Brunching with the "Darlos"

When I was 18 years old I met a girl who would turn out to be my life long friend. We hung out together in Rochester, buzzing around on her Honda 90 super sport motorcycle during our lunch hours from jobs in department stores. We drank alot of beer and danced to our fav band, The Invictas, at a local bar called "Bengal's" down on the lake. It was owned by the infamous "Tiny (300#) Bengal who loved all of us young cuties.
There was a group of us and we had our own language as well, sort of a short talk. We considered ourselves "buds". Our fav things were "darl". Our un-fav things were "wick". It was Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Animals, and Mod was in with Twiggy.  She once painted her apartment walls black and lime green and hung posters of George Harrison on the ceiling.  I called her Nasher and she called me Hen.  As the years passed, I moved to Cal while she got married and had 2 babies. They are still my unofficial niece and nephew. For some reason we always kept in touch. I would visit Rochester as most of my family lived there. We would get together and laugh our guts out and do stupid things after consuming many beers.
Now we are older, Nasher has a great friend, Anita who is like a sister to her. They raised their kids together, went through the heartbreak of some their family members and friends dying. One day they decided to take a year off and travel around the United States.  I thought it would be a distant dream but last June they were on their way.  They bought a 1983 Chevy pickup truck and restored a 14 ft. 1962 Shasta trailer. All turquoise with the original gull wings on each side. So cute and very compact. Their license plate actually says "Darlos" on it. They have a blog of their travels that you can check out too at www.cheapthrillsacrossamerica.com . If this link doesn't work, just google it.
Four months passed and lo and behold they were on my doorstep!  The timing was bittersweet. I really needed a break from my grieving over the loss of my husband,Steve. They would have loved to have been here to see him before he died but that wouldn't have been fun. Somehow it worked out and they stayed 2 1/2 weeks.  We had a blast!
They were up at the crack of dawn each day with coffee brewing and cigs burning as they sat on my deck planning the day. Off to the beach to collect sand dollars, shells, heart stones and whatever flotsam they deemed worthy of their beach bags.

What a haul!

After their beach foraging trips, Anita would make a breakfast of bacon and eggs, every day. I am a cereal/toast/fruit person so didn't partake also I ate a little earlier than they did.  Somehow we missed a few Sundays without me making one of my brunches. Time was running out so after a trip up to Carmel I decided to have brunch on Wednesday.  After all we were all available and sort of on vacation. It seemed so decadent to have a champagne brunch in the middle of the week. We had a blast! The Facebook comments were flying around cyberspace, especially from Mark and Michelle, Nasher's kids.

I decided bacon and eggs were not on the menu.  They squealed when I mentioned French Toast so that was settled.
My May 28 blog www.brunchingwithtwobythesea.blogspot.com gives the recipe for the "Fluffy French Toast" that is my "go to" when making this dish. Trader Joe's Chicken breakfast sausages were sauteed, glazed with maple syrup and popped in a warm oven.   Fruit du jour was end of the summer berries, nectarines, peaches and mangoes tossed with Cointreau. Bubbly was my old standby, Trader Joe's Blason Crement du Bourgogne, blanc de blanc (the orange label).

The table is set for brunching on Wednesday!

The only little glitch was using Trader Joe's Challah bread.  It needed to soak in the batter alot longer as the center was dry. I really like creamy centers in french toast.

No one cared but me. 

Brunch is served

And plated....

Mission accomplished!

Ricotta filled Crepes with Peach and Berry Compote

We have had to postpone our Sunday brunches while Steve receives treatment for cancer of the esophagus and lungs. This is squamous cell carcinoma and is the same type he had in his throat in 2009.  Right now he is receiving radiation to his esophagus. Soon after these treatments are finished we meet with the chemotherapy dept. for treatment of the lung nodules.
The prognosis looks promising. They have so many different chemo-cocktails these days and we are confident one will work for him. He is such a resilient man and has most of his 9 lives left!  Thankfully we are back in the Fisher House just like in 2009 only for a shorter period of time.
 We are kept busy with appointments, keeping track of Steve's medications and keeping him well fed. To further complicate the cancer Steve developed pneumonia the week before the 4th. He was released on July 3rd.  We are fortunate to have wonderful friends who opened their home to us until we could get into the Fisher House in Los Angeles. They went up to Cayucos to enjoy the 4th with family this year and, lucky for us, brought back our mail.  We got to rest in their home with two cute kitties, Dewey and Sam. A big thanks to Katie & Mike and their daughters, Natalie and Alea.
July 4th has just past without us in our little town. It is one of our favorite holidays. The population swells from 3600 to about 30,000 or more. There is an adorable parade (what July 4th parade isn't adorable?), bloody mary's flow, everyone has deck or beach parties and the fog usually rolls in just when the fireworks are to go off, leaving us listening to the distant boom booms.  I heard that it was clear and gorgeous up there this year, the fireworks were spectacular and our house sitter was having bloody mary's on our deck with friends, but...no sense feeling sorry for ourselves there is always next year. Okay we were pissed to have missed the party.
The "blog dujour" is from last year's brunch. I so loved the crepes that I thought it would make an interesting post. Don't be afraid to try crepes, they are easier than they sound and can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator overnight or frozen. I got an early start as this recipe yielded alot.
 Since I am not at home with my brunch recipe files, I have to rely on the link to the Sunset Magazine's recipe from the July 2010 issue for Peach and Almond Breakfast Crepes.
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/crpes-with-warm-cognac-peaches-almonds-10000001995661


                                                    Post 4th of July Brunch, 2010
It has been a long weekend as the 4th was on Sunday and we were packed Friday and Saturday at Peachy Canyon where I work keeping the wine tasters happy. Not feeling too good today (the 5th) but I promised Steve brunch. Luckily I knew what I was going to make already.  I have been dying for pancakes which would be too dry for Steve so Crepes seemed a likely substitute. The July, 2010 issue of Sunset Magazine had an article on peaches, one of which was Ricotta Cheese filled crepes with peach compote. It was billed as a dessert but, hey, who says you can't have dessert for brunch or breakfast for that matter? The peaches are juicy and abundant this year. I had some dynamite raspberries and blueberries so added them to the white and yellow peach compote. Since I didn’t have any sliced almonds I added some chopped toasted pecans. Steve can’t eat nuts so I just put a few on mine. Why didn’t I taste them first??? Rancid!! I guess I had them in my little cupboard at the Fischer House in LA last year instead of the freezer and they went off before I could get them home. I used a very good ricotta for this but am dying to make my own one of these days.

I made the full recipe of crepes and layered them with plastic wrap, slipped the extras into a ziplock bag and froze them for later dishes. Since they don’t have sugar in them I can use them for cannelloni's or another savory crepe recipe.

Crepes filled with ricotta cheese

He loved this dish! The fruit compote was saucy enough and perfectly seasoned with cinnamon, sugar and Cognac. And.. it was a one plate brunch.

Steve opened a Witch Creek Winery “Cool Cat” sparkling wine which I could barely get down even though it is one of my fav bubblies. After the first sip I was fine and it was a good match with the crepes. 
I am just cruising today and drinking lots of water. The skies are overcast so no need to get too ambitious.

Indy 500 Scramble

When was the last time I watched an Indianapolis 500 race? Ten years ago or so. We were looking forward to it this year with a brunch!

Our good friend, Tommy O’Rourke, from Steve’s high school days in Chicago, was a regular in the pits. His father, Cowboy O’Rourke was a racer of midget cars( make sure you check out his bio. with this link). He was affiliated with the Indy 500 starting in the 1940's although he never actually raced in it. I think he was a on a team as a mechanic. His sons Tommy and Patrick accompanied him down there each year.  Tommy used to tell us hilarious stories about “Cow”.  It seems Cow crashed a “few times’ one of which left him blind in one eye. Well he never let on and continued racing half blind! I first met the legend when we moved from sunny San Diego to Chicago’s 18 degree January winter in the 70’s. A few of Steve’s old friends threw a Super Bowl party in a local hotel. It was also a welcome back party for Steve, even though we were only supposed to be there one year. All of the O’Rourke boys were there including their cousin, Billy Seguin. Cowboy O’Rourke had a cocktail glued to his hand most of the day telling stories. He knew how to get the crowd going. Before I knew it he had his hand in his pants with his finger wiggling outside of his open fly right in front of me. Everyone was falling down laughing . Scared the daylights out of me. Welcome to Chicago and get used to this type of behavior as I soon found out. One of the guys decided he needed the fire hose that the hotel had hanging on the wall in case of fire ( no fire extinguishers in those days) so he wrapped it around his person and put on his heavy winter coat and off he went. Luckily we didn’t have anything to do with renting the room because I am sure that bill was HUGE as they left it pretty trashed.

For many years those friends also gathered for Indy 500 bbq’s or just to get together for Memorial Day weekend if they didn’t actually go down there. Cowboy lived to the ripe old age of 83 and still chased the ladies around in his retirement home scaring the living daylights out of them. Tommy had to go make the peace so he wouldn't get evicted. The stories were priceless.

I have absolutely no idea what they eat at the Indy 500 but am pretty sure there are copious amounts of beer and booze.  These eggs would certainly pair very well with that venue with a few dashes of Tabasco sauce.

Today I decided to do “clean out the refrigerator” scrambled eggs with the usual suspects as side dishes, spring fruit and chicken breakfast sausages along with brunch salsa. It is getting harder for Steve to swallow but this seemed to go down okay.

"Indy 500 Scramble"

4 eggs
1 T. milk
Dash black pepper
Dash Tabasco
Whisk all together in a bowl and set aside.

Dice the following veges or substitute veges you happen to have on hand:
1/3 c. red bell pepper
1/3 c. green bell pepper
1/3 c. onion
1 large or 2 small crimini mushrooms. Saute all in a non stick skillet with butter and olive oil, until tender. Season with salt and a little pepper.

Dice up 1/2 fresh tomato.
Cut one thin slice of ham into thin strips about 1" x 1/4".  I usually have ham around for sandwiches.
Add to the skillet and heat until warm.

Have some chopped herbs on hand ie parsley, thyme, basil, rosemary (not too much) to the tune of about 1 T.
Add eggs to the vegetables along with 2 tsp. herbs and a little salt ( taste veges for salt first). Slowly cook them stirring constantly. Add 2 T. cheese, I used feta cheese, crumbled, today but any shredded cheese would do.
When the eggs are set, immediately plate onto heated plates.

Garnish with more cheese and the rest of the herbs.
Pass the Brunch Salsa and (for me) Tabasco sauce!

I love this time of year for fruit. Peaches, apricots, cherries, strawberries,blueberries and nectarines are showing their wonderful faces. A simple presentation is all that is needed to enjoy these fruits at their best. I got sooo lucky as the farmer's market had tiny Chandler strawberries. These are the most fragrant and tasty of all strawberries. I should have bought more but I did get a batch of ice cream out of them.

Chicken apple sausages were cooked as I usually do but with a maple syrup glaze this week.

We had 2 half bottles of bubbly left and they actually had a little life left in them so we polished those off.

Steve tuned the TV into the Indy 500 and enjoyed the ride!

Fluffy French Toast

We drove down to Los Angeles for Steve’s appointment on Friday May 13 for a lung biopsy that the ENT Doctors insisted he get before they can diagnose what is going on with his throat. The appointment was for 8am so we stayed over on Thursday at our usual hotel , "The Royal Palace" in Westwood Village near UCLA and close to the VA as well. A palace it is not but they redid the rooms and it is pleasant and clean. Friday was a very long day with 7 ½ hours in the hospital. After lung biopsies you have to be observed for several hours to make sure the lung did not collapse then there was the long wait to put in the travel allowance and finally back to the hotel for a much needed rest.
Saturday we drove north, stopping in Santa Barbara for lunch at our fav place, The Brewhouse. They always have the best hearty soups as well as a plethora of sandwiches, salads and other main course lunch items. That day it was "Green Posole" chuck full of posole and pork. Homeward bound after lunch. It was still windy and cold but it was so good to be back in our own bed that night.

Neither of us can sleep very well. Steve gets these coughing spasms and is up practically choking. I was so worried as they told him to rest 3-4 days and if he couldn’t breathe or was gasping, to get to the emergency room as the lung probably had collapsed. Great. We made it through the night and he seemed fine.
Brunch was going to happen and we were both looking forward to our, now "ritual" Sunday mornings. As he sleeps I am up putzing around. I turn on the Cooking Channel to watch these guys cooking on beaches or in the street in foreign countries while sitting or squatting down and wonder why I watch that stuff. At least it is a diversion from the usual Food Channel bores.

I love to set our table. It is a simple presentation but choosing the place mats, napkins, plates and champagne flutes really sets the stage. The chairs are placed around the table so we both have ocean views as opposed to evening TV views.
While the food is simmering or baking away I make the bed and get dressed. Our bedroom is visible from the dining area and how gross it would be to sit and look at last night’s rumpled bed covers plus eating while in my sweats doesn’t do it either. .

I had a nice chunk of my girlfriend, Vilia’s, homemade cinnamon dried fruit bread and had been thinking about French Toast ever since I tasted it. My recipe is pretty much a “Souffleed” French Toast but I love that I called it “Fluffy“ back in the 80’s when I wrote the recipe. The eggs are separated, whites beaten to stiff peaks, yolks seasoned and beaten until thick then combined with the whites so it looks like souffle batter.

                                                             "Fluffy French Toast"
3 lg. eggs
1 T. sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cardamon or allspice
¼ c. heavy cream
4-6 slices good bread
1 T. butter
1 T. oil ( I use grapeseed as it has a neutral flavor)

Separate eggs. Beat whites with the sugar until stiff peaks form. Whip yolks with spices and cream until they are thick and lemon colored. Fold whites into yolks. Pour half of the batter into a shallow dish or casserole. Lay the slices of bread over it and spoon the rest of the batter over spreading it between the slices to coat thoroughly. Set aside for 20-30 min so the bread will absorb the batter.

In a large skillet, heat butter and oil. Saute the bread until it is toasted on both sides and puffy. Keep warm.

When I first made this I served it with “Mama’s Fruit Salad” from Mama’s Café in San Francisco. It was one of ours and our friends favorite brunches which is how this recipe has survived over 25 years. The fruit I cut up today was more “in season”, blueberries, strawberries, white peaches, nectarines, mango and a not quite in season melon. I tossed it with a few spoonfuls of my Roasted Rhubarb that is still hanging in there in the frig.

Trader Joe’s Chicken breakfast sausages were sauteed up in a little oil until browned then anointed with a douse of chicken stock and a sprinkling of my brown sugar-chipotle rub. I covered the little skillet and heated it until bubbly. Now don’t think this is weird, but when I have leftover cooked bacon I freeze it. So, having about 3 good looking spiced bacon slices fresh out of the freezer, I laid them over the top of the sausages and placed them in a 350* oven just before I started to saute the French Toast. The glazed sausages and the bacon heated perfectly without drying out or getting soggy.

I kicked up the Organic maple syrup from T.J’s by adding a handful of frozen berries and heating it so it turned into “Berry Syrup”.

We popped a bottle of the Orange labeled Blason de Bourgoune Cremant Brut Reserve from Trader Joe's and had a rather somber toast to Steve's health.

He just kicked back and watched sports of sorts on the flat screen. I prepped rhubarb for marmalade. Whole Foods in Westwood had organic rhubarb so I snagged a few lbs.
I follow a few blogs devoted to canning and preserving, Tigress in a Jam, What Julia Ate and Hitchhiking to Heaven. One of these days, I thought I better get in the game and share a few of my mils of recipes. Starting today I guess!

Huevos for Mother's Day

Today is Mother’s day and we invited our friend Sharon over to celebrate since her daughter lives in England, husband is spending today with his family and she would be alone. She is a lot of fun to have over and loves cooking and eating. As soon as she walked in the door with her “bag of bubbly” we popped it open, she sat on a stool at the stove top island and we start laughing and talking up a storm. I wanted to really make a special Brunch with lots of stuff today and one that my own Mother would have loved were she still with us. I came up with this menu:

Huevos Rancheros with black bean chili over corn tortillas

Sliced avocados and cilantro leaves for garnish

Breakfast sausages, browned and poached in Chile verde salsa

Plate of composed fresh fruit (no fruit hash today)

Spiced biscuits with Strawberry jam, Roasted rhubarb and sweet butter

Bottles of chilled sparkling wine-Prosecco and Cremant de Bourgougne

Hazelnut-cinnamon coffee & Raspberry Tea

I am on a kick to clean out my freezer and pantry of “older stuff”. There happened to be two bags of last season’s roasted heirloom tomatoes, a bag of homemade chicken stock in the freezer, last week's breakfast sausages and corn tortillas. Out they came to defrost overnight. I was not quite remembering the seasonings in the tomatoes but thought there was at least garlic so I could use them for my Salsa Ranchera. If anyone had seen these bags of soggy defrosted tomatoes they probably would have thrown them away. Not I!  I dumped the whole mess in the blender noting a few leaves of basil and, yes, roasted garlic and let it rip. Since I usually roast these tomatoes in olive oil there was that too. It looked hopeful as it smoothed into a dark reddish-orangey puree. The gold tomatoes contributed to the orange color and the dark caramelized skins made it dark. I heated a little peanut oil in a skillet and poured in the puree to cook down a little. Since it was quite thick to begin with I only had to heat it through. This was going to be transformed into Salsa Ranchera for a Huevos Rancheros brunch. I scooped out 2 cups of the puree into a pint Ball jar for another use and added chicken stock, a sprig of epazote and seasonings to the remainder. As it reduced and the pools of oil formed, I knew it was going to be a winner. This Salsa Ranchera is my go to salsa. It is good for said Huevos but also good to poach chiles rellenos in, and, as I did for many years, as a pizza sauce for “Joe’s Taco Lounge” Mexican pizzas in Mill Valley. The difference is using roasted tomatoes as opposed to fresh or canned. The salsa turned out spicy, earthy- sort of mole-ish. I have added a few notes to  this recipe to make it “earthier” if you want. 

Salsa Ranchera

1 28 oz can fire roasted (or not)tomatoes, drained-or use your own oven roasted tomatoes to equal 3 ¼ c.
½ small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
Opt. 1 small chile Serrano or ½ larger one
Vegetable oil
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. fresh ground pepper
Opt. ½ tsp. ancho chile powder
A few leaves epazote
2-3 c. chicken stock
½ tsp salt or to taste
Blend tomatoes, onion, garlic and chile, if used, in a blender until smooth. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet and fry the puree until it is slightly thickened. Add spices and stock. Cook to reduce, about 15 min. Season with salt.
Notes: For a smokier version, toast the onion, garlic and chile on a comal until soft and browned before adding to the blender.
The amount of stock depends on what you are using this for. A thinner salsa is required for Chiles Rellenos for instance. Somewhat thicker for pizza sauce and medium consistency for Huevos Rancheros. It freezes very well.

I had so much fun with this menu. The Salsa Ranchera was heated up in one of my Mexican Casuelas which I put on a diffuser over the gas burner. I forgot that I hadn’t used this casserole in awhile and should have soaked it in water before exposing it to direct heat. It heated up slowly and all was fine. Some where on a food show I saw a chef crack a bunch of eggs into a shallow bowl and slide the whole lot into simmering water to poach. Okay, we shall try this today! I cracked 6 large eggs into a shallow bowl and slid them into the bubbling salsa while Sharon and Steve looked on in amazement. A cover went on top and I timed them for 3 minutes. Since there were so many I knew they wouldn’t be done so I spooned some of the salsa over the top and put the lid back on and timed for another 3 min. They cooked perfectly and I was very careful to loosen them from the bottom of the casserole with a rubber spatula so they would slip out onto the waiting tortillas with ease.

Everyone into the salsa hot tub!

While the eggs are poaching heat corn tortillas for a few minutes on a sheet pan ( I used one per person). Sprinkle on convenience  product-Mexican shredded cheese or shred your own cheddar-jack cheese combo. Place them back in the oven until cheese is melted.
Place one tortilla on each plate, spread on some black bean chile, top with 2 eggs and spoon salsa ranchero over the top.

Easy Black Bean Chile
1 can organic black beans
1 can Herdez or other Salsa Casera
½ tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. Mexican oregano
1 tsp. Ancho chile powder
Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and let simmer 15-20 min.

Meanwhile I heated some oil in a skillet and browned up the pork breakfast sausages. When they looked golden I poured ½ c. salsa verde over them, stirred up the browned bits and let this cook a little. Keep warm in a 250 oven, covered until ready to serve.

.

No fruit hash this week! I cut up cantaloupe, beautiful strawberries, ripe mangoes and arranged them on one of my earthenware plates along with a big pile of local blueberries and some not so sweet local raspberries.
I kept the spiced biscuits warm in a colorful cotton dinner napkin. Slice one avocado onto a little plate along with some cilantro sprigs for garnishing the eggs.
I put out little pots of jam, butter and roasted rhubarb for the biscuits.

 Steve poured more bubbly and we sat down to enjoy our brunch.  These eggs were over the top good. The yolks melded into the smokey spicy salsa and the black beans brought another chile dimension to it all.
Our fruit was as sweet as could be and the chile verde poached sausages satisfied the carnivores.
Sharon is leaving next weekend for two weeks in Bangladesh on a mission to help children recover from Rotaplast surgery ( cleft palates). She will be one of the non medical volunteers that will comfort the children after surgery. This will entail long hours and who knows what kind of living conditions. What a fitting Mother’s Day tribute to a woman with a huge heart and a penchant for giving back. We wished her a safe journey with mucho hugs and kisses.
Did we really finish two bottles of sparkling wine? Whoa!!

Purple Haze'd

May Day!  When I worked in Chicago my former boss would recite this little ditty each May 1-"Hurray, hurray, the first of May, outdoor screwing starts today". Nice right?  He was Canadian, maybe that explains it... Anyway today is May Day Brunch Day.  I still have some flowers from my Easter bouquet which is nice since we were gone the better part of the week.
The Greater Los Angeles Veteran's Administration is our home away from home these days.  More tests for Steve's ailments.  We don't know what is going on but the Doctors ordered a battery of scans, grams and positrons.  He is back to having difficulties swallowing. We shall see what the results tell us at the end of this month.  Keeping the faith, friends!

Saturday we joined our friend, Vilia, on a drive out to the wine country in Paso Robles to pick up a wine shipment from a wine club she belongs to. The tasting room happened to have a couple of cheeses to sample.  One was Cypress Grove Chevre,  "Purple Haze".  It is a goat cheese round rubbed with lavendar and fennel pollen. Soo good in a goat-y, anise-y, sweet way. I bought a round and decided to use in an egg dish for brunch today.

 Out came "The Breakfast Book" by Marion Cunningham.  She has a really good souffle-like omelet she calls "Puffy Omelet".  I have made it before with good results.  As is my way, I like to overstuff things.  This is no exception. Where she calls for a few tablespoons of say, sauteed mushrooms and a little cheese, I have to saute mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes, sometimes ham, then,  add cheese and herbs.  We like omelets that way. This my version for today.
                                          " Purple Hazed Omelet"
3 eggs, separated
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. butter
Filling:
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. butter
¼ c. chopped bell pepper
2 Tbsp. chopped onion
2 mushrooms, chopped
½ roma tomato, seeded and diced
2 Tbsp. crumbled Purple Haze goat cheese1 tsp. chopped Italian Parsley
1 Tbsp. chopped fennel fronds plus some fronds for garnish
 (If you can, go outside and pick some wild fennel fronds and chop about 1 Tbsp. saving some for garnish.The Sicilian fennel is like a weed here in California. If not, fennel bulb is in farmer's markets and usually in commercial ones too. Save the fronds to use in vegetable dishes or this one!)Heat oven to 400*
Saute the chopped veges in the melted butter and olive oil, add the herbs and keep warm.
Whisk the egg yolks until blended. Sprinkle salt over the egg whites, beat until stiff but not dry. Combine yolks and whites until just incorporated.
In a non stick 10” skillet, melt 2 T. butter. When butter foams, pour the eggs into the skillet. Spread out with a spatula. Cook over medium heat until the bottom of the omelet just starts to brown. Pop the skillet into the oven, set the timer for 3 minutes and heat the brunch plates. When the omelet is just set, spread the cooked veges down the middle and sprinkle the goat cheese over them. Using a rubber spatula fold over and press down a little so the filling stays inside and the goat cheese starts to melt.
To serve, cut in half and garnish with a piece of fennel frond. This is very light and moist and benefits from "over filling" with savories.

To round out the menu, I made chipotle-brown sugar coated baked bacon.
Mix 2 Tbsp. brown sugar with 1 tsp. chipotle chile powder ( pretty easy to find this now days). Sprinkle over 6 slices of bacon on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. You can coat both sides if you want to!
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 min. check it and add a few minutes if it isn’t done.

Also on the menu were basic pork breakfast sausages. Usually I cook chicken or turkey breakfast sausages but this week it was the good ole sage-y pork! I put four of them in a little skillet with some water and slowly cooked them until the water evaporated, turning once. Pour some maple syrup over them, for a nice glaze, and pop them in the oven with the bacon. When they are done cover the skillet and keep warm.
Next up was Fruit Hash. This could have been the boring usual I guess, except this week I decided to keep the Goat milk and Fennel theme going by adding some goat milk yogurt and chopped fennel to chopped up mango, cantelope, pineapple, strawberries, banana and blueberries, finishing it off with a drizzle of organic maple syrup.

Salsa de Bruncha was in attendance: 1 cup mild salsa, 2 Tbsp. ketchup, 1 Tbsp. hot Mexican style salsa and a little chicken stock, heated until bubbly.  Steve loves this salsa and it makes everything go down easier.
We had Latetia’s Brut de Noir in sweet small cobalt blue champagne flutes from Tobin James Cellars winery.

Easter Brunching with Lobster!

Easter Brunch- the ultimate brunching day with family and friends. Usually our table is laden with goodies. A, now, traditional Greek Easter bread with the colored eggs embedded in the braids, a platter of Black Forest Ham with little rolls to stuff it into, along with the condiments: two types of mustard, my spicy bread and butter pickles, sliced tomatoes, slivered onions and an assortment of cheeses. We would have an egg dish like frittata or vege-packed scrambled eggs. Sometimes bacon, breakfast sausages or smoked salmon show up. Always cut up fruit and the best strawberries. I would have added a salad or two. In the very early days it would have been Pasta but in the later days I made bowls of flavorful chopped vegetables dressed simply with herbs, olive oil and fruit vinegar. Oh, and potatoes! Of course, a pot of my Scandinavian butter and dill braised little new potatoes. Copious amounts of Champagne, beer, juices and wine were present. I decorated the house and had Easter baskets for my young Niece and Nephew. We invited 15-20 people over. Usually the weather cooperated and we spilled out onto our deck in Mill Valley. My sweet niece still remembers those Easters. If my pictures weren’t packed away in our storage unit I would post a few, someday I will.
Well, here we are, Two by the Sea, brunching by ourselves.  In my refrigerator sit two Maine Lobster Claws, leftover from our dinner in Santa Barbara a few nights ago.  The best deal in town is at the Enterprise Fish Company on State Street. Monday-Thursday 5-9 they feature a Lobster dinner for $29.95. For a first course we each had a cup of Manhattan Clam chowder which we didn't even realize was included in the dinner. They split the lobster for us and gave us a choice of "two sides" from which we chose grilled vegetables and steamed broccoli that was pretty raw and crunchy. I packed up the two claws and the undercooked broccoli to go. The place was packed as it was Spring Break week for the masses. No matter we ordered two glasses of Bridlewood Pinot Noir (being in the heart of Pinot Noir wine country) and enjoyed the evening.  What to do with the leftovers for today?
After searching a few websites I was inspired to make scrambled eggs with lobster.  I typed up a preliminary recipe yesterday and hoped it would turn out good for our Easter Brunch.

We woke up to a drizzly morning but the Easter decorations and flowers I placed around the house brightened things up.  I got the "basket" put together and Steve's card out so he could jump right into those jelly beans he loves. 
This brunch is pretty minimal today, but elegant. I put out my Grandmother's silver pieces and used larger plates as well as our Waterford Crystal champagne flutes.  Nothing too over the top but just a little more special than usual.  I placed the Easter basket in the middle of the table already having an exit strategy when I was ready to serve the food.  Steve hates anything on the table but food or drink.  I just deal with it.

I love working with left overs from a fabo meal and making something different out of them.  I have a pretty well stocked freezer too so out came the ingredients for the soon to be

Lobster Scramble with Caviar on Toast Points

4 dark yolked eggs
1/4 c. lobster bisque ( Costco's)
2 oz. cooked lobster meat ( today it was from the claws) reserving the pincher meat for garnish
2 tsp. butter
2 T. minced onion
2 T. finely chopped bell pepper (your choice of color, today it was orange)
1 T. grated cheese-Unfortunately the feta I had planned on using was "unfit for human consumption so the Parmesan volunteered.
Salt & Pepper to taste ( a dash of each is plenty)
Garnishes:
1/2 small tomato, seeded and chopped
1T. herbage- tarragon, chives, thyme, parsley  in combo or separately
Caviar
2 slices bread, crusts removed, toasted, buttered and cut on the diagonal

Whisk the eggs together with the lobster bisque.  Fold in the lobster meat and set aside
Heat the butter in a non stick skillet. Saute onions and bell pepper until soft over low heat.  Add egg mixture, cheese, salt and pepper.  Cook stirring until the eggs are softly set.
Place the toast points on a warm plate and pile the eggs on top. Sprinkle with some tomato and herbs. Finish with a dollop of caviar and the piece of pincher meat.

* if you don't have caviar you can use finely diced cooked bacon.  I actually folded some bacon into the eggs but it was a little too strong so I won't do that again.  I loves me lobster to taste like lobster!

Our fruit today was a medley of blueberries, strawberries, bananas, pineapple, cantalope and preserved kumquats splashed with a good douse of the sparkling wine we opened- Laetitia's Brut Rose

Salsa de Bruncha was embellished with some lobster bisque and fish stock I had on hand.

Jelly beans for dessert!

Steve is having problems swallowing again so we just ate slowly, enjoying each savory bite.

Happy Easter Everyone.

Birthday Brunch

Monday, March 28, many moons ago, little Steven Eric was born. I wasn't there or even thought of then. Each year since we have been together, (42) I try to do something special.  On his 26th birthday and the first year of our relationship, I threw a surprise block party in San Diego's Mission Beach where we lived.  All of our neighbors came out to enjoy the keg of beer I ordered.  His family drove down from Los Angeles and surprised him too.  He was very impressed. I think my girlfriends all helped with the food and I am sure it was California Mexican. Things like tortilla chips ( fresh fried), salsa, guacamole some sort of stew, beans, salad and a birthday cake. I guess I was destined to cook and cater although that didn't become my profession for 12 more years. 
One fun birthday for Steve was when we lived in Chicago and I was taking classes in Chinese cooking.  I made hot and sour soup, potstickers, fried won tons, Shrimp fried rice and a few vegetarian things that I don't remember. One of his cousin's showed up with a case of beer. His "trading" buddies from the Chicago Mercantile came, stoned, but brought copious amounts of wine and spirits. A good time was definetely had by all as they say. Fast forward to San Francisco when I was just beginning to take cooking seriously and starting to make a career out of it. The parties took my skills to another level. Fine Napa Valley wine ( it used to be reasonable back in the 80's), grilled birds on beds of wild rice, beautiful platters of perfectly cooked vegetables seasoned with various herbs, and spices,homemade breads and pastry shop quality desserts. I am tired just thinking about how hard I worked to put together those dinners. Those were also the "hot tub" days so everyone would shed their clothes after a huge dinner and soak in the hot tub with more libations ( usually champagne, as we were allowed to call it back then). We would have a big fire in the fireplace and just dance and laugh our heads off.
The years tick by.

This birthday was celebrated in Phoenix with Steve's brother Scott, sister in law, Paula and our nephew Coleman in their newly purchased winter home. We laugh because they lived there 30 plus years, left for California, now live in Idaho and have come full circle back to spend the winters in Phoenix. They are now the "snow birds" they used to eschew. We were all so thankful to be warm as California has had a really chilly spring too.
 With a minimally stocked kitchen I decided to make a brunch for  Steve's birthday. Paula, my sister in law, and I went to the local farmer's market and picked up some fresh eggs, herbs, baby spinach, green garlic (yum) and a wonderful loaf of cheddar-apple bread. Trader Joe's and Paula's refrigerator filled in the other necessary ingredients for a pretty good brunch.
At Trader Joe's we picked up some proscuitto, chicken breakfast sausages, a ripe mango, mushrooms and some Italian truffle cheese. Fun fun!!
My Nikon camera battery died just as I was about to snap away. I used Paula's camera and the results were pretty good, at least the dishes are captured for posterity.

First up:                         Spinach and Mushroom Frittata

1/4 # brown mushrooms, sliced
1 c. diced onion
1 small bulb green garlic, peeled and sliced
1 T. olive oil
1# baby spinach, rinsed and dried
    In a saute pan with a lid, saute the mushroms, onions and garlic in olive oil until soft. Season with a little salt and pepper.  Add baby spinach in handfuls, cover with the lid and let steam until wilted. Stir into the mushroom mixture and keep adding spinach until it is all incorporated. I do this as opposed to blanching it to avoid too much moisture and the subsequent squeezing the death out of the  little leaves to remove said moisture.

Combine:
9 farmer's market eggs (the large size)
2 T. milk
1/3 c. crumbled feta cheese ( can use Parmesan)
2 T. chopped Sundried tomatoes ( sister in law had these so why not?)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
    or to taste on these seasonings.
Pour over the mushroom-spinach mixture in the skillet and stir to combine.  Over medium-low heat stir occasionally until the mixture starts to set but doesn't look like scrambled eggs.
I grated about 2 oz. of the Italian Truffle cheese and sprinkled over the top of the frittata. You could use any cheese that melts.
Pop the skillet into a 400* oven and bake 13-15 min. until it is browned and puffy.

  I didn't like the choice of bacon at this T.J.'s so opted for proscuitto which I spread out onto a baking sheet and baked until crisp in the 400* oven before the frittata went in. Watch it carefully as it can burn easily. It takes 4-5 min. max. Sister in law was in heaven!

I have poached these particular chicken breakfast sausages in a little water until it evaporates and they just start to brown then added some Chile Verde salsa to the skillet and baked them in a 350 oven for about 10 min. I thought it would be a good addition today.

We had a medley of odds and ends of fruit including the nice ripe mango so I diced up what we had and tossed in a little orange juice. 

Paula was in charge of her "Home Fries"  with baby yukon gold and red potatoes, bell peppers and onions. All crispy and yummy.

The cheddar apple bread was really good heated and sliced with sweet butter.

A toast was made with the favorite Trader Joe's Crement du Bourgone sparkling wine (what you have to call it now) to our favorite sweet man, Steve.

Off the brothers went in search of a baseball game while Paula and I went on a hunt for a birthday cake for the evening's dinner she had planned with a group of friends.  Steve got double the fun this Birthday!



        

Post St. Patrick's day, Sunday March 20

I am almost corned beefed out. After three dinners last week plus facing the leftovers in my refrigerator I couldn’t bring myself to make hash today. Instead I brought back one of our favorites, a take on  Gale Gand's “ Baked Eggs in Ham cups”. My ramekin stash is very limited. I have two of this and two of that but not three of anything to bake the eggs in. The light bulb went on when I was searching my sideboard cupboard for something to use. There they were, wide mouth half pint ball jars. The timing was perfect as I had just seen someone bake individual cherry pies in them on either the Food Network or Cooking Channel.
I have posted this recipe "Baked Pesto Eggs in Ham Cups" on my Two by the Sea blog in April and June 2010. It worked very well in the little jars!

Our friend, Sharon, came over. She was very lucky as we were between rain storms. Off came the cork on the Prosecco she brought with her. As I worked on the food for our brunch we sipped and chatted away.  I was pointing out that the sweet potato fries were the Japanese sweet potatoes, a white fleshed red skinned tuber that I buy at the local Farmer’s market and forget they are white fleshed. It is always a surprise when I cut into them. Just then the smell of them reminded me to take them out of the oven!

Oven Baked Sweet Potato wedges
2 sweet potatoes or yams
Olive oil
Ground pepper
Chile powder
Sea salt

Scrub potatoes and pat dry. Cut them into 8 wedges and place into a bowl. Coat with olive oil, sprinkle with black pepper and chile powder. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 375* 35-45 min. turning them once. They will be brown, slightly crisp with soft tender centers. Sprinkle with kosher salt when they come out of the oven. Transfer to a serving bowl and keep warm.

Since St. Patrick’s day was only a few days ago I still had a wedge of my Soda Bread. This was wrapped in foil and heated through, served with a little pot of sweet butter. Everyone should have a good recipe for Irish Soda bread. This is very easy and really tasty. I made two of them this year for different corned beef dinners.

                                                        St. Patrick’s day Soda Bread

2 c. Unbleached white flour
1 c. Whole Wheat flour
¼ c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. sea salt
½ stick unsalted butter (¼ c.)
1 Tbsp. caraway seeds
1 cup currants
1 egg
1 ¼ c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400*

I use my Kitchen Aid mixer with the paddle attachment. Place flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in the bowl. Attach the paddle and turn on low to combine dry ingredients. Cut the butter into ¼” dice and sprinkle over the flour mixture. Turn on the KA and let it rip until the butter is just combined. Whisk egg and buttermilk together in a small bowl. Add caraway seeds and currants to flour-butter mixture then pour it the egg-buttermilk mixture. Whisk until it comes together in a loose ball. If it is too dry, add a little more buttermilk. Turn out onto a floured board and gather together into a ball. Knead a few times until it is no longer sticky. Form into a round loaf about 1 1/2 " high. Place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Cut a cross in the top. And place on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temp. to 350 and continue to bake 25-30 min. A skewer or cake tester should come out clean when inserted into the center. I have under baked this a few times but think the timing is pretty right now. It emerges a beautiful golden, currant studded wonder.

I can’t figure out why I only make this once a year. It is great with butter or with one of my marmalades, jams or fruit butters. This year I gave our friends a jar of my Pineapple Guava butter to go with it when we went over for dinner ( the third and last Corned beef bash). Brunch was just about ready. I cut up some melon and strawberries then tossed in blueberries, frozen raspberries and blackberries. Maple syrup was drizzled over all.

Pictures were snapped in a hurry and they didn’t come out that great. I need to crack that "Nikon for Dummies" book that I bought months ago.We toasted to enjoying friends on a rainy day with a little fire going in the fireplace and ate it all up!

Nothing planned today as it is pouring rain and March Madness is in full swing. Steve needs to watch his team today so we will just vege out. I need to vege out big time after the Zinfandel festival in Paso Robles yesterday. Pouring rain did not deter the tasters at Peachy Canyon Winery. It is a fun event especially if you are into Zinfandel ( which I am).  Almost 300 people later,we locked the doors, cleaned up and finally sipped some wine ourselves.

Huevos Revueltos con Tortilla Chips

Sunday was not only post tsunami but day light savings. We went to a pre St. Patrick’s day fundraiser for a local church, drank mucho wine with friends afterward and woke up to the annoying dumb brown bird smashing itself against our sliding glass door. This bird or birds, as I don’t know if it is a gang of them or not, bounces off the deck and into the glass with its beak. Once I just let it go hoping it would knock itself out and it lasted 7 minutes then took a break and started all over again. I put pillows in front of the window and that seemed to deter it in the past. Not this morning! Steve got up, opened the door and put a large object outside in front of the window. That stopped it. I will have to put some potted plants out there or get a cat.
We realized that the 7 am wake up was actually 8 am. Ugh!

Brunch was already planned out in my mind. Huevos Reveultos con Totopos, one of my Diana Kennedy inspired recipes. Basically scrambled Eggs, Mexican style with little "totopos" or corn tortilla chips, veges, cheese and alot of love.
We always have some homemade corn tortilla chips on hand. When a package of tortillas has overstayed it's welcome in the freezer, into the pot of peanut oil it goes, cut into perfect little wedges.

½ roma tomato, diced
½ small onion, diced
¼ green bell pepper,diced
¼ red bell pepper, diced
1 small Serrano or jalapeno chile, minced
4 eggs
2 tsp. milk
Dash of salsa picante ie Valentina or Tapatio
2 tortillas cut into wedges and fried in a little oil until crisp.
½ c. shredded cheddar or jack cheese ( or a combo of the two)
1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro

Heat 1 Tbsp. peanut oil in a non stick skillet. Add the veges and saute until soft.

Whisk eggs with milk and hot sauce. Crunch up the tortilla chips and add to the veges with the eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over low heat stirring the eggs until they are just about set. Fold in half of the cheese. When it is melted remove the skillet from the heat.
Garnish with the remainder of the cheese and the cilantro.
I served the eggs with our “Salsa de Bruncha” which today was Trader Joe’s red salsa with a little ketchup blended in as well as chicken stock, a few dashes of hot sauce, ¼ tsp. each Ancho Chile power and Chipotle chile powder for a little earthiness.

Chicken breakfast sausages were simmered in chile verde salsa. Yum! This brand of sausages wasn’t my favorite but the chile verde salsa took them to a new level.

Fruit was a little lame today. I didn’t get to the farmer’s market this week so I had to make due with last week’s odds and ends, Pink Lady apple, banana, pineapple, blueberries and a good handful of frozen berries tossed with a little organic maple syrup, no complaints from my brunch companion.

Once again I tried to make a quesadilla hoping Steve could eat it. This time I sprayed the flour tortillas with oil, piled the shredded cheese on along with some salsa, topped with another flour tortilla and baked them. These usually are really good, kind of crispy with melted cheese but not today…dry and hard describes them. I think the tortilla is the problem. They are like cardboard. This inspires me to make my own and soon. Oooh another blog!

The bubbly del dia was Blanc de Noir from our local favorite winery Laetitia in San Luis Obispo County.

We groggily ate our brunch wishing we had that extra hour of sleep...

Baked Eggs with an Attitude

                                            March 6- Back to Brunch at home, Yeaaa!

The last two weekends we have been MIA from home. One week we were driving back from our Mill Valley vacation and last weekend we went out to brunch with friends. Both of us agreed we like our own little brunches with appropriate portions better. I hate wasting food and certainly could not eat the huge portion served at the restaurant. I mean 2 cups of fried potatoes with Huevos Rancheros which were brimming with beans, cheese and 2 eggs on the tortillas. Overload!!!

Today is a dreary day with a forecast of rain that came true. I was vacillating between huevos revolutos or baked eggs. Last night I made a chicken and mushroom lasagna with tomato sauce and didn’t want the brunch dish to be too close to those flavors.

Once I started moving around the kitchen checking out stuff in the refrigerator, the baked eggs won. I have made them before and always do the vegetable base a little different. This is based on a recipe from Margaret Fox’s “Morning Food” cookbook that I love. She calls hers “Persian Eggs”. I call mine:


                                                       Baked Eggs with an Attitude
1 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
½ c. onion, chopped
¼ c. red bell pepper, chopped
¼ c. green bell pepper, chopped
1 small Serrano chile or ½ larger one, minced (if you like the heat go for a larger chile)
½ c. mushrooms, chopped ( wild mushrooms are the best if available)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large Roma tomato, diced
1 slice of ham, diced -totally optional as this is a great vegetable dish on it's own.
2 tsp. capers
1 Tbsp. juice from capers
½ tsp. oregano
½ tsp. gr. Cumin
¼ tsp. salt or to taste
¼ tsp. fresh gr. Pepper
2 large eggs
½ c. grated cheese that melts ( I used a combo Monterrey Jack and Cheddar)
2 Tbsp. grated dry cheese like Parmesan but I didn’t have any so used Feta Cheese
Chopped cilantro or parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 350*

This is the best part, get out a skillet, preferably a non stick one and melt the butter and oil together. Add all of the veges: onion, red and green pepper, chile, mushrooms, garlic and tomatoes to the skillet. Saute this up until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the  opt.ham, capers, juice, herbs and seasonings and continue to cook for a minute or two. If you are familiar with sofrito, that is what this looks like. Otherwise it is like a thick vegetable sauce.
Divide this mixture between two individual baking dishes placed on a baking sheet. Make a depression in the middle and carefully crack an egg in each dish. Sprinkle with the cheeses. Bake 12-15 min. Watch them closely as you don’t want to over bake the eggs. They are best when the yolks are runny. Serve with the cilantro or parsley sprinkled on top. You need toast or some such bready thing to sop up the remaining juices. This is sooo good with the egg melding into the flavorful vegetables and a little kick from the chile. It would be good for four people too, just leave it in the skillet and add two more eggs.

I served a bowl of cut up mangoes, kiwi fruit, blueberries, strawberries and pear that I tossed with Triple Sec and yogurt.

Bubbly of the day was from one of our local wineries:
 Laetitia’s Blanc de Blanc
Nothing going on today but to spend too much time on the computer. I did get my web cam hooked up and have just been waiting to try it out on someone. Hopefully my niece, Emily,will call me from snowy Rochester. 

Vege beds waiting for their eggs

Absentee Brunchin'

We took a little road trip in our new-used RAV4 last week. Mill Valley was the destination with a possible trip further north to Mendocino (didn't happen due to major rain). Our close friend, Puff, always welcomes a visit from us. Usually I cook up a storm leaving him with leftovers and recipes. We missed our Sunday Brunch but I remembered one we did when we first got back from the "LA-VA" days when Steve was having a hard time tasting things and his saliva was diminished.  It was based on a San Francisco classic "Joe's Special". This is what I wrote about that brunch.

                                                January 17- Our first attempt at a real brunch!
I had the bright idea to try one of Steve’s old fav’s from Marin Joe’s, “Joe’s Special” and adapting it to a brunch dish. He seems to be able to eat chunkier things and this is pretty chopped up stuff. I never liked this dish but Steve liked it for dinner sometimes at Marin Joe's restaurant so let’s try it for brunch!

I looked up “Joe’s Special” San Francisco and sure enough there were several versions. The blandest is the one I am sure they made at Marin Joe’s but thankfully the one from Original Joe’s on Broadway was right up my alley. Of course I did embellish it a little..

Here is the recipe off the internet:
2T. Olive Oil
2 # Gr. Beef
2 Med. Onions, chopped
½ # Mushrooms, sliced
1 ¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. gr. Pepper
¼ tsp. dry oregano
1 10 oz. box frzn spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
-or- ½ # fresh spinach chopped
4-6 Lg. eggs, beaten
Grated Parmesan

Here’s what I did: Basically I cut the recipe in half in places.
½# gr beef, 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic, chopped ¼# mushrooms
5 oz. Trader Joe’s chopped frozen spinach, defrosted (yum), 3 large eggs ( 2 of which were double yolkers-love those farmer’s market eggs!) to which I added 2 Tbsp. whipped cream cheese(any soft cheese would be nice),  along with 1 Tbsp. water. Beat it up until combined and frothy.
Heat olive oil in skillet and add gr. beef. Cook until browned. Toss in chopped onions, mushrooms and garlic. Saute about 5 min. Cover skillet for 5 more min. This releases the juices from veges. Add spinach and seasonings and heat through. Fold in beaten egg- cream cheese mixture. When eggs start to set I folded in 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese. This should be a relatively loose mixture with lots of flavor ( hint, hint, MJ’s). Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
It was a big hit as he could swallow it and it wasn’t too dry. I always have a pitcher of warm "brunch salsa" on the table too.

I served a bowl of fruit: blueberries, strawberries, mangoes, kiwi and banana with yogurt and brown sugar folded in.

Since I had a Garnet Yam kicking around I decided to oven fry it. Cut into wedges, toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and chipotle chile powder ( a little or alot). Spread on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast in the oven at 350 for about 30 min. They will be soft-crispy wedges of goodness!


WooHoo-Trader Joe's "Crement du Bourgogne" is back. We like the Orange label as well as the Purple label. Not so crazy about the Blue label. Good bubbles, dry and creamy. Perfect with the food I serve for our brunches.

We both toasted to how thankful we are to be back home with Steve on the mend from his radiation treatments. The throat is coming around but he still doesn’t have his taste buds back as well as saliva. He needs to gain weight big time too.

Now that a year has past, we have had wonderful brunches celebrating life each day. The saliva has started to return and he can distinguish flavors and tastes again.