SOMETIMES LESS IS MORE

One of my favorite things about authentic ethnic foods is their simplicity. Sure, there are plenty of complicated dishes - hello, mole! But at the same time, the more common everyday foods are just a few fresh ingredients put together to make fantastic eats. Some of my favorites are the grilled Japanese foods~ it doesn't get any more simple than that. Or, fresh Tabouleh. Cuban dishes like fried pork and black beans. Guacamole. The French and their eggs; Poached. Fried. Omelettes. Crepes. 

So today, when wondering what to have for breakfast, I found myself looking at some leftover bread from yesterday and a carton of fresh eggs and I thought, keep it simple. A pat of butter on the bread, pop it under the broiler for a minute or two. Poach the eggs, and garnish with flakey sea salt and fresh ground pepper. It was, perfect.  And had I had a glass of rose' as well, I would have swore I was back in Paris. 

BLOOD ORANGE POUND CAKE

'Tis the season for blood oranges. And they are really yummy. They grow them here in California now, so they're easier to get than they used to be. And if you've never had one, you should try them. They're richer than a regular orange, not as acidic, and have almost a floral essence to them.

I only had 3 oranges, but wanted to make something. There are always a ton of eggs, so how about a treat for my husband - a pound cake?


I juiced the oranges, strained the pulp, then reduced it a little with a few tablespoons of sugar. I used only 3, but you could easily have 3 times as many oranges to make a richer syrup, just reduce it down so you don't water down your cake batter.




Make your cake batter (pound cake is easy: cream 1/2 lb butter in mixer then slowly add 2C sugar. Add 6 whole eggs, one at a time. Add 1 Tbsp Vanilla. Finally, fold in 2C of sifted flour by hand. Grease your pan. Cook at 350 for 35-50 min depending on size of pan used).

I put a small amount of the blood orange syrup on the top and carefully swirled it around.


These single serving sized dishes were done in about 35 min.

EGG SALAD WITH TRUFFLE ESSENCE

My local market always has eggs on sale. I have no idea why. Buy one, get one free. At first I thought they must be junk eggs or something, but actually they're not. They're fine. So... how can you buy a carton of eggs, and not take the free carton? You don't, you take both cartons. Now you have way too many eggs. Ugh. And I can't be making pound cake and hollandaise all the time... we'd be fat as cows. So, I usually end up throwing half the eggs away. Yes, I toss out the free eggs. Not always, but a lot. And it kills me -KILLS ME I tell you- to throw out yolks. You know, for things like egg white omelets. And I'm not a dessert person, so making egg-white desserts like Angel Food cake is just not "me." If the eggs expire, then so be it. They get tossed. But sending a perfectly healthy yolk down the drain... just can't do it.

So anyway, looking at the twelve thousand eggs in my garage fridge on Sunday, I realized I need to make something quick or they'd be tossed. How about egg salad? Theo loves egg salad. I'll have him go to the French bakery, C'est Si Bon, and get a fresh baguette, and then we'll have a killer egg salad sandwich for brunch.

When I make egg salad, I like to mash the eggs, rather than cut them. It makes it creamier and richer. Toss with a couple good glugs of Best Food Light Mayo (it's almost identical in flavor to the full fat BF and it's much better for you) and a fair amount of salt & pepper. Yum. But what else could I do though to make this special? It is Sunday after all. Ooooo I know! How about truffle oil! Truffles and eggs are a perfect match. And how about some crispy bacon.

Oh yeah. It was good. Very good.

EGG FOO YOUNG - MY VERSION

This is the way my Mom made it. She said she got this recipe from a Chinese cookbook, but it's really like no egg foo young that I've ever had in any Chinese restaurant. I hate restaurant egg foo young because it's usually too bread-like. I like this version much better.

This is not an exact science, and you can't really screw it up. Basically.... it's eggs, rice and bean sprouts. It can be thick or soupy and will pretty much taste the same once cooked up - but I suggest a medium consistancy.

Get a dozen eggs - use 8-9 whole eggs, then the rest just use the whites. Then 2 cups cooked rice sauteed with a bit of veg oil, 1 or 2 diced bell peppers, one bunch sliced green onions, and few slices bacon, diced, and cooked (leave bacon fat in pan to sautee rice in). Cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring frequently. Add a few dashes of soy sauce. SO... now you have fried rice, let it cool and then combine the eggs and the rice mixture. Add 2 cans (drained) bean sprouts (or fresh if you like but cook them first). Add a few more dashes of soy sauce, then mix.




Add a few good splashes of oil to a pan, then spoon in like pancakes.


I like to wait until the edges start to get brown and crispy before I turn them.


Make in batches until all done. You can make a sauce for them also with beef or vegetable stock, a few dashes of soy sauce, then thicken with corn starch. :)