eggs « (y)our food choices™

When life gives you flat Champagne, poach something.

You wake up after a party to find half a bottle of flat Champagne (or Prosecco or Cava) sitting in the fridge. You’re head is pounding and you’re resolutions forbid alcohol for the foreseeable future. What do you do with that leftover sparkling wine? If your first thought is to dump it down the sink, get hold of yourself and take a deep breath. There are uses for the once sparkling stuff.

While researching recipes for the Mimosa post a few days ago Jason came across a recipe for poached eggs in Champagne. It looked interesting enough but when would we ever have left over sparkling wine? It just happens that on New Year’s Day we awoke to a half bottle of Prosecco in our fridge. We had already planned to make Black Eyed Peas and thought the eggs might make a nice accompaniment, but after looking in our fridge a bit more we discovered the makings for an Eggs Benedict sans Hollandaise with the Champagne-Poached Eggs. We had the fixings for Sunday brunch and since the Champagne was already flat it could wait another day.

For the semi-Eggs Benedict we used prosciutto and goat’s milk brie along with rustic potato rosemary bread instead of the traditional English muffin. It’s not that making hollandaise is a difficult process, but sometimes you want it to be as easy as making a toasted sandwich, which I think most of us can handle even on the most difficult of mornings.

The taste of the Champagne infuses with the egg whites and the little bit of butter in the poaching liquid adds a nice richness to them. This is definitely something we’ll make again. We give up alcohol at the beginning of every year for 4-6 months so it will be a while before we prepare it next, maybe next New Year’s Day!

Boil. Toast. Poach. Broil.

Eggs Benedict sans Hollandaise with Champagne-Poached Eggs

4 slices thick rustic bread (we used potato rosemary in our version)
Leftover Champagne (at least two cups)
2 tablespoons butter
4 eggs
4 slices prosciutto
4 slices brie

Lightly toast the bread. Heat the sparking wine with the butter in a sauté pan until it’s a gentle simmer. Boil a pan of water and add the eggs in their shells for 30 seconds. This is a great trick to keep the whites together. Crack each egg into a ramekin and gently pour into the sparkling wine and butter. Poach for 3-5 minutes. Meanwhile, under a broiler, place the a lightly toasted piece of bread, with a slice of prosciutto, and a slice brie and broil for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melting.

Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon from the poaching liquid, gently bloating the bottom on a towel. Place each egg on top of the brie and prosciutto toast. Serve immediately.

This is best served with a glass of Champagne or mimosa, but if you happen to be on the wagon, like us, enjoy with a glass of sparkling water and oj.

Cheers!

Bacon Avocados (yes, that's the real name of these beauties)

As a kid, avocado was a color; an ugly throwback to a time I couldn’t connect with and the sad dark color of the deep pile shag carpeting in my teenage home. Avocado wasn’t a food my parents ever contemplated and because Idaho isn’t the sort of place you’d expect to find an avocado tree (except, of course, on the kitchen window seal of the seed sprouting hobbyist), they were never on my mind.

When I finally discovered the creamy, nutty flavors of avocado, they were adulterated with mayo in what can only be described as a redneck, white-trash take on a Mexican classic. I fell in love instantly! The silken, herbaceous and delicate earthy flavors of avocado were to me at the time the sort of thing to be indulged with crunchy corn chips or as a cool base for crab or shrimp Louis salad. It was a lunch or dinner thing, in a nice café or in front of the boob tube or on a picnic.

Why not avocado in the morning? It is a big berry after all, and it pairs equally well with eggs and toast or any of the delightful winter citrus now in the market. The silky ripe avocado isn’t just for guacamole anymore. We’ve started eating the sexy, silky fruit with soft-boiled eggs, sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper and crunchy gray sea salt. With a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a slice of warm crunchy toast, the avo-ovo breakfast has become a favorite at our breakfast table.

Who needs cereal?

The perfect avocado will be soft but not mushy. Choosing a nice ripe avocado takes some practice. Regardless of the variety, the avocado’s skin shouldn’t be dented and beaten up looking. Avocados bruise as any other fruit and once the flesh has been knocked around, it will turn brown. A ripe avocado will still be somewhat firm to the touch but it’ll give a little under the careful pressure of a thumb. The avocados pictured at the top of the post are “bacon” avocados. According to the California Avocado Commission, there are approximately 500 varieties of avocado. California produces 7 varieties for commercial sale.

The perfect soft-boiled egg will be creamy and soft in the middle without falling apart into an under-cooked mess. The technique for cooking soft-boiled eggs is learnable and worth the care. The word “boiled” is a bit misleading because you never want to cook eggs at a rapid boil. Eggs need to sit in water that is just at the simmer point for the desired length of time. We heat water in a saucepan and gently lower the eggs into the hot water to better control for time. If you place the eggs into the pan while the water is still cold, you’ll have a much harder time gauging just how cooked they are. To prevent cold eggs from cracking as they hit the hot water, use a thumbtack or pin to puncture the “flat” end of the egg. This allows air to escape while the egg quickly expands inside the shell, relieving pressure and ensuring you don’t end up with egg-drop soup. For soft, creamy centers, large eggs should simmer for 7 minutes. Smaller eggs will require less time. I’d say probably 5-6 minutes. Every minute matters so experiment until you figure it out on your own stove.

To the naysayers who worry about the fat content of avocado, I say phooey. The fat in avocado is among the best kind for your health and it quells hunger leaving you feeling satisfied and well fed. Better to put down the bag of chips and eat all the avocado you want. Both your heart and your waistline will benefit.

Cheers, Steve