Soft Scrambled Eggs with Ricotta

Last week we had a big magazine photo shoot at our house and my former Bon Appétit colleague Jeanne Kelley styled the food. She brought along some eggs from her chickens and after the shoot was over, she left a bowlful for me…

…including one of her chicken’s palest blue eggs, which are the subject of Jeanne’s award-winnning cookbook, Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes.

Jonathan Gold has said “Jeanne Kelley is not like you and me … the eggs laid by her chickens could blind you if you looked directly into the yolk.” He’s not kidding.

With eggs this fresh, it’s best to do as little as possible. I heated up a tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat. I whisked the eggs with a little salt and some chives snipped from our garden, and then when the butter was bubbly poured the eggs into the pan, tilting the pan occasionally to let the runny parts slowly cook.

After a couple minutes, when the eggs were just barely cooked, I removed from heat and folded in some fresh ricotta and sprinkled with fleur de sel. There is nothing quite like a perfectly scrambled egg, particularly if it was laid by one of Jeanne’s chickens.

Fried Egg Sandwich with Sriracha Aioli

I unabashedly consider myself something of an expert in the field of Fried Egg Sandwiches. The morning after my sister and I ran the 2007 Los Angeles Marathon, we hobbled over to BLD for their exemplary version with Neuske’s thick cut bacon and Gruyère on sourdough. Claire and I are also regulars at Huckleberry Café in Santa Monica. After a Saturday morning run out at the beach, we hit Huckleberry for a version that includes Niman Ranch bacon and arugula on country bread (and the blueberry corn cake is out of this world). It’s a little heavy handed with the arugula but delicious all the same. Check it out:

Not to be outdone by The Oaks Gourmet in Hollywood with their ooey gooey Breakfast Sandwich loaded with fried egg, fresh mozzarella, pancetta, basil and garlic oil on Tuscan sourdough.

But—I humbly submit—the best version is served up at home, thanks to my “secret” weapon: Sriracha aioli. Sriracha is a staple in southern California—a Thai-style chile and garlic sauce that finds its way into all manner of goodness. Yesterday, I shared the recipe for my fried egg sandwich over on Herman Miller’s LIFEWORK blog in an ongoing series called “Good Taste.” It’s a carefully built sandwich that balances nutty, spicy flavors with the warm comfort of a fried egg. I actually prefer a chewy, nutty multigrain bread to sourdough in the mix. (Rudi’s Organic 7 Grain with Flax avail at Whole Foods makes a surprisingly good one.) One thing I forgot to add in that recipe is to sprinkle a teeny bit of pimentòn over the egg for a subtle smokey note. In the meantime, here’s a peek at mixing my not-so-secret Sriracha sauce, a dollop of mayo and a squirt of Sriracha. Voilà! And is epic on a cheeseburger, too:

For The Foodinista’s Fried Egg Sandwich recipe, click HERE.

The Morning After A Torrid Spanish Affair

And what is bound to follow a passionate affair—in this case, one fueled by Lopez Heredia rosado—is The Morning After. Which is why in the pantheon of hostess gifts, my favorites involve something to eat the next morning after a dinner party when the last thing you want to think about is making breakfast. Our friend Katie once brought individual sweet potato bundt cakes with brown sugar icing as a hostess gift to be enjoyed with our coffee the next morning; my friend Carolynn a box of unbaked homemade chocolate chip cookies to pop in the oven the following afternoon. You see where I’m going with this…

Enter HJ & Bill. They have chickens!!! In the garden of a gorgeous house that backs up onto the golf course. Chickens that lay beautiful eggs with bright orange yolks. And so when they walked in the door on Friday night with half dozen of these oeufs I almost forgot about the Lopez Heredia.

And so the following morning, we lightly toasted thick slices from a rosemary boule from La Boulangerie, and then cut out a hole in the middle. (The top of a champagne flute works well.) In a skillet over  medium-high heat, melt a pat of good butter, being careful not to let butter burn. Place your toast in skillet and crack an egg into the hole.

I cook only for a minute or so a side because I am all about the yolk, particularly when the eggs taste this good. And I like to slice up some tomato and sprinkle with salt. We grew up calling this Eggs in a Basket, but I’ve also heard it referred to as Toad in a Hole (which, when I was a kid in England, meant a sausage/Yorkshire pudding situation). Whatever you want to call it, it’s genius. And probably the most exciting hostess gift a girl with a hangover could dream of. Thank you, HJ & Bill! ¡Salud!

Crab Benedict with Salmon Roe

It’s no secret that we’re fans of breakfast for dinner. Or that I am obsessed with egg on egg. Following Saturday night’s sushi extravaganza, my sister sent us home with fresh crabmeat and roe—and a lot of it. And before I even got in the car to drive across town, I knew exactly the fate of said seafood. Because the only thing more exciting than breakfast for dinner is Eggs Benny for dinner! I’m sure someone somewhere has already realized this INSANE creation, but for the time being, I like to think it’s mine, all mine. The salty-oily salmon roe is fantastic with the poached egg, and I loooooove breaking through the yolk and having the hollandaise and yolk mingle with the crab meat. If you have arugula on hand, which I didn’t, it would add a wonderful peppery note (I would place on muffin before adding crab). If you really want to take your life in your own hands, instead of arugula, try avocado slices. I have tried this latter combo before and it is very naughty indeed.

The Foodinista’s Crab Benedict with Salmon Roe

Serves 4

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

8 eggs

4 English muffins, split and toasted

3 tablespoons butter, softened

Dijon mustard, to taste

Arugula or avocado slices, optional

12-16 ounces fresh crabmeat (depending on how piggy you are feeling)

Basic Hollandaise Sauce (to which I added a little orange zest)

Salmon roe

Freshly cracked pepper

Fill large skillet with enough water to reach depth of 2 inches. Add white wine vinegar and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to water. Bring to simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low. Crack eggs into skillet of simmering water. Cook until whites are set and yolks are set to desired doneness, about 3 minutes for medium-set yolks.

Using slotted spoon, transfer eggs to plate.

Spread 3 tablespoons butter and a dollop of Dijon mustard over split sides of toasted English muffins. If using arugula, place leaves atop each English muffin half, or if using avocados, distribute slices. Divide crab evenly atop muffin halves. For each muffin, transfer egg from plate using spatula and place over crab meat. Top each with hollandaise, salmon roe and freshly cracked pepper.

Breakfast for Dinner

Who doesn’t love breakfast for dinner? Mr Foodinista has been traveling all week so I had my friend Lizzie and my sister over last night for a girl’s evening. Champagne, Baked Eggs with Cream, Spinach and Country Ham, roasted tomatoes and black pepper buttermilk biscuits were on the menu. As usual, I tricked Claire into doing the baking (Claire: Can I help with anything? Me: oh, do you mind mixing up this biscuit dough?) but seriously, after 30-some years of being subjected to this type of behavior, she should have seen it coming. And you can see why I keep doing it:

With the exception of the biscuits, which took some doing, dinner couldn’t have been easier! The eggs were insane—a recipe from Scott Peacock, who recently left Watershed restaurant outside Atlanta. You simmer little chunks of country ham in cream, and in a separate skillet sauté onions and garlic in butter and then wilt the spinach in that pan. Each ramekin gets some of the ham and cream, cooked spinach and is topped with an egg. If you were planning a brunch these could easily be prepared ahead of time to this point. Then, these little devils go into the oven to bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. They are amazing spooned onto a biscuit.

But what is breakfast without dessert? Lizzie brought a contraband Ziplock baggie of her husband’s girl scout cookies and a half bottle of Sauternes. I must say an unexpected pairing, but isn’t life full of sweet surprises?

One Year Ago Today…

One year ago today I was recovering from the previous evening’s annual holiday bash, just as I am today. (Moments ago, I located my favorite tinsel-y shoes from last night under a table. More on the evening’s festivities later). And one year ago today, I wrote my very first blog entry for TheFoodinista.com. That first day, the blog had 4 views. Today, more than 185,000 of you have visited, and I want to thank you SO MUCH for reading! To celebrate, I made an extra special breakfast this morning with a jar of salmon roe I got for the Deviled Eggs with Sour Cream, Chives and Salmon Roe from last night’s soirée. I think the oily-salty combo from the roe, combined with the scrambled eggs folded with cream cheese and sprinkled with chives might just be the ultimate antidote to Kathleen’s Champagne Pomegranate Punch…

Meet Zsa Zsa, the Turken

Meet Zsa Zsa, who is an exceptionally pretty turken who lives in Northern California. Here she is laying her first egg! Turkens, also known as Naked Necks, are not half turkeys but rather a breed of chicken that lays light brown eggs. Apparently Zsa Zsa’s eggs are superb in a salade niçoise. Incidentally, I’ve recently learned courtesy of Zsa Zsa’s owner, Devora, that the color of eggshell is determined by the breed of chicken. I also learned that Zsa Zsa’s story is something of a miracle:

When she was 6 months she was bitten on the neck by a rattlesnake. Of course she should have died immediately. I hand fed her for weeks and, somehow, she hung in there. Now she can scamper down the driveway at a good clip when she hears my car in the driveway. Imagine being greeted by a running bird every time you came home from work.

Let’s hear it for Zsa Zsa, the prettiest turken in the great state of California! Thanks, Devora, for sharing this video!

Farm Fresh Eggs

Last weekend I picked up a dozen farm fresh eggs at the Larchmont Farmer’s Market. They’re from Gama Farms in Arvin, California (population 12,956), which is in Kern County about 100 miles from L.A. It’s amazing what a difference an egg makes. These are particularly flavorful, with bright yolks, and are huge. I love the speckled shells. We’ve been enjoying them all week, folded in an omelet with grilled spring onions (also from farmer’s market), hard-boiled for a snack with a sprinkle of sea salt, and this morning scrambled with leftover grilled salmon, grilled spring onions (we eat a lot of those around here), rosemary from the garden and cream cheese. Even Tiny G got in on the act and had a mashed up bright yellow, hard-boiled yolk, his favorite food to date. As we speak, Mr. Foodinista is at the farmer’s market grabbing a dozen more.