Baked Eggs w/Goat Cheese + Herbs

The first time I had baked eggs I was visiting Catherine in New York. I can't remember the name of the place, but I certainly remember those eggs! I knew that eggs were one of the most amazing foods on the planet, but I had no idea they could be baked. As far as I was concerned, breakfast eggs were either scrambled for an omelet, fried with a side of bacon and a biscuit, poached for Eggs Benedict, or mixed with spinach and cheese for a delicious quiche. But baked? No way.

A baked egg is much like a fried egg. The longer they're baked, the less runny the yolk becomes. And just like a fried egg, the trick is finding the happy place where the whites are cooked through but the yolk is still runny. A lot of this depends upon oven temperature and the size of the ramekin used. I only have six inch ramekins, so they're what I use; however, it's easier to strike the aforementioned balance with a larger ramekin simply because there is more surface area.

Friday morning I chose to make baked eggs simply because of timing. Cooking eggs on the stove is faster, but they require a constant supervisory eye. With baked eggs, I prepare them in less than 5 minutes, set the oven timer, place the ramekins on the rack above the baking bacon, and leave them while I shower. Baked eggs are also great to make when serving a larger crowd. Breakfast is one of the tougher meals to make for guests, as everyone wants to eat together, yet there are only so many eggs one can fry at a time. With baked eggs, the cook can pop bake all the eggs in the oven at the same time as opposed to having to fry eggs in batches.

So if you've never baked eggs, give it a try. Just like anything else, it takes practice to get them right. But once you do, you won't be disappointed.

Baked Eggs w/Goat Cheese + Herbs

Kelley Gondring

Preheat oven 375º

Lightly grease the inside of each ramekin with olive oil.

Pour 1 tablespoon heavy cream into the bottom of each ramekin.

Crack two eggs into each ramekin.

Place 4-5 1/4 teaspoon-sized chucks of goat cheese into each ramekin.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and dill (or rosemary).

Place on top rack of preheated oven.

Bake 12-15 minutes. (The cream will float to the top giving the impression that the egg whites are runnier than they really are.)

Serve immediately. (Remember that the eggs will continue to cook once removed from the oven.)

We ate our eggs with fresh strawberries and bacon.

Eat up!

Peanut Butter Cupcakes w/Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Holy mother of cupcakes! I just tried the finished product and actually said "holy cupcake!" out loud to Jason as he was walking out the door for Sydney's night time walk. The cake itself has just the right about of peanut butter so that it is buttery and moist without becoming too dense. The cake with the frosting is rich, for sure, but without any one flavor over powering the others. They are plain old melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

Enjoy with a tall glass of milk.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Kelley Gondring

Makes 22 cupcakes.

Preheat oven 350º

In a medium bowl, lightly combine:
1/4 cup milk
6 egg yolks
2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine:
3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

Add:
3/4 cup milk
12 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and add one third of the egg mixture. Mix 20 seconds. Repeat twice more.

Pour scant 1/3 cup of batter into lined cupcake tins.

Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool 5 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely before frosting.

While the cake is cooling, prepare frosting.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Kelley Gondring

*Note: This recipe will be more than enough for the 22 cupcakes. I freeze extra frosting so that I have it on hand for other occasions, but if you don't want leftovers, I'd make half a batch first and see how far that gets you.

In a large electric mixing bowl, cream together on medium high speed:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
8 tablespoons butter, softened

Mix in:
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Mix in one half cup at a time:
2 cups confectioner's sugar
Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl after each half cup addition.

Frost cupcakes and garnish with chocolate shavings or coarsely chopped Reese's Cup.

Eat up!

Shrimp + Grits

Several of my friends have encouraged me to get on Pinterest, and after much procrastination, I finally succumbed. I arrived at Kelly's Game Night excited to report of my internet savviness. But when I told Kelly and Traci that I'd joined "Pin Interest," instead of the congratulatory and "it's about time" sentiment I expected, I received a giggle. "Pin Interest, Kelley? You mean Pinterest, right?"

Rightttt...that's what I said.

Note to self (and all other uneducated readers): it's one word, pronounced "Pin.trest."

Apparently, the pronunciation of this site has been somewhat elusive to many a user, as is evidenced by my google search of "How do you pronounce Pinterest?" that yielded many a result. Vindication!

At any rate, now that I'm using it, I enjoy easily browsing through various boards and find many interesting things that would have remained undiscovered by yours truly. This recipe for Shrimp + Grits, for example. But beware! Just like Facebook (not The Facebook), a quick perusal can unexpectantly cause the loss of an hour of life that can never be recovered.

In my opinion, it should be quality over quantity my fellow pinners! What is the point of pinning 1000s of items without actually making the recipes, creating the craft projects, going to on the shopping trips, or reading the books? It's not about pinning -- it's about all that pinning leading to doing. That's what makes memories, after all. To that end, we shared this delicious dinner with our friends, Tommy + Jessa. Tommy said the it was better than the Shrimp + Grits at The Fourth Street Filling Station, and Jason said they were the best grits he'd ever had. If that doesn't make you want to get busy in the kitchen immediately, there's no hope for you ;)

As I mentioned above, I found this Shrimp + Grits Recipe on Epicurious via Pinterest. It's from the Sept. 2011 issue of Bon Appétit and was created by chefs Preston and Ginger Madson at Peels in NYC.

I adapted the recipe in several ways:

Grits
1. I used white corn grits instead of yellow corn grits.
2. Instead of one jalepeno in the grits, I used two.
3. I added 2 1/2 pieces of coarsely crumbled bacon to the grits.
4. The recipe calls for one cup of sharp white cheddar cheese; I used 8 ounces, which is technically one cup in weight but not in volume.

Shrimp + Sausage
5. Because Jason is allergic to shrimp I cooked them separately using a 1/4 cup chicken broth, 1/4 cup beer, and 2 cloves garlic.
6. Apparently, the Whole Foods in Winston-Salem only carried Tasso once year (boo!) so I used andouille sausage. I used about 2 cups to make up for the fact that Jason couldn't eat the shrimp. I browned the sausage in a skillet on high heat and then cut them into bite sized pieces. I drained most of the grease from the skillet and then sautéed 1/2 of a diced white onion and 8 large cremini mushrooms, sliced. I then added 1/2 cup beer, 1/2 cup chicken broth, 2 cloves garlic, and then it simmer for several minutes.
7. I skipped the extra tablespoon of butter altogether.
8. I substituted thyme for tarragon.

Egg
9. I fried my eggs over medium instead of sunny side up. Sunny side up presents better, but I don't like my whites runny. And given the fact that Tommy had never had a friend egg (!!), I suspect easing him into over-medium was the right way to go.

Pin it and Eat up!

Braised Lamb Shanks w/Sweet Potatoes + Tomatoes

Last night we had our family friends, John + Jane, over for dinner. Both are attorneys and both have served as mentors to me over the years as I've navigated everything from law school admission to the actual practice of law. In fact, it was John's encouragement and enthusiasm that pushed me towards law and away from social work. We were at my parents' house for dinner - I think I was a junior in college - having a lively conversation about what, I don't know. I countered one of John's statements, and he just stopped, smiled at me, and said "You would make an excellent attorney." Well, I was rather caught off-guard, but that one seemingly insignificant sentence stuck in my head. Sure, I'd thought about being an attorney before, but here was someone in the field who actually thought I could do it. Shortly thereafter, I found a job at a small law firm, applied for school, and managed to get accepted!

When I passed the bar and got a job, John was the attorney who brought me before Judge Spivey to be sworn in. Six months into practice, it was John who left me a voicemail at work checking in to see how I was doing. I am sure that six years from now, John and Jane will still be checking in, guiding me through new adventures.

I decided to make braised lamb shanks because they are one of my favorite ways to prepare lamb. If done properly, the meat falls right off the bone, succulent and flavorful. It is also relatively inexpensive and not technically difficult. And they can be prepared ahead of time, sometimes particularly important for this dinner as I was going to be in Chapel Hill for a 10 mile run Saturday morning. I prepared this just before heading out of town Friday afternoon, placed them in the oven, and texted Jason to ask him to remove them when he got home from work. It worked out perfectly.

Braised Lamb Shanks w/Sweet Potatoes + Tomatoes

Kelley Gondring

In a large skillet, heat:
2 tablespoons olive oil

While the oil is heating, sprinkle:
salt, black pepper, and dried thyme
over all sides of 4-6 trimmed lamb shanks

Once the oil is hot, place 2-3 lamb shanks in the oil. Let brown for 2 minutes on each side. Remove and set in deep casserole dish (I actually used an extra large skillet with a lid). Repeat until all shanks are browned.

Add to casserole dish:
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 cups chicken broth
Set aside.

In the same large skillet, heat:
1 tablespoon olive oil

Add:
1 large vidalia onion, diced
3 medium carrots, peeled and
5 springs thyme
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
Sautee over medium heat until onions are browned and tender.

Stir in:
2 cups chicken broth
1 28 ounce can whole tomatoes*, including the juice
4 ounces tomato paste
15 prunes, pits removed
Let simmer 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Use a whisk to incorporate the tomato paste.

*I'm not a big fan of tomato seeds, so I squeezed the whole tomatoes over the sink to push out most of the seeds.

Pour the tomato mixture over the browned lamb shanks and sweet potatoes.

If preparing shanks one day ahead of time, bake for 2 hours at 200. Turn off oven but leave shanks inside the oven for an additional thirty minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool (about 2 hours) before placing in refrigerator. To reheat, remove the shanks from the fridge about two hours before serving to allow them to come to room temperature. Preheat oven 200. Reheating the shanks will take anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour.

If serving the same day, bake for 2.5-3 hours at 200.

Serve with mashed potatoes.

Eat up!

Pavlova w/Strawberries + Mango

The first time I remember making Pavlova was for a project in the third grade (When I say making, we all know that really means Mom made it while I "helped" in the kitchen). I had to present on a different country, and luckily enough for me, I'd gotten Australia. My dad's sister and her family all live in Melbourne, so as a ten year old, I felt like I had some real authority on the country. I mean, we'd just been there and I had seen kangaroos and koalas in real life!

I'd already finished by book project about a koala that happened to be in the shape of an oak leaf (science project meets english project, apparently?) and was now moving on to sharing a food from Australia with my classmates. Pavlova was the obvious choice, if only because I didn't know any other authentically Australian foods. Plus, its absolutely delicious.

I remember it being a big hit with the teachers, though I don't honestly remember my classmates reactions. I've modified this recipe from the traditional recipe because individual/couple portions hold up better when there are leftovers. Plus, they just look cute.

Pavlova w/Strawberries + Mango

adapted from my Australian Family's recipe

Preheat oven 350º

Makes 6 individual meringues.
Serves 12 [1 per 2 people]

In a large electric mixing bowl, combine:
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 egg whites
2 scant teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon white vinegar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Mix on low for thirty seconds so that all ingredients are combined.

Add:
1/4 cup boiling water
Mix on high for several minutes until stiff peaks form.

Line large cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Fill measuring cup (1 cup) with meringue; pour onto cookie sheet. Use a spatula to smooth into a circle, about four inches in width and two inches in height. Repeat five times. The meringues should be placed about two inches apart.

Bake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 200º and bake an additional 30 minutes.

Let cool on parchment paper. [Aside: Meringue can be stored in an airtight container for several days.]

Meanwhile, prepare fruit by combining in a medium bowl:
2 mangos, peeled and diced
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, de-stemmed and chopped
sugar as desired

In a large electric mixing bowl, add:
1 cup heavy cream
Beat on high until cream is whipped.

To assemble:
1. Place meringue on plate.
2. Spoon 1/6 of the cream on top of the meringue. If the meringue hasn't fallen, it will probably break at this point and that is okay.
3. Spoon fruit on top and on side of the whipped cream.
4. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Eat up!