Bet you can't tell what todays topic is...! ;) After eating rather poorly last night (fried pickles [shared] and a margarita at pizza at the Tavern…demolished), I am craving veggies! So for lunch today, it’s steamed edamame and a fresh beefsteak tomato. Also, I have eaten FOUR boiled eggs today! I think since Saturday I have probably consumed 2 dozen eggs! I don’t know what the deal is, but I can’t get enough. Oddly (and lame) enough, I am reading Breaking Dawn right now, and Bella is craving eggs a lot too. Maybe I am starting to connect with her on a make-believe level…hah!
My beloved poppet, whom I dearly miss, said I should talk about eggs today in my blog. She even is a contributor to one of the recipes I am posting, Bisquick Quiche!
Eggs are probably in my top 10 favorite foods. Fried, Scrambled, Boiled, Poached, you name it, I like it! I usually try to eat just the whites, but since I’m not eating meat I’m not getting much cholesterol (except from the cheese I have every now and then), so the yolks have been added to my diet. There is almost NOTHING better to me than weekend breakfasts! I have pretty much mastered the art of making Frittatas, but my favorite egg breakfast has to be my fried egg sandwich. I don’t make it that much because it’s kind of time consuming and involves lots of ingredients, so usually I stick to my fried egg atop a slightly toasted slice of wheat bread with blackberry jam. But, when I have the time, energy, and ingredients, Fried Egg Sammy’s are made!
Did you know…?
-Each of the roughly 280 million laying birds in the U.S. produces from 250 to 300 eggs a year. In total, the U.S. produces about 75 billion eggs a year, about 10% of the world supply.
-The white of a large egg measures about 2 tablespoons’ worth of liquid, the yolk is about 1 tablespoon and the whole egg is about 3 tablespoons.
-There are 7 to 17 thousand tiny pores on the shell surface, a greater number at the large end. As the egg ages, these tiny holes permit moisture and carbon dioxide to move out and air to move in to form the air cell. The egg can also absorb refrigerator odors through the pores, so always refrigerate eggs in their cartons.
-To tell if an egg is raw or hard cooked, spin it. Because the liquids have set into a solid, a hard-cooked egg will easily spin. The moving liquids in a raw egg will cause it to wobble.
-About 60% of the eggs produced in the U.S. each year are used by consumers and about 9% are used by the foodservice industry. The rest are turned into egg products which are used mostly by foodservice operators to make restaurant meals and by food manufacturers to make foods such as mayonnaise and cake mixes.
-Howard Helmer, Senior National Representative for the American Egg Board is the Omelet King. Helmer holds three Guinness World Records for omelet making – fastest omelet-maker (427 omelets in 30 minutes); fastest single omelet (42 seconds from whole egg to omelet); and omelet flipping (30 flips in 34 seconds).
Also, a fun fact that I learned in culinary school, there are really 101 ways to use eggs in dishes. I was told by a teacher, that during the interview process, they have to prepare an egg dish at the request of the interviewer. Also, there are 101 creases in a chefs toke (hat), representing the 101 ways to prepare eggs.
So, in the words of Miley (my new favorite phrase), eggs are PRETTEH KOOL!
Fried Egg Sammy (a la moi)
Ingredients
2 Slices Wheat Bread, Both Toasted, but One Slice with a Circle Torn From Its Middle
2 Butterleaf Lettuce Pieces, or Spinach or Arugula
2 Slices Beefsteak Tomato
6 Slices (or Half) Avocado
Red Onion Slices, Your Preference as to How Many
Blue Cheese, Goat Cheese, or Feta Cheese Crumbles, Again Your Choice
1 Tbsp Whole Grain Spicy Mustard
1 Large Egg
EVOO for pan
TT Kosher Salt
TT Black Pepper
Preparation
Toast the slices of bread. Take one of the slices and rip out the middle, creating a circle while leaving the crust intact. You can go ahead and built the sandwich on the other slice of bread at this time. I stack mine as such:
Bread, Mustard, Crumbled Cheese (I put it here so it doesn’t all roll out), Red Onion Slices, Lettuce Pieces, Tomato Slices, Avocado.
In a sauté pan, heat EVOO on medium heat until it coats the pan evenly. Now add the slice of bread into the pan, and then crack the egg in the middle of the bread. I think my mom calls this “egg in a basket”. Now, cover the pan with a lid and let cook for a couple minutes. I like my egg runny, so I cook for about 2 minutes and then I flip the egg and toast, turn off the heat, and let it sit for another minute.
Once the egg/toast is finished, place it on top of the sandwich that you built earlier. I tend to use a knife and fork for this meal, because it’s pretty messy, but you’re in the comfort of your own home, so eat it how you want!
Obviously you can replace the ingredients with whatever you want, and you can even add to it. Sometimes I use prosciutto, turkey, or bacon when I make it…three items I desperately wish I could eat at the moment.
Bisquick Quiche (a la poppet, aka, LNS)
Ingredients
1-2 C Fillings Of Your Choice (Mushrooms, Broccoli, Etc)
1 C Shredded Cheddar, or any Shredded Cheese You Like
¼ C Onion, Chopped
2 C Milk
1 C Bisquick
TT Kosher Salt
TT Black Pepper
Preparation
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Grease 10" pie plate or 8" square.
Sprinkle fillings, onions and cheese in plate.
Beat remaining ingredients until smooth and pour into plate.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until a knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean.
Let stand 5 minutes before serving
*This site has some great egg recipes: http://www.egglandsbest.com/recipes/breakfast-brunch.aspx
*The beauty of life is to experience it yourself*
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