I had forgotten how much I like properly shirred (baked) eggs, until this past Sunday, when I was searching for a simple, yet elegant dish for my wife and I to enjoy for Sunday brunch. I wasn’t in the mood for an omelet and we always tend to do a variation on Benedicts when looking for something a little special so I went digging around in my cookbooks and was reminded of shirred eggs. I hadn’t done something like that in years, so it would be a novel dish for my wife, and better yet, Shirred Eggs is one of those dishes that is just ripe for variations.

At it’s most simple, Shirred Eggs, are eggs that have been placed into a shallow custard cup, seasoned with salt and pepper, and topped with a little butter to help keep the top from drying out, then baked just until the whites are set, but the yolk is still runny. Doesn’t sound very exciting, does it? Not really. Like a good poached egg, shirred eggs are fine on their own, if not a little bland, but it is when they are part of a dish that they rise above their humble stature and become something almost sublime.

Virtually anything can be used as a base on which to make Shirred Eggs. Some of the more common bases are creamed spinach, various types of hashes, seafood, cooked grains, ham, bacon, other cooked meats and various other vegetables. Just like with omelets, the choice is really limited only by your imagination. Because I was looking for simply elegant this time I reigned the imagination in and created the recipe below, which serves 2. I accompanied the Shirred Eggs with toast and Maple Glazed Bacon, the recipe for which is below also.

Shirred Eggs with Ham & Manchego Cheese
4 each Eggs
1 tsp. Butter
2 Tbsp. Yellow onion, finely minced
1/2 cup Ham, finely diced
1/2 cup Tomatoes, finely diced
1/2 tsp. Fresh Tarragon, finely minced
4 Tbsp. Heavy Cream
1/3 cup Manchego cheese, shredded

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.Heat the butter, in a small saute pan, over medium high heat. As the butter finishes melting add the onions and cook without browning. Add the ham and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and tarragon. Heat just to warm the tomatoes then remove from heat. Divide the tomato-ham mixture between 4 small creme brulee cups or ramekins and spread evenly. Crack an egg into each cup or ramekin and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle each egg with 1 Tbsp. of cream. Sprinkle the cheese over top, dividing the cheese evenly among the 4 cups. Bake for 12-14 minutes, checking them after 10. Eggs are done when the whites are just set but the yolks are still runny. Serve immediately as the eggs will continue to cook a little longer.

Maple Glazed Bacon

Take 4 slices of thick cut, smoky bacon and cut them in half. Cook over medium high heat until 3/4 of the way done. Drain on paper towel. Meanwhile remove rendered fat from pan and wipe pan clean. Lower heat to medium low and add the bacon back to the pan. Brush with real maple syrup, flip over and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes. After about 1 minute brush other side with maple syrup. Flip over, when time and cook another 2-3 minutes. Remove to a cooking rack, set over a sheet tray, to crisp up. Make sure that bacon is not touching each other as it cools as it has a tendency to want to stick until it cools slightly.

The other day I received, from one of the supervisors who works for me, a bunch of fresh herbs from her garden. She gave me some sweet Basil, cinnamon basil, and fresh oregano. I was thrilled, as just that morning I had been out in our flower beds, at home, picking a few tomatoes. We don’t have room for a full garden we my wife usually plants a few tomato plants in among the flowers and my herbs. That morning I had picked a rainbow’s worth of tomatoes.

My mind wandered all day, at work, thinking of what I could do with the tomatoes I harvested. There weren’t many. Certainly not enough for canning or turning into relish. I didn’t even have enough for a tomato tart. With the addition of the fresh herbs I received I made up my mind to make a simple, summery pasta. Nothing spectacular, just a simple dish highlighting the fresh flavors of summer that I had sitting before me. Toss in a few shrimp and a good dose of garlic and I had the makings of great little dinner.

Shrimp & Heirloom Tomato Pasta
(serves 2)

6 oz. Fettuccine
4 Tbsp. Butter
1/2 each Shallot, minced
4 cloves Garlic, minced
20 each Shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail off (I used 31/40s, but you can use whatever size you like)
1/2 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper
1/2 cup White Wine, preferably something unoaked, a Sauvignon Blanc would be great
2 cups Tomatoes, roughly chopped (the more varieties and colors the better)
1 Tbsp. Fresh Oregano, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp. Fresh Basil, roughly chopped
Salt
Pepper

Cook the fettuccine, in boiling water, per the directions, making sure that the pasta is cooked al dente and not overcooked. When the pasta has about 4 minutes left, place a large saute pan over high heat. Add the butter and as soon as it is melted add the garlic and shallots. Cook quickly, without browning and add the shrimp and red pepper. Season with salt and pepper Cook 2 minutes then add the wine. Meanwhile, when pasta is finished drain but do not rinse. Simmer shrimp, in the wine 1-2 minutes longer, until the shrimp is done. Toss the pasta into the saute pan. Add the tomatoes, oregano and basil, tossing to mix well. Continue to cook, only until the tomatoes are heated through. Check seasoning and adjust if necessary. Divide between 2 plates and serve.

I have spent a lot of time reading food blogs over the last year and I have come across many great blogs and great people, both professional chefs and at home cooks, who are preparing some tasty food and offering up some excellent recipes and advice. One thing that seems to be lacking though are accounts of failures. There are a few bloggers out there admitting to failures but for the most part, most bloggers tend not to write on their missteps. I find this too bad as often there is more to be learned in someone’s failure than in their success. With that said, I offer up this post on a recent failure of great proportions in the hopes that it might offer some help to those that have had the same trouble.

In a recent post I discussed my desire to start sharpening my baking skills again after letting them languish for a number of years. Well this week I got a bug up my ass to bake french macaroons. I love french macaroons, their crispy exterior and soft, moist interior and subtle flavor of almonds have always been a weakness for me though I haven’t had them in years as it isn’t easy to locate them in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. I remember baking these in culinary school and from what I had remembered they took a certain amount of finesse but weren’t overly difficult to create. I grabbed one of my “go-to” cookbooks on french cooking (which shall remain nameless) and prepared to make the first batch of macaroons that I had baked in 15+ years. As you can see by the photograph at the top of the page, it was a disaster. I can’t lay all the blame on the cookbook, though I will lay most of it with it. My first mistake was following the first recipe I read. Even when I trust a cookbook I usually do a good bit of research before attempting a food for the first time, but with craziness at work, I blew that part off. It sure would have saved a good amount of time if I had bothered to have done my research. Allow me to list my macaroon transgressions, in order of importance, so that you won’t make the same mistakes. 1. The recipe never called for making a meringue. It only had me whip the egg whites to “just barely stiff peak” then add my almond sugar mixture into that. All the other recipes I know of use meringue as the base for the macaroon and whipped egg whites alone are not a meringue. 2. The recipe called for a short baking time at a slightly higher temperature. I have since seen two schools of thought on this, in my subsequent research. One bakes at a slightly elevated heat for a brief period (8-10 minutes), while the other bakes at a lower temperature for a much longer period (anywhere from 15-30 minutes depending on the recipe). With the knowledge I have now, I think I will be baking lower and longer. 3. I am pretty sure I slightly over whipped my egg whites. While they were not where close to becoming dry or separating, I think, according to various recipes, I shouldn’t have taken them as far as I did. 4. Finally, since I was grinding almonds and not using almond flour the recipe says to sift the almond sugar mixture. I didn’t, thinking that I would like the more rustic texture of a few bits of almond. I was wrong. The almonds gave the macaroons texture but not in a pleasant sort of way.

Armed with this knowledge of my errors, and a whole lot of research, I am planning on tackling macaroons again. Not sure how soon I will get to them, but be on the lookout for follow up posts as I am determined to get these little buggers right!

With summer coming slowly coming to an end (many would argue that it wasn’t much of a summer here in Wisconsin) and fall just around the corner, I am starting to look forward to the resumption of late evening fires in our neighbor’s fire pit. The thought of that inevitably leads to s’mores as my wife loves the things and almost always suggests them at our late night gatherings. Unfortunately, beer and s’mores don’t really mix so I usually decline. I have never been a big s’more fan anyway. Sure I love chocolate and toasted marshmallows and I even like graham crackers but I am one of those people that would rather eat them all separately then mash them all together. It was with these thoughts in mind that I was trying to come up with a dessert to surprise my wife with when I remembered that I had saved a recipe for a S’more pie from Gourmet, November 2006. Looking over the recipe I felt that ,while the chocolate filling would work well, the marshmallow topping seemed a little dense so I modified it somewhat to more closely resemble the recipe we use for making homemade marshmallows.

Chocolate S’more Pie
makes 1 8inch pie

1 each Graham Cracker Crust
FOR CHOCOLATE FILLING
7 ounces Bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup Heavy cream
1 each Egg, room temp.

FOR MARSHMALLOW TOPPING
1 package Unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup Water, cold
3/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350. Put chocolate in a large bowl. Bring cream to a boil then pour over chocolate, stirring until smooth. Lightly beat egg and add to chocolate mixture along with salt then pour everything into pie shell. Cover edge of crusts then bake until filling is just set, about 25 minutes. Cool completely. Meanwhile make the topping. Bloom gelatin in 1/4 of the water in a large heatproof bowl. In a saucepan stir together remaining water, sugar, corn syrup and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Boil until mixture registers 238. Start beating gelatin mixture and slowly add hot syrup, in a slow stream. When all syrup has been added turn mixer to high and beat until triple in volume. Add vanilla extract then immediately pour over cooled pie. Chill, uncovered for 1 hour, then cover with oiled plastic wrap and chill 3 hours more. Before service brown top with either a blow torch or under broiler. If doing under a broiler protect the pie crusts.

If at all possible brown the top with the blow torch. Not only is a much more fun way to do it, I think it provides better flavor and gives it a more rustic look as some parts remain lighter while other parts get darker.

I don’t know about the rest of the country, but this year hasn’t been a good year for tomatoes in Wisconsin.  July and August have felt more like September and October, with cool, cloudy days being the norm while 80 and 90 degree weather seems to have been the exception.  This has put a damper on the tomato harvest this year with  smaller yields and late arrival at the farmer’s markets.  While still way better than grocery store tomatoes, the tomatoes, at the market, this year aren’t up the their usual standards.  I have heard many complaints about the tomatoes rotting on the vine before being fully ripened so many farmers are forced to pick them a little sooner than they want to resulting in firmer, less juicy tomatoes that seem a little more acidic than normal.  Again, though, even in a year like this, the locally grown tomatoes are light years better than any tomato bought at your local megamart.

In the last few years, tomato tarts have become all the rage, and rightfully so.  They are a great way to showcase the various flavors and colors of the the heirloom tomatoes that have become more and more popular over the last decade or so.  Fortunately, the internet abounds with recipes for such tarts, and finding one you like isn’t that difficult.  That being the case I thought I share another great way to show off those wonderful summertime tomatoes-Scalloped Tomatoes.  Scalloped Tomatoes is a wonderfully rustic dish that seems right at home among other country fare yet there is something elegant in it’s simplicity.  In the simple recipe that follows please be sure to use “fresh” bread crumbs (from slices of fresh bread or just slightly stale bread that you pulse in a food processor) and not that dried out stuff that comes in a can, from the store.  That stuff has its place but not in this recipe.

Scalloped Tomatoes
4 1/2 cups Fresh bread crumbs
1/3 cup Butter, melted
2 tablespoons Fresh chives, minced
2 tablespoons Fresh parsley, minced
1 tablespoon Fresh thyme, minced
6 each tomatoes, ripe, thickly sliced
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Combine bread crumbs, butter and herbs and mix. Season with salt and pepper. Press half of crumb mixture into a large (9×13) baking dish and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and place a single layer of tomatoes on top. Sprinkle tomatoes with more bread crumb mixture then another layer of tomatoes. Continue until all tomatoes and breadcrumbs are used up, ending with a layer of bread crumbs. Return to oven and bake until tomatoes are warmed and the crumbs on top are golden brown (approx. 10 minutes)

This recipe is easy to adapt to suit your tastes. To give it an Italian flair, replace the butter with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, add fresh Basil and Oregano to the herbs, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

I admit it. I am totally hooked on Top Chef and have been since the first season. I am not someone who usually goes in for “reality TV” but I am addicted to Top Chef. Hell’s Kitchen is just dumb, and most of the other “reality cooking shows,” with the exception of Iron Chef, pretty much bore me, but Top Chef seems to keep it fresh season after season. I can’t say that I have always been thrilled with the judges decisions. Sometimes I felt they were just plain wrong and there are a few times when I think the decision was based more on what would make good TV than on cooking ability, but that’s just me. And of course, just like “armchair quarterbacks” I have always felt that I could do as well, or better, than most of the contestants on the show. BTW, Bravo, you had your chance to get me for Season 3, when I auditioned, but you chose to ignore my talents and winning personality. Your loss!

Season 6 came along at just the right time. I had been having Top Chef withdrawal and needed my fix. Yes, I know that Top Chef Masters has been on, and I have been watching, but it just isn’t the same. Sure there has been some great cooking and it has been fun watching the “masters” get put through the paces just like contestants during the regular season, but the show just doesn’t seem to feel as edgy or have the feeling of suspense that the regular Top Chef season has.

I also have to say that this is the first time a chef has been on the show that I personally have known. Hector Santiago and I (and his wife) all worked for the same restaurant group down in Atlanta many years back. We had lost touch years ago and I had no idea he was on this season. All I can say is, “best of luck Hector!!!!!”

I don’t consider myself to be a food snob. Sure, after years of cooking in high end restaurants I can extoll the virtues of foie gras, debate whether American or New Zealand lamb is superior, or lose myself in discussions of the world’s greatest cheeses, but I also love to debate the best fat to meat ratio of a properly made burger, lose myself to the comfort of great diner food, and swap secrets to making the best chili. I think yellow mustard has its rightful place as a condiment of choice, I like salads made of iceberg lettuce, but worst of all, late at night I sometimes succumb to the call of the frozen pizza. Good luck finding any food snob that will admit to those infractions!

That being said, years of being a chef have left their mark on me and occasionally a bit of snobbery shows through. A case in point is the BLT. How can a BLT, a staple of diner food, be associated with food snobbery? This lowly sandwich is rife with chances for snobbery in my opinion. First off, as far as I am concerned there are only about 2 1/2 months, a year, when BLT’s should be eaten. The most important cornerstone of a BLT is the tomato and that tomato must be ripened on the vine, and by that I don’t mean those semi tasteless “vine ripe” tomatoes found in grocery stores. Those things are only a small step above the regular tomatoes. So here comes the most important lesson in BLT making-if you have to buy your tomato from the store to make a BLT then forget it. A BLT should only be made with locally grown tomatoes that truly come to you ripened on the vine, whether that tomato was grown in your garden or bought at the local farmers market, it doesn’t matter as long as that tomato wasn’t sent half way across the country. Most areas only have about a 2-2 1/2 month window in which tomatoes are ripe. I would rather wait through most of the year to eat a BLT made with sun ripened tomatoes than waste my time eating a BLT made with tasteless, acidic tomatoes with the texture of cardboard. (continue reading…)

There’s something about county and state fairs that really strike a cord with me. Of course, there is all the food, most of it deep fried and none of it good for you, but it goes beyond that. In many ways, these fairs seem so “yesterday.” They seem to belong to a world long gone, where grandmas compete for blue ribbons with their pies and cakes, where young farmers parade their best livestock, and where carnies try to sucker unsuspecting passersby into parting with their hard earned cash for a chance to win some cheap, poorly made stuffed animal. It’s a place where salesmen still compete for crowds and where the art of hawking and barking is still alive and well.

This past week we headed down to Milwaukee (actually West Allis a Milwaukee suburb) to visit the Wisconsin State Fair and once again it did not disappoint. Wisconsin has deep roots as an agricultural state and the Wisconsin State Fair is all about showing off the best of its agricultural products. Of course, a good portion of the fair grounds are taken up with the livestock barns which are jammed packed with farmers and 4-Her’s all there to show off their best livestock, from cows, and pigs to ducks, chickens, rabbits and any other farm animal you can imagine. Dairy also takes center stage, Wisconsin still being one of the most important dairy and cheese making states in the country. Winning a blue ribbon at the Wisconsin State Fair is still considered an important award for many cheesemakers. (continue reading…)

Since you are reading this I assume you found your way to my blog’s new site. Sorry about the sudden change, but I was having issues with the old site so I had to move to a new domain and web address. Nothing has changed other than the name and address so I hope you continue to read and enjoy the blog. If you were a subscriber to the old site you will need to re-subscribe to the new site as subscriptions were not able to be transfered. Also if you used an RSS feed to keep up with my blog then you will need to point your reader at the new address. I apologize for any inconvience this may have caused, but, hopefully, this will become my blog’s permanent home. Thanks for all your support over the last few months and I look forward to many years of blogging!

Here are this month’s choices for “Links of the Month.”  I hope you find them as interesting and as inspiring as I do.

Chef Talk
I really can’t say enough about this site. I have mentioned it in a few earlier posts. This site is full of great articles on everything food related; from “how-to” articles to cookbook reviews, to essays on the history of food. There is also a very active forum board where people can discuss all things food related and ask their food questions. Chef Talk is also the place that got me into writing about food. I regularly contribute both articles and cookbook reviews as well as help to moderate the forums.

Michael Ruhlman Notes from the Food World
Many of you are probably already well aware of Mr. Ruhlman. His books really get to the soul of being a chef and the cookbooks he has co-written are destined to be classics, in my opinion. He blogs on many diverse subjects relating to food and brings a great insight to all he writes about.

New Glarus Brewing Company
Okay, the site might not be great, but their beer sure is. Any beer connoisseur needs to be familiar with this name. Dan Carey, the brewmaster, is making some of the best beer in the country as far as I am concerned and his beers are worth seeking out.