Bacon and Egg salad

I've been into poached eggs lately - can't tell you why.  But I've discovered this is my favorite salad lately.  It's easy to make, although the poaching part takes some practice - the first dozen or so eggs came out either under or over cooked every time...

Slab bacon - I recommend always keeping it around the house - you can get it at places like th Amish grocery   stores in NYC or other grocery stores that have a deli counter, or from Fresh Direct.

Mixed greens - I like the spring mix with frisee  and a bit of baby arugula mixed in.  

Large fresh eggs

White or cider vinegar

Balsamic vinegar

Olive oil

Sea salt (I used black lava salt in this case - hence the black flecks)

Dash of Parmesan

Dice the bacon into big chunks, and cook over medium heat until it gets to your favorite level of crispyness

set it aside, don't drain the pan

In a small sauce pot, bring water to a boil - you want it to be a couple of inches deep 

Add a splash of white or cider vinegar - it helps to keep the egg together during poaching

Crack the egg into a small bowl - it helps to ease the egg into the water, making it easier to retain the shape

Once the water is boiled, turn the heat all the way down but not quite off.  Slide the egg into the water gently.

Let the egg cook between 4 to 7 min - this is the experiment part, it depends entirely on how soft you like the egg.  I find my sweet spot is right about 5 and a half minutes.

Once the egg is cooked, lift it gently out of the water using a slotted spoon.  Set it on a paper napkin to drain.

In the pan where you cooked the bacon, add a bit of olive oil, and the balsamic (red or white) pour that over the greens and toss to mix.  Pop the greens on a plate and sprinkle (liberally!) with the cooked bacon.  Top with a poached egg, and a little pinch of salt right on the egg.

Dig in!!

Onion and Fennel tart (or Tomato - alternate idea included)

This looks much more difficult that it needs to be - by employing store bought pastry dough, this dish is as easy as toast!

Oven to 325 - or whatever the pastry package recommends (mine says 400 but my oven is such that 350 works)

One large sweet onion like a vidalia
A couple Shitake mushrooms - sliced thin
A hand full of fennel seeds
Ricotta cheese
Feta cheese - crumbled
Store bought pastry sheets
Olive oil
Sea salt
Ground pepper

Thaw out the pastry sheet according to instructions - curl and pinch the edges up just a smidgen - that'll help keep the toppings in place.
Smear the top with a layer ricotta (not too think) - go for even if possible, no need to be fanatical about it though, the idea is to let it look hand made (read: imperfect).

Slice the onions into thin slices - using a mandoline makes it easier - set them in a bowl, and drizzle with olive oil.  Add a shake of salt and pepper and toss to coat.
Spread the onions out on top of the ricotta fairly evenly, then scatter the shitake amongst the onion.
Do the same with the fennel seeds
Top with the crumbled feta

Pop the whole kit and kaboodle into the oven and bake until the pastry is brown and the onions are cooked through.

For a milder onion flavor, saute the onions in a pan over medium heat with the olive oil and a chunk of butter until they start to become translucent - then put them on top of the ricotta.  I usually prefer it this way, but the tart above was for folks that like onions a bit more than I do!

If you don't like onions at all, you can substitute tomatoes for a tart like this;

Substitute Cherry tomatoes for the onion, and Shitake

Fresh Basil for the fennel

Add garlic and pine nuts if you have them

Ricotta cheese

Mozzarella and Parmesan for the Feta

Store bought pastry sheets

Olive oil

Sea salt

Ground pepper

Score the cherry tomatoes and stuff a little chunk of mozzarella in the middle

In a pan over medium heat, saute minced garlic and pine nuts in olive oil till the garlic starts to soften and become fragrant.

Follow instructions on the package to prepare the pastry, spread the ricotta, then place the cherry tomatoes on the cheese (you don't really have to line them up like I did, I was just in a mood for organized veggies.

Once all the tomatoes are set sprinkle on a little salt and pepper, and drizzle the garlic/olive oil mix over the entire sheet.  Top with grated Parmesan and pop into the oven.

Before serving, cut or tear the basil and sprinkle evenly over the tart

Super Low Carb Turkey Burgers!

One of my favorite kitchen tools is my George Foreman grill.  now normally I wouldn't advocate anything that is sold late at night in program length commercials, the Foreman grill or a grill like it would be the one exception.  I have the smallest model, which is great for me since I usually only cook for myself.  I can make everything from beef burgers to bacon in it, and there's little if any smoke, and hardly takes any time at all!

Of course any time I say Foreman's Grill, you can use a pan and cook on top of the stove, but if you're going to invest in one appliance (and by invest I mean as little as $20), this might just be the one.

For Turkey Burgers;
Turn on the grill and let it heat up - mine has no temp age so just let it heat.

Ground turkey - one package (about 1lb)
One packet of dry salad dressing mix - Good Season's has several varieties (http://brands.kraftfoods.com/goodseasons/flavors/dry-salad-dressing-and-recipe-mix/)  I like the garlic and herb variety for this recipe
Whole butter lettuce leaves (or iceberg, or romain - any large leaf salad green will do)
2 or 3 think slices of beefsteak tomato (or heirloom or whatever kind of tomato you like)
A good smear of homemade mayo

In a large bowl, mix one package of ground turkey, with one package of the dressing mix.  When the mix is thoroughly incorporated, divide the turkey into three to four equal parts.  I usually use those snack sized zipper baggies, and shape and flatten the patties so I can freeze them.  They come up out as single serving rectangles that are easy to pop on the grill later.

Place the patty on the Foreman Grill, and let it cook - about 7 min then turn it over - you can make fancy grill marks if you give it a quarter turn when you flip it - and cook for another 2 or 3 min. (Times are approximate)

While the burger is cooking, wash, dry and stack 2 leaves of butter lettuce for each "bun"
Add a smear of homemade mayo, and a couple of slices of tomato
Place the finished burger on the tomato, and add a couple bits of cheese if you like -I used brie
Top with two more washed dried leaves of lettuce

If you're watching your carb intake like I am, you can eliminate the tomatoes, although I love them and since the carb count is negligible, I choose to include them.

Summer BBQ envy - RESOLVED!!  WOO HOO!  Enjoy!

Whole wheat pasta with crispy pancetta

Pasta is one of my favorite things to make.  If you can resist the desire to smother it with sauce, a little creativity can make you look like a freaking badass.  The really nice thing about this and some of the other pasta dishes I like to make is that if you take a little time, and do the prep work, you can put things into small containers and make a variety of different pasta dishes over the course of a couple of days - effectively making your own series of heat and eat meals!

Whole wheat pasta - I like it for the nutty taste, prepared according to package instructions
Asparagus - cut into bite sized pieces, and lightly boiled (2-3 min, to where it's still crunchy/firm)
1 can white beans drained and rinsed
olive oil - I like extra virgin for the taste
truffle oil
pancetta - don't ask me how much, if it's bacon or bacon- like, I always add too much.
diced tomato
minced garlic

Prepare the pasta, drain and return it to the pan that was used to cook it.  In a separate pan heat olive oil - add garlic and sauté until garlic becomes fragrant and slightly soft.  Add diced tomatoes and warm through, add asparagus as well, remove from heat

Add cooked pasta to the tomato mixture until you're happy with the ratio of pasta to tomatos.  Add asparagus and white beans and drizzle a bit of truffle oil over it.

Warm a clean pan -  carefully lay out pancetta and cook (like super thin bacon) until crisp.  Add crispy panchetta on top of your pasta mix either in individual bowls or in a main serving platter.

There are so many alternatives to this dish - for vegetarians, you could skip the pancetta for example.
Using the pasta and sautéed garlic you could add diced or shredded chicken instead
For a twist on carbonara - scramble an egg, chop it up and and bacon.
Feeling lazy?  How about a can of tuna, some celery and a spoon full of home made mayo?

Using the pasta as a base and mixing in numerous other ingredients makes for quick healthy options anyone can assemble.

Vegging out.

I am a card carrying carnivore - but some of the people I love dearly...?  Not so much.  For those dear friends, I busted out the mandolin, grabbed a bunch of colorful veggies and came up with this dish.

Oven to 325
For the veggie bake;
One eggplant - medium sized
One large zucchini
Two fair sized tomatoes
one and a half bags of shredded mozzarella (more or less)
about a cup - cup and a half of Parmesan cheese
couple tablespoons of mixed herbs (I use herbs de Provence - my favorite go to herb blend)

For the sauce;
one large tomato, diced finely
several tablespoons of capers - they're salty so it's to taste
two garlic clove minced to within an inch of it's life...

For the veggie bake;
Using the mandolin (carefully - I've got a nasty scar from the time I nearly split my finger in two lengthwise with mine.  Sucks.  I don't recommend it.) slice the eggplant first - have a bowl of salted water handy, and drop the slices in the salt water as you go along.  Eggplant can have a bit of bitterness to them, briefly soaking them in the salt water tends to make it go away.
Slice up the zucchini and tomatoes as well - thin uniform slices of everything.  You can peel the vegetables prior to slicing if you like, but I don't - I find it looks and tastes better if you leave the skin in tact. Once everything is sliced set it aside for a moment.

In a large bowl, mix together the cheeses and the herb mix - I do this to make it easier when you start to assemble the dish, of course you don't have to.

In a oven proof baking dish (round casserole, or lasagna pan or some such) arrange the veg in layers, each slice over lapping the next and alternate the layers with the cheese.  For example, a layer of eggplant, then zucchini then cheese then tomato - like you're building a lasagna, only with no noodles.

Make sure the top layer is cheese, it's one of the ways I use to gage if it's done - once the cheese starts to brown, the dish is probably finished.

So once you've finished building the dish, pop it in the preheated oven - with a lid if you have one - and let it bake for about half an hour.  If it starts to brown too fast turn the heat down to 300.

Once the top turns a nice golden brown, take the dish out of the oven and let it rest for a bit - at least 15 min or so.  It'll make it settle a bit and make it easier to cut into it.

For the sauce;
Pour a generous glug of olive oil in a pan, add the garlic and stir it up.  When the garlic becomes fragrant and starts to soften, add the tomato and sauté the whole thing for a couple min.  The tomatoes will start to soften - you don't want them to mush completely.  Toss in the capers and stir to mix.

Slice the veggie bake up just like you would a lasagna.  I'd suggest using a dish with higher sides (see the picture) to keep the sauce on the plate and not the diner!  Top with the tomato caper sauce and serve!