… adapted from John Gorham, Tasty n Sons, Portland

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 cup thinly sliced roasted green peppers (about 2 peppers; see Note)

1 cup thinly sliced roasted red peppers (about 2 peppers; see Note)

¾ teaspoon paprika

¾ teaspoon piment d’Espelette or red pepper flakes

¾ teaspoon granulated sugar

1 small bay leaf

1 cup whole canned tomatoes, with juice

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 large eggs

Crusty bread, for serving
 

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large, ovenproof skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and the garlic and cook until the onion becomes translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the green and red peppers and cook for 2 minutes. Add the paprika, piment d’Espelette, sugar and bay leaf and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 2 minutes longer.

2. Preheat the oven to 400˚. Add the tomatoes and their juice to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break down, about 20 minutes longer. Discard the bay leaf and season with salt and pepper.

3. Bring the sauce back to a simmer. Crack the eggs over the sauce so that they are evenly distributed across the surface. Transfer to the oven and bake until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still soft and runny, about 7 minutes. Serve immediately with crusty bread for dipping.

Note: To roast the peppers, place the peppers on a hot grill or hold them over a gas flame on the stove until black and blistered on all sides. Transfer the peppers to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let steam for 15 minutes. Peel, seed and stem the peppers. Set aside until ready to use.

- TastingTable.com

Avoid that green residue and impress with tender, creamy eggs.

Learn the method on Cook’s Country.

Don’t boil.

Place 6 eggs and a table spoon of salt in 2 quarts water.

Turn Heat to high and bring water to a simmer.

Once simmering, remove from heat and let sit 10 minutes.

Eggs will cook through.  Remove from hot water and place in an ice bath for 5 minutes.

bacon-bourbon-espresso  jam

Yield: 12 ounces jam

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 hours

ingredients:

directions:

Avocado Spinach Egg Salad

Leek and Pancetta Risotto with Fried Egg

Recipe adapted from Cindy Pawlcyn and Darren McRonald, Brassica, St. Helena, CA

Cindy Pawlcyn, the owner of Napa Valley’s new Brassica calls her executive chef, Darren McRonald, “the best risotto chef in the United States.” We might question such high praise if we hadn’t sampled McRonald’s leek and pancetta risotto. The dish, which appears seasonally at Brassica, is both creamy and surprisingly light. Plus, the addition of a fried egg on top is a genius touch.

Yield: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 leeks, cleaned well and finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped pancetta
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
½ cup finely chopped yellow onion
3 cups Arborio rice
⅓ cup dry white wine; at room temperature
5 to 6 cups hot chicken stock
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
6 large eggs


DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium skillet set over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add the leeks and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Remove the leeks to a bowl and set aside. In the same pan, add the pancetta and cook until it begins to render its fat and is soft but not dried out or crispy, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the pancetta to the reserved leeks. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook, stirring, until all the butter has been absorbed, about 4 minutes. Add the wine and reduce until dry, about 2 minutes.

3. Add enough stock so that the fluid level rises just above the rice. Continue to simmer, stirring frequently. Continue adding stock as it is absorbed so the stock just covers the top of the rice. Continue cooking until the rice is al dente, about 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in a bit more stock and the Parmesan. Remove from the heat and set aside to rest while you fry the eggs.

4. In a small skillet set over low heat, melt a tablespoon of butter. Crack the egg into the pan. Fry over low heat until the whites and yolk are set, about 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining 5 eggs.

5. To serve, stir the reserved leeks and pancetta into the rice, divide the risotto among six bowls and place a fried egg on top of each serving. Serve immediately.

Rivera’s Indian Butter
recipe serves 6 

3 ripe medium-sized avocados
5 garlic cloves coarsely chopped
3 serrano chiles chopped coarsely
Juice of 1 lime
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 ½ teaspoon white pepper
 
Peel and seed the avocado and put in a food processor with the garlic, lime juice, chiles, salt and pepper. Process to a smooth creamy puree. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Makes 4 cups

• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 can (19.5 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Whole-wheat pita and crudites such as red pepper and broccoli

Directions

1. Set a steamer basket in a large pot. Fill with enough water to come just below basket; bring to a boil. Add potatoes; reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a food processor.
2. Combine chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, oil, cumin, and garlic in the food processor. Puree, about 1 minute; thin with water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper and let cool; refrigerate, in an airtight container, up to 1 week. Serve with pita and crudites.

Read more at Wholeliving.com: Sweet Potato Hummus

12 Great Cookie Recipes

Bacon, Egg, and Toast Cups

Try cooked, crumbled sausage in place of bacon or make a vegetarian version with sauteed spinach. Dress things up with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients

• • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 8 slices white or whole-wheat sandwich bread
  • 6 slices bacon
  • 6 large eggs
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter 6 standard muffin cups. With a rolling pin, flatten bread slices slightly and, with a 4 1/4-inch cookie cutter, cut into 8 rounds. Cut each round in half, then press 2 halves into each muffin cup, overlapping slightly and making sure bread comes up to edge of cup. Use extra bread to patch any gaps. Brush bread with remaining butter.
2. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium, until almost crisp, 4 minutes, flipping once. (It will continue to cook in the oven.) Lay 1 bacon slice in each bread cup and crack an egg over each. Season with salt and pepper. Bake until egg whites are just set, 20 to 25 minutes. Run a small knife around cups to loosen toasts. Serve immediately.

*thanks to my Brother Chad and sister-in-law Konul for the heads up on this recipe.

Barrel Aged Gin

It’s time to reconsider what we know about gin, starting with the color.

Disregard any rules about the spirit being exclusively clear, because distillers around the country are putting their gins in barrels, resulting in tawny beauties that marry botanical nuances with warm and round notes akin to whiskey. With the best of both worlds in a single bottle, the mixing opportunities are endless.

Oregon-based Tad Seestedt put the wheels in motion two years ago when he first released his Ransom Old Tom gin. Meant to replicate the Old Toms of the 18th and 19th centuries (when all liquor was stored in barrels), the gin spends six to seven months in neutral French oak.

In San Francisco, distiller Davorin Kuchan will release his second batch of Rusty Blade gin this fall, and we can’t wait. He ages it for just under two years in the same French oak barrels that he uses to age Zinfandel wine for his eaux-de-vie (which, in a full-circle effect, form the base of the gin). The resulting liquor has alpine notes with the mellow, honeyed tickle of a Cognac.

Colorado-based distiller Ted Talmer was inspired to barrel his gin after tasting an aged genever in Holland. After several months in new American oak, his Imperial gin channels bourbon. And in Nashville, the folks at Corsair Artisan Distillery increase the juniper levels in their traditional gin before putting it into barrels that previously held spiced rum.

Brown gin in hand, start your mixing with a Martinez. The kissing cousin of the Manhattan, it’s the ideal platform for a gin with whiskey envy.

Martinez
Recipe adapted from Misty Kalkofen of Drink, Boston
Makes one drink

Ice
1¾ ounces barrel-aged gin (preferably Ransom Old Tom)
1 ounce sweet vermouth (preferably Cinzano Rosso)
¼ ounce maraschino liqueur
2 dashes Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas Decanter bitters
Thin slice of lemon

In a mixing glass, combine all of the ingredients except the lemon. Stir and strain into a coupe. Garnish with the lemon slice.

- from TastingTable.com

hellyeahrecipes:

Buck Rarebit (Welsh Rarebit with Spinach and a Poached Egg)

makes 2 servings

• 2 eggs
• 2 thick slices bread (toasted)
• 1 (6 ounce) package spinach (steamed and drained)
• 1 batch Welsh rarebit cheese sauce
• cayenne to taste

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and reduce the heat to medium.
2. Crack an egg into a bowl, swirl the water in the pot and pour the egg from the bowl into the water and repeat for remaining egg.
3. Let the eggs cook until the whites are set but the yolks are not, about 2-3 minutes and fish them out.
4. Place the spinach on the toast, pour on the cheese sauce, top with the poached eggs and garnish with a touch of cayenne.

(Source: )

Uova In Purgatorio

• 5 Large Eggs
• 1/2 can of Whole Plum Tomatoes (San Marzano are best)
• 3 Large Cloves of Garlic
• 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 Cup Torn Basil
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Salt/Pepper

1. Place 1/2 cup of Plum Tomatoes, with some of the tomato juice, in a bowl and crush with your hand until the tomatoes are broken but not completely smashed.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over mid-high heat. Slice Garlic as thin as possible and add to the hot oil, season with salt and red pepper flakes. When garlic is light brown, a little darker than usual, add the crushed tomatoes, season with salt and pepper.
3. Cook tomato sauce until you can pull a spoon across the pan and the sauce stays separated.
4. Make 5 holes in the sauce and crack an egg into each hole. Cover and turn the heat down to medium. When eggs are firm but yolks are still runny add the basil and plate. Drizzle with a little olive oil and you’re ready to eat.

Oh, glory.

(Source: )

Thanksgiving Eggs Benedict
(makes 2 servings)

• Not That kind of Banana Bread (more like real bread)
  
• From Kitchenist.com
• makes 1 large round loaf
  
  Ingredients:
  500g white bread flour, plus more for kneading
  2 tsp. instant yeast
  2 Tbs. sugar
  1/4 tsp. salt
  2 medium bananas, peeled and broken into chunks
  2 Tbs. crème fraiche
  180ml warm water
  bit of butter, for greasing
  
  Instructions:
• 1. Mix together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl; make a well in the centre and set aside.
  
  2. Place the bananas in a smaller bowl with the crème fraiche. Using a fork or potato masher, mash until you have an generally uniform mush. Mix in the warm water and pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones.
  
  3. Using a wooden spoon or dough whisk, stir until the mixture comes together into a sticky dough. Turn out onto a generously floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. You’ll likely use another 100g or so of flour at this point- just keep adding it to your surface to ensure dough doesn’t stick.
  
  4. Form the dough into a ball, butter it (I melt a bit of butter between my hands and pat it all over), then place in a covered bowl and leave somewhere warm to rise for about an hour. The dough should double in size.
  
  5. When the dough has risen, punch it down and knead again for about a minute. Form dough into a boule and place on a nonstick (or parchment-lined) baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for about 30 minutes until big and puffy again. Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F.
  
  6. Bake the bread for 20 minutes at 220°C/425°F, then turn down the heat to 190°C/375°F and bake for another 10 minutes. When done, the crust should be golden brown and the loaf will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool completely before slicing.

Barbacoa from Rivera in L.A.

A Sexy, Smokey Cocktail

Barbacoa Recipe:

½ ounce lemon or lime juice
½ ounce homemade ginger syrup* (recipe follows)
¾ ounce simple syrup
½ teaspoon chipotle puree (canned chipotle is easiest to puree)
3 small lime pieces
3 small slices red bell pepper
2 ounces Mezcal
Beef jerky

*Ginger syrup: Juiced ginger is the most accurate way to make the syrup, but you can blend ginger if you don’t have a juicer. Add 2 parts water and sugar (50-50) to 1 part ginger juice.

Muddle first 6 ingredients. Add mezcal, shake and pour into rocks glass. Garnish with additional lime, bell pepper and the beef jerky.

More recipes from Rivera’s Julian Cox HERE

(Source: jasonz)