Tag Archives: Eggs

January 17, 2012 · 5:36 pm

Smoked Salmon “Bennies”

I love brunch, and always have.  Why?…I don’t quite know. Maybe it’s just relaxing and savouring my morning coffee, instead of chugging it down while I reply to the next “OMGosh-Urgent” email during the work-week.  Maybe it’s that I have an excuse to make something a little more gourmet on weekends, when I know CH will be home and his meal won’t go in the fridge.  Whatever it is, I love brunch and this recipe explifies why.

I love smoke salmon, and again, hailing from BC we’d have it quite often.  I remember in my elementary school days, my Mom would pack my lunch for me and I loved the days when it included a bagel with the smoked salmon cream cheese. Yumm!  I also love candied salmon, but that’s a whole other story for another day (and perhaps another recipe to try at home!).

On a whim (well, it was an inspired whim, which you will see soon!), I picked-up some from smoked salmon from the market.  CH and I enjoyed half of it on Friday night and then on Saturday we had two beautiful pieces leftover.  I was considering just toasting up an English muffin and serving it with cream cheese , but then (as per above) I was inspired by the time I had available.  I decided to poach some eggs (a skill I have yet to perfectly master), and combine in with CH’s favourite green – arugula – and this is how the dish was born.  I topped it with some fried capers, which added a nice crispy texture and a touch of saltiness.

I put “bennies” in quotes because it technically isn’t one without the hollandaise – but to be honest, this dish didn’t need it.  With the richness and creaminess from the egg yolk and cheese, it’s a perfectly balanced dish (but if you love hollandaise, feel free to add it – Pioneer Women has a great recipe that makes it fairly easy to prepare at home).  Either way, it’s gourmet and delicious.

I may have to buy smoked salmon more often as this dish was definitely well received in our house.

Enjoy!

Smoked Salmon “Bennies”

Yield:  2 servings (2 eggs benny each)
Prep Time:  10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 4 eggs (to be poached or fried)
  • 2 English muffins, split & toasted
  • 4 generous tablespoons of cream cheese (or 3 TBSP of goat cheese with 1 TBSP plain yogurt – our favourite), divided among the 4 halves
  • 4 small handfuls of arugula
  • 2 slices of smoke salmon (approximately 50 grams), cut in half (4 pieces)
  • handful of fried capers (recipe below)

Directions:

Follow Smitten Kitchens directions on how to poach eggs (she writes it much clearer than I ever could).  Link is HERE. 

You can also fry your eggs, by heating cooking spray or oil over medium-high heat and cook the eggs sunny side up, until the yolk is at your preferred doneness.

While you are poaching your eggs, toast your English muffins either under the broiler or in a toaster.  When they are ready, spread your cream cheese (or goat cheese) on top.

When you are ready, assemble by placing the arugula on-top of the cheese, next the smoke salmon and then the eggs and capers. Season with S&P and enjoy.

Enjoy with your morning coffee or a fun mimosa!

A JBean Cuisine original recipe (inspired by many restaurant brunch visits!)

Fried Capers

  • 4 TBSP of capers (from a jar)
  • 4 TBSP olive oil

Remove capers from the jar and place on paper towels.  Dab gently to remove all of the excess moisture.

In a small frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  When it’s almost at the smoking point (be careful & watch it closely), add the capers and fry until crisp and slightly golden brown.

Remove the capers from the pan and place on a clean piece of paper towel to drain off excess oil.  Allow to cool slightly and then serve with your favourite dish – such as above.

Advertisement

3 Comments

Filed under Bread, Breakfast, Healthy, Mains

Tagged as ,

October 13, 2011 · 9:46 pm

Baked Breakfast Eggs in Tomato Sauce

Breakfast and I aren’t exactly the best of friends, and I have been known to skip it more often then I should.  I know, I know, it is the most important meal of the day, but for me, most days it’s a chore. I am not a big fan of baked goods, muffins, pancakes etc.  I do love my Egg McMuffins, and although they don’t take long to prepare, I usually enjoy the extra 5 minutes in bed, and run out the door a few minutes behind!

However, come weekends, all bets are off and if CH even mentions going out for brunch (or the word mimosa!) I am there, sometimes still in my pj’s.  But, as much as I love going out for brunch, I do also enjoy making brunch at home on a lazy Sunday morning, when I really don’t have to get out of my pj’s.  CH loves my scrambled eggs, we love this breakfast hash recipe, and now we have a new favourite – baked eggs in tomato sauce.

A few weekends ago, I wanted to make a brunch for us to enjoy, especially because we had planned to go exploring the city later that day.  But, I wasn’t sold on the usuals, so off to my Google reader I went, and I started looking at my starred items.  It wasn’t long before I came across Good Thymes & Good Foods Baked Eggs in Tomato Sauce recipe, and it was on our table not that long after.

For starters, the recipe was so simple, it was literally in my oven in under 20 minutes, and on our table under 40 minutes – that’s shorter than waiting in line at your favourite brunch place on a Sunday morning (or at least at Lady Marmalade in Toronto, which is amazing if you haven’t tried it).  I made a few changes, including adding goat cheese (our favourite cheese – but use whatever you like!) and I used fresh tomatoes instead of canned tomatoes.

These would be great for dinner, or if you have company over for Sunday brunch – they are absolutely scrumptious.   Oh, and make sure you toast up some bread with a little garlic butter, or an English muffin (I just toasted 2 English muffins, buttered them and sprinkled with garlic powder and then cut them into strips – so that dipping into the eggs was easier!).

Enjoy!

Baked Eggs in Tomato Sauce
Yield: 2 servings
Prep Time:  15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes for sauce, 15-20 minute for eggs

Ingredients:

  • 2 TBSP olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced or grated
  • 1 small shallot, diced
  • 3 cups cherry tomatoes, diced in half
  • 1 tsp sugar (optional, depending on how acidic your tomatoes are)
  • 1/4 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/4 tsp dried basil
  • 2 generous TBSP goat cheese (or your favourite cheese)
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 4 large eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F and set two 12-ounce ovenproof bowls or ramekins on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Set aside.
*Note – I used four smaller ramekins, two for each of us, and just divided the ingredients equally*

In a medium sized saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the shallot and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic to the pan and cook for an additional minute or two.

Add the diced tomatoes and herbs to the saucepan and stir well to combine.

Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, season with S&P and allow mixture to cook over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, using the back of a spoon to break apart the tomatoes.  Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning (add in sugar to balance, splash of hot sauce if you like spicy, S&P).

When the sauce is ready, place 1 TBSP of goat cheese in each ramekin. Divide the tomato sauce evenly between both ramekins, reserving ½ cup of the sauce.

Crack 2 eggs into each ramekin.  Cover the whites/outside of the eggs, leaving the yolk exposed, with the reserved sauce.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake until egg whites are set and yolks are cooked to desired doneness, 15-20 minutes.

Serve with toast, English muffins or garlic bread.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted slightly from Good Thymes & Good Food, originally from Everyday Food

1 Comment

Filed under Bread, Breakfast, Healthy, Mains

Tagged as

June 15, 2011 · 6:57 am

Canadian Eggs Benny’s (Recipe Swap)

I love a good savoury breakfast, you know the kind with fried eggs, good country style hashbrowns, crispy bacon and sourdough toast.  What is also essential to my ideal breakfast is sliced tomatoes. So…what does this recipe have to do with this…almost everything.

I received this recipe as a part of this weeks recipe swap from the lovely A Taste of Home Cooking, which is not only a great blog, but Sarah is a great person.  She is also the one who organizes all of these recipes swaps too, for which many of us food bloggers are grateful.  To me, cooking is all about trying new recipes, getting inspired from others and branching out, and that is exactly what these swaps do – plus it’s fun making each other recipes.

This month’s theme was “breakfast”.  I was keeping my fingers crossed for a savoury recipe and when I saw this one in my inbox, I was thrilled. It literally had my name written all over it – it had all of my favourite breakfast staples (except the potatoes, but that’s ok)!. I couldn’t wait to make it.  Sunday rolled around, I declared it my lazy, trip planning day (my parents are coming to Europe to visit!) and this breakfast was the perfect way to start to the day.  It was definitely a splurge breakfast in my books, but I really enjoyed it and I think it would be a great recipe to impress weekend company or the one you love (like Sarah does!).

The other little fun fact, I overcame my fear of poaching eggs.  I have only previously tried once to poach eggs, and it was a disaster.  This time, I went in with confidence, read and re-read Smitten Kitchen’s instructions and I came away with two, perfectly poached soft-boil eggs.  I was quite impressed with myself.

Oh – and one MORE thing – Sarah said she didn’t plan for the Canadian girl to get the Canadian Benny recipe (it was originally a RR recipe based off her visit to Nova Scotia)…I call that fate and I loved the touch of home.

This dish will definitely be on our table again soon (and I promise to get a better shot of it, I was too impatient to eat it as I really didn’t want it to get cold!).

Enjoy!

Canadian Benny’s

Yield:  1 serving (see A Taste of Home for the original)
Prep Time:  5 Minutes
Cook Time:  20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 tsp butter
  • 1 medium tomato, diced
  • 1 green onion, finely chopped
  • 1/8 cup heavy cream
  • 1/8 cup milk
  • 2 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
  • 1 English muffins, split in half and toasted
  • 2 slices Canadian bacon (or substitute regular bacon if you cannot find it)
  • Splash of red wine vinegar
  • 2 large eggs (I used farmers fresh eggs for the first time and they were incredible, I can definitely tell the difference)

Directions:

In a small sauté pan, heat butter over medium heat.  Add in the green onion and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, or until tomatoes are tender.  Lower the heat and add in the cream and milk, season with S&P and allow sauce to reduce for an additional 5 – 10 minutes.  (Note – my sauce looks a lot redder than the original post because I did not deseed my tomatoes – you can choose which way you prefer!)

Stir in the grated cheddar cheese and keep the sauce warm over low heat while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

While you cook the eggs below, heat another small frying pan over medium-low heat.  Add in the two slices of Canadian bacon and allow to cook until slightly brown on both sides and warm throughout.

See here for a step-by-step guide for how to poach an egg.

Now, prepare your eggs.  Heat a large pot of water over medium heat until it reaches a gentle simmer (very small bubbles).  Add in a generous splash of vinegar (white or red) and a pinch of salt.

Crack one egg into a small bowl or ramekin.  Gently lower the egg to the water and slip it in.  Do not panic, it will look as though you messed it up, but you didn’t, trust me. Repeat with second egg. Cook the eggs for 3 – 5 minutes for a soft-poached egg (Smitten Kitchen states “I look for an egg that wobbles, but just a little, when nudged with the spoon, about 3 to 4 minutes of cooking time.).

Remove eggs gently from the water, place on paper towels and pat dry.

Toast your English muffin and assemble.  Place the bacon first, egg second and top with a generous amount of the sauce.

Enjoy.

Recipe Adapted Slightly from A Taste of Home Cooking, Original Recipe from Rachel Ray

Leave a comment

Filed under Bread, Breakfast, Mains

Tagged as