Egg & Potato Skillet

Super quick and yummy dinner.

Egg & Potato Skillet

TOTAL TIME: Prep/Total: 30 min.YIELD: 4 servings.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1-1/2 pounds red or Yukon gold potatoes, chopped
• Dried parsley, to taste
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 8 large eggs
• 1/2 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

• 1. Preheat oven to 400°. In a 10-in. cast-iron or other ovenproof skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add potatoes; cook and stir until golden brown (with some side crispy and dark brown) and tender. Stir in parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. With back of a spoon, make four wells in the potato mixture; break two eggs into each well.
• 2. Bake until egg whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not hard, 9-11 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese; bake until cheese is melted, 1 minute.

Egg Nog Creme Brulee

I always pin egg nog recipes at Christmastime and I've been wanting to try Egg Nog Creme Brulee for a while.  I had just enough egg yolks left over from an attempt at making a Buche de Noel (which was a horrible, disgusting, total failure.)  After looking at all of the recipes for egg nog creme brulee, I finally found one that didn't call for any alcohol.  Hooray!  So I finally made it today.  It was really easy and deeeelish.  Jeff gives it "at least a 4.75" (out of 5).  Josh and Tiernan didn't like it but Jeff, Mia and I loved it.  Oh, when I brought the torch in from the garage to caramelize the sugar, Mia asked what it was for.  I explained the process and she was shocked.  Even more so when I told her that I was going to do this right in the kitchen - NOT outside, like she suggested.  When Jeff came downstairs, she said, "Dad.  Mom is going to BURN our dessert!"  Then when I got ready to do the sugar, she called to the boys, "Boys!  Come watch Mom burn our dessert!"  Ha ha ha!  She's such a turkey.  It's a good thing she liked it - burnt sugar and all.
My ramekins are a little deeper than typical creme brulee ramekins, so it took a little longer to bake. When it's done, it should be a little jiggly, but set, and a knife inserted in the center should come out clean.  I also would have used a little more sugar on top.

Eggnog Creme Brulee

makes six 4-oz/120-ml ramekins 

Ingredients

2 cups (473 ml.) store bought or homemade Eggnog
2 cups (473 ml.) heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup (62 mg.) sugar
6 egg yolks
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
6 tsp. sugar for topping

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, 160/170 Celsius, or Gas Mark 3. And put a kettle of hot water on the stove.

Place the eggnog, the cream and the sugar into a medium saucepan, stir to dissolve sugar. Bring to just a simmer, don't boil it. Place the yolks into a large bowl and beat them a little. Ladle a little cream mixture into the yolks, whisking the whole time, then a little more while you keep whisking. Keep adding and whisking till you've added about half. Then add all of yolk mixture to the cream mixture and whisk till it's all incorporated. Add the fresh nutmeg. Pour the whole shebang through a fine mesh strainer placed over a large measuring cup with a spout for pouring. 

Place 6 ramekins into a large (9x13 ish) sized pan. Pour hot water from your kettle half way up the sides of the ramekins. Pour the creme mixture into ramekins. Now cover the pan with foil.

Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. Until the centers are set and a knife comes out clean when placed in the center. Tip- if the water is poured more than half way up the sides of the ramekins, it will take longer to bake.

Remove the ramekins from the pan using tongs. Put them into another 9x13 pan and cover with plastic. Place in the fridge until cold, or overnight. When ready to serve, using a paper towel, carefully pat the tops of the custards to remove moisture that accumulated in the fridge. Place 1 tsp of sugar in a thin layer over each custard. Make it as thin as you can, it may not take the whole teaspoon. Broil the top of the sugar with a torch until it's golden brown. Or if you don't have a torch, place them under the broiler until the sugar is golden. If you are doing it under the broiler, you need to watch it closely, this only takes moments. I would even leave the oven door open and watch it while it's happening. They can burn very quickly and that would be bad. 

Let the custards sit a few minutes before serving so the sugar hardens.

Recipe from: http://alchemybaking.blogspot.com/2012/01/eggnog-creme-brulee.html?m=1

Salsa and Scrambled Egg Sandwiches

Here's another yummy egg recipe.

Salsa and Scrambled Egg Sandwiches

8 eggs

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 C salsa, divided

½ C shredded cheddar cheese

4 English muffins, split and toasted

¼ C cream cheese, spreadable

1 ripe avocado, peedled and sliced

In large bowl, whisk eggs, salt and pepper.  Cook in skillet over medium-high heat.  Add cheddar and ½ cup salsa and stir until cheese is melted.  Spread cut sides of English muffins with cream cheese and remaining salsa.  Top with egg mixture and avocado.

I'm always looking for more egg dishes since we usually have an abundance.  This is a yummy omelet.

Cherry Tomato & Portobello Omelet

Ingredients

1	tsp. butter
1	cup thinly sliced baby portobello (cremini) mushrooms
2	cherry tomatoes, quartered
2	EGGS
2	Tbsp. ranch dressing
1/4	cup shredded Cheddar cheese (1 oz.)
1	Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Step 1	HEAT butter in 7 to 10-inch nonstick omelet pan or skillet over medium-high heat until hot. ADD mushrooms; sauté until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. ADD tomatoes; sauté until heated through, 1 minute. REMOVE from pan; keep warm.
Step 2	BEAT eggs and dressing in small bowl until blended. HEAT omelet pan over medium-high heat until hot. POUR IN egg mixture. Mixture should set immediately at edges.
Step 3	GENTLY PUSH cooked portions from edges toward the center with inverted turner so that uncooked eggs can reach the hot pan surface. CONTINUE cooking, tilting pan and gently moving cooked portions as needed.
Step 4	When top surface of eggs is thickened and no visible liquid egg remains, PLACE mushroom filling on one side of the omelet; sprinkle with cheese and parsley. FOLD omelet in half with turner. With a quick flip of the wrist, turn pan and INVERT or SLIDE omelet onto plate. SERVE immediately.

Avocado and Egg Flat Breads

These are so yummy!  The dough is really chewy and soft (which is always a winner in my book).  You can just make guacamole the way you normally do or you can follow this recipe - either way would work.  I didn't add any hot sauce, but I'm sure it would be good.
This came from http://www.thekitchn.com/ as a breakfast recipe, but I served it for dinner and I think I'd prefer that to breakfast.

Avocado and Egg Flat Breads

For the dough:
3/4 cups (6 ounces) warm water
1 teaspoon active-dry or instant yeast
2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour  (plus or minus)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Toppings:

1 large Hass avocado
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
1 teaspoons lime juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Hot sauce, for serving (optional)

In mixing bowl combine water and yeast and let bubble.  Add salt and slowly add flour until you have a good dough consistency (we all know what that is right?).  Knead in mixer for about 5 minutes.  Let rest.

In a medium bowl add pitted and peeled avocado, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Mash with a fork until smooth with a few chunks of avocado. Taste and adjust seasoning. (Depending on the size of your avocado, you may need more salt or lime juice.) Set aside.

Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. On a well-floured cutting board, roll each piece into a thin, 6-inch circle. (If the dough keeps springing back as you roll it, let it rest for a few minutes to relax the gluten and try again.)

Heat a well-seasoned cast iron skillet (see note) over medium-high heat until very hot. Pour in a small amount of oil and place one of the dough circles in the center of the skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the underside is browned and the top surface is bubbly. Flip and cook other side until browned, pressing down with a spatula if the dough puffs up off the bottom of the pan. It may be charred in spots, which is fine. Remove to a plate and repeat with remaining dough circles. 

Spread 1/4 of the avocado mixture onto each cooked piece of dough.

Fry eggs to desired doneness and place each one on top of each flat bread piece. Serve immediately, with or without a drizzle of hot sauce.

Additional Notes

• The dough can be cooked up to 1 day ahead and stored in an airtight container. (It will be softer than when freshly made.) Warm in the oven or on a skillet before adding the toppings.