Eggs and Rice Omelette

Eggs and rice are delicious together. Here's a simple and satisfying omelette. It can be eaten on it's own or topped with mushrooms, bacon, smoked salmon, cheese or anything you can think of.

I've added chiu chow chili oil as a finishing touch, just to give it a little kick.

Eggs and Rice Omelette

Let's try this as more of a visual recipe this time:

Heat a skillet or saute pan over a high flame. Prepare the following:

4 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup leftover white steamed rice, reheated

4 white mushrooms, sliced

1/2 teaspoon hot chili oil (like chiu chow chili oil)

Saute the mushrooms until brown in 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil on the hot skillet.

Remove the mushrooms from the pan. Add the rice to the beaten eggs and mix well.

Pour the egg mixture and spread it across the skillet.

Flip the omelette over after two minutes. Try not to break it in two, but if that happens, simply try and patch it back together after flipping it.

Cook for another two minutes, and remove to a plate.

Serve with the mushrooms and chili oil.

Poached Eggs: The Breakfast Book

My mom, Gran Fran, taught me how to make poached eggs about a year ago.

Her method involves cracking the egg onto a small saucer, creating a whirlpool in a pan of boiling water and pouring the egg into it. I've become almost an expert at this method, so I thought why not give another method a try? What better timing could I have as it's time for eggs in this installment of my cook the book project (Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book)?

At first, I was concerned that the extra egg boil in the beginning of the process was going to slow me down. By parboiling the eggs, they really did hold their shape much more easily once they hit the water/vinegar poaching liquid.

It's great to have two methods to use to make poached eggs as each one yields a little different shape and texture of egg in the end. Gran Fran's method gives you a more fluid shape (though the yolks are cooked perfectly every time). Marion's gives you a more solid shape.

Anyway you want to make poached eggs, you'll end up with a nice light egg dish on a Saturday morning to serve with sausage and toast, or on a Monday night on top of your favorite salad greens.

Check out the posts by my cook the book partners:  Rachel, Aimee, Emily, Sammy and Claudie.

Poached Eggs

from Marion Cunnigham’s The Breakfast Book, Copyright 1987, Alfred A. Knopf

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 4 cups water
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• Additional water for parboiling the eggs

Method:

The eggs to be poached will be getting a preliminary short boil. In a saucepan, boil enough water to completely cover the eggs. Gently lower the unshelled eggs into the saucepan. Count to 30 and remove the eggs. This preliminary cooking in the shell will harden the egg white a little so that the egg will hold its shape better as it poaches.

Bring to a simmer 4 cups water and 2 teaspoons cider vinegar in a 10-inch deep frying pan or sauté pan. If you are poaching more than 4 eggs and need a larger pan, add 1 teaspoon vinegar for each additional 2 cups water. One by one, crack each egg on the edge of the frying pan, open up the shell just over the simmering water, and let the egg fall gently into the water. If the eggs are not to ally submerged, spoon the simmering water over them as they poach. They will be ready after 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Or remove the pan from the heat immediately after adding the eggs, cover, and the eggs will be poached after 4 to 5 minutes.

Remove the eggs with a skimmer or slotted spoon and let them drain on a towel. If you are not using the poached eggs right away, put them directly into a bowl of ice water and refrigerate. They will keep for 2 to 3 days. Reheat them in a bowl of very hot water for about 1 minute.

Baked Eggs with Fennel and Shitake Mushrooms

 The first time I had baked eggs was in Paris. A large Le Creuset-style saucepan showed up at the table, pipping hot, filled with at least 4 eggs, half a pound of bacon, potatoes and lots of cream. It was delicious.

I vowed to make them at home, which I finally got around to this week. In the two years since the baked eggs of Paris, I've stopped eating dairy. I didn't have any bacon in the house (which rarely happens around here), so I had to think of other mix-ins that would elevate my baked eggs to those I had in Paris.

  Instead of creating a cream-based dish, I went for a mix of sautéed shitake mushrooms and grated fennel with sage. The flavors combined perfectly with the egg, and the texture was great.

 Make sure to

Sage added a nice earthy tone to the mix. I was also going to add my much loved black truffle oil to the eggs, but thought that might be going overboard, flavor wise.

As I write this, I've come up with my next version of this dish: baked eggs with mushrooms, bacon, black truffle oil and sage. Anything you'd add into an omelette will work here, too. Just experiment, watch that the eggs don't cook too long and enjoy!

Baked Eggs with Fennel and Shitake Mushrooms

INGREDIENTS

• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup shredded fennel
• 8 to 10 shitake mushrooms, tips removed and sliced
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 3 sage leaves, minced, or 1 twig tarragon, stem removed, leaves minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Heat a small sauté pan, add 2 teaspoons of the olive oil to the pan and the fennel shitake mushrooms and half of the herbs.
3. Cook for 2 minutes on medium heat until the fennel softens and the shitake mushrooms brown.
4. Oil two ramekins with the remaining olive oil and crack an egg into each.
5. Split the fennel and mushroom mixture evenly between the ramekins, spooning it over the egg. Add salt, pepper and fresh herbs.
6. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until you see the white hardening around the edge of the ramekin.
7. Serve while still warm.

Serves 2. Prep time, 5 minutes; cook time 12 minutes.

PS: Here's the baked eggs they served me in Paris. Whoa! So awesome....

A Little Taste of Home: Onions and Eggs

Gran Fran made me onions and eggs on our most recent visit.

We visited for a little over two weeks, and returned home just before school started. What a good time we had. Tons of good food at every turn, with these onions and eggs as one of my favorite simple meals we were served.

These eggs are great served at room temperature, too. You could easily pack this in a container for a nice hearty lunch. It's also excellent with some cheese added in at the end of cooking, or better yet, some bacon. The little bit of sugar in the mix just heightens  the flavor of the onions.

Make this easy, four ingredient dinner for dinner, serve it alongside a salad and toasted baguette and you've got yourself a great meal.

Onions and Eggs

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Good dose of kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 8 large eggs, beaten just until blended

Method:

1. Heat large skillet; add olive oil; heat oil over high heat.
2. Add onions; reduce flame to medium; sprinkle with sugar, salt, and pepper.
3. Saute about 20 minutes over low heat---or until golden and reduced by at least half.
4. On medium heat;stir in eggs; allow to set for three minutes or so.
5. Stir and fold eggs until they reach desired consistency; serve.