Rosemary and Goat Cheese Scones

July 12, 2013 - Elspeth 2 Comments

It’s never easy to find recipes that work well for large groups, are easy to throw together, and make everyone do the happy nom noms dance. There’s always a person who doesn’t like eggplant, some weirdo fruitarian, or a living-in-denial, “I don’t eat carbs” lame-o.

In my quest to find meal ideas for our larger-than-life, week-long family fiesta for the 4th, I stumbled across some savory scones that did the tricksy. Served with salad, they were the perfect lunch that didn’t require too much fuss and pleased the masses. I set out to create one that was more my fancy and settled on some goat cheese, rosemary, gruyere, and apricot magic. Deeeelightful.

After a couple of tries, I think I found a happy balance between the flavors. The flour-butter-milk base can be used with your own favorite combination of flavors, so I encourage the adventurers out there to swap out my choices and go crazy with some pancetta, figs, blue cheese, etc etc.

Rosemary and Goat Cheese Scones

1/2 c yellow onion, diced fine
1 t olive oil
1 t rosemary, chopped
3/4 apricots, chopped fine (I used dried apricots and rehydrated them in warm water for about an hour)
3/4 c goat cheese, crumbled
3/4 c gruyere, shredded
3 c flour
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
6 T butter, softened and cut into 1/2″ chunks
2 T shortening
1 c milk, plus 1-2 T

Heat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium pan over medium heat, add the olive oil. When hot, add the onion and saute over low until brown, 5-10 minutes. Add a bit of water if the pan gets dry. Cool slightly. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, powder, and salt. With a pastry blender, two knives, or a fork, mix in the butter and shortening so that your mixture is coarse and about the size of peas. I find a fork easier than knives, since you have more control and can press the chunks of butter against the side of the bowl. When you have a consistent mixture, slowly add the milk while stirring with a spatula. If needed, add additional milk about 1 T at a time. The mixture should be fairly dry– don’t add too much milk. Add the onion, rosemary, apricots, and cheeses. Knead on a floured surface for a couple of minutes and then form into a disc on your baking sheet. Flatten into a circle that is about 1 1/2″ thick and bake for 30 minutes, or until brown. Let cool and serve.

Baked Eggs in Crispy Hash Brown Nests

June 22, 2013 - Elspeth 2 Comments

Here I am again with potatoes. My old friend. Loyal. Beautiful. Delicious. It’s hard to say no to something this sexy.

Am I right? Can I get an AMEN?

And what better friend to pair with potatoes than an egg? There is no partnership in the universe that can top this dynamic duo (although Bert and Ernie do a damn fine job of trying).

A crispy bed of hash browns, cheesy filling, and soft baked eggs make this a wonderfully indulgent breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, etc. The filling is really the key here– it nicely ties together the egg and hash browns with a salty kick from the Gruyere and a sweet slap in the face from the caramelized shallots.

Be sure to wring out your potatoes well to get out as much moisture as possible, or else you’ll have soggy nests. Yum. Soggy. A great word to use when describing food.

Baked Eggs in Crispy Hash Brown Nests
1.5 lbs Russet potatoes
4 T melted butter
4 oz cream cheese
1 c shredded Gruyere
1/3 c milk
6 shallots, diced fine
1 T butter
12 -15 eggs
1/4 c cream
Pepper
Red pepper flakes
Chives

You can either make this recipe into 18 egg nests or 12 nests and 1 small ramekin, about 6″ diameter (I chose the latter). Grease your pan of choice.

In a skillet over medium-low heat, melt the 1 T butter. When hot, add the diced shallots and reduce heat to low after 2 minutes. Continue cooking slowly over low heat for about 45 minutes, or until very soft and brown. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425. Scrub and peel the potatoes, then shred them in a food processor or with a box grater. You should have about 4-5 cups. Place into a dishtowel or cheese cloth and wring out over your sink. This is best done in smaller batches, to maximize the moisture expulsion. Mix the shredded potatoes with melted butter and press into your greased pans so that you have an even wall of potatoes up the sides and on the bottom of your nests. Bake at 425 for 30-35 minutes or until brown.

Reduce the oven temperature to 375. When the shallots are good and caramelized, place them in a bowl with the cream cheese, red pepper flakes, pepper, milk, and Gruyere. Mix thoroughly. Spoon a tablespoon of the mixture onto the baked nests and smoosh down to flatten (for the larger ramekin I used about 1/2 c). Crack an egg into each nest (2-3 for the ramekin), spoon about a teaspoon of cream onto each one, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the eggs are set (ie, they don’t jiggle when you shake the pan). Cool for 5 minutes, run a knife around the edge of each one, and then lift carefully onto plates. Sprinkle with more pepper and the chives, then serve immediately.

Lemon Gorgonzola Risotto

April 21, 2013 - Elspeth Leave a comment

(This post is for Corin, who has discovered the joys of risotto and will (hopefully) love the choice of ingredients!)

Far be it from me to rub it in the rest of the country’s face that California’s generous weather system has graced us with summer a couple of months early, but I’ll go ahead and do it anyway: 80 degrees, baby.

Such brilliant gusts of warm, freshly-cut grass breezes brought me to lemons and lemons brought me to Deb and Deb brought me to risotto. Add in the leftover gorgonzola from a little wine and cheese party last night and the world just made sense again.

I highly recommend investing in a bottle of lemon oil, which packs so much of a punch you only have use it sparingly and don’t need to purchase frequently. It mellowed out the gorgonzola perfectly (which was very strong) and was the perfect end to a warm day.

Lemon Gorgonzola Risotto

1 T olive oil
1 T butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced fine
1/2 c short-grain or arborio rice
1/4 c white wine
2.5 c warm stock
1/2 c grated parmeggiano
1/3 c crumbed gorgonzola
1 scant t lemon oil or 1 T lemon juice
1 t lemon zest
2 T diced chives (optional)

Place a heavy-bottomed pot over medium high heat and, when hot, add the oil and butter. When the butter is melted, add in the onion and cook for 5-7 minutes, until soft. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes. Add the wine and reduce for 1 minute, or until absorbed a bit. Add in 1/2 c stock and reduce the heat to med-low, so that you have a high simmer going. Stir the rice frequently as you grate the parm, crumble the gorgonzola, zest the lemon, and dice the chives. Gradually add the stock into the rice as it absorbs and bubbles, approximately every 3-5 minutes. Remember to stir frequently and add enough stock along the way, or else the bottom of the pot will burn the simmering rice. After about 20 minutes or when the rice is at desired done-ness, turn off the heat. Stir in the parm, lemon oil, zest, and gorgonzola. Plate the risotto and add a sprinkling of chives on top. I served mine over a bed of arugula and spinach, which is pretty much how I eat everything.