Okay granted there is a little work involved, this is still easy, and very fun to make. Its one of my favorite meals and I forget what I can do with basically nothing special in the house and like you tend to freak out at the last minute. (unless you are cooking for yourself) But if you must cook for others, this is nice for you and for them. What helps is to have some of this stuff made ahead of time, like the Caesar Salad Dressing, and the White sauce (bachamel) for the eggs.In that case you can pretty much have this done in the amount of time it takes to do the potatoes (around 30 minutes.) Oh it helps to have the potatoes peeled and sliced ahead of time as well. Just don't forget you have them as they will probably turn brown in the fridge after a few days. I onlly cook for two now, so this is for 2-3 servings. Double recipe accordingly.
Dinner Brunch Menu
Eggs Florentine
Potato Wedges
Caesar Salad
Eggs Florentine
4-6 extra large organic eggs
1/2 lb bunch of fresh organic spinach
2 cups fresh organic (grass fed) whole milk
2 tbsp organic (grass fed) butter
2 tbsp whole wheat or spelt flour.
Celtic or himalayan salt
grated Luccatella Romano cheese (if possible).
Wash and chop spinach coarsely. In a 12 " iron or stainless skillet, place a little water and the spinach. Cover and steam til very bright green and wilted- about 5 minutes. Make slight wells on the surface of the spinach and break an egg over each til they are evenly spaced in the spinach. You want to be able to remove the eggs at serving time one at a time instead of them being so close together. Steam (poach) the eggs in the spinach and be careful not to overcook as you don't want hardboiled yolks. You shouldn't be able to see the bottom of the pan, or the eggs will stick to it. Add a little more water if needed. Don't burn the spinach or over cook it. So now you have to watch out for the eggs and the spinach. After about 3-5 minutes of steaming the eggs I just turn off the stove top and cover to let cook without the heat . That way you are guaranteed success. Don't let it sit indefinitely or the eggs will overcook, even in this way.
In a saucepan, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. You may want to add more butter if it gets too stiff. this is called a roux, and the idea is to let it cook a bit til slightly brown and aromatic. Do this on a medium to low flame. It will brown quickly so keep stirring. {Okay if this is driving you crazy, just make some omelets. But if you stick this out you will be happy to eat something so good. How many times have you had French food at home? I mean who does this except Julia Child wannabes? I had a mother who loved buttery sauces and French cooking. She didn't cook French food for us, it was for company. I was not impressed with that setup.Actually this may not even be French its Florentine so a litlte cross cultural cooking to match my heritage??Eggs a la Michelle?}
When nice and brown slowly stir in the milk whisking so that there are no lumps. If you do get lumps they are easy to get rid of if you keep whisking. Then add the grated cheese, You don't want it too thick (add more milk) or too thin (add more cheese.) The cheese is pretty salty so you don't need any more salt here.
After the eggs are done poaching to perfection (really there is nothing more disappointing in this recipe than hard boiled eggs), remove each egg from the skillet with its underlaying bed of spinach and serve with a good portion of the sauce.
Caesar Salad
Okay this is truly my own highly guarded (in the past) recipe. Its better than anything I have ever had out to dinner anywhere. And here I am just divulging this on my blog for all planetary dwellers who have access to this thing called the internet to just go ahead and make this. Am I selfless or what? No, maybe just a wee bit proud.
1 lb of organic very green Romaine lettuce(not the hearts of romaine which is as bad as iceberg lettuce as far as nutrition)
one egg yolk
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
3 cloves fresh chopped or pressed garlic
1/2 -1 cup organic cold press virgin olive oil
When nice and brown slowly stir in the milk whisking so that there are no lumps. If you do get lumps they are easy to get rid of if you keep whisking. Then add the grated cheese, You don't want it too thick (add more milk) or too thin (add more cheese.) The cheese is pretty salty so you don't need any more salt here.
After the eggs are done poaching to perfection (really there is nothing more disappointing in this recipe than hard boiled eggs), remove each egg from the skillet with its underlaying bed of spinach and serve with a good portion of the sauce.
Caesar Salad
Okay this is truly my own highly guarded (in the past) recipe. Its better than anything I have ever had out to dinner anywhere. And here I am just divulging this on my blog for all planetary dwellers who have access to this thing called the internet to just go ahead and make this. Am I selfless or what? No, maybe just a wee bit proud.
1 lb of organic very green Romaine lettuce(not the hearts of romaine which is as bad as iceberg lettuce as far as nutrition)
one egg yolk
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
3 cloves fresh chopped or pressed garlic
1/2 -1 cup organic cold press virgin olive oil
Luccatella Romano cheese (if possible)
In a large bowl place the yolk and the next 3 ingredients. Whisk til blended thoroughly about 1 minute. Here is the part where you have to pay attention. Add just a drop at a time of the oil til you have added about 3 tbsp.. If you don't then the mixture won't emulsify, and be like a mayonnaise. It will be gross and you will have to do first aid which I don't want to get into right now. Anyway, Just keep adding and whisking vigorously (good for the arm muscles) til you have enough dressing. You can add as much oil as you like. Here I have limited to 1/2 to 1 cup for the salad, but you can keep adding more and then store it in a glass jar in the fridge. If so then add more of the garlic and other flavorings. If you are going to make the potatoes, then you can use this as a dipping sauce for them as they do in France.
Wash and rip the leaves to bite sized pieces. I like to use my hands not a knife as this prevents the edges from getting brown. Place the dressing in the bottom of the bowl first, then add the leaves. Hand toss to coat the leaves. Then sprinkle about 1/4 cup of Romano cheese all over the salad, and toss once more. You won't even miss the croutons.
Potato Wedges
3-5 medium Organic Russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
cold press virgin olive oil
salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Okay the philosophy here is if you like french fries, but not the unhealthy way they are cooked, then do this. I have never had home made french fries. There is all the flavor and none of the greasy mess when you cook these in the oven. First cut the potato in half lengthwise. Then slice into the 1/4 inch slabs. Put in a big bowl, add the olive oil to coat (so they don't stick when you bake them) and maybe some salt. Toss with your hands. You can also add the salt after they come out of the oven .Russet works best here for some reason.
Bake at 400 for around 30 minutes. When they come out of the oven put on a serving plate with a little bowl of the mayonnaise-y dressing you made for the Caesar salad. Please do not use commercial mayonnaise, it will most likely be made from soy or canola oil- both to be avoided.I don't care if it says organic. Its probably not. This mayonnaise has many uses, so I will refer to this in future blogs.
Okay this is silly but I have no idea if this meal is French or Italian or something else. Its not important. Its just good. Its a combination of flavors that is comforting yet healthy. Buon Apetito and Bon Appetit !
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