Today, I have Boursin in the fridge.  I also have 2 eggs and half a bag of baby spinach.  For lunch, I thought I would make, oh, oeufs cocotte, maybe?

For some reason there’s something very elegant about serving eggs baked gently in a little ramekin, [...]]]>

Today, I have Boursin in the fridge.  I also have 2 eggs and half a bag of baby spinach.  For lunch, I thought I would make, oh, oeufs cocotte, maybe?

For some reason there’s something very elegant about serving eggs baked gently in a little ramekin, over cream and whatever else you happen to have handy.  It’s the perfect leftover dish, and gives new meaning to the phrase, “throw an egg on it”.  Because you really do.  Just throw an egg on top of whatever you’ve got lying around that needs to be eaten, sprinkle with herbs, and voila!  A dish fit for the in-laws!

PLUS, you can act all posh and cultured, and serve it with a flourish saying, “oeufs cocotte!” as if announcing the arrival of the emperor.  And serve it with a little, tiny spoon.  That makes it feel even posher.

The greatest thing is, it’s so easy. First, preheat oven to 400F.  Butter your ramekins.  Then wilt some spinach in a pan and press out excess water.  Place the spinach in the ramekins.  Put some garlic-herb Boursin on top of it (this is a soft French cheese).  The Boursin will melt and get all creamy and herby and garlicky, and delicious.

Chop some rosemary or any other herbs you’ve got.  By the way, have I told you about my amazingly sharp Misono Santoku knife I got in Japan?  It’s deadly sharp.  As in, no room for error sharp.  As in, your nail won’t stop it sharp.

Then crack your eggs over top.  Season with salt and pepper (you don’t need too much salt, as the Boursin is salted).  Sprinkle the chopped herbs and some grated cheese for some extra decadence.

Place the ramekins into a larger baking dish and fill halfway with water.  This is a bain-marie and will prevent the eggs from getting tough.  Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes.  You’ll want to check to see how done the eggs are, and take them out when they’re to your liking.

CAREFULLY remove the pan from the oven (the water is hot!).  Let cool for a minute or two, then carefully remove the hot ramekins.

EAT.  The egg is perfectly cooked.  Runny yolk and opaque but tender white – almost like a custard.  Use your spoon and break the yolk, letting it run out over the creamy Boursin and spinach.  Umm…

You don’t need a recipe for that, do you?  It’s so simple.  But in case you want all the info in one place, here goes:

Spinach Eggs Cocotte

2 eggs
3 handfuls spinach
2 tablespoons Boursin herb-garlic cheese
1 sprig of rosemary
1 tablespoon grated cheese
salt and pepper
butter for greasing ramekins

1.  Preheat oven to 400F.  Butter ramekins.  Wilt spinach in some olive oil over medium heat.  Place into a bowl and squeeze out excess water using the back of a spoon.  Divide between 2 ramekins.

2.  Put a spoonful of Boursin cheese on top of the spinach.

3.  Crack eggs and place one egg in each ramekin over the Boursin.

4.  Chop rosemary or other herbs.  Sprinkle over eggs.  Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle on some cheese.

5.  Bake in a bain-marie in the oven for 12-15 minutes.

Okay guys, just a disclaimer.  I’m not usually a fan of low fat “diet” foods – as in, I believe in eating healthy, but to deliberately make a dish just because it’s low-fat?  Ugh.  But say for example, you made a key lime pie yesterday, [...]]]>

Okay guys, just a disclaimer.  I’m not usually a fan of low fat “diet” foods – as in, I believe in eating healthy, but to deliberately make a dish just because it’s low-fat?  Ugh.  But say for example, you made a key lime pie yesterday, and found yourself with four egg whites standing around today, and you’re hungry, and what?  Say what?  Oh an egg white omelet, you say?  Well, don’t mind if I do.

Surprisingly, this didn’t end up tasting anaemic and low-fat at all.  With a few really flavorful ingredients, like herbs and well, just a teensy bit of cheese, this simple dish was quite a treat.

By the way, have you noticed how the word “omelette” sounds so much more romantic than “omelet”?  I prefer the frenchified spelling as it makes me feel like I might have this in an adorable bistro in Paris sometime.  I lived in France for a couple years as a child, but I was too young to appreciate the culinary wonders I was exposed to on a daily basis.  I did learn to love a) French flan, b) pain au chocolat, and c) a brioche slathered with butter and jam.  Or Nutella.  Other than that, my cravings veered more towards the frites and children’s meals options.  Sigh…oh the wasted years.

Anyways, if you want to try this omelette, or omelet, or whatever, I promise you that it will pack a lot of flavor without a lot of guilt.  Everyone wins!

Herbed Egg White Omelette
Serves 1

3 to 4 egg whites
2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme…though if you’re using rosemary or thyme you might want to rein it in a bit to not overpower everything)
1 generous tbsp grated Parmesan
1 generous tbsp crumbled Feta cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

Beat egg whites lightly.  Stir in the herbs and season lightly with salt.

Heat a bit of olive oil in a stick-resistant skillet over medium heat.  When pan is hot, reduce heat to low.   Pour in the eggs.  I like to stir it a little at this point, letting the uncooked egg run under the cooked bits, just to get it more evenly cooked.  When eggs are about 60 percent done, stop stirring so they can set in an omelette shape.  When omelette is almost set on top, sprinkle on the cheeses and a generous sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper.  Carefully fold omelette in half.  Let cook until cheese starts to melt, maybe just a few seconds more, then flip to the other side for another few seconds.

Grab a plate and carefully transfer the hot omelette.  Serve with salsa and whatever else you prefer!

A Spanish tortilla is a beautiful thing. Crisp golden coins of potato, the fresh taste of spring onion, all cooked together in a cake held together by eggs. Yum! It’s all my favorite breakfast foods rolled into one, in a neat and [...]]]>

A Spanish tortilla is a beautiful thing. Crisp golden coins of potato, the fresh taste of spring onion, all cooked together in a cake held together by eggs. Yum! It’s all my favorite breakfast foods rolled into one, in a neat and portable package. Chris and I had this for brunch the other day and it was just right – the potato makes it substantial; the eggs give it richness without weighing it down. Oh, and did I mention that it’s one of the easiest things to cook EVER? And that it’s a perfect afternoon snack? And that I can imagine myself as a Spanish grandma cooking this on my vintage range for my school-age grandchild? Ohhh yeah.

Basically, you slice a couple potatoes thinly and fry them in a bit of olive oil until they’re tender and golden. Then, while they’re still warm, you toss them in with 4 beaten eggs and some chopped spring onion, a pinch of salt, and let the mixture sit until the eggs thicken up just a tad. Pour the whole thing into a skillet and cook until the eggs set around the edges. Then – oh and this is the impressive bit – you slide the whole thing out onto a plate, and invert it back into the pan. Poof! A perfectly round golden omelet. I can’t say the symmetry doesn’t appeal to me.

I adapted this from SimplyRecipes, but reduced the number of eggs. I wanted the potatoes to shine a bit more, and well, I felt a little guilty about 6 eggs for a party of two. I also didn’t bother to lay the potatoes out in the pan in a scalloped pattern – I just dumped the whole thing in and it turned out rather pretty.

I love pretty things.

Anyway, I’m sorry I’ve been a bit slow posting lately, but Chris and I have been working out of town 3 days a week, leaving me less time to shop for groceries. I’m aiming to get back to 2 posts a week, at least. This weekend, I’m planning to make a few yummy things to share with you all.

In the meantime, make a Spanish tortilla! You’ll be glad you did.

Spanish Tortilla
Adapted from SimplyRecipes

2 medium potatoes (Yukon Gold works well)
4 large eggs
2 green onions, chopped
salt and pepper
olive oil

Slice potatoes thinly. Fry in olive oil until tender and browned.

Beat eggs. Add warm potatoes and green onions. Stir around and let sit 5 minutes to thicken. Pour into skillet over medium-low heat. Cook until edges are set. Slide omelet carefully onto a plate and invert back into skillet. Cook for another minute or two until browned on the other side.

Slide onto a plate and cut into wedges. Serve!

Check this out. No, that is not some weird oval shaped avocado up there. That, my friends, is an emu’s egg.

What, you may ask, were we doing with an emu’s egg? Well the story goes like this: my brother-in-law and his wife [...]]]>

Check this out. No, that is not some weird oval shaped avocado up there. That, my friends, is an emu’s egg.

What, you may ask, were we doing with an emu’s egg? Well the story goes like this: my brother-in-law and his wife were taking care of their neighbor’s backyard pets while they were away on a vacation. These “pets” included a chicken coop full of chickens, and yes, an emu (it’s a big backyard). The emu lays an egg once or twice a week, and since each emu egg is about the same volume as 10-12 regular chicken eggs, they had plenty to share with us.

My husband drilled a hole in each end of the egg, and painstakingly blew out all the insides. That’s a whole lot of egg! The total volume came to about 600 ml, about 2 1/2 cups.

My brother-in-law told us that although the flavor is very similar to chicken eggs, the white of the emu egg doesn’t set quite as well as a chicken egg, so if you end up scrambling or frying the whole thing, you end up with slightly slimy fried eggs. So we decided to use it in a quiche instead, where the cream and cheese and other ingredients would compensate even if the white didn’t completely set.

Actually, we made a couple.

The result? I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between this quiche and any other normal chicken egg quiche. And the quiche itself isn’t a bad recipe.

So next time life gives you emu eggs…make quiche!

Yes, we made a broccoli/goat cheese one too, but I don’t have room to share both recipes.

Emu Egg Leek and Canadian Bacon Quiche
Williams-Sonoma Breakfasts and Brunches

1 pie crust pastry
6 slices Cdn bacon, cut into strips
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 leek, washed and cut crosswise into slices
2/3 cup beaten emu egg, or 3 normal eggs
1 ½ cups half and half
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
6 oz Gruyère or Jarlsberg, grated
1 ½ tsp cornstarch

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Roll out pastry and press into 9 inch tart pan. Trim pastry edges. Prick pastry all over with a fork. Line pastry with foil and pie weights (opt). Bake 8 minutes. Remove foil, bake another 4 min. Reduce oven temp to 325 F (165 C).

Sauté bacon until slightly browned, 2-3 min. Drain on paper towels.

Melt butter in pan, sauté leeks until tender, about 10 min. Set aside.

Beat eggs until frothy, add half and half, salt and pepper. Toss cheese with cornstarch. Add cheese, bacon, and leek to the liquid and stir well. Pour into pastry shell.

Bake 35-40 min until middle is set.

Cool 15 min and serve.

Have you ever had a bunch of leftovers in your fridge you needed to use up, and so you just stuck them all together in the hope that they would turn out ok, only to find that all together, they had created something delicious, altogether [...]]]>

Have you ever had a bunch of leftovers in your fridge you needed to use up, and so you just stuck them all together in the hope that they would turn out ok, only to find that all together, they had created something delicious, altogether more than the sum of its parts?

Well, that happened to me today. I had about 1/3 pound of homemade chorizo sausage in the fridge, some cherry tomatoes I needed to use up, and half of a rather sad looking onion. I also had a few eggs, some milk and some cheese. Hmm. I didn’t want to make chorizo con huevos again, so I decided to throw together something I’d wanted to experiment with for a long time. A breakfast casserole.

Think of this as an American/Mexican take on the French oeufs cocotte, eggs baked on top of ham, vegetables, and crème fraiche. That’s basically what I did, except I used chorizo, jalapeños, tomatoes, cheese, and onion, and instead of using cream (didn’t have that handy) I just drizzled a quick béchamel sauce over the whole thing. The result, a spicy, creamy, flavorful breakfast casserole that just hit the spot on this cold autumn morning.

Sausage, Tomato and Egg Breakfast Casserole
Serves 2 or 3

½ cup whole milk
1 tsp butter
1 tsp flour

½ onion, diced
1cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 jalapeño, chopped
¼ cup grated cheese (I used a mild Gouda)
1/3 pound chorizo sausage
3 eggs
salt and pepper
oil

Preheat oven to 375 F or about 190 C.

Heat milk in microwave or a pan on the stove until warm. In a skillet, melt the butter, then add the flour and cook, whisking, until smooth. Add the warm milk and whisk for a minute or two until milk thickens. Pour into a bowl and set aside.

Rinse and dry the skillet. Pour in about ½ tbsp oil, and sauté the onion until translucent. Add the sausage and continue frying, breaking up lumps, until sausage is cooked through. If a lot of fat has rendered, drain off some of the fat.

Butter a baking dish (mine was an oval dish about 6 by 9 inches, I think), or individual ramekins. Spread the drained sausage/onion mixture evenly over the bottom, and top with the sliced tomatoes, jalapeno, and grated cheese. Drizzle the reserved béchamel sauce over everything. Make 3 shallow indentations in the mixture to hold the eggs (I didn’t do this, and my eggs went everywhere). Crack the eggs into the dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Put the baking dish into a larger pan and place in oven. Pour enough hot tap water into outer pan to reach 1/3 to halfway up the side of the casserole dish/ramekins (this will ensure your eggs bake up tender instead of rubbery). Bake for 15-20 minutes until whites are set but yolks are still soft.

Enjoy!

My husband, Chris, has an obsession with good Mexican food. My Southern California boy craves Mexican food at regular intervals, which is not the most convenient craving to have when you live in Southern China (as many of you know, we live in Xiamen, [...]]]>

My husband, Chris, has an obsession with good Mexican food. My Southern California boy craves Mexican food at regular intervals, which is not the most convenient craving to have when you live in Southern China (as many of you know, we live in Xiamen, a small city in southern Fujian province). Mexican food hasn’t exactly caught on here in China, unlike the Golden Arches or “ken-de-ji” (aka KFC), and you can’t buy premade salsa or Mexican spices, or chorizo, and although you can find frozen tortillas, the supply isn’t very reliable.

Which, of course, continues my ongoing theme of “Necessity is the mother of invention”. Living in China has made me SO much less dependant on prepackaged foods and fueled my love of cooking from scratch. How AWESOME and satisfying is it to make your own homemade chorizo in a tiny Chinese apartment kitchen and serve your husband chorizo con huevos with homemade salsa? Pretty awesome.

Just a quick note here. I grew up in Toronto, Canada, which is a mecca for food-lovers and a haven for authentic ethnic restaurants. However, I very rarely tasted authentic Mexican food growing up, and I don’t think Taco Bell counts. Therefore, if the chorizo I made isn’t completely authentic, please don’t string me up and beat me with a dry-cured ham. I’m doing my best with limited resources at my disposal :p.

Chorizo con Huevos (Chorizo sausage with Eggs)

1/3 pound homemade chorizo (see recipe below)
5 eggs, beaten
½ onion, diced
oil
salt

In a skillet, sauté the onion over medium heat in 1 tablespoon of oil. When onion is just softened (2-3 minutes), add the chorizo. Break it up with a spatula and sauté until cooked through. Mmmm! Smell those spices!

Pour the eggs into the pan over the chorizo, and cook, stirring, until the eggs are set but not too dry. Taste to see if it needs salt (the chorizo is pretty salty, so you may not need any), and sprinkle salt on as needed. Serve with warm tortillas and salsa.

SOOOO good.

Homemade Chorizo
This recipe was cobbled together from several recipes on the Internet and heavily influenced by what I had in the kitchen at the time.

1 pound lean ground pork (but not super lean; you need some fat for flavor and texture)
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp cayenne pepper or red chili powder
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin powder
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp water
1 tsp salt

Mix everything together well, then knead well with your hands to make sure all ingredients are evenly distributed (this was kind of fun, once you got over the “eww gross” bit).

Put the meat into a plastic freezer bag, squeeze out all the air, and allow the meat to cure in the refrigerator for about 3 days. After that it can be used (it will keep in the refrigerator for a week or two) or frozen for months.

Welcome to my new food blog!  If you are looking for some fun recipes, glimpses of life as a world traveler and expat living in China, luscious pictures of food, and some random ranting, you’ve come to the right place.

I decided to start this blog [...]]]> Welcome to my new food blog!  If you are looking for some fun recipes, glimpses of life as a world traveler and expat living in China, luscious pictures of food, and some random ranting, you’ve come to the right place.

I decided to start this blog to record my successes and (hopefully not too many) disasters in my tiny kitchen.  I live in a small city called Xiamen in Southern China, and cooking therefore has its challenges, especially if I want to cook healthy, varied food.  Finding Western groceries is difficult, and, as necessity is the mother of invention, I find myself making many things from scratch that I would otherwise have bought premade (such as pitas, tortillas, ricotta cheese, gnocchi…the list goes on…).

My husband and I love traveling, so naturally many of my recipes have been inspired by international cuisines from the places we have visited or lived.  I am of Chinese descent, grew up in Toronto, but lived in France for two years when I was a child, and now live in Mainland China.  My husband is half German, grew up in California, and loves Mexican food.  Together, we have traveled all over SouthEast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, China, across the US, and to Australia and New Zealand.  In every country, we have found new ideas for recipes.

So without further ado, let me introduce you to an easy meal, not particularly exotic, but absolutely yummy and doable in about 30 minutes.

Frittata with Vegetables and Herbs

adapted from Tea and Cookies

A frittata is basically a baked omelet, and this version packs a punch with vegetables.  Frittatas keep well, and I’ve served one cold as an appetizer (cut into wedges), and packed one for dinner when my husband and I have to work in the evening.  This version is flavorful with the fresh herbs mixed in, but feel free to use any vegetables and herbs you like (fresh shiitake mushrooms are delicious here).

6 eggs

2 chopped green onions

1 diced red onion

1 diced green pepper

¾ cup halved grape tomatoes

5-6 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

a sprig or two of fresh oregano, finely chopped

salt and pepper

oil for sautéing

butter

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sauté the onion in oil until softened, then add the green pepper and continue sautéing until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

2.  Beat the eggs in a bowl, and add all the vegetables and herbs.  Season again with salt and pepper, and mix together.

3.  Butter an 8 or 9 inch quiche pan (my quiche pan is in California, so I used an 8-inch cake pan).  Pour in the egg mixture.

4.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until egg is set in the middle.  Cool for 10 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve.  Serves four as a main course.

Note: I tried oiling the pan, and ended up with a baked-on mess that took me 20 minutes to scrub off.  I really think butter works better for greasing the pan because the eggs are so runny, but this might vary depending on what kind of pan you are using.