Coddled Eggs

Coddled Eggs

I love eggs and delight in discovering new ways to cook them. Eggs are a staple protein in our house from egg tacos to variations on typical egg bakes to deviled eggs to everyday  hard boiled eggs or scrambled eggs on toast.

My mom recently gifted me a set of porcelain coddling dishes that she picked up on her travels to Ireland in the '70s. I am smitten. And this approach is quickly becoming a staple in our egg rotation. 

To be honest I had never eaten a coddled egg before. Do you eat coddled eggs often? The original instruction tag proved useful for my novice attempt at mastering the coddled egg. It is quite simple really. Fill a pot with enough water to cover the lid line of the coddler & bring to a boil. 

Coat each dish with butter (preferably Irish Kerry Gold!). Crack an egg into each coddler, top with salt & pepper to taste. Feel free to add a thin slice of butter on top. Screw on the lid to each dish & add to the boiling water for 6-10 minutes, depending on your desired firmness for the eggs. Et voila!

As an alternative to a proper coddling dish, a lidded jar would work just as well. These ones are available at World Market. The extra room in these dishes would allow you to experiment with different seasonings & additions to suit your taste. For instance, why not line the jar with mashed potatoes & spinach?!

Removing the dish from the boiling water can be a tricky endeavor. We tied a string to each dish for easier removal, but we still struggled a bit to remove the lid. I suggest having a few dish towels on hand to help this cause. 

Coddled eggs are best eaten with bread for dipping into the dish & sopping up the runny eggs. During our recent move, we served these one night with toast (of course) & roasted asparagus bundles with gruyere cheese wrapped in bacon. This made for a completely satisfying meal. So simple, so delicious.

Parsnip Bread Pudding

Roasted Parsnip & Gruyere Bread Pudding
{loosely inspired by Martha Stewart}

This one was a fun discovery & definitely one to keep in active recipe rotation. A savory bread pudding using day old wheat baguette & some parsnips leftover from the root vegetable corned beef hash. Easy & healthy enough for weekday lunches, but elegant & pretty enough to serve to a brunch crowd. Some leafy greens would pair really well for a complete meal. 

ingredients:
5-6 parsnips
~2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 whole wheat baguette, cubed
2 shallots, sliced
7 eggs, divided
1/2 cup milk, divided
5 oz gruyere cheese, shredded
2-3 fresh thyme sprigs, coarsely chopped
1 tsp whole grain mustard
3-5 dashes of worcestshire sauce
handful parsley, coarsely chopped
2 oz parmesean cheese, shredded
salt & pepper, to taste

1. pre-heat the oven to 425F. peel & dice the parsnips and toss to coat with about 1 tsp of olive oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste. bake the parsnips on a baking sheet until browned & caramelized, approximately 20-25 minutes. rotate half way through to ensure even browning on all sides.

2. meanwhile, saute the shallots in about 1 tsp of olive oil on the stovetop over low-medium heat until the shallots have softened & begin to brown. add a pinch of salt after tossing to coat with olive oil to bring out the natural sweetness of the shallots.

3. if planning to cook the bread pudding straight away, reduce oven to 375F once the parsnips have finished cooking. you could easily make this ahead of time & keep in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

4. lightly butter a baking dish, then line the baking dish with bread cubes (I used a 9 inch round baking glass baking dish). sprinkle cooked parsnips & shallots around the bread. 

5. whisk together 4 eggs, 1/4 cup milk, gruyere cheese, thyme, mustard, worcestshire sauce, parsley, and salt & pepper. pour the mixture over the bread & parsnips. use your fingers to make sure that the wet mixture really seeps into the bread. let stand for at least 20 minutes (or let sit overnight). 

note: I let mine sit over night at which point I realized the bread pudding could use more wet ingredients.

6. whisk together remaining 3 eggs, 1/4 cup milk, extra parsley, parmesean cheese, and salt & pepper. pour over the bread mixture.

7. cover the baking dish with a foil tent. bake for approximately 40-50 minutes until golden brown and puffy. our kitchen was consumed with the smell of this bread pudding as it finished in the oven. it tasted every bit as good as it smelled!

St. Paddy's Day Weekend Recap

Corned Beef Hash with Root Vegetables
{recipe inspired by Martha Stewart}

Wow, what a weekend! We celebrated my mom's 60th birthday in true Irish fashion. Irish coffees -- spiked with Kahlua, Jameson & Baileys and topped with whipped cream. The Pogues playing in the background throughout the day, followed by traditional Irish jig music to cap off the evening. A house full of people & a gorgeous spread of food -- it was a celebratory occasion indeed. 

One of our contributions to the party was a corned beef hash we made with corned beef that we prepared late last week, as has become an annual tradition around this time of year. This corned beef has was a real crowd pleaser & was a great way to reinvent leftovers.

Last week, we followed Elise's baked corned beef recipe over at Simply Recipes. Honestly, we were a bit disappointed with the results - not sure what went wrong, but it was overly salty (even though we followed her boiling instructions) and it was a bit tough (perhaps this method lends itself to boiling out all of the fats that keep the meat moist?). I was raised on the annual ritual of corned beef & cabbage and this did not even come close to my mom's version. Next time around, we will surely revert back to boiled corned beef or slow cooker style. 

If you happened to make a corned beef this year & have any leftovers, I would highly recommend this corned beef hash. I would take this comforting dish any day over a corned beef sandwich!

ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 parsnip, diced
1 heaping handful of parsley, finely chopped
~ 12 fingerling potatoes, diced
1 medium sweet potato, diced
3-4 turnips, diced
~12 baby carrots, diced
1 box low sodium vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
1 corned beef, diced
whole grain mustard (optional)
fresh ground black pepper, to taste

1. place garlic, parsnip, potatoes, turnips & carrots in a large cast iron skillet pan. pour vegetable stock to cover & bring to a boil. reduce heat, to a slow simmer until vegetables are tender to the touch of a fork.

2. drain vegetables, reserving 1/2-1 cup stock for later use.

3. heat olive oil in a large pan. add onions & saute until onions begin to brown. 

4. add vegetables & reserved cooking liquid. cook until vegetables begin to brown, about 25 minutes. stir in corned beef, chopped parsley, whole grain mustard & fresh ground black pepper. cook until beef is warmed.

5. serve with parsley to garnish or with a fried egg for a complete breakfast.

Egg Tacos

Egg Tacos 
with Refried Beans & Sliced Avocado

Eggs are an almost daily feature in our lives. For me, usually eaten in a tortilla, for Andrei, usually served alongside bacon. In Tanzania, fresh eggs were delivered to our doorstep by mayai touts on bicycle, as depicted in Sarah Markes' compelling Dar sketch series. I viscerally missed tortillas the 2 years we lived in Tanzania and I now appreciate ready access them. These egg 'tacos' make for a great weekend brunch offering or even an easy week night dinner.

ingredients:

2 eggs

1 tsp milk

1/5 tsp whole grain mustard

1 small pat butter

1 tbsp shredded cheddar cheese

salt & pepper, to taste

cilantro to garnish
yield: 2 tacos, very easy to double or triple

1. crack 2 eggs into a small mixing bowl. 

2. beat milk & whole grain mustard into eggs until whites have combined with the yolks  

3. melt butter over low-medium heat in a nonstick pan. tilt pan to coat with butter.

4. pour eggs into the pan & let them set. add cheddar cheese & continue to cook until cheese melts.

5. meanwhile, warm tortillas on stove top.

6. place eggs in warmed corn tortillas. garnish with chopped cilantro & hot sauce of your choosing. 

7. serve with refried beans & sliced avocado & lime wedge.  

Classic with a Twist

Deviled Eggs 

Deviled eggs are as classic as they are versatile. Serve these up as appetizers at a cocktail or dinner party, or present them in a brunch or tea party spread. As always, experimentation & creativity on these presentations is encouraged.  

Deviled Eggs with Feta, Sun-Dried Tomato & Parsley

ingredients:

6 hard cooked eggs

2 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced
handful or half bunch of fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, minced
1.5 tbsp mayo

2 tsp medium to hot yellow mustard

salt & pepper to taste

1. place eggs in a large pot of salted water & bring water to a rigorous boil. dial back heat to a slow, rolling boil. cook for about 10-17 minutes. theories on how to make the perfect cooked egg are plentiful (as seen here and here), i tend to "listen" for their readiness, when the eggs begin to beat against the side of the pot with a gentle patter, i consider them done. 

2. to make your eggs easier to peel, immerse them in cold, iced water immediately for about 2 minutes after removing from the heat.

3. while the eggs are cooking, chop the feta, sun-dried tomatoes & parsley. fold them into the mayo & mustard.

4. once the eggs are cool enough to handle, tap the egg on the counter & roll it around to spread the crackle. peel the eggs. 

5. cut the eggs in half & with a small paring knife separate the cooked yolk from the egg white. 

6. add the yolks into the feta & mayo mixture. stir to combine.

7. spoon a generous amount of the feta mixture into each egg white half.

8. dust with fresh, cracked pepper, paprika or parsley, should you feel inclined.

Deviled Eggs with Edamame, Wasabi & Pickled Ginger

ingredients:

6 hard cooked eggs
1 cup frozen shelled edamame or pre-shelled edamame

1.5 tbsp mayo
.5 tsp wasabi paste
2 tbsp pickled ginger, diced
salt to taste

1.  place eggs in a large pot of salted water & bring water to a rigorous boil. dial back heat to a slow, rolling boil. cook for about 10-17 minutes (see notes above on estimating cook time). 

2.  in the last 2 minutes of cook time for the eggs, add edamame into the pot. edamame are ready when they plump a bit & float to the top. 

3.  immerse the eggs & edamame in cold, iced water immediately for about 2 minutes after removing from the heat.

4.  while the eggs are cooking, dice the ginger & mix the mayo & wasabi. wasabi is known for its harsh nasal heat, caution is urged here.

5.  once the eggs are cool enough to handle, tap the egg on the counter & roll it around to spread the crackle. peel the eggs & shell the edamame, if needed.

6.  cut the eggs in half & with a small paring knife separate the cooked yolk from the egg white. 

7.  add the yolks into the mayo & wasabi mixture. adjust heat level by adding more mayo or more wasabi if you are looking for more of a kick. fold in cooked edamame & salt mixture to taste.

8. spoon the edamame mixture into each egg white half. garnish with pickled ginger.