Let me start by saying: I could eat this dish for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Or brinner. Or brunch.
It’s what you might call a “crossover” meal, as anything with a fried egg can be deemed breakfast OR dinner, at least in my book. (And I’m sure many of you, dear readers, agree).
It’s savory. It’s comforting. It’s satisfying. It’s a big bowl of simple ingredients put together to make something truly special—something worth waking up on Sunday morning just to make. (more…)
Good morning dear readers! This warm weather has me pumped up for summer days in the garden and summer nights by the grill, and I can’t help but smile when I see lovely stacks of fresh berries popping up at markets around the city. Obviously these aren’t the same plump and juicy berries we’ll be buying from farmer’s markets in a month, but sometimes I just like to play make believe, you know?
And all the big-box retailers know that I’m not the only one pretending summer is here, and they’re stocking their shelves with piles and piles of fresh fruit for eager customers with their eyes (and stomachs) already on summer. For instance, Sam’s Club has giant boxes of mangoes and strawberries littering their aisles, and I walked away with a giant box of each late last week—and I’m still trying to use them all! I’ve made two kinds of jam (Strawberry-Mango and Strawberry-Rhubarb) and two kinds of ice cream (Roasted Strawberry & Buttermilk Ice Cream and Mango Sorbet), and I still have fruit to spare.
Hello from Washington DC, dear readers! I’m running around our nation’s capital with my youngest sister, Annie, and we’ve been having a grand time eating our way around the city. (I mean, what else would I do on vacation?) Sadly, this has been a working vacation, but it’s a vacation nonetheless, and I’m super excited because we’re both taking off this afternoon to go to the Newsuem, a highly interactive museum dedicated to … you’ve guessed it, the news. As a journalism school grad (Go ‘Cuse!), it’s right up my alley.
Next week I’ll go into more detail about some of the yummy restaurants we’ve tried, because today we’re focused on one thing: Easter. And even if you don’t celebrate Easter, these eggs are really fun to make as a colorful party statement. (more…)
Sometimes you just have to treat yourself: to shoes and handbags, or a night on the town; to a new video game or tickets to see your fav sports teams; to something truly decadent, like truffles and caviar; or maybe, just maybe, to bourbon-pecan bread pudding.
You see, bread pudding is one of those desserts you save up for. Not save up in the monetary sense, because bread pudding is incredibly easy on the wallet, but save up in a more goal-oriented way, like when you’ve had a difficult month to work through or when you’ve finally achieved a longstanding goal.
For instance, in the past three weeks my husband Doug has had two surgeries—meaning not only do I have to do all of my usual work, but I also have to take care of Douglas, who isn’t particularly mobile, and try and keep the house clean by myself. Fun, fun, fun! But this woman has made it to the other side—through the worst of it, you might say—and it feels mighty good. Hella good. And this, my friends, is how I know I deserve a bread pudding, and a bourbon-pecan bread pudding at that. (more…)
I jumped up and down when I opened my mailbox and saw a review copy of Matt Armendariz’s On a Stick! Everybody, absolutely everybody, loves food on a stick, and this is one area where I don’t differ from the crowd.
I had high hopes for Mr. Armendariz’s book, and in the end it did not disappoint. What better way to test recipes then by hosting a Food on a Stick Party? Doug and myself (actually my friend Rae cooked with me instead of Doug—go figure) and two other couples prepared three of recipes from the book for a total of 9 recipes, which I thought was a pretty good test run of any cookbook.
I have to admit, blogging hasn’t been my No. 1 priority as of late. Doug and I moved our wedding date up to October 15, 2011, so I’ve been in mad rush to get everything planned, from the photographer and caterer to my wedding dress and the bachelorette party. If you don’t think a wedding can be planned in 4 months or less, than you’ve never met a Linnemann. Hell, my mom could have planned this whole thing for July. What can I say? I’m one lucky woman in both love and family.
Despite all the craziness, I’ve still been cooking. And baking. Lots of yummy things, like genoise cake with vanilla Italian buttercream and Campari-spiked simple syrup between the layers and chocolate-dipped strawberries on top. I’ve made Vanilla-Ginger Creme Brulee, eclairs filled with coffee-flavored pastry cream, and I even attempted a guava cheesecake a month back. It was the first failed dessert I’d made in a long time. It looked alright, but the guava was overwhelming. Some tweaks definitely need to be made to the Cooking Light recipe.
Every year on Christmas morning, my mom would wake up before the triplets and I stormed the Christmas tree to make a delectable one-pot breakfast to eat after all the presents had been opened. Her Sausage and Egg Casserole was (and still is) my favorite thing about that Christmas morning, except for all the gifts, of course, and the nerdy way we still gather around the tree in our jammies, plop down on the floor, and wait patiently for mom to distribute a gift to each of us so we can open them at the same time—only now we can drink mimosas while we do it, which makes the waiting so much more fun than when we were younger.
As luck would have it, I planned on drinking some mimosas for breakfast this weekend with Doug and his roommates (why not, right? It was Sunday!), and I wanted to come up with something new and different to serve with them. Luckily mom’s wonderful casserole came to mind and I used her recipe as inspiration for my own breakfast bake.
Eggs En Cocotte with Black Truffles, unbaked
When Doug announced to me that Treasure Island, a local high-end grocery store, was selling a limited number of black truffles —the diamonds of the culinary world—I couldn’t get the idea of buying one out of my head.
Truffles are tuber-like fungi (think mushroom) that grow underground on the roots of particular oak trees in Italy, France, Spain, and in some other areas of Europe. Because truffles can’t be seen, specially trained truffle dogs and pigs hunt them out for farmers during the truffle’s very short growing season, which lasts from early December through March, although the truffles are at their peak in January. While the truffle may look like an ugly duckling, it’s prized for its wonderfully earthy flavor and heady aroma. Its aroma is so strong that it can penetrate eggshells to perfume the egg itself.
