Weekend Frittata

You ever have those weeks where you are just craving the same thing again and again?  It's been that way for me and eggs this week.  I have no idea why.  Tuesday I had a slice of quiche for lunch out with coworkers, Thursday on my day off I made eggs Benedict, and this morning it was a frittata.  I had to share the yumminess.

Frittatas can be made with pretty much anything you have, and I've written about my love of a margharita style, but this morning, I wanted to use some sliced baby bellas I had in the fridge.  Building off that, I chopped up an onion and sauteed them together, then added some chopped deli ham.

I whipped six eggs with a couple tablespoons of shredded colby-jack with a few dashes of salt and pepper, and poured it over everything else in the skillet.  Just let the eggs cook slowly in the pan until the edges start to get set, about 8 minutes or so, DON'T STIR!  I sprinkled about a 1/4 cup more colby-jack, then put the whole pan in a 425° oven and let it bake for 7 minutes.

When it came out, it was puffed, slightly golden and delicious!  Now I have yummy leftovers for a light lunch today, or breakfast tomorrow, as well!

Memories and "Monkey" Bread

I recently lost someone who was very close to me.  Teresita was my fellow Food Geek and best friend.  After struggling for 2 years fighting a rare form of lung cancer that hits non-smokers (!!!) she finally found rest.  And I miss her.  I miss her terribly.  She and I would sit and talk about food for hours, she would accompany me on my excursions and we would analyze what we eat...and I LOVED that!  Who else will go all geek-tastic with me about food?

The other morning I woke up with her on my mind (again) and decided to make a breakfast she would have loved.  I think I made it for her before, but there have been so many meals that I can't be certain.  I call it Monkey Bread, but I don't think it adheres to the traditional Monkey Bread recipe.  Mine is very simple:

Louisville
Food Geek
Monkey Bread

1 can refrigerated biscuits
Cinnamon sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup margarine/butter
1/4 cup chopped pecans/walnuts
Maple syrup to taste (optional)

Open the can of biscuits, cut each biscuit into 4 (make an "X" through the center). Roll the bits of biscuits in the cinnamon sugar. Put the brown sugar, butter, and maple syrup (if desired) into an 8-9" round cake pan while you heat the oven to 450°. When it starts to get a bit bubbly, take it out, stir it so all the sugar dissolves and the is coating the bottom of the pan well. Sprinkle the nuts on the glaze. Place the biscuit bits all over the nuts. They don't have to be packed in there, they'll swell as they cook. Bake for 10-12 minutes, remove from oven, invert on a plate, and serve. If any of the glaze and nuts sticks to the pan, just use a spatula to get ever last yummy bit.

I enjoyed it with a cup of coffee (Teresita's weakness) and thought about her. I want to be better about posting here. I won't set a requirement for myself, but I will try to post more often, because every time I sit down to eat, I think of her, and how much fun we had just eating.

Miss you, T!

Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

I decided to put some blueberries to use making lemon-blueberry muffins.  They turned out absolutely yummy and perfectly sweet.  I don't know why some of the comments on the recipe page says they aren't sweet enough, but to each their own.

I may have mixed the batter too well.  I dusted the berries with flour before folding them in and most of them still fell to the bottom of the muffins, but they were still delicious, so who cares?

A Little Disappointed...

As I've said in previous posts, I much prefer Java Brewing Co. brewed coffee hands down over Starbucks, but I still frequent Starbucks from time to time, simply due to their saturation in the market. I've been wanting to try some of their new food selections for awhile (I've been a huge fan of their "perfect" oatmeal for years) so while heading to a meeting in northern Kentucky, I stopped at the location off I-71's exit 16 to order one of the new English muffin sandwiches. I chose the one with turkey bacon...trying to be a good girl here. :-) While the egg was perfectly done, not overcooked and unbelievably tender, my enjoyment of the sandwich was way below what I expected it to be. The turkey bacon was the shelf-stable type that is sold at Kroger's. Thin, not much flavor, and the texture and consistency of construction paper. I liked that the English muffin was whole wheat, but the cheese was just weak. I think there's more flavor in a slice of Velveeta. I was expecting something more like Panera's breakfast sandwich, with a powerful slice of white or yellow cheddar. If Starbucks would do that, I might get the sandwich again. As it is, I think this was just a one-shot deal.

Weekend Adventures

A friend came to visit this past weekend, and she had never been to Louisville! Of course, me being me, we structured the whole weekend around where to eat. Wow. Having to figure out which of the myriad of places we should visit was extremely difficult…but delicious!

Friday night, we went to Ramsi’s Café on the World. I’ve been there many times and constantly rave about their Sloppy Falafel ($7.99), Medjool Dates ($6.90), and eclectic ambience. The last time I went, I had the Smoked Salmon Panini ($9.40, I asked them to lose the hard-boiled egg) and considered getting it again. However, we decided to tour our way through their extensive appetizer menu. We started with Madame Tussauds empanadas ($7.99). An unbelievable, Philly-cheesesteak-like combination of London broil, Kenny’s sharp cheddar cheese, portobella mushrooms, and onions. We paired that with the Potato Latkes ($5.25) which were just how they should be: a soft, tasty mixture of mashed potatoes, formed into patties and fried, rather than being a large tater tot. Following that, we delved into our sweet sides with the Brie Bernadette ($7.99), brie rolled in toasted almonds and pecans, fried and then drizzled with honey. After sitting for a bit, I convinced her that she MUST have the Medjool Dates stuffed with goat cheese and she convinced me that we MUST order the Fried Plantains drizzled with maple syrup and served with ginger whipped cream ($3.50). Well, if we must, we must…needless to say, we did not finish. Half the dates and the majority of the plantains came home with us, and were just as tasty the next night!

Saturday morning rolled around and brought with it the burning question, “Where do we go for breakfast?” You might guess that I said, “Wild Eggs,” but to do Louisville right, for her first time with the proper “Louisville” experience, we went to Lynn’s Paradise Café. It’s kitschy, a little overpriced, and does not have great service, but still…it’s Lynn’s! You go for the experience and to spend some time in the “World of Swirl.” After waiting the requisite 40+ minutes shopping around, and of course purchasing some goofy things for ourselves, we were seated. To drink, I had a Bloody Mary, which is usually the epitome of Bloody Marys for me with a full skewer of olives and peppers, but this time it was a little watered-down. My friend had a Mimosa, which she said tasted less like orange juice and more like orange drink, not completely yummy when mixed with champagne. We ordered fried green tomatoes to start, which were thinly sliced and lightly battered. What makes them is the parmesan mayo served alongside. I had my usual, the Wild Mushroom scramble with cheese grits and a biscuit (make sure to ask for the sorghum butter!), and she ordered the signature Bourbon Ball French toast, which was featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay. I must say, I commend Lynn’s for allowing patrons to order half orders of most things on the menu. We saw a full order of the French toast come out…no way, so she asked for a half order and they accommodated without any issue. Overall, it was a good meal at Lynn’s and I still recommend it to anyone traveling through out great city.

After all that, we wanted to work off a little of what we had consumed, so we proceeded down the street to Cherokee Park. The Scenic Loop has always lived up to its name. We strolled along and ventured up the bird sanctuary trail. It was a beautiful walk for a crisp autumn afternoon. We then decided to visit Glassworks and when we got there, a tour was just starting so we joined in. It was very informative and enjoyable and for the price tag (around $6) it was well worth it. After shopping for a while, it was getting towards 5 o’clock, so we ventured home to take care of my pup and plan the dinner attack.

We decided to continue the café theme and head to Café Lou Lou in St. Matthews. I stuck with the Shoofly Shiraz (still yummy) and she had a “Relaxation” cocktail, a mixture of fruit juices and vodka that is not overly sweet. After splitting a bowl of Shrimp & Grits, we ordered the small Smoked Salmon Pizza. A perfectly done, chewy crust topped with smoked salmon, goat cheese, capers, Kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, and mozzarella cheese. It was listed to have marinara sauce on it, but we both thought that would not be the best choice, so we asked to replace the sauce with the garlic sauce listed on other pizzas. It sounds like an odd combination for a pizza, but it was excellent. They didn’t go heavy on the salmon, which I was very happy about, and the salty bite of the olives and capers kept it from being too heavy.

Now I need to go run for two days straight to work off all the calories! But it was completely worth it!

Wild Eggs part deux and dinner at home

I warned you I loved Wild Eggs...so when hubby came home today from a business trip, I once again dragged him there. This time we visited the Dutchman's Lane location rather than Westport Village. As usual, a somewhat lengthy wait, but well worth it, as always.

I decided to continue my culinary excursion around the menu rather than going to my fave Border Benedict. I toyed with the idea of partaking of one of the sweet treats, such as stuffed french toast or Bananas Foster waffles, but my final choice was between the Breakfast Burrito, $8.95 for a flour tortilla stuffed with scrambled eggs, chorizo, cheddar jack cheese, poblano pepper and onion, topped with queso fundido, sour cream, pico de gallo, avocado and green onion, served with skillet potatoes and black beans; or the Mexico City Maria's Chilaquiles, $7.95 for a Mexican-style breakfast casserole with corn tortillas, refried beans, salsa verde, queso blanco and a sunny side up egg, served shot of jugo de limon y chile. The chilaquiles won, but I chose to get a poached egg rather than the sunny side up simply due to personal preference.

When it came out, it looked absolutely delicious. It didn't disappoint. The corn tortillas were layered with beans and salsa verde and the queso and poached egg were perched on top. I liked that they didn't overdo it with the cheese, the beans were perfectly creamy, and the salsa verde had a nice crisp bite to cut through it all. As ususal, the poached egg was perfectly done and I only used a bit of the "jugo de limon y chile," translation-lemon juice and chiles, which is exactly what it tastes like! :-) It gave even more of a bite than the salsa verde, as well as a serious kick in the spice level. The menu fails to state that you also get a decent serving of skillet potatoes with this dish and today's were spot on!

My husband had his usual Farmers Market Skillet, ($9.95) a skillet full of bell pepper, onion, zucchini, yellow squash, wild mushrooms, skillet potatoes, broccoli and oven roasted tomato, melted cheddar jack cheese, topped with two basted eggs. Of course, him being him, he got it minus the bell peppers and tomatoes, but he loves it and, I have to admit, every time I take a nibble I think it's delicious. Overall, yet another perfect trip to Wild Eggs and the only reason I don't rate it "Out of this world" is nothing beats the Border Benedict...yet!

After leaving my heaven on earth, we ran errands and shopped at various stores throughout the day and decided to have a nice, quiet dinner at home. Being the chicken lover he is, my husband requested my chicken stroganoff, which is unbelievably easy. Take one large chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces, and sautee in butter-flavored cooking spray over medium-high heat until golden brown. While it's cooking, cook one full bag of extra-wide egg noodles in a pot of boiling water, open and drain two small cans of sliced mushrooms, and mix two packages of McCormick stroganoff mix into 2 cups of water. When the chicken is almost done, add all the mushrooms and allow to cook with the chicken until they are sizzling well. Dump the stroganoff mixture into the chicken and stir. As it cooks, the sauce will start to thicken. When the chicken is thoroughly cooked, turn down the heat and add 1-2 cups of sour cream (I use light.) After mixing well, pour the mixture into the cooked, drained noodles. This is good comfort food and it took less than 30 minutes! If I were to fix this for company, I would use fresh mushrooms instead of canned and rather than pouring all the stroganoff into the noodles before serving, I would place the egg noodles onto dinner plates and spoon the sauce and meat on the top, or, alternately, cook one chicken breast for each person and keep it intact, finishing off with a little chopped fresh parsley on top of the sauce. Sure to be a tasty hit with just about anyone. Enjoy!

Wild Eggs

After a meeting downtown last Friday, I was able to meet my husband for a bite to eat before going into the office. Being the wonderful man he is, he let me choose the place. I chose Wild Eggs. If you haven't heard of Wild Eggs, you're living under a rock and I invite you to venture into the sun. Wild Eggs is billed as serving breakfast, brunch, and lunch. I have to say, breakfast or brunch highly appeals to me. Which is odd since I hated eggs when I was little. The only way I would eat them was deviled. I'm glad my tastes have changed.

I have been to Wild Eggs multiple times and usually have Kalamity Katie's Border Benedict ($9.95), a mind-blowing take on your typical Eggs Benedict with a chili-corn cake, chopped chorizo, poached eggs (the only restaurant in town who can get them right), queso fundido, and a wonderfully fresh pico de gallo and avacado garnish served with skillet potatoes. Out of this world. I dream about this dish, it tops the list when people ask me what they should have.

However, the Surfer Girl Omelette has been on my mind and I finally gave in. The Surfer Girl ($8.95) has fresh spinach, wild mushrooms, tomato, cream cheese, and onion, topped with diced fresh avocado, pico de gallo, sour cream, and fresh alfalfa sprouts. The eggs were just a bit overdone for my taste, but still tasty, and the toppings made it yummy (excepting the sprouts, which I usually love, but these tasted a bit old). Not as decadent as the Border Benedict, but a worthy dish served with either grits, grits of the day, or skillet potatoes, as well as an Everything Muffin. I chose the grits of the day, sausage and cream cheese. I didn't much care for them. The sausage seemed like either a sliced link sausage or small smoked sausage pieces, and while the grits between the sausage were tasty, the sausage just seemed off. It would have been much better if it had been a basic breakfast sausage cooked and crumbled. Honestly, I've usually been disappointed with their grits of the day, and that comes from their seeming need to pack the grits of the day with meat, be it bacon or sausage, which just overwhelms the delicate flavor of the grits. I am far from a vegetarian, but I think keeping the grits more simple would improve them overall. While the omelet was good, the highlight of the meal was the Everything Muffin. Tender, crumbly, moist, savory...there aren't enough adjectives in the world.

To sum up, if I could eat at Wild Eggs every day of the week, I would be a VERY happy girl. 200 pounds heavier, but happy!

Weekend Cooking

Still enjoying my culinary exploits sans husband. Last night I fixed myself a beef tenderloin from Kroger's. Just one of those pre-packaged ones, with au jus flavoring. Simple, but good. With that, I made roasted vegetables (squash, zucchini, mushrooms, and red onions) and roasted red potatoes with rosemary. I opened a bottle of Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel to have with it, absolutely yummy and inexpensive at less than $10 a bottle! Because the tenderloins are so large, I have some wonderful cold steak salads and sandwiches in my future!

This morning, I put some fresh basil a coworker brought to me to use. Three eggs, beaten well and poured into a small skillet, topped with basil chiffonade, diced cherry tomatoes, a dash of salt and a sprinkling of mozzarella. Let it cook on med-high heat, WITHOUT STIRRING, and when the edges are set, put it in the oven on the low broil setting until the top is set as well. Congrats, you just made a frittata! This is enough to serve two people if you include a breakfast meat and hashbrowns or another side with it. Or, it could be just for you on its own...keeping it all for yourself is perfectly understandable. :-)