OK, so maybe I spent an evening last week going through my Betty Crocker cookbook since I didn’t have the brainpower to read a book nor the mental health state to keep up on Twitter but had the anxious energy to do more than simply watch TV.
That’s just maybe how last week’s and this week’s recipes came to be the top of my queue of food to make. Even better, both last week’s 5 ingredient chicken and this week’s orzo vegetable side dish were simple to make, and (full disclosure) went well together.
Veggie orzo side dish ingredients.
The original recipe is for a main dish that uses plain sauteed chicken tenders that are first cooked and then mixed into orzo mixture. Since I planned to use it as a side dish with chicken, I skipped the chicken in the recipe and made a nice vegetarian side dish (or main dish but with fewer servings).
Anyone who owns a Betty Crocker cookbook knows that the recipes are not often the most exciting, but they’re also not the most difficult. They’re perfect, in other words, for a weeknight dinner when you want something homemade but don’t want to be cooking all night.
This one in particular was a nice reminder to me that orzo is a great pasta for a fast, tasty side dish. I think it’s one I’ll play with and enjoy over and over again.
So simple, so tasty.
Here’s what I did, adapting the Betty Crocker main dish:
Ingredients
14 oz. (1 can, or homemade) vegetable or chicken broth
1 ⅓ c. uncooked orzo
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium zucchini, chopped (yielding about 1 ½ c.)
1 ½ c. cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small bell pepper, chopped (yielding about 1 c.)
1 c. water
~1 T. chopped fresh rosemary
½ t. salt
Directions
Heat a 9- to 10-inch skillet on medium heat. Stir in the broth, pasta, and garlic. Heat to boiling, and then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for about 8 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add in the vegetables, water, rosemary, and salt, and stir together. Heat to boiling, and simmer another 5–7 minutes until the vegetables are tender-crisp and the pasta is cooked through. Let cool slightly, and enjoy!
At this point, I’ve lost track of the last time I went to the grocery store and have no idea what it looks like now.
I do, however, get dispatches from my sweetie when he makes his weekly stop, as he’s good enough to be our designated shopper given my compromised immune system. And what I know now is that while many staples are still available, and we’re in no danger of food shortages, some of the things we’re used to are getting harder to come by.
We appreciate it more when we can find the fresh herbs and vegetables we want, and especially, for me, when I can get the meat I most enjoy.
This week I was ecstatic to see that my grocery list items to make this Persian frittata all made it into the cart, and into the refrigerator at home.
Persian frittata ingredients.
I have even more reason to be grateful to my sweetie because in the before times he’d already test-driven this recipe from Bon Appetit for me, so I knew I was in for a treat.
There’s a fair amount of herb chopping, but I have these wonderful herb-cutting scissors that make the whole thing go smoothly. It’s so simple and easy that I made it with a simple Middle Eastern soup so we’d be able to enjoy the frittata for breakfast after our first meal.
If you’re able to find all the veggies and (mostly the) fresh herbs, this is a real, simple treat.
Eggy, green, and great!
Here’s what I did:
Ingredients
5 T. vegetable oil, divided
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium leek, white and pale green parts only, finely chopped
5 large eggs
1 t. baking powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ t. ground turmeric
½ T. ground fenugreek
1 ½ c. finely chopped cilantro (about 1 bunch)
1 ½ c. finely chopped parsley (about 1 bunch)
1 ½ c. finely chopped dill (about 2 small packages)
Directions
Heat 2 T. oil in a 9- to 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion and leeks, stirring occasionally until soft but not browned, 10–12 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool. Wipe out the skillet and set aside.
Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, baking powder, salt and pepper, turmeric, and fenugreek in a large bowl. Mix in the onion mixture, cilantro, dill, and parsley. The egg mixture should look thick and very green (with bits of egg poking through, depending on how finely you chop the herbs; mine could be greener).
Heat the broiler.
On the stove top, heat the remaining 3 T. of oil in the reserved skillet. Pour in the egg mixture, and spread evenly across the pan with a spatula. Cover and cook the frittata until the bottom is just set, about 8–10 minutes. Remove from heat and take off the cover.
Broil for about 1 minute until the top is just set and starting to brown.
Let cool slightly, slide out onto a platter, cut into triangles, and enjoy!
I had my ups and downs with this week’s recipe. Spoiler alert: it ends on an upswing.
However, when I first decided to make it, I soon realized that the recipe wasn’t going to work in my small skillet. So, I downsized to halve the recipe.
Then, I realized that the proportions seemed odd and off even in half-size, so I retooled again.
When it came time to make it, I wasn’t all that optimistic or eager.
It managed to get worse as it went on, and I started to wonder if the chickpea stew with spinach and topped with a fried egg would even be a tasty dinner.
Chickpea stew ingredients.
Seriously, I thought as I was stirring, how is a mash of chickpeas and crushed tomatoes even going to be tasty?
What a fool I was.
I should have known better than to doubt Bon Appetit and my own savvy. Plus, time. Time allows the flavors to meld, the onion, the garlic, the cumin seeds, and the paprika to imbue their flavors into the tomatoes and chickpeas.
It was incredibly delicious. I don’t even think the eggs were all that necessary.
When I make this again, I will do a couple things differently.
First, the spinach was not nearly enough. I used an entire bag, but I should have used two. Also, I might *might* consider using thawed chopped spinach to save a little time. While it’s nice to be able to saute it with the garlic, there’s plenty of garlic in the dish (I forgot to halve the garlic but I’m not complaining) and I’m not sure the freshness made all that much difference. Then again, maybe I just should have used more.
Secondly, like with the purgatory eggs, this meal would have been wonderfully enhanced by having a nice sourdough or another good bread to serve it with. Since I halved the recipe, it went down to a three-serving meal; however, I think it would have been a nice four-serving meal if there had been bread.
But I can say this tasted so good that I will make it again. I might even go to full size skillet for even more deliciousness.
I wish the flavors would show through in this picture. It was so good.
Here’s what I did, adapting the recipe more than a bit:
Ingredients
3 T. olive oil, divided
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, divided
1-2 bags baby spinach
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 small onion, chopped
1 T. cumin seeds
2 t. smoked paprika
1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 to 1 ½ c. vegetable broth
4 eggs
Sourdough bread, toasted, for serving (optional)
Directions
Heat 1 T. oil in a 9- to 10-inch skillet (10-inch probably preferable but I made it work in my 9-inch Le Creuset) over medium heat. When oil begins to shimmer, add the equivalent of one garlic clove of the sliced garlic to the skillet. Cook until golden, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add spinach. Toss, adding salt and pepper as desired, and cook until the spinach is wilted but still bright green, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate, and set aside.
Add the remaining oil to the same pot. When oil begins to shimmer, add onion and the remaining sliced garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add in the cumin and paprika, and stir until the cumin is toasted and fragrant, another minute.
Add in the chickpeas and crushed tomatoes, and stir to combine. Cook, stirring often, for about 8 to 10 minutes.
Add about 1 c. of broth, and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Continue to simmer, occasionally using mashing some chickpeas with the back of a spoon, until sauce is thickened, another 8 to 10 minutes, adding more broth as necessary.
Add in the spinach and continue to simmer another 8 to 10 minutes, again adding more broth as necessary.
Meanwhile, in a separate non-stick skillet, pour in oil or butter and heat over medium high. Cook eggs to desired done-ness (the recipe says to do sunny-side up; I prefer over medium). Season eggs with salt and pepper and transfer to a plate.
Spoon chickpea mixture into bowls, top with an egg, and serve with some toasted bread as desired, and enjoy!
I admit that this week’s recipe was one of those where I just happened to have all the ingredients in the house, and so had the perfect excuse to make it.
Even easier to do as it was another of the Jamie Oliver 5 Ingredients recipes, so I literally only needed to have 5 ingredients (plus salt and water) on hand, most of them household staples for us.
Now, not all ingredients will be household staples for most. I’m just lucky that my sweetie has been doing the shopping for us since the pandemic began and has been adding a stop at the local Asian market to his errands while he’s out. That’s how we came to have kimchi available any time.
While the Korean eggs and rice dish is, of course, Korean, it’s also possible to replace the kimchi with another vegetable. Kimchi worked really well with the cilantro as well, but again, anyone could use a different herb or spice accompaniment.
Korean eggs and rice ingredients.
I might recommend giving kimchi a try, though, as the fermented cabbage is quite a bit tastier than its name or its description might make it seem.
This is the second time I’ve made the dish and I’ve stuck to the recipe both times, other than the fact that I’ve used a smaller skillet than called for and increased the cilantro amounts. It’s been fine, though I’ve never quite managed to get the eggs to fully encompass the rice; I think next time I’ll just go ahead and stir it in a bit rather than hoping it wraps around. However, it does still taste great and does allow the rice to crisp a little more, which I enjoy quite a bit.
The meal also delightfully works as both breakfast and dinner. All around a nice, easy meal when you don’t have a lot of time or the energy to make something too difficult.
Looks good, don’t it.
Here’s what I did:
Ingredients
1 T. sesame seeds (I didn’t really measure so definitely used more)
150 g. basmati rice
150 g. kimchi
8 sprigs of cilantro
4 eggs
Salt, to taste
400 ml water
Directions
Toast sesame seeds in a 9- to 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Once lightly golden, remove to a plate, and reduce heat to medium-low. Place the rice in a pan with a pinch of salt, and then pour in 400 ml of water. Cover and cook the rice for 10 to 15 minutes until the rice has absorbed all the liquid.
Meanwhile, chop the kimchi and tear up half the cilantro, and place in a medium bowl. Beat in the eggs, and then pour over the rice when it’s ready, spreading evenly with a spatula. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes or so until the eggs are just set.
Loosen the edges with a spatula, and then slide it out on a plate. Scatter the sesame seeds on top and then place the remaining cilantro leaves on top, and enjoy!
I had been considering making my usual biscuits and gravy recipe ever since I started the small skillet year, but it seemed like a cop-out as it’s just sausage and a general white gravy with store-bought biscuits.
Thankfully, I found a twist on the traditional recipe that allowed me to make one of my favorites *and* try something new. Bless you, Bon Appetit.
Cornmeal biscuits recipe.
Even if I hadn’t been considering biscuits and gravy all along, this recipe had me from its name that implied to me a south by southwest mash-up.
In place of traditional flour biscuits, a cornmeal-based biscuit that very much resembled cornbread. In place of breakfast sausage, chorizo. In addition to all that, and if it wasn’t filling and unhealthy enough, the addition of cotija and avocado, as well as cilantro and scallions.
Of course, it was a delight.
I’m focusing this week just on the biscuits, as I believe each *could* be made individually, and I felt like throwing too much out at this point could be overwhelming.
Chorizo and/or gravy may not be for everyone, and I feel like it’d be possible to just use store-bought biscuits and use next week’s gravy recipe if one were not inclined to bake biscuits.
So, how did the biscuits turn out?
I was nervous that an 8-inch skillet wouldn’t be enough to separate the biscuit batter, and even using a 9-inch it was a single biscuit instead of distinct ones (however, placing them individually still made it easier to separate once baked). I think it must have been a typo. But a medium-skillet will work; even if you end up with a single biscuit, it’ll be possible to pull them apart.
The taste, though, was amazing. It really was like a cornbread in biscuit form. It’s not that they’re interchangeable, but it was the perfect combination of biscuit consistency with buttermilk cornbread flavors, and it worked really well with the particular gravy recipe. It’d also work as just a biscuit with butter, like I may have done with one leftover biscuit.
I used a little more buttermilk than the recipe called for but otherwise stuck to it, though I might recommend a slightly larger skillet (which may affect cooking time).
The giant singular biscuit still tasted like the perfect cross between biscuits and cornbread. So I don’t care, I love it.
Here’s what I did:
Ingredients
1 c. all-purpose flour
¾ c. cornmeal
1 T. sugar
1 ½ t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
¼ t. black pepper, freshly ground if possible (I did not measure but grinded generously)
½ c. (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¾ to 1 c. buttermilk (I used it all but if your consistency is good and sticky after ¾ c., don’t add more)
Directions
Heat oven to 425 degrees.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Use your hands or a pastry cutter to work the butter into the flour until the pieces are chickpea-sized. Add buttermilk and mix to blend until dough is just combined and sticky.
Drop dough by heaping ¼ cupfuls into a medium cast-iron skillet, spacing if at all possible. Bake, rotating once halfway through, until biscuits are puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly and enjoy with butter or next week’s gravy recipe!
Another week of self-isolation, another simple recipe for the end times.
My sweetie found this simple egg dish from the Add a Pinch blog that managed to use ingredients we mostly had lying around the house. We did end up needing to get more eggs by the time I worked up the energy to make it, but so much of the dish called “eggs in purgatory” includes household staples that make this a simple and tasty breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner.
Eggs in purgatory ingredients.
As is typical when I try to poach eggs, I overcooked them. I pretend that one day I’m going to solve this but I have eaten eggs where the whites aren’t quite done and I would rather eat hard yolks for an eternity than have to eat underdone eggs ever again. So, I will live with my choices.
However, for you dear reader, know that 9 minutes is likely waayyyy too long; three minutes definitely was still too short, so somewhere in between is probably good.
Other than that (not very) helpful advice, the only other key is to use a good tomato sauce as it makes up most of the flavor. I ended up using a straight up pre-made pasta sauce, particularly arrabbiata, so if you have that on hand, it’s even better. Oh, and a good bread to serve this with makes this dish go from good to great.
So simple, so good.
Here’s what I did, slightly adapting the recipe:
Ingredients
~1 T. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 ¼ c. tomato sauce or pasta sauce (the more flavorful the better, but whatever you have on hand will work)
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
¼ t. red pepper flakes (I didn’t measure but did not use a lot as arrabbiata is already semi-spicy)
Salt and pepper, to taste
¼ c. fresh parsley, chopped, divided
4 eggs
¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese
Toasted bread, for serving (optional)
Directions
Drizzle olive oil into a 9- or 10-inch skillet set over medium heat. Once the skillet warms, add the onions and cook about 3 minutes until tender. Add the garlic and cook another minute.
Then, stir in the tomato/pasta sauce, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper. Add about half of the parsley and cook for about 5 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken and flavors to meld.
Break eggs into each quarter of the skillet on top of the sauce (the recipe, of course, says to place it into a small bowl first, but I’ve never dirtied another dish *embarrassed face*). Top with the grated cheese and any additional salt and pepper, as desired.
Cover the skillet and cook until the whites are set and the yolks are done to desired level (see note above for how long-ish to do that). Remove from heat, sprinkle on the remaining parsley, and any additional cheese, and enjoy with a fancy bread!
One of my go-to cookbooks since I discovered it is Amy Thielen’s The New Midwestern Table cookbook. As a nearly life-long Midwesterner, it’s perfect. Its recipes are rustic, delicious, mostly not that healthy, and not terribly pretentious, kind of like most Midwesterners.
As I was looking for a simple appetizer for something to share with friends, I was ecstatic to find a recipe that also fit my little Le Creuset/small skillet mission. It also happened to have artichokes, wine, and a butt-ton of cheese, aka, most of my diet.
So, basically, I moved the artichoke fondue dip to the top of my queue.
Artichoke fondue dip ingredients.
Two things about it appealed to me specifically — OK, OK, in addition to the aforementioned wine, cheese, and artichokes.
The first was that she correctly labels it a fondue dip; let’s be honest about what a Midwesterner’s (or really, everyone’s) idea of spinach artichoke dip is, mostly cheese. The second thing is not so much that it ditched the spinach, which I enjoy, though it does have a tendency to get stuck in between one’s teeth, but that there was a note about her choice in an alternative.
She not only replaced spinach with edamame, which has an entirely different texture and reasonably different taste, but noted that she’d been called out for how egregious it was to add to the point that she makes the edamame optional in her recipe.
I couldn’t resist seeing what the fuss was about.
My assessment, it was pretty good with it, and it didn’t scare off any of my friends who tried it.
All in all, it’s a damn good, and incredibly easy dip.
I wish there was more.
Here’s what I did, following the recipe (edamame and all):
Ingredients
1 (14 oz.) can brined, quartered artichoke hearts
½ c. heavy cream
1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 c. shredded aged Gouda cheese
3 T. dry white wine (preferably Sauvignon Blanc)
2 T. chopped parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 t. cornstarch
½ c. shelled edamame, fresh or frozen (optional, but come on, you want to try it!)
A baguette, sliced, or crackers for serving
Directions
Heat the oven to 325 degrees.
Drain the artichokes, and preferably, give each a little squeeze to release excess brine. Chop the artichokes roughly.
In a medium bowl, combine the artichoke hearts, cream, both cheeses, wine, parsley, salt and pepper, and cornstarch. Stir until well mixed. If using frozen edamame, ensure there are no ice particles on them, or rinse until they’re removed, and shake off any excess water, and add to the artichoke mixture.
Pour the mixture into a 9-inch skillet, and bake until the dip begins to brown at the edges and is bubbly, about 35 to 40 minutes. Serve with bread or crackers, or both, and enjoy!
I still can’t get over the fact that since the caucuses have ended, my weekends seem freer. Sure, I’m doing my damnedest to fill them up still, but it’s nothing compared to the anxiety of door-knocking, waiting for door knocks, ignoring the multiple calls and texts a day, and all the ways that I worried about the results. (Going to resist a joke about being careful what I wish for here, but needless to say, it’s not like the weeks since have been any smoother for this recovering political reporter.)
So, with an entire extra day of my weekend to do nothing but clean, go to the library, and talk to my mom, I decided it was a good use of my time to once again try to caramelize onions. It has never once turned out the way it looks on TV and in magazines, but it has continued to taste pretty good. This time was no exception.
Surprise, caramelized onions ingredients include mostly onions.
Also, thanks to a picture-filled guide from Food & Wine, I had more guidance, and a good use for my finished product in a quiche.
That’s right. This is a two-fer.
Caramelized onion quiche ingredients.
However, I quickly disposed of the quiche recipe provided and substituted my own version that mirrored something my sweetie had made before. I learned the joys of adding walnuts to a pie crust, of the potentially overwhelming flavor of moldy cheese, and of the fact that a braiser is an amazing pie dish (As a long-time pie lady, I will remember that last one!).
Even if the onions overcooked, didn’t get as moist, and blackened the bottom of my pan, it really only sped up the process of cooking the onions (and reminding me again to adapt!), and they tasted fine. My only regret on the onions is halving the recipe that means we ended up with just enough left over after the cup that went into the quiche to add to the top of two veggie burgers.
For the quiche, I skipped the 1 c. of diced ham, and replaced it with walnuts and Gorgonzola, about a cup-ish of each. However, the 4 oz. of Gorgonzola was a tiny bit overwhelming for me, even as my sweetie adored its flavor. In addition, I added some parsley and some pepper, and tested adding about a half cup of ground walnuts into the pie crust for extra walnut flavor.
The crust was an extra joy, and I have plans for doing that again already. Everything else was also a joy, though YMMV with the Gorgonzola.
It actually couldn’t have been a better way to celebrate the day off than to spend it in the kitchen making something this special.
Couldn’t resist eating some before taking a picture. Oops.
Here’s what I did:
Ingredients
For the caramelized onions
2 lb. yellow onions, halved and sliced vertically
2 t. vegetable oil
2 t. salt
~¼ to ½ c. water
For the quiche
1 pie crust (my typical is 1 ¼ c. flour, 8 T. butter, 1 t. salt, ice water to form; with this I used ¾ c. flour and added ½ c. ground walnuts… but any crust will due)
1 c. caramelized onions
6 eggs
1 c. heavy cream
2 to 4 oz. Gorgonzola (use according to your love of Gorgonzola; 4 oz. was a bit much for me)
1 c. chopped walnuts
2 T. chopped parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
For the caramelized onions
Heat the oil in a 9- to 10-inch skillet or braiser on the stove top over medium-high heat. Add half the onions, turning to coat them in oil. Cook for about 2 minutes, and then add the remaining onions by the handful, using tongs to continue to coat the onions. The pan will be kind of full, but the onions will reduce, and continue to reduce. Once the onions are added, continue to cook for about 3 more minutes, adding salt to draw more moisture out. Reduce heat to medium, cover the skillet (braiser), and cook about 10 more minutes, when hopefully a pool of liquid will have collected (it didn’t for me). Remove lid, and continue to cook the onions, folding them over each other and scraping the bottom of the pan as necessary. Cook until liquid has evaporated, about 35 minutes. (If like me, there’s not much liquid, just keep stirring and cooking and gauge by color, not by time.) Scrape the bottom of the pan and shape the onions into a patty; add water as/if they stick to the pan, until the browned bits are loosened as much as possible. Keep cooking, stirring often, until the onions look the color of bourbon (that’s from the recipe but good advice!), up to another 35 to 45 minutes, as needed. Remove from heat and use/serve as desired.
For the quiche
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Roll out the pie dough to fit in a 9- to 10-inch braiser, or skillet. Lay the dough into the braiser/skillet, pressing around the edges, and shaping the ends as desired. Poke with a fork, layer with pie weights or aluminum foil and dried beans. Bake for about 15 minutes, until parboiled.
Meanwhile, in a large boil, mix together the eggs, cream, onions, gorgonzola, walnuts, parsley, and salt and pepper.
When the crust is ready, remove pie weights, and pour in the egg mixture.
Carefully place braiser/skillet back in the oven, and bake for about 35 minutes until the eggs have set and the top is browned, and enjoy!
Welp, I finally did it. It only took a month. I was finally too ambitious for my small skillet.
It was, admittedly, sketchy to begin with. Even though the recipe called for a 9-inch dish, it did specify that it should be square and deep, so I was already cutting it close.
But I figured I’d give this broccoli and cheese casserole with toasted rye a shot anyway, because it sounded so good, and everything else had worked so far, right?
Broccoli and cheese casserole with rye ingredients.
Well, it turned out that making the cheese sauce nearly filled my skillet to the brim. That made it pretty hard to fit in lots of broccoli, let alone top it with anything.
I nearly decided to scrap it as a blog post entirely since it went so far off the rails. But as I thought about it, I realized it all actually worked out and showed the importance of adapting in cooking.
Sure the recipe said some things, but as I read the signs of what was happening my braiser, I knew I needed to change. And so often when I actually fail at making something it’s because I ignore the signs. Something isn’t working early on but I press on anyway.
This time, I saw how much cheese sauce I had and not only was it too much for my braiser, but it was also too much for the amount of broccoli I had. So, thankfully, I had and added a head (the recipe called for 3, and I had 4). I also saw that the slices of bread weren’t enough, so I doubled that as well.
I didn’t even attempt to fit it in my skillet; I just found a casserole dish that was more than large enough.
And, honestly, it ended up working out well. I had to adapt, sure, and it was frustrating at times to realize my recipe wasn’t working as expected, but I’m infinitely happier for recognizing where things were going a-rye (sorry, I had to), and making changes.
Braiser in the back, casserole in the front.
So, here’s what I did, using my little skillet for the sauce only:
Ingredients
4 large broccoli heads, roughly chopped, stems discarded
1 ½ stick (12 T.) butter, divided
1 small onion, finely chopped
⅔ c. all-purpose flour
1 (12 oz.) can/bottle of beer
1 c. half and half
12 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. dry mustard
~4 slices rye bread, torn or cut into about ½ in. pieces
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cooking spray
Directions
Heat oven to 425 degrees.
Lightly coat an 8-inch by 11-inch casserole or larger with the cooking spray.
Meanwhile, add water to a large pot and bring to a boil on the stove, with enough water to cover the broccoli pieces. Add some salt, and then cook the broccoli until just tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and then let stand in ice water for about 5 minutes or until the sauce is prepared.
Meanwhile, melt 1 stick (8 T.) in a skillet or braiser on the stove top over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Whisk in flour gradually and stir until incorporated and lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Whisk in beer and half and half. Cook until sauce thickens and begins to bubble, about 3 minutes. Add the cheese, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and salt and pepper, and stir until smooth, adding cheese in batches as appropriate. Remove sauce from heat.
Meanwhile, melt the remaining half stick (4 T.) butter in a medium bowl, and add the rye slices, mixing until butter coats the bread.
To bring it all together, add the broccoli to the prepared casserole dish, pour on the cheese sauce, and then finally add the coated bread slices on top. Bake the mixture, uncovered, until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly, about 15 to 20 minutes, and enjoy!
My mom got me a great gift for Christmas a couple years ago. All this silly chef could ask for, really. A Le Creuset. With a beautiful lilac finish. That I just love.
The problem? There isn’t one at all. Except that for years and years I’ve been thinking too big, most recently with sheet pans and Dutch ovens, and my little pseudo-skillet hasn’t gotten nearly as much love as it deserves. So, this year, I’m thinking small.
While I’ll be using my specialty equipment (sold as a braiser, apparently), the recipes I’ll be making this year will work in a 9- or 10-inch skillet, though a lid (or some aluminum foil) will be useful this week, and likely throughout the year.
I’ve done some minor research on recipes to ensure that I’ll have plenty to work with, but it’s not super easy to find recipes that say the exact size of the pan, pot, or otherwise that should be used for each recipe.
My vague memory is that pies were a rare exception among the hundreds of recipes I’ve looked at since recording my foodie adventures that specify the size of the equipment I should be using. So aside from thinking small, the challenge this year will be kind of a more literal version of “if it fits, I cooks.”
Mexican breakfast ingredients that fits so I cooks.
Mercifully, as I was thinking small, I remembered that one of my favorite cookbooks (another Christmas gift, this one from my brother) has recipes that uses just 5 ingredients. Now, this doesn’t have to mean small, but there are options. And even better, the author Jamie Oliver does occasionally list the size skillet. None were my 22 cm small, but several were close enough. I hoped.
With my fingers crossed, I tried my first recipe and prayed that a can of beans plus 4 other ingredients would fit. If it didn’t, I may have been reassessing my choice. I breathed a heavy, happy sigh of relief when my first test of Mexican breakfast was a success. I still overcooked the eggs.
I’m still working out some kinks in becoming an expert but I hope you, dear readers, will be patient and stick with me through the ride. Welcome to small skillet 2020!
Perfect Saturday breakfast for two, and maybe kinda healthy too.
Here’s what I did:
Ingredients
1 can (14 oz.) black beans
4 eggs
½ jalapeno, diced, divided
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
Juice from 1 lime
Olive oil
Directions
Add the olive oil to your small (9- to 10-inch) skillet over medium heat. Add about half the diced peppers. Once they start to sizzle, crack in the eggs, and then immediately spoon in the black beans, including about half the juice from the tin. Cover and simmer the eggs to your liking, probably around 4 to 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the avocado slices by squeezing on some lime juice.
Once the eggs are ready, remove from heat, top the mixture with the avocado around the pan, and then add the remaining peppers, and enjoy!
