Improvised kitchen tools

Ben saw in America's test kitchen that you can use the top of an onion as a steamer for vegetables. Naturally, Ben extended this to eggs. Benedicts to be exact. These are their stories:

First, the onion layers were sized and buttered.

Egg One (the first one was much better than the second, much like with siblings):


Ben thought it would be a good idea to see what a beaten egg would do. Egg two was not as delicious. We ended up having to add some water around the onion to get it to cook evenly.


WHOOOAAAA MONTAGE EGG BENDER!


Here's what I made. Poached style. I am less adventurous.

The end.

THE SOUP

Anyone who knows Meredith and me know our obsession with THE SOUP. The story goes back years. Ever since we both started coming to Rutgers, we've always had dinners together to celebrate stuff. Anything we can find we celebrate. The first was the fact that we were both there. We chose to go to Noodle Gourmet. Excellent place. I think most of my greatest college take-out memories are tied to Noodle Gourmet. Eat there. The first time we went I got a giant noodle soup. I'm not sure if any of you have ever had their noodle soup but that fucker is cheap and giant.

After that we spent a few years with Edo as our hangout before we eventually started celebrating at Saporo. That was a big leap for us and also the first encounter with THE SOUP. I can't remember what we were celebrating but we were there and decided to get the Nabeyaki Udon and some rolls. We could absolutely not finish that soup. Its not quite as big as the Noodle Gourmet soup and nowhere near as cheap, but the taste is infinitely better. Its like comparing a Kia and a Porshe. We've been hooked ever since. Any time we can we go sit and wait for that glorious pot to get set down between us where we delicately divy up the treasures burried within and setting atop those wonderful noodles and that flavorful broth.

Years later when I finally balled up the plate, this was the goal. Ever since we've been attempting to find others like it through our own cooking and through little eateries in the area. It's been a staple of my dutch oven cooking and my almost daily breakfast/dinner. Something about soup with an egg cracked into it is just the perfect breakfast/dinner combo I need to complete my day with the sunrise. Meredith has been getting on me forever to finally post one so last night with my extra time off work i finally decided to do so.

This was a quick one. I used a granulated bonito for the dashi with a little extra soy sauce and sesame oil. Once that was going I threw in two frozen dumplings and the miso. From there I added udon, seaweed, chicken, and dumped in a raw egg to poach in the soup. Thats always been my favorite part. Just before it was ready i threw in some kimchi. I've had it sitting around and I don't have many ideas so it went in. Just enough to sweat some of the flavor into the broth. I gotta tell you, its wonderful.

This kimchi will haunt me till the day I die. Or that day I move out and decide to not take it with me.

Take 1: Grilled Baskets

Usually I attempt a recipe a number of times before finally having the courage to post it but in this case I wasn't following a recipe. I have meant to try making Egg in a Basket for years but never really got around to it except for one horrible failure 2 years ago in which i almost set the Scarlet Pub on fire. I saw a picture of it on the internet the other day and just had to do it. The recipe there had been a variation in which cheese is put on the outsides of one egg basket. I had been contemplating this for a while, thinking about putting grilled cheese around one egg basket and other things. Deciding that would be too much bread, I chose to use two egg baskets as the bread of a grilled cheese. Being myself I chose to add ham to the grilled cheese. So there you have it. Grilled cheese with ham consisting of Egg in a Basket bread. Grilled Baskets.

PS- This will hopefully be my last egg post for a few days. I think that would be the healthiest choice.

A fast soup

Swiss chard, shiitake mushrooms, tofu, and bean threads in a red curry coconut broth, garnished with lime and dark tamari. Brown the tofu in some sesame oil first and use dried mushrooms so that you can add a little of the rehydrating broth to the coconut milk mixture. Then crack an egg in the whole mess and let it poach for a little while in the soup. Sub brown rice for bean threads and sprinkle on some chopped cilantro. Not a bad weeknight dinner.

Tomato-Egg/Egg-Tomato

(reblogged from Ben)

I hollow out a tomato and fill it with beaten egg, onion, garlic, and ham. Once the filling sets, I melt cheese over the top. If the tomato is too ripe (as shown) the structural integrity of the tomato will be too weak. Thus it is necessary to remove the tomato from the oven and wet it as needed (causing it to cook in time with the egg) or the tomato’s hull will break and egg will be sucked out into the vacuum of space. I’ve been watching too much Star Trek.

In short, I baked an egg inside a tomato. What did you do today?