The Absolutely Perfect Omelette

Mmmm, look how thick and fluffy!

I'm not much of a eggs and bacon breakfast type of girl, so I never actually tried to make an omelette until now.  I tried out a recipe this weekend and once I got to the second omelette, everything turned out wonderfully.  Just the same, I wanted to perfect the recipe tonight.  I decided to see what adding half sour cream would do to the texture.  It did just what I expected--my omelette turned out super soft and fluffy and oh so delicious!!  Try it for yourself.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Omelette:

3 eggs

1 TB heavy cream

1 TB sour cream (or plain yogurt, use heavy cream if you have neither of these--2 TB of either of these in lieu of heavy cream could also work)

salt to taste (about 1 tsp or so)

pepper to taste

a shake of garlic powder

 1 TB of butter and a drizzle of oil (the oil raises the smoking point of the butter and prevents burning)

Filling:

1 tsp finely chopped green pepper

1 tsp finely chopped onion

1 TB sliced black olives

1 TB chopped tomatoes, excess moisture removed

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 large handful of washed fresh spinach, lightly salted (or desired amount of thawed frozen spinach), sauteed with excess moisture squeezed out)

1 slice of jowl bacon, chopped and fried (regular bacon is fine too, you want the end result to be about 1 tsp of chopped bacon)

shredded cheese, desired amount (I like about 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup and I like to put cheese on the top and bottom of the other fillings to hold them in place)

Procedure:

1. Place omelette ingredients in a blender for one minute, allowing the mixture to become foamy

2. Melt butter and heat oil together over medium low heat in an 8" skillet (this smaller pan will ensure optimal fluffiness)

3. Pour blended egg mixture over the pan and allow edges to set just enough to lift them with an oiled spatula

4. Lift the outside edges of the omelette and allow egg mixture to flow beneath the set eggs.  Do this for all edges and smooth out the omelette with spatula to even it out

5. Continue this process until the omelette is nearly set

6. Once the omelette is nearly set, sprinkle toppings evenly across one side of the omelette and fold the other side of the omelette on top of it

7. Cover the pan and allow the omelettes to set and the cheese to melt

8. Slide the omelette out of the pan and onto a plate and enjoy :).

Don't laugh but my boyfriend will not eat his omelettes without ketchup, and I finally tried it...I must say, if you drizzle just a little good ketchup over the top, it sure is yummy.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Rice Krispy Treats Drizzled with Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

Ingredients
3 TB butter
10 oz marshmallows (about 40 marshmallows if you're using Jet Puffed)
1 heaping spoonful (eating tsp) of peanut butter (Planter's brand creamy peanut butter recommended)
6c crispy rice cereal
1 large bar finely chopped quality creamy milk chocolate, such as Milka or Ghirardelli
chocolate hazelnut spread  (I used Ulker Golden brand--use your brand of preference.  I must admit, the
          consistency of Ulker is much nicer than Nutella and it doesn't get dry or pasty)

Procedure:
1. Melt butter over medium heat.

2. Once butter is melted, stir in marshmallows and peanut butter until fully melted.

3. Remove from heat and stir in Rice Krispies.

4. Grease a pan with butter or oil, sprinkling the bottom of the pan with chopped chocolate.

5. Spread Rice Krispies mixture over the pan, sprinkle chocolate, and drizzle with chocolate hazelnut spread.  You may need to microwave it a bit to get it liquid enough to drizzle.  If you are a peanut butter lover, tou may also wish to do the same with some extra peanut butter, but it is optional.

6. Cover with foil to encourage softening of the chocolate pieces.  Allow to set and cut into equal slices.  Enjoy :)

Reference: http://www.ricekrispies.com/?utm_campaign=Intention%20-%20Brand&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=Rice%20Krispies%20Desserts&utm_term=rice%20krispie%20desserts#/recipes/the-original-treats

Peanut Butter Bread Pudding with Homemade Butterscotch Sauce *updated*

I had some leftover ciabatta bread yesterday, and I was definitely due for some de-stressing time in the kitchen, so I decided to make bread pudding.  I've been itching to do something with a peanut butter twist, so why not peanut butter bread pudding, right?  I knew that the peanut butter alone would create a very flat, one-dimensional flavor, so in came the idea for the butterscotch sauce.  There is just something very special about the combo of peanut butter and butterscotch.  It just never fails!

This bread pudding was easy to make and tasted divine!  The top was crusty; the inside was soft and moist without being a mono-textured blob.  The peanut butter created a flavor that was warm and slightly salty while just the right amount of sweetness and richness came from the butterscotch topping, and the golden raisins gave the perfect pop of slightly tart brightness to balance the flavor.  Mmmm, tasty perfection!  The cute little cupcake portions were a great touch and a nice little portion control aid...well, at least in theory ;).

Ingredients:
1-1/2c heavy cream
1c milk (I used almond milk because that's what I had on hand)
3/4 c - 1 c sugar (to your taste)
2 TB butter
1  roundedTB of peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
4 egg yolks
8 cups of crusty bread cut into 1" cubes (at least day old--I used ciabatta, but French bread or challah is ideal)
1 heaping TB golden raisins, soaked in rum or scotch min. of 30 min. (microwave raisins in rum or scotch 30 sec to speed process)
cinnamon to taste (~ 1/4 tsp or so)
pinch of salt (I add extra because I like mine a little saltier)

homemade butterscotch sauce---this recipe calls for scotch, but I used dark rum because it's what I had on hand and it was absolutely delicious!

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Place sugar, milk, cream, peanut butter, butter, and cinnamon in a sauce pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally until homogeneous.  Note that there will still be thin streaks of peanut butter, but the goal is to remove any lumps.

3. Allow mixture to cool

4. Whisk egg yolks and whisk in vanilla and cooled cream mixture.

5. Soak cubed bread in custard and toss in raisins.  Allow bread to soak with custard and raisins for at least 30 minutes, tossing occasionally to ensure that custard is nearly fully absorbed

6. Lightly press soaked bread cubed into a lined muffin pan.  Compress bread pudding mixture lightly to avoid gaps, but also to avoid a one-textured bread pudding.  I like a little crunch and texture variation.

7. Bake about 20-25 minutes or until springy when pressed.

8.  Once baked, drizzle hot bread pudding with butterscotch sauce

9. Remove liners before serving.  If desired, top with a dollop of homemade sweetened whipped cream

*You can mix the leftover egg whites with 1/4 tsp cream of tartar, sugar, and vanilla and make meringue cookies http://www.dominicancooking.com/784-suspiritos-meringues.html or you could always just add the extra egg whites to your eggs for omelettes in the morning, as I did, yum!

References: http://sourkrautkrafts.blogspot.com/2010/08/white-chocolate-bread-pudding-cupcakes.html, http://carpecupcakes.blogspot.com/2010/02/recipe-of-week-bread-pudding-cupcakes.html, 

Asian-Inspired Sweet and Tangy Red Chili Pork Ribs

When I made this dish, it was one of those days when I was busy and had little time to cook.  I went to the international supermarket and saw this nice pork back rib meat.  I thought it'd be fun to play with some Korean spices and make a nice spicy, tangy sauce with a touch of sweetness and a nice fresh ginger flavor to balance everything out.  Since the ribs came cut into small pieces and the ingredients were pretty simple, I was able to make this dish quickly and easily.

The flavor of this dish balances the bitter heat of Korean chili powder, the sweet tangy-ness of rice vinegar, and the sweetness of sugar and honey.  Fresh ginger adds a nice pop of freshness and a soft crunch.  Surprisingly, the ginger rounds are actually very tasty, and they become almost candied in the cooking process, fully absorbing all of the flavors of the sauce.  The sauce is lightly thickened, as opposed to being the thick, sticky consistency of Chinese American food.  The meat on its own has a great flavor and a slight bit of chewiness (not the type that comes from being overcooked) with a very thin velvety, buttery-tasting line of fat along the edges of the bone.  Although the meat is a bit more difficult to get to with the way that the bone is positioned, the flavor makes up for it.  Other pork ribs, such as spare ribs or spare rib tips would work equally well.  In fact, I would likely prefer spare rib tips if I made this dish again.  Spare rib tips are actually one of my favorite types of pork for adding great flavor to rice dishes.

Enjoy this easy, flavorful dish with white rice.

Ingredients:
1-1.5 lbs pork riblets, spare rib tips, or other smaller rib pieces

1/2 c corn syrup
1.5 c water
3 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
2 TB of fresh ginger (peeled and sliced into somewhat thin rounds beforehand)
1 tsp Korean chili powder**
2 tsp Korean red chili paste**
1 whole dried Korean red chili pepper**
1 tsp rice vinegar (much more affordable at any Asian market)
1 tsp of honey
1-1/2 TB of sugar
salt and pepper to taste
*cornstarch (2 heaping teaspooons should do the trick--the type you eat with)

*This will be used once the marinated meat is at frying stage

**These ingredients can be found at any Korean market or larger Pan-Asian supermarkets (e.g. Global Foods in Northern VA or Korea Garden on Midlothian in Richmond, VA (http://koreangardenva.com/)

Marinade:
5 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
1/2 tsp - 1 tsp chili paste
salt

Procedure:
1. Wash meat and rub marinade into meat for a few minutes.  Marinate for at least  one hour.

2. Make a sauce with the remaining ingredients.

3. Cook the sauce over medium high heat for about 5 minutes

4. Lower heat and simmer over medium low heat until thickened, about 25 minutes

5. Place meat in a pan with 1-1/2 TB oil over medium heat

6. Dust meat with just enough cornstarch so that both sides of each piece of meat receives an light dusting.  This seals in the meat's juices and will also aid in thickening the sauce later in the cooking process

7. Brown the meat over medium to medium high heat until 3/4 cooked

8. Once meat is cooked, add the cooked sauce to cover the meat and toss evenly

9. Cover the meat and bring the dish to a boil for just about a minute.

10. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes

References: http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/dakkangjung