Food, Food, Food!

After spending months (and by months, I mean years) on a bookshelf, I finally pulled out my copy of Julie and Julia and finished it a few weeks ago. Truth be told, as much as I'd love to WRITE one, I generally despise bestsellers because I refuse to read anything Oprah readily endorses.

But alas, I was broke and bored and here was this book -- about food! and blogging! -- that I hadn't yet read.

So I started it.

Of course the book turned out to be an insipiration for me. I mean, it's about blogging! and cooking! And it turned out that one of the many things Joel brought into our relationship was a copy of Julia Child's Mastering The Art Of French Cooking. So I got to read along and actually MAKE some of the recipes.

Over the past few weeks, I've made so much food it should probably be illegal:

• Beef Wellington
• Roasted garlic mashed potatoes
• Rustic bread
• Blueberry muffins
• Blueberry pancakes
• Homemade crepes (my first try!) (Alex stood over the stove beside me the entire time like my own personal cheerleader. "That's like YOUR FIRST ONE, Mom and it's TOTALLY PERFECT!" That kid's a keeper.) (I filled the crepes with ricotta and blueberries and covered them with homemade caramel the first time, made Joel PB&J with honey-lemon butter sauce the second time and filled them with sharp cheddar, grain mustard and ham the third. Crepes are officially my new favorite food.)
• Polenta casserole (one for a party and then mini individual polenta pot pies for Joel and I)
• Fresh tortillas (also my first try!)
• Pork tenderloin carnitas
• Homemade pizza (with mama's gravy...)
• Brown sugar cookies
• Fleur de sel caramel popcorn
• Homemade flour tortillas (another new favorite)
• Homemade wheat bread
• Baked ham
• Scalloped potatoes with artichokes
• Ham and bean soup

But the biggest revelation is actually something straight out of Mastering the Art of French Cuisine:

Baked eggs in cream

If you've never experienced a baked egg, you are missing out on perhaps the most sinful of breakfasts. In my kitchen, baked eggs in cream quickly morphed into baked eggs in parmesan cream. Baked eggs with mushrooms. Baked eggs with spinach and shallots. Baked eggs with bacon. Baked eggs with pancetta. Baked eggs with cheddar.

BAKED EGGS!

Of course, maybe I'm partial to it because I'm not using store bought eggs. I'm walking out into the back yard first thing on a Sunday morning and retrieving a still-warm egg from our chicken coup. Here's a little comparison shot for you. The brown egg came from Lucy. The white egg came from the store.

It's hard to tell from this picture, but Lucy's orange yolk is twice as big as the yellow one from the store and her egg is more than twice as delicious. Next time I make baked eggs, I'll try to remember to photograph the process. It's really simple. But I guess what I'm saying is that I'm LOVING this urban farm thing. We'll probably plant our garden in the next few weeks and I fully intend to blog about that too.

Comments

[cindy w]

The backyard chickens and garden made me think, "Aww, she's turning into such a hippie!" Next thing you know, you'll be voting Obama in 2012. :-) (Totally teasing. You know I'm like Ms. Bleeding Heart Liberal, so that's not a criticism at all.)

[BrazilJamie]

You absolutely MUST read "Farm City" by Novella Carpenter.

[Sara]

Have you found where the ladies are hiding their eggs yet?

[Laura Troll]

I hope you see this comment, and answer it. If you don't imma e-mail you. So, I really love the idea of baked eggs. In pictures, they look so creamy and delicious, and they can be personalized in any way. It's very appealing. I like the IDEA so much, that a few years ago, I bought enough ramekins to make enough for my family, in-laws, and my parents, for a Mother's Day brunch. I decided to try a test-run first. Alas, they were disgusting. I made them exactly according to the recipe, careful not to overcook (thou shalt not overcook your baked eggs, or they will be disgusting, sayeth the recipe). I pulled them out, and they looked cooked/set... but still jiggly. I let them sit for about 5 minutes. Ugh. The white around the yolk was still not quite cooked. It wasn't raw, or quite runny... just, not quite cooked. Do you know what I mean? I cannot abide by not quite cooked egg white. It makes me want to horf.

So, my question(s) is (are): did I need to let them cook a little longer? Would they have been ruined, if I'd let them cook longer? Is horf-inducing, not-quite-cooked egg white something one must simply endure to enjoy a baked egg? Will I ever be able to enjoy a baked egg? Halp!

[lolismum]

I completely agree that there is nothing like natural fresh eggs. My cousin had an urban farm, too. Luckily her kids hated eggs and she never baked, so she would bring them to us whenever she visited. I would have the pan ready to fry those babies up before she could even take her shoes off. Yum.
And a vegetable/herb garden is a fantastic idea. Delicious and cheap.

[Amanda P. Westmont]

Okay, Laura, so here's the trick about the runny egg whites: HEAT YOUR CREAM before you pour it over the eggs. I think that's why the recipe has been working out so well for me. I'm not using cream, I'm making Alfredo sauce and it's hot when I put it on top of the eggs. I think just that little bit of extra heat helps.

Another trick might be to raise your oven rack up a notch.

[Laura]

Aha! Warm cream. Thanks. And, um, I just giggled to myself about "warm cream". I must be a child.

[jules]

I've never heard of baked eggs. Is the yolk runny? Cuz that will pretty much do it for me. Can't stand runny yolks. I always make mu eggs scrambled or fried "hard" or as my family called them "Mangled"--with the yolk broken .. . . .

Still . . . .this post made me hungry. I might just show up at your place around dinnertime someday . . . .