Dutch Baby

I'll try it but I won't like it

You know you are on to something when you make a breakfast your children have never had and they ask if I can make it again the next morning.  Earlier that morning when asked what was for breakfast and I said, "Dutch baby" their first reaction was to repeatedly ask the same question 10 times, hoping the answer would change and finally relenting to a chorus of"okay, I will try it but I won't like it".

They liked it, loved it and asked for it later that day as an afternoon snack and the next day for lunch.  I did learn a long time ago not to push food on them just because I find it delicious.  Yup, beef tongue was a major fail. I know we have different tastes and I encourage individuality in everything they do but do they really think I would serve them something that was awful or I didn't think they would like. I guess they do but this time it was a success and a self high five to me.

I was first introduced to a Dutch baby many years ago, when I first started spending weekends in Bucks County, PA. The name comes from the Pennsylvania Dutch, originally Deitsch, who settled in Pennsylvania from Germany in the late 17th Century thru the 18th Century. We had neighbors who were descendants of the original settlers and were still living in the same 250 year old stone farm house built by one their ancestors, who introduced us to this breakfast dish. It is a cross between a pancake and a soufflè and is delicious with powdered sugar, syrup or your favorite jam.  There are also some very delicious savory recipes if you wanted to have a Dutch baby for lunch or dinner.

Dutch baby

(serves 2)

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  •  A little less than a 1/2 cup of flour
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Powdered sugar, for serving
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Place 1 tablespoon of the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet and heat the pan in the oven for 10 minutes.
  3. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.
  4. Whisk together the flour, sugar and salt (this can also be done in a blender). Add the eggs, milk, vanilla extract and melted butter. Whisk until smooth and frothy,  if using a blender approximately 30 to 45 seconds.
  5. Remove the hot skillet from the oven and immediately pour the batter into the center. Bake for 20 minutes, do not open the oven while baking. The Dutch baby will puff up in the center and the edges will be dark and crispy.
  6. Serve immediately with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. Also delicious with syrup or your favorite jams.

Oeufs En Cocotte

Mood Indigo

Are dads allowed to be cranky and in a bad mood?

You ain't been blue, no, no, no
You ain't never been blue
Till you've had that mood indigo
That feeling goes stealing right down to my shoes
While I just sit here and sigh
Go along blues     ------ Nina Simone

I have seen the entire range of bad moods in which my daughters find themselves. I have seen the full range of reactions to those moods. The crying, door slamming, yelling, stomping, silent treatment, the "get out of my room I don't want to talk to you right now" and of course the phone hang up. I have tried to teach them to be expressive and emotive and that it is okay to be cranky but to be aware of how that mood affects those around them. I have learned the hard way to let them be in the moment, to experience the mood, to let them ride the wave from crest to shore. I have learned to stay calm and to be available to them if needed. Sometimes they want to talk and other times they don't. I don't take their decisions personally and am okay with either as long as they know that I am available, always.

But what happens when I am experiencing the blues? I still have to stay engaged, cook, clean and drive them to activities, play games or help with homework. I still have to be there for them, be their dad. As a single parent it is sometimes hard to do it alone. This past Friday I found myself in that mood.  A confluence of events over the few previous days all came to a head Friday morning. I was cranky!! Knowing that I had to pick the girls up from school later in the day, sit through possible traffic (as my girls can attest, I don't do well in traffic) as we headed to PA for the weekend, I knew that this mood would still be lingering.  I didn't have yoga or cycling to turn my mood around. I decided to send them a group text, a heads up and that it wasn't anything they did and to please bare with me as I rode this wave. 

I immediately got a call from their mother, with whom I have a good relationship, asking if I was okay and can she help with anything. She said the girls were worried about me and they called to let her know. When I was first going through my divorce, I was once told that kids need to feel safe and not to feel worried about their parents. That everything was going to be okay. Should I not have sent that text? I did not think it would cause them worry. As they are now older I want them to know that parents have the same feelings they have and that it is perfectly fine. 

Spending the weekends with my kids is by far the best elixir for when I am feeling down. The drive out went as usual, a bit of traffic, a rundown of the school day and a lot of pop music but I did find myself a bit more on the quiet side. The girls brought up the text from earlier in the day, said they were glad I sent it but it did make them worried. They asked if I was doing better to which I replied, yes. I was still feeling off on Saturday morning and after a full on day of horseback riding lessons for them, cooking and gardening for me and crepes for lunch, Lila wanted to do something fun. Lila's stepdad, who has had an off-road ATV for many years and has built some very elaborate trails on his property, recently bought some youth off- road go karts for all their kids.  Lila wanted to show me how well she can drive and off we went down to their house.  I don't know where this soon to be 12 year old learned the term drifting or how to do it but there we were drifting into turns at 20mph (don't be alarmed by the photos below, helmets are worn at all times except for the occasional safe photo). My phone fell out of my pocket in one of the fields and as Lila was putting the go-kart away and as I was walking the field retracing the route, the sky turned black and it started to rain. I showed up back at the house soaked but with the phone. The girls told me they again called their mom because they were worried and weren't sure what to do. My first reaction, as I stood there dripping on the kitchen floor was to get upset that they didn't think that I knew what to do in this situation. They in turn got upset and It didn't help when I said I needed to walk outside to gather myself.  There was crying, yelling, front door slamming and me standing outside in the rain trying to calm myself. How could I walk out while they were upset, I was asked through tears. I felt terribly, never wanting to discourage them from calling either of their parents for any reason. I breathed deeply and then the wave came crashing down and gently washed ashore. I apologized, they apologized, we talked, we hugged and we had some tea.

New Beginnings

School started this past week and thankfully with out a hitch. We now have a ninth grader and a sixth grader in the family and a whole lot of fun ahead for both of them. I have been fortunate enough to be able to take the girls to school every year on their first day. Each year taking a photograph chronicling their journey and with graduation I plan to present them with a first day of school photo book.

Not sure why Rocky Balboa had so much trouble catching that chicken

The chickens have been laying eggs faster than I can use them. Sunday morning we had oeufs en cocotte which are baked eggs or eggs in a ramekin and cooked in a water bath. This is another one of those breakfast dishes where you can use whatever was leftover from the dinner the night before or whatever you might have on hand in the kitchen. It is that easy and versatile. I prepared ours three ways, one with dill, one with smoked salmon and dill and one with zucchini flowers. Oefs en cocotte are traditionally served on a napkin.

Oeufs En Cocotte

Serves 4

  • 4 Ramekins
  • 4 Eggs
  • Butter
  • Cream
  • Salt and Pepper
  1. Place enough water in a large saute pan to go 1/2 way up sides of ramekins and bring to a boil creating a water bath
  2. Liberally butter the sides and bottom of the ramekin
  3. salt and pepper to taste
  4. Place one egg in ramekin (If using two eggs in one ramekin increase cooking time by a few minutes)
  5. Add 1 teaspoon of cream
  6. Place ramekins in water bath in saute pan and cook covered for 3-4 minutes until eggs are just set.
  7. Remove ramekins from water bath and let cool for about a minute before serving

Dill

  • Chopped dill
  1. Sprinkle chopped dill on bottom and sides of buttered ramekins
  2. Add salt and pepper to taste
  3. Add egg and top with a little cream
  4. Cook in saute pan as above
  5. Top with additional dill to taste

Smoked Salmon and Dill

  • 4 slices smoke salmon
  • chopped dill
  • cream cheese (optional)
  1. Sprinkle chopped dill on bottom and sides of buttered ramekins
  2. Salt and pepper to taste
  3. Option to add a dollop of cream cheese
  4. Add 1 slice of smoked salmon
  5. Add egg and top with a little cream
  6. cook in saute pan as above
  7. Top with additional dill to taste

Zucchini Flowers

  • 4 zucchini flowers, cut lengthwise into strips
  1. Sprinkle chopped zucchini flowers on bottom and sides of buttered ramekin
  2. Salt and pepper to taste
  3. Add egg and top with a little cream
  4. Cook in saute pan as above
  5. Top with additional chopped zucchini flowers

Eggs Benedict with Fried Green Tomatoes

Definitely a daddy thing to love

What a crazy two weeks!! Back from Vermont and trying to catch up on life. I was in NYC suffering from the squelching heat and humidity while Juliette and Lila were away, and I was missing them terribly.  They spent the first week in PA with their mom and for the second week, Juliette in the Dominican Republic on a community service trip and Lila down in Kentucky at National Pony Finals.

On the day of Juliette's departure I took her for lunch and then on a 40 minute venture downtown to the lower east side, with her wondering where in the world is he taking me, for the most delicious salted caramel root beer float at Van Leeuwens Ice Cream. It is the first time Juliette will be traveling with out a parent or an adult that she knows and in a foreign country to boot. She is traveling with a very close friend from school but I think I was more nervous for her than she was. From the one brief conversation I have had with her while on the trip it seems the other kids immediately assumed she and her friend where snobby upper east siders. I told her that they have been watching too much Gossip Girl and once they get to know her their assumptions will change.  I know the overall experience will be great for her whether she has fun on the trip or not. Bunk beds, cold water showers and some mild stereotyping never hurt anyone, especially 14 year old upper east siders.  Even growing up in NYC, with parents who try to expose them to as much diversity as possible, we still tend to be cocooned by our environment.  

Lila, on the other hand, spent the week with her trainer Patty at National Pony Finals. This was her first time away with Patty alone and not having her sister around.  An experience she was looking forward to having. As I am writing this there was an article published in the New York Times about parents not feeling the need to attend every single game, event or meet in which their children participate.  I could not agree more and happy that Lila can have the time with her trainer alone. I did get to nervously watch her show on a live feed and found myself obsessively refreshing the scoring after each rider to see how she placed. Yes, like an insane person.  With 132 riders in her division, she placed 4th in the under saddle class and 25th in the model, sitting 7th overall heading into day 2.  She placed 15th the next day in the over fences class and finished 8th over all. Woo Hoo!!!, with lots of virtual high fives and yes, I am still beaming writing this.

 

With Juliette still away, Lila and I were able to spend the weekend together in PA. I had to bribe her, with Nutella crepes, to go to the local farmers market that weekend and had to endure her eye rolling as I stopped by the roadside farm stands that are dotted along our local roads in Bucks County. Many of these are still by the honor system where you leave your money in a box and take change if needed. Juliette and Lila never cease to find the humor in it and refer to me as earthy or hipster. They make fun of my yoga, my hipster eye glasses, how I love the rain and my early morning walks and they do this in a way only your children can. They say things like "definitely a daddy thing to love", when I text them pictures of beautiful clouds or huge trees. If they only knew me back in the day when I worked in finance and I lived and dressed the part. In the late 80's and early 90's I wore blue shirts with white collars and cuffs. Practically all my shirts were french cuff with english spread collar and yes, I even had shoes with tassels. Don't even get me started on ties, where on my trading floor, guys would often turn your tie around to see who made it, Hermes, of course.  At night I went to charity events and client dinners. Today, I still enjoy wearing suits but they are less banker and OK, maybe a little hipster, and only wear a tie when necessary. I even go with out socks sometimes in the summer.

My perspectives have changed since my kids were born and my divorce. I have discovered that there is no beauty without strangeness, thank you Karl Lagerfeld or was it Edgar Allen Poe,  and less is definitely more. Charles Warner once wrote 'Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough". I do try to teach these values to the girls with some varying degree of success.  I just hope that they learn to appreciate the beauty in everything. This weekend it was about the beauty found in unripe tomatoes.

 

Tomato season is upon us

August has arrived and the locally grown tomatoes are everywhere. The varieties can be endless, each having their own flavor and texture. A weekend lunch or dinner in August will always have some sort of heirloom tomato salad. For this weekends breakfast I was yearning for the piquant flavors of fried green tomatoes. Green tomatoes are unripe red tomatoes and can sometimes be hard to find at markets in the early season, with the strong summer sun they tend to ripen on the vine quickly. Late in the season when the sun isn't strong enough and the daylight hours start to wane and can no longer ripen whats left growing do green tomatoes become more popular.  This weekend one of our favorite local markets allowed Lila and me to go out into the field to pick some hard green tomatoes. This breakfast dish was inspired by a fried green tomato BLT I had about year ago at Root and Bone, a delicious fried chicken joint on the Lower East Side of NY. This is my version of eggs benedict with fried green tomatoes. I use a traditional southern style recipe with cornmeal and a buttermilk wash for the tomatoes and a thick cut piece of bacon instead of Canadian ham. The fat from the bacon can be used to fry the tomatoes and there is no need for the english muffin. The Hollandaise sauce recipe is Julia Childs and enough thanks can never be given for her inspiration.

Eggs Benedict with Fried Green Tomatoes

Serves 4

  • 2 large green tomatoes, cored and thickly sliced
  • 1 cup cornmeal flour
  • 4 slices thick cut bacon
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 egg for buttermilk wash
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 eggs for poaching
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Fried Green Tomatoes

  1. Cut bacon in half to approximate length of each tomato slice and in a large saute pan fry over low/medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and let drain on paper towel. Set the skillet with rendered bacon fat to the side for use later.
  2. Beat the egg and buttermilk together.
  3. Season cornmeal flour with salt and pepper and place in a wide dish. ( I have also used a large plastic bag for this placing several tomatoes in at a time and shaking bag to evenly coat.)
  4. Dip each tomato one at a time in buttermilk wash and then dredge in the seasoned cornmeal. Set each coated tomato aside.
  5. Add  vegetable oil to bacon fat in large skillet and place over medium/high heat. The tomatoes will be low fried so only add enough  vegetable oil to bacon fat to cover half way up tomato.
  6. Work in batches so oil stays hot and pan is not crowded. Fry for 3 minutes, flip tomatoes over and fry for additional 2 minutes until golden brown.
  7. Drain tomatoes on paper towels.

Poached Egg

  1. Bring water to a steady simmer in a large skillet. If it starts to boil lower temperature.
  2. Add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. Stir water to create a gentle whirlpool. This will help the egg whites to wrap around yolk and create that desired tear drop form.
  3. Crack egg into a ramekin, not necessary but does make it easier to pour into skillet. Add eggs one at a time to skillet. The size of your pan will determine how many you can poach at a time. I generally poach four at a time.
  4. With a slotted spoon gently cover each egg with water from skillet until tops are white.  Then gently agitate the the water near each egg to keep them from sticking to bottom.
  5. Cook for 3 minutes. remove each egg with slotted spoon and gently dip in a bowl of water. This helps remove any lingering vinegar flavor and place on a paper towel. This will soak up any excess water and keep the tomato from getting soggy. Teenage taste buds are acutely aware to the taste of vinegar on their eggs.

Hollandaise Sauce

makes 1 cup

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 sticks (5 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
  • salt and white pepper
  1. Melt butter in small saucepan and set aside.
  2. Whisk egg yolks vigorously for one minute until thick and pale yellow in color.
  3. Whisk in lemon juice to egg mixture and whisk for additional 30 seconds.
  4. Add 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter and place saucepan over low heat. I use a double boiler over simmering water, whisk until it starts to thicken and cover your whisk. I will occasionally remove top part of saucepan from heat to ensure the yolks do not curdle.
  5. Immediately remove from heat  and add remaining cold butter one tablespoon at a time. This will cool the egg yolks and stop the cooking.
  6. By driblets, beat in the melted butter to make a thick sauce.
  7. Season with salt and white pepper to taste and add additional lemon juice if needed.

To assemble place one fried green tomato in the center of the plate. Top with two pieces of bacon and then the poached egg. Spoon the Hollandaise sauce over the top of the poached egg.  Enjoy every bite.

Poached Egg with Roasted Corn and Bacon Hash

Knee High by the 4th of July!!

July 4th weekend was spent at the Brandywine Valley Summer Series II Horse Show at The Devon Showgrounds. Juliette and Lila went down earlier in the week with their trainer Patty Miller. They slept over Patty's house the night before and were up at 3:15 AM to help load the horses and drive to the show.  I drove down on Friday. to spend the weekend with them.  At the end of the day I asked Patty, what time we had to be at the show in the morning. I knew what the answer would be but I was hoping for a late morning.  She answered 7AM, with a smile. We were staying at a hotel just down the road from the show and the girls had their own room and I just hoped they would get to bed at a reasonable time. If you are not familiar with horse show timing, here is a helpful hint, there is none. Unlike most other sports, where the game has a specific start time and you can usually calculate a reasonable end time, horse shows can be endless. They bring a new meaning to hurry up and wait. Lila was showing around 10 AM and Juliette not until late in the afternoon. J and L have a certain amount of pride in waking up at these ridiculous hours when it comes to anything horse related.  I on the other hand do not....but when I am old and incontinent, you can be sure I will remind them of my sacrifices.

There is plenty of downtime and while I may be found reading, working or napping, the kids are constantly busy. Most of it is taking care of the ponies and horses but there is plenty of time to have fun. They have made lots of horse show friends from all over the east coast and when not following Patty around or helping at the stables they are alongside the ring cheering them on.

Juliette and Lila never tire from jumping, horses or themselves, especially Lila, who is always creating courses in the house jumping over pillows, books and bags.  Luckily the Devon Showgrounds had set up some mini jumps for the kids.  Where Lila spent a good part of each day. This was also July 4th and every one had to show their patriotic spirit. Lila who still wears braids when showing wore red, white and blue bows. The horses are no exception and their manes were braided with red, white and blue yarn and the tails with pom poms. 

Lila had a great first day of showing with a first, second and a third. Sunday was a different story. On the first trip, Iparty was spooked by two large dogs outside the ring while heading into the last jump. Lila jumped beautifully but this set the tone for her other trips.  She still held on for Champion but was very disappointed with her riding. We spent some time talking about the positives from each trip, finding the right distances to the jumps and her lead changes. The talk and a promise of an ice cream milk shake got her spirits back in check.

Juliette was showing her horse, Prestigious, in the Junior Hunter 3' 3" 15 and Under,  for the first time.  She is a very strong technical rider and a real student of the sport. Preston has been giving her trouble recently getting his lead changes, not listening to her leg cues, something he wasn't doing during the winter indoor season or down in Florida. It has been frustrating for her and today was no different. I was watching from the stands and as I have learned over the years to give them their space while showing. Several years ago when Juliette was on her schools gymnastics team, she asked that I not watch her compete in her first meet because it made her nervous. I went to the meet anyway and watched from outside, through the gym door windows. A story of which I am constantly reminded of to the delight of the other school parents.  

She jumped beautifully but sensing Preston not getting the lead change Juliette was twisting her body to force it.  After this continued on through the second and final day of showing, she was visibly upset and frustrated.  I am appreciative of her relationship with her mom and how they can talk through her feelings and since her mom also rides she brings an insiders perspective.  It was hard to watch her this upset and wish I could have helped more. I sat on the ground next to her giving as much support as I could. I know it means a lot to her to have the silent hugs and the offer of a lifesaver mint. I still wish I could have done more. They worked out a plan to get the help needed and this helped restore her mood.

Sunday late afternoon we drove back to the farm and passed a local farm stand that had some early sweet white summer corn, red spring onions and potatoes. The local butcher, Haring Brothers, was still open and I was able to buy some fresh bacon.  Monday morning, before I headed back to the city and the girls to the barn,  we had poached eggs with roasted corn and bacon hash. Seriously yum! on so many levels. The sizzling bacon smell had Juliette and Lila standing around the stove waiting to eat some. They helped with shucking the corn and slicing the kernels off the cob. The beautifully golden roasted potatoes and the sweet corn, which could be eaten right off the cob raw, made this hash the perfect American dish to help celebrate the end of the Independence Day weekend.  All the flavors and textures are brought to life with the perfectly poached egg on top.  I used a well seasoned cast iron skillet and saved the bacon fat for later use. You can also use any leftover corn roasted from the night before. Just toss in when you add the bacon , off heat, to warm up. Any leftover hash can be eaten later that evening with dinner.

Poached Eggs with Roasted Corn and bacon Hash

(serves 6)

  • 6  fresh eggs
  • 1tablespoon white vinegar
  • 1 lb potatoes diced - 3 cups
  • 1 red onion diced - 1 cup
  • 1/2 lb thick cut bacon (at least 1/4 inch) diced
  • teaspoon salt
  • 3 large ears of corn. Kernels cut from the cob - 2 1/2 cups
  • 3 scallions thinly sliced

Hash

  1. Place diced bacon in large skillet and heat to medium.  Let cook, stirring occasionally until browned and crispy about 10 minutes. 
  2. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and let drain on a paper towel. Leave bacon fat in skillet.
  3. Heat bacon fat to medium high. Add diced potatoes to skillet in a single layer and add salt and pepper. Stirring occasionally to brown on all sides, about 20 minutes.
  4. Add the onions and let saute until onions are clear.
  5. Spoon off most of the bacon fat leaving about 2 - 3 tablespoons.
  6. Add the corn and mix with the potatoes and onions. Cook until corn starts to brown about 5 minutes.
  7. Add the bacon back to the skillet and cook for an additional minute.
  8. Remove from heat, salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle the scallions over the top.

Poached egg

  1. Bring water to a steady simmer in a large skillet. If it starts to boil lower temperature.
  2. Add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. Stir water to create a gentle whirlpool. This will help the egg whites to wrap around yolk and create that desired tear drop form.
  3. Crack egg into a ramekin, not necessary but does make it easier to pour into skillet. Add eggs one at a time to skillet. The size of your pan will determine how many you can poach at a time. I generally poach three at a time.
  4. With a slotted spoon gently cover each egg with water from skillet until tops are white.  Then gently agitate the the water near each egg to keep them from sticking to bottom.
  5. Cook for 3 minutes. remove each egg with slotted spoon and gently dip in a bowl of water. This helps remove any lingering vinegar flavor and place on a paper towel. This will soak up any excess water and keep the hash from getting soggy. Teenage taste buds are acutely aware to the taste of vinegar on their eggs.

Spoon a mound of hash on a plate and press down in the center with the back of the spoon to create a space for the egg. Place poached egg on top, sprinkle with chopped scallion. Salt and pepper to taste.

Lox Eggs and Onions

I love when the laughter is funnier than the joke.

Last week I was listening to NPR while driving in the car and the show was about dad humor. To be more precise, bad dad humor, which might be an oxymoron. Callers would tell stories about bad jokes their dads would tell, a father who was waiting for his kids to go somewhere , would walk into their room with a tape measure extended and ask "How long will you be?" or every time I called to ask my dad to pick me up he would reply "why, have you fallen down again?"

On our drive out to PA this past weekend I was telling Juliette and Lila about the NPR story. They of course found great humor in recounting all of my bad dad jokes, my silly puns and not to mention the classics. I'm hungry, nice to meet you hungry, I'm dad. Or, can you make me a sandwich, yes, poof you're a sandwich.   

For us the very classic how much longer question in every car ride has spawned its own running joke.  In the beginning before I became wise I would answer honestly.  Another hour would be followed by sea of groans and complaints.  Then I realized that they don't really have any true concept of time so I began telling them we would be there in 20 minutes. It didn't matter if we were 2 hours away or 20 minutes away.  At some point they realized my little joke and now they just ask, how much longer? 20 minutes? with a round of laughter.. This led to questions about my childhood and if grandpa had any funny jokes.

I don't really recall my dad having silly dad jokes that I could share with them.  What I did have to share were my fathers Sunday morning breakfasts.  My father liked Kix cereal so of course I did too. Quisp cereal was also a childhood favorite and I get giddy with excitement whenever I catch a rare sighting at the supermarket and buy several boxes at a time, often sharing them with my sister and brother-in-law. Salami and eggs, potato blintzes and bagels were a staple. Growing up on Long Island I can't remember a Sunday where there weren't hot fresh bagels sitting on the kitchen counter waiting to be devoured after a little league game or a swim meet. Today when I cycle along Riverside Drive on a Saturday or Sunday morning heading to cross the GW Bridge into New Jersey, you pass right over the Fairway Supermarket at 125th Street and the smell of freshly baked bagels in the air triggers incredible childhood memories. 

My all time favorite childhood breakfast, which my father made, was Lox, Eggs and Onions. Lox was and still is fairly expensive and every so often we would get some from our neighbor Arnie who was a fish distributor.  Lox which is a method of preserving the salmon fillets by either smoking, hot or cold, and salt curing, is derived from the Yiddish word for salmon which is laks, which came from the German lachs.   Today there is either Lox, sometimes referred to as belly lox  which is wet brined with no additional smoking and Nova, the more popular, which is lightly brined and cold smoked.  In NY,  places like Zabars, Barney Greengrass, Sables or Russ & Daughters have the most skilled people cutting razor thin slices of Lox. 

Happy Fathers Day!!

This was the perfect breakfast to share with my kids on this past fathers day.  Cheers to all the bad dad jokes and to all the delicious dad breakfasts.

Lox Eggs and Onions

(serves 4)

  • 8 eggs plus 1 yolk
  • 1/4 lb Lox (Nova preferred) sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 tablespoon cream cheese
  • 1 cup spanish onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  1. Whisk eggs in medium sized bowl.
  2. Whisk in 1 tablespoon dill, salt and pepper.
  3. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a medium skillet over medium high heat.
  4. Add onions and saute until translucent, soft and lightly caramelized. Approx. 5-8 minutes. Longer depending on how caramelized you like your onions.
  5. Add egg mixture, reduce heat to medium and stir until barely set.
  6. Add cream cheese and continue to stir until melted and lightly set.
  7. Remove to a platter, add lox and garnish with remaining dill.  Salt and pepper to taste.

 

Eggs In a Basket with Roasted Spring Onions

Spring and her guests.

Spring is my most favorite season. The season that touches all my senses. Cool mornings and afternoons filled with the warmth of the sun on your face. I love waking up early on Spring mornings at the farm in Bucks County to see what surprises the morning has brought. Before the kids get up I often go on short solitary walks around the planted gardens to see the hostas pushing up through the earth, the bearded iris getting ready to bloom and the early blooming hellebores, as well as the early season wildflowers. I also look forward to the early season vegetables to which Spring treats us. Spring onions are one of my favorites and I have never met an allium I did not like either in my garden or on my plate and spring onions are no exception. Spring onions have larger bulbs than scallions and pack a stronger flavor.

This Sunday morning I decided to add roasted spring onions to our morning egg dish of Knothole eggs. Knothole eggs or sometimes referred to as eggs in a basket or hen in a nest is a simple dish with an egg cooked in a hole of a piece of bread. Eggs were the only dish to serve after the game of egg russian roulette played the day before.

Lila had a friend from the city join us for the weekend and on Saturday along with a barn friend and Juliette we went to see Pitch Perfect 2.  Getting my kids to see a movie in an actual theater and not on their laptops is considered a minor parenting triumph in my book.  On the ride home I mentioned that Anna Kendrick was on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon promoting the movie earlier in the week. She was challenged to a game of egg russian roulette and before I could describe the game they each had their phones out searching for the clip. Laughing they asked if they could play the game when we got home.  Since we seem to have an endless supply of eggs from our chickens, I sent the girls to the coop to get 18 eggs.  I boiled 12, kept 6 raw and placed them in random order back in their cartons.  Each girl, one at a time, would choose one egg and break it on their head, the first to break 2 raw eggs lost and it continued until we had a winner.  The nervous laughter, squealing and screaming was priceless and in the end there were only winners and after a shower very shiny silky hair.

Knothole eggs are a morning staple for us and most of the time my kids like them plain. You can add what ever seasonal vegetable is available or from the leftover vegetable from the evening meal the night before.

Eggs In a Basket with Roasted Spring Onions

  • 4 eggs
  • 4  thick slices of bread
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 2 bunches spring onions
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • pinch of salt

Roasted Spring Onions

  1.  Fill a large bowl with cold water, then place your spring onions in the water. Swish them around to remove as much dirt as possible, then remove them from the bowl and give them a second rinse under running water to remove any remaining grit. Place the onions on a dry paper towel and pat out as much water as possible.
  2. Preheat oven to 400 F
  3. Clean the spring onions by trimming the greens and removing the roots of each stalk.
  4. Place spring onions in a shallow dish and lightly coat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender 30-35 minutes.
  5. This can be done in advance since spring onions will be reheated when cooked with the eggs.

Eggs In a Basket

  1. Place a round cookie cutter in center of bread and cut out hole. Save the cut out bread to use for additional toast with breakfast or to add as a hat on top of the eggs.
  2. In a heavy bottomed skillet heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat. Lower to medium heat and place bread in skillet and let toast for 30 seconds.
  3. Flip bread over and add butter 1 tablespoon at a time as necessary. Crack egg into hole.  I like to place the cookie cutter in the hole before cracking the egg and then removing after a few seconds allowing egg to set. This keeps egg from running under the bread. 
  4. Cook for 3 minutes but do not fully cook egg.
  5. Add sauteed spring onions in the hole on top of the egg.
  6. carefully flip bread over to continue cooking. Again add butter as needed. Honestly, you cannot add too much butter.  Cook for 2 minutes or longer depending on how you like your yolk. Be careful not let the bread burn. I prefer the yolk to be runny which adds tremendous flavor to the bread and onions.
  7. Salt and pepper to taste.
  8. You can also toast the cut out holes and serve on the side or place back on egg like a hat.