Herbed-Baked Eggs

Hello all! Remember me?

Anyone?

I'm finally back and fully recovered! Also, I have a list of posts for you this week! To kick off the week, I bring you a breakfast recipe. (Although, I had it for dinner Friday night.)

I'm really not a big egg lover. I'll eat them scrambled or in an omelet and that's really about it. I think it's because runny yolks make me want to gag. I always picture my dad using toast to get up all the yolk that's run out of the eggs. Gag me with a spoon. However, for the sake of the blog, I figured I'd plow through and give this a shot.

Well, I still don't like runny yolks, however, I would make this dish again. I only used two eggs in each gratin dish (mainly because that's all the eggs I had on hand), but next time I might try and do just egg whites to see what comes out. It was very easy to put together and if you're making this for breakfast, you can get the herb mixture prepared the night before so it will go even quicker in the morning.

In other news, you may or may not have noticed a new feature here at From My Teeny Tiny Kitchen...Printable versions!! I've gotten a few requests from different people in the last week to include an easy way to print recipes. So below all recipes, there will be a link for you to click and print from there. I'm working on updating all past recipes so eventually they will all have their own link. Please let me know if any do not work properly and I will get them fixed.

Herbed-Baked Eggs
Source: Ina Garten

Ingredients
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan
6 extra-large eggs
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Toasted French bread or brioche, for serving

Directions
Preheat the broiler for 5 minutes and place the oven rack 6 inches below the heat.

Combine the garlic, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and Parmesan and set aside. Carefully crack 3 eggs into each of 2 small bowls or teacups (you won't be baking them in these) without breaking the yolks. (It's very important to have all the eggs ready to go before you start cooking.)

Place 2 individual gratin dishes on a baking sheet. Place 1 tablespoon of cream and 1/2 tablespoon of butter in each dish and place under the broiler for about 3 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Quickly, but carefully, pour 3 eggs into each gratin dish and sprinkle evenly with the herb mixture, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place back under the broiler for 5 to 6 minutes, until the whites of the eggs are almost cooked. (Rotate the baking sheet once if they aren't cooking evenly.) The eggs will continue to cook after you take them out of the oven. Allow to set for 60 seconds and serve hot with toasted bread.

Printable version

Mushroom Rigatoni

Hi everyone! Remember me? It seems that it's been ages that I've cooked anything! Probably because, it has been ages! The last thing I made was tacos from an Old El Paso kit. :)

So, where have I been? I've been in Little Rock, AR for one of my best friends/college roommate for 3 years/sorority sister's wedding. I had the lovely honor of being her Maid of Honor. I had to leave out of here Thursday after work so my kitchen has sat dormant since Wednesday night.

When I got back home last night, I was absolutely exhausted but drove my happy butt to Neighborhood Market to find inspiration for dinner. I had read this recipe and tried to remember what was in it while I was shopping.

This pasta dish was ok. Nothing too special and nothing I have to make again without some major tweaks. I think if I had made it the way the original recipe was written, it would have had more flavor. However, I couldn't not remember all of the ingredients. So below is what I did. Be sure to check out the original recipe and try that as well.

Mushroom Rigatoni
Adapted from Rachael Ray

1 pound rigatoni pasta
Salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound baby portabello mushrooms, sliced
1/2 pound button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup dry Italian red wine
2 to 3 stems rosemary, stripped and finely chopped, a couple of tablespoons
Black pepper
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
Parmesan Cheese

Directions
Place a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Add salt and cook rigatoni to al dente. Reserve about a cup of the pasta water in case the sauce is too thick.

Heat a large deep skillet with extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook until shallot is soft. Add in the mushrooms and cook until brown and tender. Add wine and reduce a minute. Scatter the rosemary into the pan and turn to distribute the herb. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Stir in tomatoes. Add in some pasta water if the sauce is too thick.

Drain pasta and add to warm pot. Toss the pasta with the sauce and top with Parmesan cheese.

Crawfish Jambalaya - Friday Fail...

Sometimes things just don't work out. Sometimes things sound good but the result is not so good. Case in point - Crawfish Jambalaya.

I wanted it to be good. I had high hopes of finding a jambalaya recipe from scratch that would replace Zatarain's boxed jambalaya. This, sadly, was not the recipe.

Having been born in southern Louisiana, Cajun is injected into my blood. You are born loving crawfish, andouille, and all things spicy. You automatically love jambalaya, etouffee, and gumbo.

This jambalaya just didn't fit the bill for me. I really debated whether or not to even bother posting it, but in honor of keeping it real, I will. Brian loved it but I just could not get behind it. I don't even know what it was that I didn't like about it. It definitely needs more spice and less salt. I'm not giving up on it, but today, it's my Friday Fail. Sorry to leave you going into the weekend with a sad tale. Next week will be different. :)

Risotto

Ahh risotto. Where have you been all my life? Honestly, I've been too scared to actually make it, plus never figured Brian would actually like it. (Sadly he's not a big fan of rice.) Now is the time to conquer all fears. Well, except my intense fear of snakes. But we're talking about food here, not snakes.

What was I so scared of? Risotto is one of the intimidating food items to make, however, once you make it, you realize it's so simple. All you do is stir! Stirring is easy!

Make sure you have all ingredients chopped and ready beforehand. Risotto, while pretty easy to make, does need babysitting.

Since I had never made it before and had no clue what I was going into, I used a variety of risotto recipes as my guide. I did use this recipe from Giada as a guide on the measurements, however did not use some of the same ingredients. With these measurements, this risotto makes more of a side-dish portion, and not a main dish portion, as I had hoped. Brian did say that this was the best rice he had ever eaten, which is a huge feat to accomplish since he does not do rice. For that reason, it will be a make again in our house, but since my measurements did not produce enough, this recipe will be one that needs some changes.

Risotto
3 1/2 - 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 finely chopped shallot (or small onion)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring broth to a simmer over medium-high heat. Once it comes up to a simmer, turn the heat down to low.

Put the olive oil into a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and saute until translucent. Stir in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Stir in the rice and cook for about 2 minutes until the rice is toasted. Add the wine and stir until it is absorbed, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup of hot broth; simmer over medium-low heat until the liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 6 minutes. Repeat, adding 1/2 cup of hot broth and stirring until liquid is absorbed. Continue this process until the rice is just tender and the mixture is creamy. (I kept tasting mine to make sure it was done, having never made it before.) Stir in the parsley. Add the 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Spoon into bowls and serve.