Eggs Benedict

Well, I recently discovered that I can make and eat Eggs Benedict every day, or at least most days. However, like all things, I change and modify how and what I do to make it. For instance I prefer to use a fried egg (over easy) instead of a poached egg.

The toughest part I found is reviving the Hollandaise sauce that I have stored in the fridge. So far it still doesn't come out as nice as fresh made, but I have learned a few things. The first is low heat, heck, I don't even turn the heat on the stove on, I use the residual heat from frying the bacon and eggs, and even then, it's only on that element for around 30 seconds. Just to warm it up a little.

Saturday Brunch

So far, I have hosted three Saturday morning brunches, the first two I served waffles. The only condition applied to the participants was to be there on time and to bring a topping of their choice. The first event was a flop, people showed up whenever, but more importantly didn't bring any toppings. Needless to say, my Blueberry syrup was taxed to the max and I was left with none (bummer).

The second event went off much better. People were more on time and everyone brought a topping. We had Nutella, blueberry pie filling, my blueberry syrup, some Aunt Jemimas syrup (never got opened) and few other things. All in all, much more of a successful event.

Today, however I changed the menu around, instead of waffles and bring your own topping, it was Eggs Benedict and show up and eat it. This went well, everyone enjoyed it, and it was a great get together. However, from my side of the story, it wasn't so great. I was in the kitchen the entire time, toasting English muffins, cooking bacon (Pork and Turkey), poaching eggs and assembling the "Bennies", while simultaneously bring the goods out to people to enjoy. I didn't mind this at the time, but in retrospect, it was a social engagement that I wasn't attending, I was merely at it. So as a brunch idea, it is great, but I need to find away of engaging others into the cooking process (kinda hard as my new kitchen is smaller and more cutoff from the rest of my apartment) or prepare everything (or mostly everything) in advance and keep it warm in the oven. That way I can spend more time with my guests, instead of on the periphery making them food. Waffles work better in this sense, because I can bring the iron out to the living room and the waffles can cook right there, in the middle of the group.

Frittata

 A very good friend of mine introduced me to this type of omlette. Despite my best efforts, he still makes it much better than I. The cast iron skillet really shines here for a number of reasons. The first is that it can go from stove top to broiler without any problems. Second, the extra mass of the cast iron retains much of the cooking heat from the stove top and helps to continue cooking the Frittata while it is cooking under the broiler.

This is an excellent breakfast dish, it can be prepared fairly quickly, but most importantly it is a great way to start the day. It is also a great communal meal, if you have a large enough skillet, you can make a bigger one that will feed multiple people. I look forward to this on weekends, when I can sit and share a breakfast with some close friends.

Beat the eggs and milk together. I find 1/8 cup of milk per egg is a good ratio. It was originally recommended by Alton Brown on his show Good Eats. Since then, I have experimented with the ratio and have come to the same conclusion. The ratio holds for omlettes, french toast and other egg/milk only mixtures. I have found that two eggs is almost too much for one person, so feel free to change it up to the number you prefer.





Into the egg/milk mixture goes whatever you want. I'm partial to bell peppers and onions, but mushrooms, broccolli and many other vegetables can find there way into a Frittata. Place the mixture into the preheated cast iron skillet.









Once the Frittata has had some time to cook but the center is still liquid, remove it from the stove top and put it under the broiler until the egg mixture has firmed up and is just cooked.









Sprinkle the cheese on top, for looks, you can also optionally sprinkle it with Paprika. This will give it a really nice colour when it is finished.










Place the skillet back under the broiler until the cheese "breathes". Breathing cheese is a term I use for when the cheese is starting to brown and it is bubbling all over. The cheese will bubble up and then settle down before bubbling up again; hence "breathing.








Frittata
1 Serving
Preheat a skillet over medium heat, preheat a broiler.
Thoroughly mix in a bowl:
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
Add:
1/2 cup of assorted vegetables
Add the mixture to the preheated skillet. Let it cook until the outsides are becoming firm. Move the skillet to the preheated broiler, continue cooking until the entirety of the Frittata is firm. Sprinkle on top:
Up to 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese
Place back under the broiler until the cheese is browned. Remove from the heat and serve.

The cost of this meal is $2.00 per Frittata, the toast and yogurt are extra, but if you include them, the price rises to $2.56.

Waffles

Since I posted about the Waffle Day, I might as well post about how to make waffles. Unlike most other dishes, you need a specialty item if you want to make them. It's really hard to kludge together a waffle iron, so I would not recommend trying. However, from personal experience, I would recommend getting a good waffle iron if you want to enjoy making waffles often. I have have found the cheaper models have timers that should be ignored, this will lead to a non-soggy waffle, fully cooked result.

If you are stuck with a cheap model that doesn't do quite a good job, or the timer doesn't work well. You are in luck, you can wait until the steam mostly stops coming out of the iron as the waffle cooks, this means the waffle is done. It may not be nice and crispy, but it definitely won't be soggy or uncooked.

 Thoroughly mix all the dry ingredients together.












In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients. I try to melt the butter so that it is liquid but not hot. Once I have added the butter to the rest of the liquid ingredients, I constantly stir so that the butter doesn't separate. This will ensure that the butter is evenly distributed throughout the final batter.







Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just mixed, ignoring any lumps. You do not want to over blend in this stage, that only leads to a tougher waffle. You can use the batter right away or let it sit until ready to use. I usually let it sit for a few hours, covered in the refrigerator before using; just as I would for pancakes. This give the batter time to fully hydrate the flour.





Depending on your iron, ladle about a 1/2 cup of batter into the center. Too much and it will over flow the sides and make a mess, too little and you won't have a fully developed waffle. Experience is the greatest teacher here as every iron is different. Waffles can be kept warm in an oven set at 200 F until you are ready to serve them, or they can be enjoyed the instant they are done.





Waffles
About 6 waffles
Preheat a waffle iron. Whisk together in a large bowl:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Thoroughly blend in another bowl:
3 eggs
1/4 cup to 1 cup (1/2 to 2 sticks) butter, melted
1 1/2 cups milk
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Combine with a few swift strokes of the whisk. If desired gently stir in any additions (eg Blueberries)
To cook, follow the waffle maker manufactures instructions.

Depending on if you made the recipe with the low amount of butter or high amount it will change the price from $2.14 to $4.28, this works out to $0.36 and upwards of $0.72 per individual waffle. Topping and extras like berries are not factored in.