The Humble Kitchen

This is the second installment of my new series, “The boy in the kitchen.”  My son has always been in the kitchen with me, sitting on the counter as a baby and now, really interested in recipes, nutrition and cooking on his own. He comes up with some great ideas, like putting the jam on his first breakfast, “egg in a hole.”

I thought it’d be neat to document some of his dishes and the ones he cooks, not only for his reference, but for my own. The one he chose to cook this morning was egg in a nest:

Nest prepared by tearing tiny pieces of bread. He wanted a flat nest.

Place egg styled to your liking in the nest. (Being the typical five year old, he must prepare the lego people prior to him eating.)

He discovered that one of the advantages to this presentation was the "dipping sauce"

As you can see, he did not like this breakfast at all.

~Sarah

Step #1 Find recipe

Step #2 Get bread

Step #3 Get Eggs

Step #4 Select green egg

Step #5 Stir egg becuase you do not prefer a soft boiled egg

Step #6 make hole in bread

Step #7 Place bread in buttered skillet, fry for a moment on each side, then pour mixed (or unmixed) egg into the hole

Step #8 Remove from pan and say, "oooooo"

Step #9 Add some homemade nectarine and thyme jam on top

Step #10 Eat!

~Sarah

Last time Sarah came to visit we made this flourless chocolate cake that I’d seen Jacques Pepin prepare on the PBS show Julia and Jacques. It intrigued me because I’d never seen a cake made with ganache and egg whites, and also because the recipe requires no flour. This is the sort of cake that the French would make into a bûche de Noël, but the batter can also go into ramekins for little chocolate soufflés.

You’ll need a half sheet pan (or a 11 x 17 jelly roll pan) and the following ingredients:

For the soufflé

1 cup heavy cream

8 oz bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces

7 egg whites, at room temperature

2 Tbs granulated sugar

For the filling

1 cup heavy cream, well chilled

½ tsp vanilla

1½ Tbs granulated sugar (optional)

1 Tbs cognac (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350º and line the pan with buttered parchment.

To make the soufflé, heat one cup of cream to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Add the chocolate pieces, lower the heat and whisk to melt the chocolate thoroughly. Once smooth and well combined, remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Whip the egg whites and 2 tablespoons of sugar until they have formed stiff peaks with a glossy sheen.

Scoop about a quarter of the beaten egg whites into the pan with the ganache, and whisk to combine. Now pour the lightened ganache into the egg whites and use a rubber spatula to gently fold the mixture. Do not over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer.

Place the pan in the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. When done the cake should be set and puffy. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack until room temperature.

Once the cake is cool make your whipped cream.

Lift the parchment lined cake from the pan, long side facing you. The recipe says to dust the cake with cocoa powder at this point, but honestly we forgot, and it was still good.

Lift cake, still on the parchment,  out of the pan.

Spread on whipped cream.

Start to roll.

Lift up the near edge of the cake and parchment and start to fold it away from you. Begin to peel the parchment off the cake. Roll another few inches, pressing the parchment to make a tight spiral.

Keep rolling.

Keep it snug.

The cake should still be sitting on the parchment paper, and at this point you can wrap the parchment around it and either transfer it to a platter to serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Trim the edges.

Enjoy.

-Jennifer (and Sarah)

This oven baked pancake is simple to prepare, and stunning to boot. My parents often made it on weekends when we were kids, and it is as impressive to me as an adult as it was when I was little. The name alone is intriguing. I have to assume the Dutch comes from it being German, or Deutsch, but how the baby got there is anyone’s guess.

You’ll need a blender for this recipe, though my parents made do with a hand mixer. It’s best made in a cast iron pan, which gives it a wonderfully crisp bottom. The tender custard interior and craggy surface can be achieved in any shallow oven ready pan.

I use a 12″ cast iron pan, but if you are using a smaller pan click the photo below to see appropriate quantities.

Turn oven to 425º and assemble the following ingredients.

½ cup unsalted butter

6 eggs

1 ½ cups milk

1 ½ cups flour

pinch of salt                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Place the butter in your pan and set in oven to melt. Crack eggs into blender and whirl at high speed for one minute. With motor running gradually pour in milk, then slowly add in the flour. Continue to blend for 30 seconds, and throw in your pinch of salt. Pour batter into hot pan with melted butter. Bake 20-25 minutes until puffy and brown. The edges should curl like a tidal wave. Cut and serve immediately with lemon wedges and generous amounts of powdered sugar.

-Jennifer

Recently I acquired a lovely book called Loaf, Crust and Crumb by Silvija Davidson. It’s a sort of encyclopedia of bread. There are recipes, but not for the bread itself, rather how to use the bread once you’ve got it. I love this idea, particularly the uses for stale bread. We tend to forget that necessity brought about so many delicious recipes we still enjoy today. Who doesn’t love French toast (pain perdu to the French), a way of saving yesterday’s lost bread? Stuffing, croutons, all these are in the book, along with some unexpected recipes like Brown Bread Ice Cream.

I have the great fortune of living near enough to the Acme Bread Company that I can enjoy these exceptional loaves on a regular basis. My favorite being pain au levain. I could happily eat the entire loaf in one day, but when I manage to show some restraint and I have a bit leftover, there are so many possibilities. One of my favorites is a Moroccan inspired stuffed fish. I particularly like Jamie Oliver’s recipe, though I tend to use butterflied whole trout, and I don’t bother to tie it. Delicious with or without the bacon & crème fraîche.

The most recent way I’ve used up my bread was for breakfast, after having noticed a recipe for Migas in a beautiful book by Sam & Sam Clark called Moro. I decided to see what I had in the fridge. I sauteed onion and garlic in bacon drippings, added in the bread cubes, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, a fresno chile and some spinach for color. Topped it off with a fried egg. Breakfast served.

-Jennifer