Eggs


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The Endless Road Trip: Porklandia

Portland, Oregon may seem like the type of hippie-dippie place that knows its silken tofus from its seitan (and it is). But as I recently discovered, these hipsters also know their swine, from head to tail. Oregon is a serious pork-producing state, and Portland chefs get crazy/creative with pig parts of every variety. I ate my way through Porklandia so that you don’t have to.

At Tasty n Sons, nearly every dish, from salads to kimchi to chicken, comes with an egg on top (as god intended). It climaxes with this perfectly golden-brown, intensely crispy fried pork cutlet, served over spinach, with a soft fried egg for a crown.

The Woodsman Tavern is the first place I have ever been served a ham plate and then told the proper order in which to eat the hams, as if this was a fancy wine tasting—from most delicate to heartiest. Each one was prosciutto-thin, but with the full salty taste of a good ol’ Virginia-style baked ham.

Don’t forget the ears! At Whiskey Soda Lounge, a casual spot from acclaimed Pok Pok chef Andy Ricker, they’re stewed in 5-spice and deep-fried until crisp, served with a black vinegar dipping sauce. They’re crusty on the edges and chewy in the middle, with the texture of…well, ear.

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in Bacon / Breakfast / Desserts / Eggs / Featured / Food Travel / Pig / Restaurants / Sandwich 1 comments
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The Endless Road Trip — San Diego’s Top 10 Eats: 10. Scrambled Eggs, Meet Rice and Beans

Obviously ES couldn’t leave San Diego without eating tacos. And by “eating tacos,” of course I mean trying every last tortilla-based product our hungry little mouths came across.

One place in particular, Las Cuatros Milpas, a hole-in-the-wall in the far-flung Barrio Logan neighborhood, came highly recommended. The line stretches out the door, the wait is 20+ minutes, and there are only five things to order. Surprisingly though, we were less-than-wowed by the tacos, which came out of the deep fryer dripping in grease. Off day? Unclear. But it didn’t matter, because most of my attention was focused on the other item we ordered—chorizo con huevos:

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in Eggs / Endless Bacon / Food Travel / Red Meat / Restaurants 0 comments
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Eating Oddities: Peacock Eggs

We have a peahen that kind of rules my yard. Her name is Gertie. She”s not ours, I think she belongs to our neighbor, although said neighbor has never actually owned up to it. Mostly I”ve been annoyed by Gertie. She sleeps in my garden, killing seedlings. She likes to scream outside my  bedroom window at ungodly hours. Mating season is especially bad. There are no peacocks around, so she”s extra loud and desperate to get some action. A couple of weeks ago I found her nesting casino spiele in one of my perennial flower beds. She was there for a few days, unmoving, so I knew she was working on something delicious:

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in Eggs 2 comments
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Eating Down the Fridge: Egg Foo Young

Lately, when it comes to reconstituting my leftovers into dinner, it seems that there has been an “Asian-inspired” theme.  (I say “Asian-inspired” so that I can sidestep any claims about the dishes’ authenticity.  I made it from stuff I found in the fridge.  I know it is not authentic.)  Whether it’s a weekly dose of fried rice or a bowlful of curry, I have definitely been getting the Far East vibe when I open my refrigerator door.

The other day, as I contemplated dinner, I spied a half-empty bag of bean sprouts in the vegetable drawer.  I knew at that moment that I had received my mission.  Here’s why:  Once every few months, I go to my favorite cheap, exotic produce shop, LA Mart in Silver Spring.  I marvel at how inexpensive everything is, fill my cart with vegetables, and spend less than $30.  Without fail, a bag of bean sprouts materializes in my cart.  I take it home, use half the bag that night, and forget about the rest until I find the sad little sprouts, brown and slimy, in the bottom drawer a week later.  But no!  This time, I have seen them in time.  I would not let them go to waste.

I like bean sprouts a lot.  My husband is a bit more iffy.  Thus, I needed to use lots of them without serving something that appeared, despite whatever delicious dressing I concocted, to be just a bowl of bean sprouts.  Enter egg foo young.  A childhood favorite of mine, it is the perfect EDF dish because once you have bean sprouts and eggs, the rest is quite flexible.

Egg Foo Young

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in Eggs / Recipe / Veggie 4 comments
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The Endless Road Trip — San Diego’s Top 10 Eats: 3. Pacos

To be honest, I went to California with a mission to eat the best and craziest tacos I could find, and I like to think I succeeded. I won’t argue that scrambled eggs and pork belly are both awesome inside a tortilla, but I’ve definitely found the best breakfast tacos, ever.

I’ve already expressed my love for R Gang Eatery after they served me the <best tater tots ever>. But you know, after BS and I consumed an entire basket of fried potatoes and cheese, we just couldn’t resist ordering what sounded like the best breakfast item ever: pacos. That’s right, pancake tacos.

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in Bacon / Breakfast / Eggs / Food Travel 2 comments
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My Breakfast is Better Than Yours: The Croque-Madame

What did you have for breakfast when you woke up this weekend? Unless it was a croque-madame (which I didn’t even know about until this weekend), you lose. What you’re looking at is the female version of a croque-monsieur, which is a glorified ham and cheese sandwich with bread soaked in a tasty sauce. I’ll let you figure out why this one’s considered the female version.

Anyway, I was lucky enough for my girlfriend to have seen it made on The Chew, which inspired her to make it for breakfast. It peaked my interest right away — pretty much just because Michael Symon is on The Chew and I’d love to hang out with him and have a beer. But other than that, this concoction has everything a breakfast should be.

Think of what you’d order at the diner. If you have any wits to you, you’re going to order eggs, some delicious meat (bacon or ham), toast, and homefries. But let’s be honest, most of us just use the homefries as filler, to soak up the “dippy egg” or sunny-side up egg. This breakfast has it all and more. Not only does it have a delicious, savory meat, but it also includes melted cheese in between a tasty baked bread with crispy toast.

Further, the toast has been soaked in a cream (bechamel sauce) made of milk and nutmeg, giving the whole meal a bit of a sweet undertone. Finally, thanks to the females out there, the fried or poached egg crowns the sandwich. To eat it the right way, break the yoke first, and then cut into the rest of it. Get a little bit of everything in every bite and there’s no need for those homefries.

The Croque-Madame

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in Breakfast / Cheese / Eggs / Sandwich 3 comments
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