delicious, and soothing too, if you need that kind of food tonight. I know I did. Enjoy : )

Crepes with Pear Caramel

Makes 4 Servings

For Crepes:

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup flour

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp sugar

For Pears:

4 ripe pears, bartlett, anjou, or bosc (my preference)

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups water

2 tbsp butter

1 cup milk

oil or cooking spray, for cooking

Method

1. Mix flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl. Beat egg, add in milk and vanilla, and mix the wet into the dry. Mix until there are no clumps of flour. This can be done in the blender to ensure a smooth batter.

2. Heat a small pan over medium high heat, spray or grease with a small amount of oil and pour about 1/4 cup batter into the pan. Since pan sizes vary, I recommend adding just enough batter to fully coat the bottom of your pan, no more. Cook 30 seconds to 1 minute on the first side (until lightly golden brown), carefully flip, and let the second side cook for another 10-20 seconds. Place finished crepe on a plate and continue making crepes in the same fashion with the rest of the batter.

3. Slice pears 1/4 inch thick, but no less since you don’t want them to fall apart while cooking. Heat a large saute pan over medium high heat, add a little oil, and add the pears. Once the pears are warm, add the sugar, let melt and turn light brown, then add the water. Cook until the caramel begins to bubble more slowly and looks slightly thicker. Add the butter and milk, and stir well to incorporate them fully. Cook until caramel turn a deeper golden, bubbles even more slowly, and looks a little thicker. Turn off heat and let sit in the warm pan while you set up two crepes, flat on each plate.

4. Place 1/2 cup (approximately) inside each crepe, roll up, seam side down, and repeat until crepes are all full. For each duo of crepes, spoon over a little extra caramel sauce left in the pan. Enjoy!

-M

The Mighty Egg

Fabulous Egg Dish (FED) Fridays

What better way to start a food blog than with a post about the mighty egg? It can be prepared sweet or savory, hard or soft, light and airy or thick and creamy (to name just a few!), and I like it every way. Eggs give custard its decadent texture, meringue its delicacy, and pastry crust its sheen. While others debate its nutritional merits, I marvel at its wholesomeness. After all, it does contain all of the essential nutrients to create a living chick or duckling, right? What other proteins we eat are that complete? Eggs contain the highest quality protein available to us, they are a great source of choline (necessary for the development of the brain, especially its memory center) and they have very little saturated fat. And, obviously, they’re tasty.

What I’m most interested in though, is not how healthy or tasty eggs are. Most people know that eggs are cheap and healthy eats. (And if you find yourself enticed by that pop science gossip about eggs being bad for you, try to remember that humans have successfully been eating eggs for about 5 thousand years. Check out this short excerpt on eggs (is it an egg-cerpt then?) from a really wonderful online publication, if you’re interested in this topic. )

Back to what I was saying. What concerns me is that many people don’t realize how versatile the egg is. Sure, you can bake with it, make pancakes and french toast with it, and even attempt souffles with it, but we live in an age where are palates are eager for excitment and novelty, and its time to start using the egg as creatively as its composition allows. This isn’t to say that I won’t ever include simple egg dishes here; I will, and I do below. But in addition to those recipes, I will also include ones that utilize the egg in more creative ways. If the recipes are not my own, I will always note it below the recipe’s title.

So, here are two recipes. The first, for perfect hard-boiled eggs, is a master recipe, that will make your life easier and your hard-boiled eggs consistently delightful. The second, for Brik, is a variation of a Tunisian recipe that I have been dying to try ever since I saw it in a recent issue of Gourmet.

Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs

Thanks to Chef Mike Schwartz at the Institute of Culinary Eduction for this method

1. Place fresh eggs in their shells directly into a small pot so that they fit neatly on the bottom in one layer.

2. Fill the pot with water until the eggs are covered by 3-4 inches.

3. Place the pot on a burner and turn the heat as high as it will go, and bring the eggs to a full boil, uncovered.

4. Once the water boils, immediately cover the pot, take it off the heat, and set aside, still covered, for 11 minutes.

5. During these 11 minutes, you’ll have time to get a bowl of ice water ready, and when the 11 minutes are up, plunge your eggs into the cold water. You can change the water, or just add more ice to it, if it warms up from the residual heat of the eggs.

6. Once the eggs have cooled, you can use them immediately or store them in your refridgerator for 3-4 days.

Hard-boiled Egg and Raw Chioggia Beets on Toast with Cranberry-Blueberry Jam

Brik (pronounced “Breek”)

Serves 8

adapted from Gourmet Magazine

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 7-oz pack of tuna, mashed (if using canned tuna, drain first)
1 small russet potato, boiled or baked, skin removed, cut into small pieces (no bigger than a 1/2 inch wide)
3 tablespoons of parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon of capers, rinsed and dried
pinch cayenne
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
8 egg roll wrappers
8 egg yolks
1 egg white
Oil for frying (Olive Oil- not extra virgin!- is best, but Canola Oil is fine)

Method:

1. Fill a large, wide pot with an inch of oil and heat to 350 degrees.

2. While the oil is heating up, saute the chopped onion until lightly browned and soft.

3. Mix together the tuna, potatoes, parsley, lemon juice, parmesan, cayenne/harissa, capers (if using), and season to taste with salt and pepper. If you want it spicier, feel free to adjust the amount of cayenne/harissa you use, but just make sure you add some salt before you adjust the spice, or you wont be able to tell how spicy it really is (i.e. salt brings out the spiciness).

4. When the onions are done, add them to this mixture (including the oil you cooked them in), and taste again to make sure the seasoning is right.

5. Place an egg roll wrapper on a clean surface, spoon 3 tablespoons of filling in the center of each and with the back of the spoon make a well in the center of each dollop of filling (or better yet, just use your fingers to form a ring- it works better). The filling should now look like a ring. Gently place one egg yolk into the center of each ring, trying hard not to break it, and brush the edges of each wrapper with some of the egg white. Fold each corner of the wrapper into the center, one at a time, to form a package, using extra egg white as necessary to seal the package. Repeat with the other 7 egg roll wrappers.

6. Shallow fry in oil until lightly golden, flipping once to ensure even browning, about 3-4 minutes total. Serve immediately!

Innards!

Tip: Eating these can be a challenge as the yolk will still be runny. Hold them upright to avoid needing a bib : ) You can also just use a knife and fork, but that takes the fun out of eating them…Plus you’ll inevitably lose some of the yummy yolk as it oozes onto your plate. Either way, enjoy : )

-M