Baked Shirred Eggs

Shirred eggs are basically baked eggs with a little cream, herbs, and cheese.  There are endless variations and it's easy to toss in whatever you find in your pantry.  We happened to have some sun-dried tomatoes, shredded mozzarella, and italian herbs. You can add onions or fresh herbs or even some smoked meat if you like.  The yolks came out soft like an over easy egg, making it perfect to sop up with a toasted slice of crusty bread.  This is a relatively quick and easy breakfast.  You can give each person their own ramekin with one egg or bake multiple eggs in a larger ramekin as we did.

Baked Shirred Eggs
serves 2

4 eggs
4 tablespoons heavy cream (milk works too)
2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon chopped sun-dried tomatoes
Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a 6 inch ramekin. You can use a smaller size and adjust your cooking time for desired egg consistency.
2. Crack the eggs into the ramekin and pour the milk onto the eggs. Sprinkle the sun-dried tomatoes and cheese into the ramekin.  Season with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper as desired. 
3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes (12 for a very runny yolk, 15 for a firmer yolk), until the egg is 'set' to your preference. Serve immediately with toasted bread. Eggs will continue to set up as you eat, so get them to the table as soon as possible.

Techniques for cooking Fried Rice

Fried rice is one of my go-to meals for a quick dinner that uses up whatever leftovers there may be in the fridge.  It's versatile and fairly easy, though there are a few key techniques to follow to get that fluffy, individual-grain restaurant-style texture instead of a coagulated mess of clumpy rice grains.

Techniques for Cooking Fried Rice:

1. Use day-old cold rice.  The rice needs to be a bit dried out otherwise the grains will stick to each other.
2. Cook your eggs separately from your other ingredients, otherwise you'll get a thin coating of egg over everything else.  Some people do like that though.  There's even a Chinese dish called Golden Fried Rice because each grain is ideally coated with a thin layer of egg.
3. After you add rice to your pan or wok, turn the heat to high.  A really hot cooking surface helps meld the flavors and evaporate off any excess moisture there may be.  
4. Don't over-stir your fried rice.  Let it sit for a while between stirring.  This creates a nice golden brown color in the rice and you'll even get some crispy grains from the rice that's in direct contact with the pan.  Those crispy parts are the best!

Ideas for fried rice ingredients:
Sauce/flavor - soy sauce, sesame oil, fish sauce, Chinese BBQ sauce, ketchup
Protein - egg, Chinese sausage, firm tofu, leftover chicken/pork/beef, dried shrimp
Veggie - frozen mixed vegetables, corn, cabbage, any other diced vegetables

Umami Burger - Costa Mesa, CA

This past weekend marked the beginning of Umami Burger's venture into Orange County. It's long-awaited arrival was met with mediocre opening day lines as a short 10 minute wait was enough to get us in at 1pm. The food did not disappoint!


Umami Burger - First bite caused the the whole burger to drip with a wonderful medium cooked beef juice. The unique parmesan cheese crisp added a textural crunch but its flavor remained subtle compared to the overall sweetness of the shitake mushrooms, caramelized onions, and roasted tomato Bun cam with a seared Umami logo across the top, buttered, and perfectly toasted. Definitely recommended.

Tempura Onion Rings - Salty with a good batter taste. A little on the oily side.



Truffled Beet Salad - Strong truffle flavor and delicious. Beets were sweet, ricotta cheese added heft, and the arugula spiciness paired well with it all.  Comes on a small roughly 5x8 rectangular plate.

Truffle Cheese Skinny Fries - If you love truffle, this is a great side to order. Cheese melted on top and deliciously salty. Eat quickly as the melted cheese causes the fries to lose their crunchiness.

Service was attentive and prompt for opening day. Finding parking in the small parking lot of The Camp actually proved to be the greatest challenge of the day and I expect this to be the norm especially during peak hours.

40 Clove Garlic Chicken

 

I've had this recipe bookmarked for years and finally got the chance to make it.  My one hesitation has always been that I didn't want to peel 40 cloves of garlic!  Alas, on a recent trip to Costco we decided to buy the huge bag of peeled garlic cloves and it's been a treat using garlic in everything and not having to deal with the stickiness of peeling it.  This recipe turned out great in the dutch oven - the chicken was nicely browned and even the white meat retained its juiciness.  The gravy really took on the herby flavor of thyme and went great over rice.  One great surprise was that although the dish looked very garlicky, it did not taste or smell overwhelmingly of garlic.  The garlic cloves when eaten individually boasted a lovely roasted garlic flavor, but the rest of the dish didn't resonate that flavor.  I'm not sure if I just got too used to the garlic smell and flavor or if this rings true for others who've done this recipe. 

40 Clove Garlic Chicken

Serves 4-6

Adapted from smittenkitchen

1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces, at room temperature

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
40 large garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock or canned broth

10 sprigs fresh thyme 

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Place a deep skillet or Dutch oven on high heat and add oil and butter.  When butter has melted and oil is hot, add chicken pieces skin side down and brown until golden brown.  Flip chicken pieces over and brown the other side, about 5 minutes on each side.  Work in batches if necessary so pan does not get overcrowded.  Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.
2. Reduce heat to medium.  Add garlic cloves to the pan and saute for about 10 minutes.  Add white wine and stock, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.
3. Return chicken to the pan.  Add thyme.  Cover and continue cooking about 30 minutes until juices run clear when chicken thigh is pierced. 
4. Remove chicken from the pan and place on a serving plate.  Cover with foil.  Ladle out about 1/2 cup of the sauce that remains in the pan.  Stir cornstarch into the reserved sauce until no more clumps are seen.  While stirring the sauce in the pan, slowly pour the cornstarch mixture into the pan.  Remove from heat and continue stirring until sauce thickens.  Pour sauce, garlic cloves and all, over the plated chicken.  Serve with rice and veggies.

Pumpkin Steel Cut Oatmeal

I've recently re-established my love for steel-cut oatmeal.  Its heartiness, creaminess, and chewy texture makes it hard for me to imagine going back to eating the mush of regular oatmeal.  With great versatility, the possibility of add-ins is endless and makes this an easy staple to whip up for breakfast using whatever I can find the kitchen.  This weekend I happened upon some frozen canned pumpkin I stored away in the freezer.  The pumpkin and spices in this recipe conjured up memories of Fall amidst the recent chilly mornings of Spring.  Baking the oatmeal was a great change since I didn't have to babysit and stir the pot the entire time.  The oatmeal is amazingly creamy right when it's finished.  Leftovers can be saved in the fridge or freezer and reheated with a splash of milk (or even coffee creamer for lack of milk) to bring back its wonderful texture.

Baked Pumpkin Steel Cut Oatmeal
Adapted from theKitchn 
Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 1/2 cups steel cut oats
1/2 cup pumpkin or squash puree
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 375F. In a Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of butter on medium-high heat.  When butter begins to foam, add oats and stir for about 3 minutes until toasted.
2. Push toasted oats up against one side of the pot.  In the clear space, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter.  Add pumpkin puree into the melted butter and let sit for 1 minute before stirring, leaving the oats on the side.  Add sugar and spices and stir together with the pumpkin for 3-4 minutes until the color darkens slightly.
3. Pour in the milk and whisk the oats, pumpkin mixture, and milk all together.  Whisk in water, vanilla, and salt.
4. Place the lid on the pan and bake in the oven for 35 minutes.  Remove from oven and lift lid, being careful of the rising steam.  Stir oatmeal and it will continue to thicken as it cools.  Sprinkle oatmeal with dried cranberries.  Serve immediately or let it cool to store in the fridge or freezer for later.