Category Archives: Main Course

Chorizo Eggs

There was a little dried Spanish chorizo left over from a project in the test kitchen and I had a craving for spicy eggs a while ago, and chorizo eggs were born. These have become a test kitchen favorite and are perfect for a light supper, brunch or late breakfast. (I’m not a breakfast right away kind of person, I need a few hours before I can figure out what it is I feel like eating by which time I’m usually ravenous and craving something very savory.)

I just have to tell you though, the texture of these eggs poached over the tomatoes is super silky and tender, in short – simply wonderful. I’ve written the recipe as a one hungry person portion. You could slide a third egg in there if you wanted to feed one not so hungry person and one hungry person. To feed more than that or a crowd (or as many people as your skillet will hold eggs), you won’t need to scale the oil up evenly, a tablespoon or two is all that is needed even for a crowd, just enough to release all those wonderful flavors from the chorizo, crisp it up a little bit and give the tomatoes some fat to soften in.

2 teaspoons oil
1/2 oz. chorizo (not fresh chorizo), finely chopped
2 plum tomatoes, chopped (or a about two cups of grape tomatoes or one medium tomato – use whatever you have on hand, if you don’t quite have two cups don’t worry, a little less tomato just makes it a bit more chorizo-ey.)
2 scallions, chopped, white and green parts separated
finely chopped, seeded jalapeno to taste
2 large eggs
grated Cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack or a combination
hot sauce, warm tortillas and cilantro for serving (chopped avocados are nice too)

1. Heat the oil in a small non-stick skillet. Cook the chorizo in the oil over fairly brisk heat
until it begins to sizzle a bit, around 2 or 3 minutes. The oil should turn that nice orangey color from the spices in the chorizo and the chorizo should begin to
brown on the edges a little.

2. Add the tomatoes and the white and pale green parts of the scallions. Cook the tomatoes, stirring now and then, until they soften but not to the point where they begin to dry up, it should be a bit saucy.

3. Slide the skillet off the heat and crack the eggs one at a time onto the tomato mixture. Use the egg to indent the tomato mixture slightly as you open the cracked egg onto it
(alternatively, use the back of a spoon to make a slight indent into which you can crack the egg).

4. Cover the skillet, return it to the heat bring it to a brisk simmer. Allow the eggs to poach until just opaque and still jiggly – about 2 minutes. The two minute mark holds for two eggs or twelve eggs. If you are unsure you can check doneness by giving the white part of one of the eggs a gentle poke with a knife, it should be soft and set not clear and runny.

5. Remove the skillet from the heat, sprinkle the eggs with cheese and re-cover the skillet.Allow the skillet to sit until the cheese melts, about two minutes more. The cheese should melt and the eggs should finish cooking without having to return the skillet to the heat but if you like a lot of cheese (or eggs that are not runny) you may need to return the skillet to
the heat for a few seconds. Just briefly bring it back to a simmer before allowing it to rest while the cheese melts. Be careful, it is easy to over cook the eggs at this point.

Sprinkle with the scallion greens and serve as soon as possible with hot sauce and warm tortillas. Some folks like a little cilantro on top as well. For a crowd, set out your tortillas,
hot sauce and any other fixings, serve the eggs right in the skillet and let people help
themselves. I’ve gotten as many as 12 eggs in a 12-inch skillet.

photo 5_2

Spiedies

On the recommendation of folks with local knowledge, I first had spiedies (pronounced speed-eez) in Montrose, Pennsylvania at The Stables Restaurant. It is popular enough that supermarkets in the area carry several brands of of bottled spiedies sauce. Having had a pleasant spiedie experience, I brought a bottle home with me and proceeded to make some of my own. During grilling season I keep a jar in the refrigerator to help solve the “what am I going to make for dinner” conundrum. Our favorite is chicken served over a salad with a creamy dressing like ranch or pictured above, caesar. The leftovers make a nice sandwich with a garlicky mayonnaise and crisp lettuce.

Along the way I got curious as to how a vinegary, garlicky, herby mixture for cubed, skewered, grilled meat came to be called spiedies. Wikipedia informs me:that it originated in Endicott, New York (about an hour drive north of Montrose); just about any kind of meat gets spiedied, there is a Spiedie Fest in Binghamton, New York every August; it is usually served on a roll, and if metal skewers are used they are called “spiedie rods”. I tried the word in Google Translate and “detecting Italian”, it suggested “spiedi” – skewer in Italian. Which seems as good an explanation as any.

Spiedie Marinade

1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon parsley flakes, crushed
1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves, crushed
2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
3 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika 1/2 cup corn oil

Combine vinegar with everything but the oil. Toss with cubed meat and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or over night. Marinade keeps in the refrigerator in a sealed container almost indefinitely. Since everything tends to settle to the bottom, give it a good shake before using.

Yields 3/4 cup, enough for 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of meat.

Asian Chicken Noodle and Wild Mushroom Soup

I found these oyster mushrooms yesterday while walking the dog and the whole reason for starting a blog was immediately reinforced; I get to share them with you!

I started gathering a few years ago, my gateway species was ramps. Looking for wild mushrooms for me has some of the excitement of hunting but easier since they sit still and you don’t need a gun. I decided to learn about mushrooms the last really rainy summer we had since they were popping up everywhere and the park was filled with people picking mushrooms, I mean five gallon buckets filled with mushrooms. One gentleman was kind enough to explain what he was gathering and how he identified them, but I never felt confident enough to trust what I was picking. So I got a book or two, began looking around on Youtube, and went on a few gathering walks with Steve Brill (a.k.a. Wildman). It turns out Steve lives around the corner from me so I was able to bring some of my earliest finds to him for verification and peace of mind before feeding them to my family. If you do decide to gather wild mushrooms, educate yourself thoroughly and take no chances.

In addition to amazing depths of flavor, wild mushrooms can be incredibly aromatic. (Sometimes you can smell black trumpets in the woods before you can see them.) These oyster mushrooms were so fragrant they overpowered the smell of wet dog on the ride home. This soup is one of my favorite uses for oyster mushrooms so as soon as I spotted them I knew I would be making this for dinner.

This soup changes a little from year to year depending upon which vegetables I am keeping around. Right now I seem to always have baby bok choy on hand so in they went. If there is a zucchini around it might end up in there, likewise for a leek or snow peas or sugar snap peas. Feel free to toss in what you have around. You can use left-over cooked chicken or even omit the chicken entirely and make it with tofu for a vegetarian version. Don’t feel like you need to go out and buy wild oyster mushrooms, it works with crimini, shitaki, even white mushrooms will work in a pinch. But you get the idea – it is a forgiving pot of soup which is the best kind.

2 teaspoons (10 mL) oil
1 pound (453 g) boneless skinless chicken thighs
1-2″ (5 cm) piece ginger root, peeled and cut into fine julienne or finely chopped
1- large carrot, julienned or sliced thin
1- large rib celery, julienned or sliced thin
8 ounces (225 g) mushrooms sliced, or if you are using oyster mushrooms, cut into pieces
1- large clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup (125 mL) mirin, or sherry
4 cups (1 L) chicken stock or vegetable stock, reduced sodium
3 baby bok choy (8 oz./ 225 g) cut into bite size pieces, rinsed and spun dry
3 scallions, sliced thin (white and green parts)
1/3 cup (80 mL) slightly packed cilantro leaves (or more if you like cilantro)
2 tablespoons (15 mL) Tamari Soy Sauce, or regular soy sauce
2 teaspoons (10 mL) sesame oil
8 ounces (225 g) broad egg noodles

Trim any excess fat from the chicken thighs. Pat them dry and season lightly with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large-ish pot (4 quarts or larger) over medium high to high heat. Cook the thighs until nicely browned and cooked through. (About 10 – 15 minutes.) Set the chicken aside while you proceed with the rest of the soup. While the chicken is cooking, set a pot of water on the stove to boil for the noodles.
Add the ginger to the oil in the pot. Cook the ginger, stirring until it is very fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the carrot and celery and cook until the carrot is slightly softened and the celery is slightly transparent, about 2 minutes.
Add the Mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring until the mushrooms are softened (about 5 minutes,depending upon how large the pieces are.)
Add the Aji Mirin, bring to a boil, and scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pot.
Add the stock and bring to a boil. Let the soup simmer for 5 minutes or so until the mushrooms are thoroughly cooked. While the soup is simmering, cut the chicken into bite size pieces, drop the noodles into the pot of boiling water and cook the noodles.
Stir the chicken and bok choy into the soup and cook for a minute or two.
Add the sliced scallions, cilantro leaves, soy sauce and sesame oil and remove from the heat. Drain the noodles.
To serve: divide the noodles between 4 deep bowls, then ladle the soup over the noodles.