Showing posts with label Eggs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eggs. Show all posts
Twice Baked Cheese Soufflés. I am really excited to share this recipe with you today for these fool proof twice baked cheese soufflé. Wonderfully rich and incredibly easy to make, the recipe makes 6 individual soufflés.
These are just perfect for when you are wanting a nice light supper. They are also great as a first course when you are entertaining as they can totally be made ahead, napping with cream and cheese and reheating just prior to your needing to serve them.
Quick, easy and convenient, what more can you ask for? Not a lot I tell you. These are fabulous!
I discovered the recipe many years ago when I was waiting in the Doctor's office when I was living down in Brenchley. I discovered it in a magazine in the waiting room, copied it out onto paper and have been making them ever since.
In fact, they were a real favorite in the Manor where I worked also. They just loved them! I served them at various functions and they were actually something which was I requested to leave in the refrigerator for them to heat up at the weekends on occasion.
A lot of people are really intimidated by the idea of making soufflés, but trust me when I tell you these are very simple to make. I have never had the go wrong. Never.
They also use incredibly simple ingredients. Eggs, flour, milk, butter, grainy mustard, a good cheddar, an onion, some seasonings and aromatics and cream to finish. Nothing extraordinary here. Nothing.
It should go without saying that you want to use a really good cheddar cheese for these. I like to use a quality extra sharp cheese. This will give you a lovely flavor.
Oh how I am going to miss the great cheddars I was able to buy in the UK. They made the absolute best cheddar cheese there. Rich and delicious.
Just buy the best that you can get and you will be okay. Since cheddar is one of the main flavoring ingredients, this is really important.
The recipe does require the use of whole milk. Don't be tempted to stint on this. You will not get as nice of a result if you use low fat milk.
The milk is steeped with the flavor of a whole peeled onion, bay leaf and a whole clove. This adds additional flavor.
The milk is used to form the basis of the soufflés, which is basically a very thick cream sauce into which you will melt most of the cheese and beat in the egg yolks. If you can make a cream sauce, you can do this.
The only thing you really need to be careful of here is that you don't scramble the egg yolks. Whisk the creamy cheese mixture until it is lukewarm and then beat in the yolks one at a time. This is also when you add the grainy mustard.
You can use any whole grain mustard you like, but I, personally, like a Dijon style of grainy mustard.
Next thing you do is to whisk your egg whites until stiff and begin folding them into your mixture. This is best done in thirds. Stir the first third in and then fold in the remainder.
Its okay to have a few visible streaks of egg white. What you don't want to do is to knock all of the air out.
These are baked initially in well buttered single sized ramekins. Straight sided ones work best. Butter them really well so that they don't stick.
The filled ramekins are put into a roasting tin and boiling water is added to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. This is called a Bain Marie.
I always find this a lot easier to do if I put the roasting tin holding the ramekins into the oven first and then add the water, carefully from the side.
That's it! This initial bake will see the rise beautifully. Once this is done, you simply need to tip the out into another baking dish, nap them with some cream, dust with more cheese and bake again.
This is where you can do them ahead of time. You can do everything but the final napping and baking well ahead of time, even up to a day ahead, which makes them perfect for entertaining!
Just make them to that point, pop them into a baking dish, and cover with some plastic cling film, if you are going to bake them all at once. If you are going to bake them in smaller numbers, then just pop them into a plastic container with a lid.
Then you can just take out as many as you need when you need them. Pop into your baking dish, nap with the cream, sprinkle on the additional cheese and bake. Easy peasy!
They rise again beautifully on the second bake and end up with a lovely cheesy crust, not to mention that rich cream sauce. DELICIOUSLY simple!
For a luncheon all you need is a tossed salad on the side. For a heartier supper I would add some cooked vegetables on the side.
I have never frozen these so I can't say for sure if you can successfully do that or not. I suggest you freeze one and see how that works before you freeze them all. (Freeze one, then thaw and bake as below.)
These truly are simple to make and fabulously tasty. I really hope you will be inspired to give them a go!
Twice Baked Cheese Soufflés
Yield: 6
These are wonderfully rich and light and so very easy to make. I got the recipe from out of a magazine in the Doctor's waiting office one day (I couldn't begin to tell you which one) and I brought it home and adapted it to our tastes. They have become a firm favourite in my repertoire.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup (300ml) whole milk (1 1/4 cup)
- 1/2 of a small onion, peeled and studded with 1 clove and 1 bay leaf
- 3 TBS (40g) butter, plus more for greasing
- 1/3 cup (40g) plain flour
- 1 1/4 cup (150g) of good strong cheddar, grated and divided
- 1 TBS coarse grainy mustard
- salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg to taste
- 3 large free range eggs, separated
- 1 cup (240 ml) of double cream
Instructions
- Place the milk in a small pan along with the onion, clove and bay leaf. Bring slowly just to the boil, then remove it from the heat and leave it to infuse for 30 minutes. At the end of that time, remove the onion, clove and bay leaf and discard.
- Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F.
- Take another pan and place it over medium heat. Melt the butter in this, then stir in the flour. Cook, stirring until smooth and completely amalgamated, for about one minute.
- Remove from the heat. Add the infused milk in a slow and steady stream, whisking the whole time. Return to the heat and cook, stirring, until thickened and just beginning to boil. Remove from the heat.
- Stir in 1 cup (125g) of the grated cheese and all of the grainy mustard. Season well with salt and pepper and a good grating of fresh nutmeg. Whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time.
- Butter six medium ramekins well and place them into a large shallow roasting tin.
- Beat the egg whites until stiff with an electric whisk. Stir about a third of the egg whites into the cheese mixture to help slacken it and then gently fold in the rest.
- Spoon and divide the mixture evenly into the buttered ramekins.
- Carefully add boiling water to the roasting tin to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins and then carefully place the roasting tin into the heated oven. (If you have strong oven racks it is probably best to place the roasting tin into the oven first and then add the water)
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are well risen and nicely browned on top.** (see notes below)
- Remove from the oven and remove from the roasting tin, placing them on a wire rack to cool. Increase the oven temperature to 220*C/425*F.
- Once they are cooled enough to handle, carefully tip them out onto the palm of your hand, one at a time, and place them, right sides down, into a buttered baking dish large enough to hold all six of them.
- Season the double cream with some salt and black pepper and spoon it evenly over top of each souffle. Sprinkle the remaining grated cheddar cheese evenly over top.
- Place back in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, or until they are well risen and the cream is bubbling and the cheese is melted and beginning to brown nicely. Serve hot.
Notes:
**You can complete the recipe to the end of the first baking and put them in a buttered dish, cover them, and then store them in the refrigerator for up to a day ahead before proceeding. Bring them to room temperature before finishing them off as outlined in the recipe.
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One of my favorite store cupboard ingredients has to be ready-made potato gnocchi! They come in really handy for all sorts. I tend to use them just as I would cooked potatoes much of the time.
Pan-fried potato gnocchi is especially delicious! You can use them as a delicious dish or as I have done here today, as one half of a lazy, hearty and tasty supper for two!
This is a delicious adaptation of a recipe I love which is found in Tessa Kiros cookery book entitled, "Apples for Jam." That has to be one of my favorite cookbooks, and one of the few that I chose to bring back to Canada with me.
One of the reasons I love this book so much is because it is filled with simple recipes that are very family friendly and easy to execute. I can be rather a lazy cook it seems. Although I do love both to cook and to eat, I try hard to get in and out of the kitchen as quickly as possible most of the time.
Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to pulling out the stops when it comes to cooking for guests, or for special occasions. When it comes to ordinary every day meals, however, quick and easy is generally my rule of thumb.
There is a fabulous recipe in that cookery book for sautéed potatoes and egg. Its one of our favorite things to make on Sundays after church. Potatoes are peeled and boiled until tender, and then dropped into a mixture of hot olive oil and butter.
The fat is flavored with bashed garlic cloves and fresh sage leaves. They really impart a lovely flavor to the fat and in turn really give the potatoes a lovely flavor when they are cooked in it as well.
The potatoes get all golden brown and crispy edged, the middles remaining meltingly tender. The sage leaves are also quite tasty when they are fried crisp like that. (Don't worry if you can't get fresh sage. You can easily use a bit of dried sage in its place. But fresh is better if you can get it.)
Once the potatoes are all crisp and golden brown you drop a couple of large eggs into the middle of them and cook them until they are crisp edged as well. DELICIOUS!
Quick and easy as well.
The good news is that you can cook potato gnocchi in much the same way! Yay!! I love potato gnocchi. To be honest, using a package of potato gnocchi is even easier than using regular potatoes! Its also a lot quicker!
If you use refrigerated gnocchi, there is no need to boil them first. You can simply just drop them into the hot oil. I have never used the sweet potato gnocchi for this, but I think they would also be incredibly delicious as well.
I always like to use large free range eggs. I like to use RSPCA approved if I can get them. I know if they are RSPCA approved then they truly are free range. I have no desire to support an industry which is cruel to animals for whatever purpose.
It has been my experience that quite often what masquerades as free-range hens are not much better off than caged hens. True, they are not in cages, but they are often kept in pens in huge numbers. Often the conditions are not at all what you think they are or should be.
When I was a much younger woman, my first husband came from a farming family. I often used to work in the egg grading house at the weekend, grading the eggs. They had a huge battery of laying hens. I never ventured beyond the doorway to see inside the battery. I am sure if I had of done my heart would have broken.
This was some 46-47 years ago now, and what was seen as being acceptable back then is certainly not acceptable now. Things have changed a great deal and I am happy for that.
If you are lucky enough to know someone who has hens or even if you have laying hens yourself, those are the best eggs of all! Happy eggs from happy hens!
With beautiful big yellow yolks. Sometimes even a double yolker. Now that is an extra special treat.
I love the way the eggs cook in this dish. All ruffle edged and golden brown on the edges as well. I like to leave the yolks a tiny bit runny if I can.
All the better for dipping. Toast. Gnocchi. Fingers. (Oops did I just say that out loud? I think I did!!)
A dusting of freshly grated Parmesan cheese is drifted over the top of the eggs and the gnocchi, completing the dish. The quantities I have given is for two servings, but you can easy double this up if you wish.
If doubling every thing up however, I do recommend cooking it in two separate skillets. That way nothing is crowded in the pan and everything gets perfectly golden and crisp as it should do. This is the perfect lazy day supper!
You are sure to find this to be so, so, so very tasty! Puffy little potato gnocchi, gilded until golden brown in a mixture of olive oil and butter infused with sage and garlic.
Two fresh organic free range eggs broken over top and fried until the edges of the eggs are crisp, the golden yolks still runny and just waiting for your fork to dip one of those little gilded gnocchi in.
Pan Fried Potato Gnocchi & Egg
Yield: 2
Cook time: 20 MinTotal time: 20 Min
This makes a hearty, quick and simple supper for two. A variation on my regular posh egg and chips recipe.
Ingredients
- a generous pound (500g) of refrigerated potato Gnocchi
- 2 TBS good quality olive oil
- 1 TBS butter
- 2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and bruised and left whole
- 3 springs of fresh sage
- 2 large free range eggs, at room temperature preferably
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Finely grated Parmesan Cheese (grate it yourself, preferably)
Instructions
- Put a pot of lightly salted water on to boil. Place the olive oil and butter in a large nonstick skillet along with the garlic and sage. Heat gently while you cook the gnocchi. (Do not allow it to brown.)
- Cook the Gnocchi according to the package directions. Once they are done and float to the surface, scoop out with a slotted spoon and drop into the infused and heated oil/butter mixture.
- Turn the heat up and cook, stirring occasionally until they begin to turn golden brown and the sage leaves crisp up. If the garlic looks like it is going to burn, lift it out and place on top of some of the gnocchi. Make two hollows in the bed of gnocchi and drop an egg into each.
- Cover with a lid and cook over medium low heat, just until the whites are set. Season to taste with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Serve at once, divided in half and placed onto heated plates. Sprinkle some cheese on each serving. The gnocchi is delicious dipped into the egg yolks.
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One of the first days I was staying here in Quarantine, I decided to make myself a Frittata for my dinner. I was still suffering from jet lag and, although I was hungry, I was lacking in energy and inspiration!
My sister had left me some eggs in the refrigerator. I have always held to the premise that if you have eggs in the fridge, you always have a delicious meal in the making!
Frittata are one of those things that you can whip up with next to nothing. All you really need are eggs and some kind of milk/cream. Add to that any combination of vegetables and proteins, and you have a tasty meal in the making!
They are very similar to an omelet, however there is no rolling involved. Just pop your filling ingredients into a skillet, pour the egg mixture over top, let it set on the bottom and then finish it off in the oven! Easy peasy!
On this particular day I had some leftover cooked potatoes which I wanted to use up and some sliced deli-ham. You can use any kind of luncheon meat, or no meat at all. Bacon, sausage, all work very well.
I chopped the ham and popped it into a skillet along with the potatoes. I had Becel for the fat. But obviously if you have bacon you can cook the bacon first in the skillet and then use the bacon fat to cook anything else.
I also had a big package of baby greens my sister had left for me to use in salads and such. It was a lovely mix of kale, spinach, beet greens, etc. I thought they would work very well in a frittata.
I added them to the skillet along with a clove of minced garlic and a chopped spring onion. One thing about Greens is they wilt very quickly and give a lovely touch of colour.
You can really use any kind of vegetable that you want to use, and what you have to hand. Peppers are very good. Asparagus cuts, mushrooms, green beans, etc.
Pretty much any vegetable works well. Just make sure you use a combination of flavours and textures that will work with each other. You know what you like and what you don't like
Once you have your vegetables cooked you will need to spread them out in the pan in an even layer. You will need enough beaten egg and milk to cover them.
I added some cheese to the egg/milk mixture and some chopped rosemary that my sister had left for me. You could use any soft herb, or even a dried herb if that is what you have! You will need enough milk and egg to cover the vegetables in the pan.
Its okay if it doesn't cover them completely. I happen to think a few bits sticking up here and there add interest!
You pour the egg mixture over and let it cook over medium heat without disturbing it until it begins to set. I like it to be set all around the edges and on the bottom. Make sure you have used enough fat with you cooked your vegetables so that it doesn't stick.
Try not to rush that stage or you may risk burning the bottom of your frittata. You will see when it is just about ready because it will start to look dry and pull away from the edges.
After that you can scatter some more cheese on top. I also added some halved cherry tomatoes.
The whole thing ended up looking quite festive I thought with bits of red and green scattered throughout! I'll be honest here, I could not finish it. I only had half of it and the other half I had for breakfast the next morning.
Don't worry if you don't have potatoes, you can use cooked pasta, or even bread or rice! I have used all before and they all work very well!
I ended up with a meal that was delicious, nutritious and healthy as well as being very simple, easy and quick to make! It was also incredibly filling.
I enjoyed it with a mixed tossed salad on the side. You could also add toast if you are exceptionally hungry. The important thing is to have some fun with it! Just use your imagination and whatever you have availabe to use. You might be very surprised at just what you can come up with!
Quarantine Frittata
Yield: 1 (generously)
prep time: 5 Mincook time: 20 Mintotal time: 25 Min
You can make a frittata out of just about anything you have on hand. Simple and quick to make they make for a lovely light supper or lunch!
Ingredients
- 2 large free range eggs
- 2 TBS milk
- 1/2 TBS butter or becel
- 1/4 tsp of chopped fresh herb (I used rosemary)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 slice of deli-ham, chopped
- 2 small cooked new potatoes, chopped
- 1 handful of baby greens
- 1 small clove of garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 spring onion, trimmed and chopped
- 1/3 cup (36g) grated strong cheddar cheese, divided
- 4 or 5 cherry tomatoes halved
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Whisk the eggs, milk, 1/2 of the cheese, and some seasoning together along with the rosemary. Set aside. (If your skillet doesn't have an oven-proof handle, cover it with aluminium foil.)
- Add the butter to a medium non-stick skillet and add the potatoes and chopped ham, seasoning them lightly. Cook, stirring occasion until the potatoes have begun to turn golden brown. Add the baby greens, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring until the greens begin to wilt.
- Spread everything out in the pan and then pour the eggs over top to cover. Cook without stirring until it begins to set on the bottom of the skillet and around the edges. Top with the remaining cheese and halved cherry tomatoes.
- Bang into the preheated oven and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until set through and the cheese has melted.
- Remove from the oven. Let sit for 5 minutes and then serve hot. I served this with a salad.
I confess that my husband and I are not huge breakfast eaters. Most days we will have a bowl of cereal at most. He likes his porridge and I like my granola, enjoyed most days with a spoonful of yogurt and some fresh fruit.
We are not really egg for breakfast people. Normally we will enjoy them at the end of the day for a light supper. These English Muffin Breakfast Pizzas are one of the ways we enjoy them most!
A part of the reason we don't do large breakfasts is that I am always up about four full hours before my husband gets up. I have always been an early riser and I accomplish a lot more during those four hours on my own than I will the whole rest of the day.
I do get hungry however and so I will have my granola normally well before he shows his face. I like to munch on it while I work, be that a bad habit or not. Its just what I do.
Normally we will eat our big meal of the day around 1 pm. A lot of that has to do with natural light. Yes, I am a bit of a slave to blogging. But happily so, I hasten to add.
I like to take all of my photos using natural light. The optimum time for that is earlier in the day, usually around midday. Any later than that and I have to go outside and, to be honest, the UK is usually a bit wet and rainy for that to be very pleasant.
We do eat at normal times when we are having company. Don't worry if you are ever invited for dinner. You won't be required to show up midday! I normally don't blog about our "company" meals.
Thse English Muffin Breakfast Pizzas make for an excellent brunch dish. They are also a great light supper. Especially if you serve a salad on the side!
One thing I really like about them is that they use things I normally have in my larder, refrigerator and freezer. There is nothing complicated here.
English Muffins, eggs, sausage meat and cheese. That's basically all you need. By English Muffins I mean the type of muffin/bun that McDonald's uses for their Egg McMuffins.
I have actually made English Muffins on here before, earlier this year. You can find that recipe here. They are really quite lovely and easy to make!
Mind you, you will want to be making them the day before you make these Breakfast Pizzas. Not on the day. That would just complicate things overly much. And anyone who has been reading me for very long knows I like simple.
The muffins are split and lightly buttered with soft butter and then sprinkled with a bit of garlic powder. POWDER not salt. How much is up to you, but I do suggest that you not leave it out. It really adds a lovely flavour boost.
Over top of that you add some grated cheese. I used a mix of cheddar and red leicester cheeses today because I wanted you to be abl to see the cheese. Our cheddar is naturally white here in the UK, unless you buy dyed and it doesn't show up well in photos.
I do so love British Cheddar Cheese. They invented it and they make some of the best in the world.
I always, always use organic free range eggs and rspca approved if I can get them. The eggs I get from Ocado are always rspca approved. I want to eat happy eggs from happy chickens.
Chickens that have truly been allowed to roam around and peck in the dirt. The only way you can really guarantee that is to buy rspca approved. Most "free-rangers" still live in somewhat crowded conditions, albeit not even close to horrendous as caged hens.
I absolutely refuse to eat a caged hen's egg, or buy them either. I used to grade eggs when I was much younger and married to a farmer's son. I never saw the chickens. The hens were housed in a huge metal building.
I went into the grading room and the eggs would come through the grading machine, all washed and electronically sorted, on a conveyer belt. We had only to pop them onto the correct egg flats. It was tedious, boring and smelly work, but someone has to do it.
This was a great many years before people developed a conscience about such things. I dare say had I known the conditions of the hens I might have been outraged, but I didn't and I wasn't. I was incredibly naïve to say the least.
Not so anymore. I am much more conscious now of where my food comes from. I also try very hard in my own way to stick to certain standards of provenance when it comes to what I eat, drink and wear. In my small way, I like to think I am doing my best and that's what counts.
Back to the food. Eggs, always free range and always large. They just taste better. I think so at any rate. These are simply seasoned with salt and pepper and scrambled.
You will also need a good sausage. Nobody does sausage better than the British. I love British Bangers, and by that I mean good, Butcher sourced, quality British Bangers. Not cheap grocery store sausages that are filled with fat, fillers and chemicals.
Yes, you will pay more for them, but they are worth every penny. I hate the cheap nasty, pasty ones. I love rich meaty and plump quality sausage.
Just skin them, crumble them into a skillet, and scramble fry them until they are perfectly cooked through. And that's it.
Layer the eggs, sausage and more cheese onto the muffin halves and bake. That's it. They don't take long. About 15 minutes maximum! Just long enough for your coffee to brew if you are so inclined.
You can make as few or as many of these as you like! They will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 7 days, in an airtight container. Simply reheat in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds.
You can also make them up to the point of assembly prior to baking, wrap well and freeze for up to three months. Ready to take out and cook when you want them. Simply pop into a preheated oven and bake as below.
English Muffin Breakfast Pizza
Yield: 2
prep time: 10 Mincook time: 15 Mintotal time: 25 Min
Quantities are given for two, but you can easily double or triple to feed more. These egg, sausage and cheesy breakfast pizzas are fabulously simple to make and incredibly tasty!
Ingredients:
- 2 English Muffins, split in half
- 2 breakfast sausages, skinned
- 3 large free range eggs
- 2 TBS softened butter
- garlic powder to sprinkle
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup (60g) grated strong cheddar cheese
- minced chives to sprinkle (optional)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.
- Split your english muffins and place them onto a baking tray. Spread each lightly with the softened butter and then sprinkle with a bit of garlic powder to taste. Top each half with 1 TBS of grated cheese.
- Heat a small skillet over medium heat and crumble in the sausage. Cook, mashing it with a fork and crumbling it, until it is thoroughly cooked through. Remove to a plate lined with paper towel to drain.
- Beat the eggs together with a fork and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Drain most of the fat from the skillet. Add the beaten eggs and scamble fry until just set. Remove from the heat.
- Crumble half of the cooked sausage over the muffin halves, dividing it equally. Top each with 1/4 of the scrambled egg. Crumble the remaining sausage over top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the muffins are lightly toasted and the cheese has melted, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle with the minced chives, if using, and serve immediately.
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