Miso Ramen

I have an obsession with Ramen. My two favorite places in Pittsburgh to go to are Ramen Bar in Squirrel Hill and Fukuda in Bloomfield (my old stomping grounds!) Just Yelping it now, Fukuda is now closed. RIP best ramen ever with pork belly. 

It's crazy how much the restaurant scene in Pittsburgh has changed since I've left!! So many new places to try. To be honest, I'll probably just continue to go to my favorites like OTB. I do want to try the new Smoke location though.

I haven't had ramen yet in Philly but I heard there's some good hipster Jewish ramen in south philly!! My cousin told me about it!! Can't wait to try.

I have had ramen at Momofuku in NYC and it is fantastic. Also when we had ramen in Japan, there were lots of hungover dudes at the same place as us. Ramen = the best hangover food ever I guess?? Either way I'm all about ramen for breakfast.

I found large packets of ramen noodles (instead of the instant ones) at whole foods. You can also find fresh ramen noodles at certain whole foods or Asian grocery stores.

Sorry in advance for sucky pictures. I was in a hurry to eat. Will replace later.

Croque Monsieur Overnight French Toast

Overnight French toast is a staple for my group of high school friends. We've been making it forever. It has gotten us through many a rough morning after lots of crazy nights. You do all the prep the night before and in the morning all you have to do is get up and put it in the oven. Any hungover or sleepy person can do it. Really. Usually we do a sweet version with cream cheese or brown sugar. But this bread pudding takes it to another level. It reminds me of my asparagus and mushroom strata and Laura's croque monsieur sandwich- like if they had a baby this Croque French toast would be it. I found this recipe on the blog Salt and Wind. The original recipe calls for Canadian bacon but I don't know what that is so I didn't use it. I even tried to google it and got even more confused. I fail on the bacon front.

You will need:

1 medium white onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

8 large eggs

1 1/2 cups half and half

2 tbsp Dijon mustard (I used whole grain)

1/8 tsp cayenne powder 

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 pound loaf stale French bread (1 + 1/2 baguettes), cubed 

3 cups shredded cheddar and Gruyere cheese

1 pound thick sliced ham, cut into smaller pieces

Burrito Bowl

On my way home I was really tempted to go to Chipotle but I stopped myself because 1.) Chipotle is kind of expensive and I've been eating out more than usual and 2.) I might as well make that stuff at home. I thought about making a copycat version of their burrito bowl, but I ended up making my own simple version that's more like a normal-ish salad, mostly by cutting out the cilantro rice and adding a scrambled egg.

Burrito Bowl

Serves 1

Handful of salad greens (I used baby kale)

1 chicken thigh

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp veg oil

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, rough chopped

1/2 avocado, cut up

1/4 cup pinto beans

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shedded

1 egg, scrambled

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp salsa or hot sauce (I used Trader Joe's Hatch Valley Salsa)

Maybe a squeeze of lime?

Season both sides of the chicken thigh with the cumin, garlic powder, chili powder and salt. Saute the chicken thigh in the oil over medium high heat for a few minutes, until cooked through. Cut it into bitesize pieces.

Combine the salad greens, cilantro, avocado, pinto beans, cheese, scrambled egg, black pepper and salsa. 

Artichoke Polenta Tart

I came across this recipe from Ann Mah's blog. She lives in Paris (living the dream!) and she wrote a book about her life there. Her blog features all things Paris, recipes, and even more travel. This recipe is originally from a cookbook, Ancient Grains for Modern Meals by Maria Speck. I liked it since the polenta crust is so original and I love polenta. The recipe is perfect for me since it has much less dairy than traditional quiche recipes. 

I actually had all the ingredients except for the artichoke hearts. Nick came back from the store with fresh artichokes, so on the plus side I learned how to prepare them.

For the polenta crust:

2 3/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1  1/4 cups medium grind polenta 
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the filling:
1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions (about 3)
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (14-ounce) jar of artichoke hearts (8 oz drained) drained and chopped

1 roasted red pepper, chopped 

1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

To make the crust, bring water, salt, and cornmeal to a boil whisking occasionally in a large, heavy pot. Decrease heat to medium low and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently to keep the polenta from sticking to the bottom. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring a few times. The polenta will be fairly stiff. Stir in the cheese, egg, and pepper. 

Grease a 10 inch tart pan (mine is pretty shallow so I added another smaller pan). Using a spatula or your fingers, press the polenta into the bottom and sides of the dish. Let sit for 15 minutes. Form a nicer crust if desired.

Meanwhile make the filling. Mix together the yogurt, eggs, and salt. Fold in the rest of the ingredients and pour into crust.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes until filling is golden brown in spots. Let cool for 20 minutes or so before cutting. Warm up in oven before serving if you make this in advance.

Mote Pillo (Hominy Scramble)

Michelle's Vegetarian Tortilla Soup recipe, which includes hominy, reminded of this Ecuadorian dish, mote pillo, so the next time I was at Giant Eagle, I picked up a big can of hominy. I've made the mote pillo, now I've got to make the tortilla soup.

Twilly's dreaming of Ecuador

Mote Pillo

From Laylita's Recipes

Adapted to serve 2 for a small breakfast or side

1 tsp butter
1/4 tsp ground achiote (you could probably sub paprika (normal, not smoked)?)
1/2 onion (or leek), diced
salt & pepper
1/2 lb hominy (I used canned)
2 tbsp milk
2 eggs, whisked
1 tbsp chopped green onions or chives

Eggs Florentine

The first time I made this dish, it was the coldest day we had in Pgh! So we decided not to go out to brunch but rather make food at home. It was complete with cranberry compote and brie french toast and homefries. Nom.

Today is the last day we're working before the Tet holiday. Technically we get a 10 day holiday, but since my Vietnamese is ridiculous I accidentally told my cousin we could go on a beach trip with her family which means 12 days for us!!! We're spending time with my grandparents closer to the city center. Out here, we're on the outskirts of the city and it takes about 40 minutes to get there. We want to go to the center because there's lots of options for food (found French, Italian, Japanese, and even Mexican food) and an organic market. I'm going to gather some ingredients to try and make my grandparents brownies with no measuring cups and basically just a rice cooker, ha. It's supposed to be possible since I read it online anyways...

For each person:
1 egg muffin, split in half and toasted
1 egg, poached
1 slice swiss cheese
few leaves spinach
ground black pepper

Hollandaise sauce:
3 large egg yolks
1 stick butter, melted
1-3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
pinch cayenne pepper
Salt

Whisk the egg yolks in a stainless steel bowl until light in color and frothy. Boil a small pot of water and turn off heat. Place the bowl on top of the pot of water and whisk the egg yolks until thickened (about 2-3 minutes). Make sure the eggs don't cook. Whisking constantly, very slowly add melted butter, then whisk in lemon juice, cayenne and salt. If not serving right away, keep the sauce nearby a warm place (like on the stovetop.  You may need to add 1 drop of boiling water at a time to the sauce if it solidifies.

For a crowd, I place the egg muffins cut side up with a slice of the swiss cheese on each in a 300 degree oven to keep them toasty. Then I make the hollandaise sauce and set it aside while poaching eggs. To poach the eggs, bring a small pot of 2-3 inches of water just barely to a simmer. Lower the heat a bit and add a splash of vinegar to the water. Crack the egg into a small bowl. Using a slotted spoon, swirl the water and add the egg to the middle. Let it sit for about 3 minutes then when it looks done use the slotted spoon to take the poached egg out.
Place a couple spinach leaves on the toasted egg muffin and then place the poached egg on top. If waiting to serve until all the eggs are assembled, you can leave the finished ones in the oven to stay warm. Right before serving spoon a generous tablespoonful of hollandaise right on top of the poached egg. Then garnish with freshly ground pepper and serve!

Breakfast Quesadillas

This is a ridiculously easy breakfast (or breakfast-for-dinner). It's not a recipe, just a recommendation born out of my deep love of Reyna's corn tortillas. 

Prepare one egg per person in whatever way you like. 

Take two tortillas per person - using a hot griddle or skillet (clean - no oil), place one tortilla on the skillet and cover with a thin layer of cheese, then top with the other tortilla. Cook for about a minute on each side or until the cheese is melted. 

Take it off the heat and top with an egg and whatever else you've got: salsa, cilantro, green onions, more cheese, black beans, veggies, pre-cooked meat, etc.

Eat!

Ham & Asparagus Quiche

A pretty classic and delicious spring quiche! It's good for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Post-walk under-table lounging. He would really like some ham.

HAM AND ASPARAGUS QUICHE

Adapted from Simply Recipes

1 pie dough for 9" pan (I used this recipe for pate brisée)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small white onion, finely sliced

1 bunch asparagus, roughly chopped

1 cup ham (cut up deli slices or diced baked ham)

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp nutmeg

3 eggs

1 cup Swiss cheese, grated or cut up slices)

Baked Eggs on Spinach

Other blog posters: do you sometimes accidentally delete your entire post without understanding how it happened?? Or being able to undo it? That has happened to me a couple time now. I think it's the iMac's fancy trackpad's fault. Boo. Anyway, Saturday breakfast! 

I've had my eyes on this recipe for Fontina and Spinach Baked Eggs with Garlic Brown Butter Breadcrumbs for a while, but it looked too complicated for this morning's breakfast. Instead, I made a simpler version more like Saveur's Baked Eggs. It turned out to be pretty delicious/nutritious but there is something to keep in mind: if you are sharing your baked eggs with a crazy person, like my mother, who likes their eggs hard, but you are a sane person who likes their eggs runny, like myself, you should probably cook your baked eggs in separate ramekins and adjust the cooking times.

Adorable pillow or lazy doggie?

This baked egg recipe from Alexandra's Kitchen also looks very delicious and is served on toast, which sounds like a great idea. Next time!

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BAKED EGGS ON SPINACH

Adapted combo of Saveur's Baked Eggs and How Sweet's Fontina and Spinach Baked Eggs

1 or 2 eggs per person

1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1-2 tomatoes, diced or quartered

a couple tbsp of some cheeses: provolone, ricotta, mozzarella...

2-3 tbsp ham or bacon

2 tbsp heavy cream or half and half

Bread crumb topping:

3 tbsp panko or bread crumbs

2 tbsp parmesan

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp dried thyme

salt & pepper