Category Archives: Eggs

Cheese, Eggs, Low carb, Seafood

Creamy Walleye Scramble, For One

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I may never eat scrambled eggs again without cream cheese!

Even though the fillets were small at less than 3 oz, each, two were too many for me, and three eggs was too much. Still, I persevered 😉

Creamy Walleye Scramble

  • Servings: 1
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • Walleye fillets—my fish, including both fillets, was 5.5 oz. 3-4 oz might be a more typical single serving.
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature
  • butter and olive oil for sauteing
  • salt & pepper
  • optional: fresh or dried herbs, like dill or chives

Preparation

  1. I’m using two of my favorite pans for this dish—stainless steel for cooking and browning the fish and nonstick for making the omelet. That poor nonstick pan has suffered abuse and will need to be replaced soon ☹️
  2. Begin by cooking the fish.
    1. Heat a stainless steel or cast iron pan, because you want some nice browning, over medium-high heat.
    2. Add 2 tablespoons butter or a combination of butter and oil, and as soon as the butter has melted, place the seasoned fillets in and saute for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Turn the fillets and cook the other side.
    3. Set aside while making the eggs. You could loosely cover the fish in the pan with foil, but do not put a lid on and let it steam and get all watery.
  3. To make the eggs:
    1. Whisk 3 eggs in a medium bowl. Don’t be like me and try to pick the smallest bowl possible, so that your egg splashes over the sides.
    2. Whisk in the cream cheese until mostly incorporated. It really doesn’t matter if there are little bits left in it, because they will melt in the cooking.
    3. Heat a nonstick pan over medium to medium-high heat. When hot add 2 tablespoons butter (and a few drops of oil to prevent burning). Add the eggs and let them set for a few seconds. Season with salt and pepper and herbs, if using. Begin to lightly stir and fold with silicone spatula, just to move them around and prevent browning.
    4. Crumble in half your fish, continuing to stir and fold. Remove from heat while the eggs are still moist.
    5. Plate the eggs and crumble the rest of the fish over the top.

Casseroles, Eggs, Game, Meat, Vegetables

Venison Chorizo Frittata

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I was inspired by this dish in the New York Times—Spanish Asparagus Revuelto—which is kind of a scramble with sauteed asparagus and a little (2 oz) Spanish chorizo. I decided to turn it into a frittata and use 1/2 pound Mexican chorizo, made with venison and pork. In addition, instead of browning the asparagus, onion, and bread cubes in the skillet, I roasted them all on a sheet pan. The only item browned in the skillet before adding the eggs, was the chorizo.

I’ll admit that I didn’t even know there were two kinds of chorizo—Spanish and Mexican—when I began, so I guess that’s the biggest adaptation to the original recipe. I made two pounds of the Mexican variety and froze 3/4 of it in 1/2 lb packages.

I also took some advice on the frittata from this article: How to Make a Perfect Frittata, especially the advice about using dairy and not over-baking.

Sourdough bread cubes
Roasted additions

Venison Chorizo

  • Servings: makes 2 pounds
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients
  • 1 lb ground venison
  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 6 teaspoons garlic paste (or 5-6 cloves of garlic, minced)
  • 1 tablespoon ground ancho chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
Preparation
  1. Mix all ingredients thoroughly by hand.
  2. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.
  3. Divide into packages for freezing, if not using at once.

Venison Chorizo Frittata

  • Servings: makes one 12 inch frittata
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients
  • 1/2 lb venison chorizo
  • 1/2 lb asparagus, washed, trimmed, and cut in 2 inch pieces
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 1/2-2 cups diced sourdough bread
  • 8 large eggs
  • 3/8 cup whole milk
  • olive oil + seasoning
Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 375° for roasting the frittata additions. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Toss the cut asparagus with 1 tablespoon oil and spread on baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Toss bread cubes with 2 tablespoons oil and spread on baking sheet.
  4. Cut onion in slices or wedges and drizzle a little oil over them on the baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Roast all for about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
  6. Reduce oven temperature to 350° while you prepare the frittata.
  7. Heat a 12″ cast iron pan over medium high heat. Add 2-3 tablespoons of oil, depending on the fat content of your sausage.
  8. Brown the sausage thoroughly.
  9. While the sausage is cooking, whisk or beat together the eggs and milk. Add about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
  10. Stir the asparagus and onion into the cooked sausage. Pour the egg mixture over all. Arrange bread cubes over top and place pan in oven.
  11. Bake for about 20 minutes. Take care not to over-bake.
  12. Cut in wedges to serve.

Cakes, Dessert, Eggs, Fruit

Cherry Clafoutis with Coconut Milk

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When I went to buy fruit for the blueberry crumble of a few days ago, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to use, so I came home with blueberries, peaches, and Bing cherries (not named for the crooner). Even though it seems soon for another dessert, those cherries were expensive and wouldn’t last forever, so I decided on another clafoutis with coconut milk, but I chose a different recipe as base, mostly because the batter is made in the blender.

After stemming and pitting the 2.5 lbs of cherries—and regretting not wearing gloves—it was incredibly simple to whip up the batter and get it into the oven. Luckily, we aren’t having the high humid temperatures of the last few days, so the oven didn’t overheat the house. I had 5 cups of pitted cherries and used 3 cups for the clafoutis. I’ll use the remaining 2 cups in a savory cherry sauce to eat with our next grilled pork dish.

I started with this recipe from Saveur, and then I made only a minor change or two, including using a rectangular baking dish. Unlike the pear clafoutis I made not long ago, this one uses 6 eggs, and that has a wonderful effect on the final dough. It’s eggy like the center of a baked cream puff before you pull out those moist strands to fill it. I like that most clafoutis recipes are low in sugar—this one uses only 3/8 cup for a dish that serves eight. Very unlike the blueberry crumble that I could only eat in tiny amounts.

I’m still looking for stray drops of cherry juice splatter

Cherry Clafoutis with Coconut Milk

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: easy
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Adapted from Saveur “Cherry Clafoutis”: http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Cherry-Clafoutis

Preheat oven to 425°; butter a dish that holds about 8 cups of batter with room to rise. The original recipe suggests a 9″ skillet; my 11″ x 7″ dish worked well and is about 4 inches high.

Ingredients
  • butter to grease baking dish
  • 1 1/4 cups full fat coconut milk
  • 3/8 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 6 eggs
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 3 cups pitted Bing cherries
Preparation
  1. Combine coconut milk, sugar, vanilla, eggs, and salt in blender just for a few seconds.
  2. Add the flour and blend for 1 minute or until smooth.
  3. Distribute 3 cups of cherries, or however many will fit in one layer, in bottom of baking dish.
  4. Pour batter over cherries and bake for 30 minutes until puffed and golden.

Lightly sweet, eggy and tart, this is a wonderful summer dessert to highlight ripe cherries.

 

Casseroles, Eggs, Pasta

Spaghetti Ricotta Frittata

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That’s a lot of Ts for one short title.

I had leftover angel hair pasta, dressed with olive oil, bacon fat, and Parmesan cheese, so I’m making a frittata. I think some whole-milk ricotta, a little more Parmesan, and some bacon will round out the flavors and creaminess. I like to pulse ricotta in the food processor until it’s very creamy and smooth, but you wouldn’t have to do that. I’m leaving out any watery vegetables, preferring to have them on the side; If you want to include them, make sure to cook them first and to choose the vegetable wisely. Sometimes we try to pile too much into a dish, when simplicity is enough. I’m only using 6 eggs, which is a little light for all the pasta I have, but I can’t justify more eggs just for myself; if you have a crowd, I suggest using 8-12 eggs with a half pound of leftover pasta.

Spaghetti Ricotta Frittata

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Preheat oven to 350°

1 small onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1/2 lb (more or less) leftover pasta, preferably without sauce

4-6 slices thick-sliced bacon, browned and diced

6 eggs

1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta, pulsed until creamy in a food processor

4 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated

1/4 cup whole milk

olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

  1. In a 10″ or 12″ cast iron or other non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. SautĂŠ the onion and bell pepper until softened and the onion is translucent, but not browned. Season to taste.
  2. Toss in the leftover pasta to warm, but not brown. Add more oil if necessary. My pasta already had oil on it.
  3. Toss in the chopped bacon. Turn off heat under pan.
  4. Whisk the eggs together with the ricotta,  3 tablespoons Parmesan, and milk. Pour over the pasta, vegetables, and bacon. Press down the pasta lightly. My egg mixture came just to the top of the pasta, but if you are using a larger quantity, yours may cover the pasta. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese over the top.
  5. Place pan in preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes. If you used 8-12 eggs, bake until the edges are done and the center is still a little jiggly. Remove from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before cutting.

Your frittata will differ depending on the amount of pasta and eggs you use. A frittata is really a baked omelet, but the addition of pasta turns it into more of a casserole. I did not choose to use the kinds of cheeses that melt, but you might like to use a cheddar or Gruyere  for that kind of texture.

Looks like I know what my lunch will be tomorrow.