Eggocados

Brunch recipe:

If I had to choose one thing to eat every day of my life, it would be avocados. I’m addicted to the buttery, savory, sweetness of the fruit. I adore guacamole and honestly anything that has avocados in it. I’m constantly experimenting with ways to add avocados to pretty much everything. Another thing I love is eggs, with all their squidgy gold and alabaster goodness. I actually think eggs and avocados sort of resemble each other when halved, and maybe that’s why I have a fondness for both of them. This morning, I decided to make eggocados, and unite the two in a toasty oven.

Ingredients:

Oven-proof skillet

Aluminum foil

1 ripe yet firm avocado

1 egg

Lemon juice (or orange juice in a pinch)

Cheese (I used brie and bleu cheeses)

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

Chili powder

Optional:

Truffle oil

Performance:

I started by lining a cast iron skillet with aluminum foil, and preheated the oven to 450 degrees. Then, I cut an avocado in half and removed the pit. I had a lemon lying around, so I cut it in half, squeezed a bit into a small bowl, (orange juice from a carton would do the trick too) and used my fingers to spread the juice on the green flesh of the avocado to keep it from turning brown. I placed the lemony avocados in my lined pan, then cracked and separated an egg. I plopped the yolk into one of the avocado holes, then tipped the white into the other. It was then that I made the executive decision that my avocado would be the one with the yolk, and C’s would be the slightly healthier (you’re welcome) egg white version. I turned to my spice rack and selected salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder, then sprinkled each onto the avocados. The only cheeses we had in the fridge were brie and bleu cheese, so I decided put the brie to use on mine, and the bleu on C’s. The cutting and crumbling of cheeses was very satisfying, and once completed, I popped the avocados into the oven for about 17 minutes, until the egg was set and the cheese was golden.

Some suggestions: When it’s done, I recommend putting the halves into small bowls for a more steady dining experience, since the avocado might roll. I also advise using a drizzle of truffle oil for a finishing touch, then eating the avocado happily with a spoon, leaving nothing but the skin of the avocado as evidence of your enjoyment.

Easy Anytime Salad

You know those girls that whine/speak (I’m talking vocal fry* + upspeak**) very loudly in restaurants, “Iiii think I’ll juuust haave a salaaad. I like, luuv salaaad!” Yeah, I’m annoyed by those people too. To those who truly like a hearty mound of foliage, it’s obvious their pseudo-adoration of leafy greens is disingenuous. Minus the annoying trend of grown women speaking like valley girls who have laryngitis, I love salad; I really do, but sometimes I can get pretty bored by plain romaine lettuce. To combat this leafy boredom, I keep a few salad fixin’s around to keep the love alive. The beauty of this super-basic salad is that you can easily turn it into a filling meal by adding grilled chicken, tuna, or shrimp atop its peaks.

Ingredients:

Mixed spring greens

Arugula

Avocado
Cherry tomatoes
Matchstick carrots
Green onion
Dill
Bleu cheese

Dressing:
Aged balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Performance:
I begin by grabbing a few handfuls of mixed spring greens, arugula, and matchstick carrots and tossing them into a bowl. I then tumble in a few cherry tomatoes, turn dramatically to my green onions, and chop them up into little half inch rings. I also cut, pit, and cube an avocado. I actually find chopping up food to be quite satisfying, and a great stress reliever. I feel the same way when I tear up fluffy sprigs of dill, and crumble bleu cheese defiantly into my bowl. I can then serenely, move on to my dressing, which is easy as pie salad to make, and involves only a few glugs of balsamic vinegar and olive oil in a small bowl, and a fairy sprinkle of salt and pepper. Add the dressing, victoriously toss, and eat with an air of satisfied smugness, because you’re being healthy—and you love it.

P.S. In case you were wondering about the meaning of vocal fry and upspeak, click here:

*Vocal Fry- http://www.today.com/video/today/45681253#45681253

**Upspeak-  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdhJxAmUu3Y

Venison Bourguignon

Southern/French Recipe: 

I’ve always loved Julia Child. I watched her cooking show when I was small, read/watched “Julie and Julia” when I was a teenager, and pored over her cookbook in my early twenties. Now that I’m in my mid twenties (ouch) and have someone to cook for, I’ve had the most insatiable urge to cook boeuf bourguignon. My beau, C, is a law student and is often buried in torts (not tortes; he wishes) in the evenings, and every night I find myself playing in the kitchen with whatever we have in the fridge. C is also a hunter, so our freezer is practically bursting with venison. I wanted to make Julia’s version of the dish, but I was short on time (Julia’s takes 5 hours) and was without the boeuf and other necessary evils. What’s a southern gal to do? I gathered my ingredients and hoped silently that Julia wouldn’t mind. Maybe if she were raised in the South she’d approve of my quick (1 hour, tops) hunter’s stew, which was a joy to make.

C has always been awed by my sheer glee at taking traditional recipes, bending the rules, and making them my own. I suppose it has something to do with my ballet background.  Maybe the concept of learning strict form, then allowing myself to become an artistic vessel in which to express more than technique, is brimming over into my cooking style.

Ingredients:

Olive oil

1 large, well loved pot

1 pound venison (cubed)

Full-bodied red wine (yay)
32 fl. oz. beef stock
1 large onion
24 oz. small red potatoes (quartered)
Small bag baby carrots
2 containers beech mushrooms
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Chili powder
4 Bay leaves

Performance:
I began by dicing up an onion and sautéing it with olive oil on medium heat in a large pot. I then added my cubed venison and browned it very lightly with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder (all to my taste). I poured in the beef stock, half a bottle of wine, 4 bay leaves, and turned up the heat to high. I then rewarded myself with a glass of wine, which I sipped on happily as I tossed the red potatoes and carrots into the pot. Once the potatoes and carrots were tender enough to poke with a fork and snack on, I added my beech mushrooms (which I always have on hand for Asian dishes). I then tasted, and adjusted the spices accordingly. When the mushrooms softened, I turned off the heat and served to an eager law student.

Pancit Bihon

Filipino Recipe: 

My first recipe will be an homage, of sorts, to my Grandmother Trina.  I spent many days of my childhood sitting on the kitchen counter, watching in awe as she added ingredients to a sizzling wok. She had a slap-dash style of cooking that was based more on intuition than on measurement, which I’ve always appreciated. While she cooked she would often tell me stories of her life in the Philippines before moving to the United States. I would hug my knees to my chest, and listen to every musical syllable she spoke while the smell of her cooking cocooned me. Today, I will be making a dish that she made often, pancit.

Pancit, which means “noodles” in Tagalog, is a very common dish in the Philippines. Noodles were introduced to the Filipinos by the Chinese, and in fact, the origin of the word “pancit” is “pian i sit,” a Hokkien phrase meaning, “convenient food.” The Chinese had it right, because this dish is incredibly quick and convenient to make.

Ingredients:
Bihon noodles (1 serving of an Excellent brand package)

Soy sauce

Sesame oil

1 can baby corn

1 can water chestnuts

1 egg

1 package of mushrooms (beech preferably)

2 thinly sliced Thai chilies

2 cups cubed pan seared chicken breast

1 cup diced green onion

1 cup matchstick carrots

Performance:
Begin by cooking the chicken in an oiled pan or wok over medium high heat until cooked thoroughly. Cut the chicken into cubes and return to pan/wok. Add the baby corn, water chestnuts, beech mushrooms, green onion, matchstick carrots, and chilies to the pan. Stir briskly on medium heat. While stirring the vegetables and chicken, bring a small pot of water to a boil. Once the water begins to boil, turn the burner completely off, and add the bihon noodles. The noodles will cook extremely quickly (I’m talking 10 seconds) and you will need to drain them immediately, then shock them with cold water to halt the cooking process. Add the noodles to the vegetables and chicken and combine. Add soy sauce to lightly bronze the color of the dish and flavor to your liking, then include a few drops of sesame seed oil. Now for the fun part- make a small space for a hole in the middle of the pan, and crack an egg into the hole. Quickly scramble the egg in the hole, then stir everything vigorously until combined. Devour immediately.