Showing posts with label Eggs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eggs. Show all posts
I adore Croque Madame Sandwiches. A Croque Monsieur Sandwich is a fried ham & cheese sandwich topped with a layer of bechamel and grilled.
It becomes a Croque Madame when you add a fried egg to the top. Yes . . . not for the weak of heart! I have only ever made them once and they were to die for. You can read about that experience here. So, so, so good!
I like to think that this version is a bit lighter . . . and I can vouch for it being a lot easier! They go together lickety split and make an excellent light supper for two (easily multiplied) along with a salad on the side.
For this recipe I am using medium to small eggs, only because larger eggs would not stay on top without overflowing the crust onto the baking tray.
The base for these delicious and easy pizzas are Deli Kitchen's new Greek Style Flatbreads! Soft, pliable and perfect for these Croque Madame Pizzas! You could also use Naan bread with good results.
I have an excellent recipe for a Yeast Free Naan Bread that would also be excellent for these delicious pizzas.
You are going to love these! They are such a doddle to make. As easy as mixing together a cheese/sour cream topping to spread over the flat breads . . . then layering on pancetta and eggs and baking.
The cheese mixture uses two kinds of cheese . . . strong cheddar and Gruyere, which is a nutty sweet type of Swiss cheese. I love it!
This gets mixed with some sour cream, Dijon mustard and a splash of Worcestershire sauce . . . and then spread onto the flat breads.
On top of that you arrange some thinly sliced pancetta . . . Italian bacon . . . mild and smoky and so tasty. You want to make little cradles/nests to break the eggs into . . .
I used medium eggs today. Normally I use large eggs in all of my cooking, but I felt they would be too large and overflow, and in all truth even the medium ones did a bit, so you might want to go for small eggs.
It doesn't really matter or affect the taste if they do . . . its just a matter of aesthetics.
And that's it! Just pop them into the oven and bake them for about 20 minutes, depending on how well done you like your eggs.
At 20 minutes the yolks were nice and creamy . . . not runny. If you want runny, you might want to do them for less time. Just keep checking.
Altogether these are fabulously tasty! You are sure to fall in love with them. They are great for the weekend when you are wanting something a little bit heartier for breakfast . . .
They also make a great, quick and easy weeknight supper for two. All you need is some salad on the side perhaps.
Look at how nice, rich and golden brown that cheese topping is . . .
I can promise you that it tastes every bit as delicious as it looks. Honestly . . . I could have eaten just that on the flat bread and nothing else!
My husband really, REALLY enjoyed this. He had been outside mowing the grass before the rain started again . . . and had worked up a bit of an appetite!
I love it when he enjoys the things I cook for him. It makes me very happy. It also makes him happy as well! He doesn't normally like pizza, but this kind . . . he does!
Yield: 2
Croque Madame Pizzas
A recipe I adapted to serve two people. This makes a fabulous supper with some salad on the side!
ingredients:
- 2 Greek Style Soft Flatbreads
- 4 medium free range eggs
- 8 thin rashers of pancetta or streaky bacon
- 30g grated strong cheddar cheese (1/4 cup)
- 30g grated Gruyere Cheese (1/4 cup)
- 60g dairy sour cream (1/4 cup)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- salt and black pepper to taste
instructions:
How to cook Croque Madame Pizzas
- Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with baking paper and place the two flatbreads onto it.
- Stir together both cheeses, the sour cream, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce to combine well. Divide evenly and spread onto one side of each flat bread. Top each
- Using the slices of Pancetta, arrange them on the top of the cheese mixture on each flat bread so as to make two circles with an open space in the middle to hold the egg. Carefully crack one egg into each so that it is contained.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is golden and the egg is just cooked. Season with salt and black pepper to serve.
An added bonus is the smell of the pancetta cooking while the pizzas bake. Oh so yummy.
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Today I decided to make us a delicious crustless vegetable quiche for our dinner. Well, actually I made it for me as my husband was having the leftovers from yesterday.
I fancied something quick, easy, delicious and a tiny bit healthier!
There is actually no shortage of crustless quiche recipes that you can find on Pinterest. This is kind of like my go to when I am looking for inspiration.
Crustless quiche makes the perfect quick and easy entrée. Its great for lunch or for supper. On this particular day I wasn't really inspired by anything I found so I went with my own intuition.
Its also a great way to use up any vegetables or other bits that are languishing in the refrigerator. Today I used broccoli and cauliflower, which is what I had in my refrigerator.
I just broke off a few florets of each and cooked them in some lightly salted boiling water until crispy tender. You could also use frozen, but you should also cook them first.
Make sure you drain and dry them really well on some paper kitchen toweling so that the are not really wet after cooking.
I added some onion for flavour also, which I threw in and cooked with the vegetables. You could also use chopped spring onions, in which case you don't need to cook them.
I didn't happen to have any today and this is our week of not being able to buy groceries as it was rent week. So very much a make do with what you have week.
Once you have your veggies cooked, make sure you drain them really well. If they are too wet they will give you a soggy result.
I drain them well in a wire colander, chop and then drain again. You can also pat them dry with a kitchen towel. I know I already said that but I cannot stress it enough!
Pop them into a small casserole dish that you have buttered, spreading them out to cover the bottom.
Mine was a single serve gratin dish. About six inches in length, and about 1 1/2 inches tall.
I still had some cheese left from the Cheester Egg, just a small piece and so I grated that and scattered it over top of the veggies. It was a lovely strong cheddar.
You can use any cheese you like actually . . . Stilton, Emmethaler (Swiss), Parmesan, or even a combination of cheeses. Its all up to you and what you have and what you are craving!
I had some medium eggs (I normally buy large) that my husband had picked up at Costco the other week, which he then dropped as soon as he came in the door.
Thankfully most of them didn't break. I used the cracked ones in baking and today I used three of the non-cracked ones in this.
Beaten together with some dairy sour cream and seasonings, this was poured over top of the vegetables and cheese in the dish.
After that it was a quick half hour in the oven and dinner was served. I am thinking a couple slices of toast would go down really nice, as would a salad . . . but if you were going to do toast, you might just as well do a crust. This is only my opinion!
Some other options that you might want to cook for supper that use eggs are:
ANYTHING HASH WITH POACHED EGGS - A great vegetarian meal composed of a lovely hash of cooked vegetables. I used carrot, potato, broccoli stems, turnips and onion. Topped with a lightly poached egg, it makes a really delicious and filling supper option.
SCRAMBLED EGGS BENEDICT - This is one of my favorite meals, whether I have it for supper, or brunch or breakfast. Not as faffy to make as regular eggs benedict. You have all of the components with the ease of softly scrambled eggs rather than poached. I used a good recipe for a blender hollandaise which is really simple to make. I used back bacon rather than ham.
Yield: 2
Crustless Veggie Quiche
A healthier version of a favourite dish, perfectly sized for just two people. Quick, easy and delicious.
ingredients:
- softened butter to grease the pan
- 4 broccoli florets
- 4 cauliflower florets
- 1/2 small onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 heaped TBS sour cream
- 3 medium eggs
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder
- 3 TBS grated strong cheddar cheese
instructions:
How to cook Crustless Veggie Quiche
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 7. Butter a small baking dish. (I used a small oval casserole that holds about 1 1/2 cups.)
- Bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the broccoli, cauliflower and onion. Cook until the vegetables are crispy tender. Drain well and then chop the broccoli and cauliflower into smaller bits.
- Place the chopped veggies and onions into the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle the cheese over all.
- Beat the eggs, sour cream, and seasonings together. Pour over the veggies in the baking dish.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cut in half to serve.
I didn't have any salad fixings and so I ended up cooking some tater tots to go with it. I know . . . salad would have been much healthier and probably a lot tastier! In any case this was really delicious. I am thinking chopped spinach and feta cheese would also be a great combination!
If you are a Vegetarian or a Vegan, you might want to look away now.
What follows isn't going to be pretty for you, however tasty it might seem to the rest of us. Sorry about that!
When I was a child I used to love it when my mom made us Egg in a Hat (or Egg in a Hole) for breakfast. It was a real treat.
A lovely runny egg, cooked into a piece of golden brown buttery toast. Oh boy was it ever yummy.
I've been thinking about that sandwich all week long and pondering how I could make it even better . . . in a way that has never been done before.
I think I might have cracked it! (No pun intended! Seriously!)
As you know at the weekend I like to pull out the stops a bit and give my husband a bit of a treat for breakfast on at least one of the mornings.
When I first moved over here we would pop into town and go to one of the shops and have a fry up at their café. We haven't done that in a long time now.
Grilled cheese sandwiches are something which we are quite fond of . . . we are also quite fond of bacon sandwiches . . . a really rare treat . . .
Today I have combined our favourite grilled cheese . . . using a really good strong cheddar, sliced (no plastic cheese here) . . .
with some grilled back bacon . . . you could use streaky . . . its up to you.
I have been using the nitrate-free, free range bacon from the people at Naked Bacon. So its not quite as bad for you as regular bacon.
Add to that a perfectly cooked large free range rspca approved egg with a runny yolk, cooked "in a hat" style . . . with that crisp buttery hat perched on top . . .
And I do believe you have a pretty darned near perfect breakfast sandwich!
I did use a good whole wheat bread . . . and I always use real butter . . .
My husband thought he had died and gone to heaven . . . he is a cheddar man all the way . . .
We like brown sauce with ours . . . some people like red sauce (ketchup) . . . we are brown sauce people . . .
That egg was perfectly cooked . . . not too runny, but just enough of a gorgeous rich goo to sink your teeth into with pleasure . . .
Likewise the cheese . . . melted just perfectly . . . along with that salty bacon and that crisp buttery bread . . . which is kind of like fried bread when you really think about it.
It went down a real treat, let me tell you . . . a REAL treat!
Grilled Egg in a Hat Breakfast Sandwich
Yield: 1
Egg in a hole, a fried egg, fried into a hold cut in a slice of bread, sandwiched together with some grilled bacon and cheddar cheese and another slice of bread, toasted in a skillet until golden brown all over. Quantities and instructions are given for only one sandwich. If you want more, multiply everything by the numbers you want. Its really only possible to make one at a time anyways. This is a knife and a fork sandwich.
ingredients:
- 2 slices of your favourite bread (pick a sturdy one)
- 1 large free range egg
- salt and black pepper
- 4 slices of grilled streaky bacon, or two sliced of grilled back bacon
- 1 1/2 slices of strong cheddar cheese
- softened butter for spreading
instructions:
How to cook Grilled Egg in a Hat Breakfast Sandwich
- Make sure you have your bacon all grilled before you begin, and your cheese sliced. (I sometimes buy strong cheddar already cut in slices and that is what I used today.)
- Butter one slice of bread on both sides and one slice of bread on one side only.. Cut a shape out of one that has been buttered on both sides with a cookie cutter. Today I used a flower. A heart is nice and so is a circle. Just go with your own inspiration.
- Place the piece of bread with the cut out into a large skillet, placed over moderate heat. Drop a tiny knob of butter into the centre of it. Crack your egg into the hole as soon as the butter begins to foam. Cook until set on the bottom. Add the cutout to the pan over on the side so that you can toast that also. Flip the toast with the egg in the centre over and cook just until you have the egg done to your liking. (We like them a bit runny.) Season to taste with some salt and black pepper. Remove and keep warm for a few minutes, while put in the other piece of bread. Flip over the cutout. (I hope you've been keeping an eye on it. If it is done, take it out and keep it warm)
- Add the other slice of bread, buttered side down to the skillet. Top with the cheese and then the bacon. Finally pop on the egg bread, egg side down. Cook and toast over moderate heat until the cheese melts and the sandwich is heated through. Pop that little toasty cut out on top and serve to one very lucky person. We like brown sauce with ours.
I largely abstained from this myself . . . I don't need the extra calories in all truth. I did have a tiny nibble from the edge. My husband didn't mind. He is used to eating food that has been sitting long enough to have photos taken of it, and nibbles missing. LOL Such is the life of the husband of a food writer! Happy Mother's Day to all you North American ladies out there! I hope you are treated really special today. You deserve it.
Scrambled Heuvos Rancheros Bowls. I wanted to make us something Tex-Mex the other day for our brunch/supper. (More often than not we eat our big meal of the day at noon.)
I quite like Tex-Mex flavours.
Cooking Tex Mex can be somewhat of a challenge over here in the UK, because we can't always get the right ingredients. Its getting better though, thank goodness.
Its improved vastly since Tomasina Miers won Master Chef. She is a huge proponent of Mexican and Tex Mex Flavours and has inspired Brits to want to try them also.
If we could get canned chopped green chilies or green enchilada sauce I would be one very happy camper! Oh how I miss the canned green chilies.
I tend to just buy the jalapenos and roast them myself. Much more work than simply opening a tin I have to say and I am not sure they are quite the same.
I had some leftover cooked potato. So I chopped these up along with some onion and fried them in a bit of oil, seasoning them with salt, pepper and mild chili powder until golden brown.
They smelled delicious when they were frying. Oh, I do so love a fried potato.
I heated some cooked pinto beans with some salsa in the microwave.
You could use a small tin of refried beans in their place if you wanted to.
Then I scrambled some eggs along with some cheddar, green Tabasco sauce and milk. Delicious!
If you haven't tried the Green Tabasco Sauce, you really need to. I would not be without it now.
I also warmed some tortillas in my favourite way of doing so. I just hold them over the flame of a gas burner until the bubble and turn golden brown.
I had all of my other ingredients ready to go, or mise en place as it is called in restaurants.
Once everything was heated and cooked, I was set to go and go I did . . .
So easy . . .
Each bowl got a layer of browned potatoes, topped with some of the beans, and finally the scrambled eggs.
I sprinkled cheese over top, which melted perfectly from the heat of the eggs . . .
A scattering of crumbled back bacon, some spring onions and a nice splash of green Tabasco sauce and we were good to go!
Yield: 2
Scrambled Huevos Rancheros Bowls
prep time: cook time: total time:
Tex Mex Flavours served in individual bowls along with your favourite accompaniments! Makes a great breakfast or even a light supper.
ingredients:
- 2 tsp light olive oil
- 175g cooked potato cut into cubes (1 1/2 cups)
- 1 small onion, peeled and diced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- black pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp mild chili powder
- 1 small can of pinto beans (250g/7 1/2 ounces), drained and rinsed
- 90g grated strong cheddar cheese (3/4 cup, divided)
- 120ml tomato salsa (1/2 cup)
- 2 corn or flour tortillas (heated)
- 1 spring onion, trimmed washed and thinly sliced
- 1/2 TBS butter
- 3 large free range eggs, beaten with a fork
- 1 TBS milk
- 1 tsp green Tabasco sauce
Optional accompaniments:
- cooked bacon or sausage, crumbled
- chopped or grilled fresh tomatoes
- green or red hot sauce
- salsa as desired
instructions:
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add the potatoes and onions. Season with salt, pepper and chili powder, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Remove and keep warm.
- Heat the pinto beans in the microwave along with the tomato salsa. Keep warm.
- Wipe out the skillet. Beat the egg together with 1/3 of the cheese, the milk and the green Tabasco sauce. Heat the butter in the skillet until it begins to foam. Tip in the egg mixture. Let sit for about 30 seconds and then with a wooden spatula start to scrape the cooked egg from the outside into the centre of the pan, folding and stirring as you go. Don’t rush it. You don’t want to over cook them, neither do you want to under cook them. You just want to cook them until they all pull together into soft creamy lumps, not dry curds. This should take several minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Bear in mind that they will continue to cook as they sit.)
- Scoop the cooked potato mixture into two heated pasta bowls or serving plates. Top each with a portion of beans. Divide the hot scrambled eggs between the bowls. Top with cheese, then spring onions.
- Serve immediately with your hot tortillas and any desired accompaniments.
Created using The Recipes Generator
This was simple, hearty and delicious. I served some extra salsa on the side and I had grilled some tomatoes that we ate along with them as well. Yummy yummy!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
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