Happy 23rd birthday to my bro-in-law Paul! If you’re at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, buy this guy a drink. He’s a hardworking lad that will be graduating next year.
Did you notice the Joy Bauer review badge on the right? That’s because I was asked to check out her new book and cookbook. I will be writing a fair review on at least one very soon since I was kindly given the offer and books. A few of the recipes will be prepared this week in our home so I’ll let you know how that goes.
I am a fan of Joy on the Today Show…Roker is another story…just kidding! Adore him but do you think he can be too mean to Ann sometimes? Anywho…while I’m on offers, I forgot to mention that May was National Egg Month and I was sent a large box of goodies (a skillet, a few spatulas, a whisk, an apron, egg separator, and a few more items) for the occasion. Awesome. Big thanks!
Wish I had been on top of that egg month thing because we eat a lot of eggs around here. The recipes posted would have been plentiful. Not just because we get dozens from our friend’s homestead for free either (ok, maybe a little for that reason). I’ve chatted with these chickens. I know where they come from and how beautiful/vivid the yolk is. It’s wonderful.
Greg has transformed me into an egg-eating machine. As a young person, I was not into them. Picky eater. We eat almost 2 dozen between the two of us in a week these days. Hard or soft boiled, over easy (my preferred way), scrambled, as frittatas or omelettes, baked, topping pasta, salads, stratas, spicy huevos rancheros and so on. Making up for that lost time.
The recipes today come from the past where eggs are the focus. What’s your preferred way to eat the shelled beauties? Do share.
Bacon and Egg Cups with Potatoes, Parmesan and Squash Blossoms
Makes 6
Ingredients:
6 slices of bacon
3 small potatoes, diced (I used tiny purple)
1 medium zucchini, diced
6 tsp fresh rosemary (or herb of your choice) or 3 tsp dried, divided into 6 parts
6 tbsp heavy cream
3 tbsp butter
6 large eggs
grated Parmesan
salt/pepper
squash blossoms, torn-optional (I had some on hand)
Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly coat 6 muffin tin cups with oil. In a skillet, cook the bacon until cooked but not crisp. Line the sides of the cups with a slice of bacon. In the same skillet, keep about ½ tablespoon of the bacon grease, remove the remaining, and cook the potatoes until tender. If you don’t have that much leftover grease, add some butter or oil.
Place the potatoes and zucchini in the bottom of the 6 cups, divided evenly, making sure the bacon stays on the side. Top the potato mixture with 1 tsp of rosemary, 1 tbsp of cream and ½ tbsp of butter in each cup. Crack an egg over the top of each cup, grate the Parmesan over the top of the egg, sprinkle salt/pepper and place the optional torn blossoms on the very top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the egg is set. Serve with toast or a muffin-whatever you desire.
Potato, Dill, Feta and Bacon Omelette
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
½ tbsp olive oil
3 small potatoes, diced (I used red)
5 large eggs
2 tsp cumin
a dash or two of red pepper flakes
2 to 3 sprigs of fresh dill, chopped
¼ cup feta or cheese of your choice, crumbled or grated (Manchego would be yummy)
2 tbsp kalamata olives, pitted and chopped-optional
3 strips cooked bacon, crumbled (or diced ham/shredded prosciutto)
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Over medium heat, melt the butter in a skillet, add the olive oil and fry the potatoes until tender, stirring a few times. In a small bowl, beat the eggs. Add salt/pepper, cumin, red pepper flakes and dill. Lower the heat once the potatoes are cooked to low/medium and add the cheese and olives, top with the egg mixture, swirling the pan to coat the skillet. Make sure the eggs are reaching the heat but don’t fuss with it too much. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until eggs are cooked. Carefully slide onto a plate and top with bacon.
Curried Egg Salad
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 ½ tsp curry powder
1 tsp Dijon mustard
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne
6 hard-boiled large eggs, chopped
1 cup apple, diced (Granny Smith recommended)
1/3 cup red onion, finely chopped
½ stalk celery, chopped
¼ cup cilantro or parsley
bread of your choice
Hard-boiled eggs: Place eggs in a saucepan (single layer), covered by at least an inch of water. Bring to a gentle boil. When it begins to boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool, run under cool water, remove the shells carefully and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Chop for the sandwich.
Whisk mayo, lime juice, curry, mustard, salt and cayenne together in a large bowl. Add the eggs, apple, onion and cilantro or parsley, stir to combine. Now you can make yourself a sandwich. I like my bread toasted but that’s up to you.
For more recipes where eggs are the main attraction, check out:
Tomato and Feta Strata
Mediterranean Cheese Pie
I’ve been going through quite a few eggs myself these days, mostly in the form of hard boiled eggs on my weekday lunch salads and fried, atop a multi-grain pilaf, during the week for a quick, hearty, eat-in-the-car breakfast. This past weekend I made single serving omelets for my breakfasts. Saturday was broccoli, tomato and feta and Sunday was broccoli, mushroom and feta. I do also love egg salad, which I’d highly recommend topping with kimchi, if you’re in to that type of fermented thing.
Kimchi on egg salad would be heaven to me. I’ll have to get on that!
I adore eggs…and eventually, we will have our own chicken coops. These both look like amazing egg dishes. In fact, they look so good, I’m going to make a version of those bacon and egg cups now! Thank you for sharing with me, my friend. I hope you have a beautiful weekend that bursts with love, good food and joy.