Sweet Nostalgia, Issue #003: Brunch!

A quick revisit of brunch.  I used a little more bell peppers, and tossed in half a chopped andouille sausage for kicks.  I also decided to fry the eggs instead of scrambling them.  Egg rings are super helpful for this, just make sure you grease them well.  Nonstick is a lie.

Raw fries. . . I swear, I'm gonna par cook some potatoes and do home fries right one of these days.

MAGIC!

Your Craft Epic Breakfast skill has increased +1.0 points.

Philosophy of Food, Issue #014: Crepes!

I didn't use an original recipe for this one, so I'll just link you to where I pulled it from.


The resulting crepes didn't have much of a sweetness to them, but were very good served with a bit of brown sugar.  In the future I'll certainly try experimenting with other ingredients.  I'm working on some home made vanilla extract that might be a good addition, and I've thought of using cold coffee instead of water to give them a little added flavor.

Enjoy.

Philosophy of Food, Issue #013: Bunchity Brunch Brunch

I made brunch.  It was tasty.  I shall share my tasty with the world!

The Ingredients
-2 slices thick cut bacon.
-1 small russet potato, chopped.
-1/4 medium yellow onion, chopped.
-A couple strips of red bell pepper, chopped.
-2 eggs.
-Creole seasoning.
-Butter.

The Process

Part of a balanced. . . and cooking. . .breakfast.  Okay, I admit it.  This picture was staged.  I mean, who'd put their coffee that close to sizzling bacon?

I think I'll use a little more bell pepper next time.

Bacon is magic.

The very first thing I would do is chop up your onions, potatoes, and peppers.  Then butter a small frying pan and dump in the veggies.  Sprinkle with as much Creole seasoning as you care for.  Cook at a low-to-medium heat.  Then start frying up the bacon in a larger frying pan.  When the bacon is good and fried, pour off most of the grease and scramble up the eggs.  Sprinkle the pan with some Creole seasoning first, and sprinkle some onto the eggs once they're added to the pan for maximum seasoning.  I like to cook the eggs fast, so they're still a little bit runny on the inside.

If your timing works out anything like mine, the potatoes-onions-and-peppers should be ready at about the same time as your eggs are done.

The Results

Brunch is served!

  A delicious, classic breakfast.  There's bacon.  There's eggs.  There's something resembling home fries.  Technically, they're raw fries.  Home fries are made with par cooked potatoes, which is something I've been meaning to try out.

The Philosophy of Food, Issue #012: Beef-and-Vegetable Stew/Chili Thing

This is something I haven't made for a long time.  Not since undergrad.  It was born out of an attempt to do something dignified with beans and has evolved to become. . . okay, I'm not going to lie, this is basically my krupnik recipe sans barley.

The Ingredients:
-2 15 oz cans of chili beans.
-3 slices of bacon.
-2 medium yellow onions, chopped.
-Brown sugar.
-1 lb stew beef.
-1 large can of stewed tomatoes.
-Creole seasoning.
-Beer.
-Beef Stock.
-2 medium russet potatoes, cubed.

The Process

Is it edible?  Toss it in the pot!

Okay.  I'm not going to lie.  The basic instructions for this dish are "toss stuff in a pot and boil it 'till it's done."  The important bits are that you use beans, beef, and beer.  The more detailed instructions follow.

Fry up your bacon and prepare the onions as per pretty much everything I've made since stoofvlees.  Crumble bacon and add it, and the caramelized onions to a stew pot along with. . . everything but the potatoes.  For my own mix I used two bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale and a little less than half a 32 oz carton of beef stock, but the important thing here is to cover the solids by an inch or two.  Also, use a liberal amount of Creole seasoning.  I used all my leftover homemade seasoning in addition to a hefty amount of spicy Tony Chacharie's, and it was perfect.

Bring it to a boil and cook for an hour.  There's not barley in this dish, so you don't have to worry as much about stirring, but don't neglect it.  After an hour add in the cubed potatoes and cook it for another hour.

Enjoy.

The Results

Aside from the level going down, this really doesn't look that much different from when it started. . .

Delicious and simple, if time consuming.  You can use ground beef instead of stew meat if you want, and ground turkey works just as well.  The bacon is optional.  The onions can be added raw or sauteed in butter and the dish will come out fine.  Other veggies, such as carrots and celery, can also be added.  I didn't this time because my celery had gone bad. . . been a little too long since I made krupnik.

I promise you, it shall be tasty!