Hello friends!

Sorry I have not been blogging daily; but I just got back from a wonderful vacation to the Riviera Maya – in Playa Del Carmen!  I absolutely love this place!  It is the 3rd time I have been there.  The Mayan/Spanish people are so friendly and accommodating.  On this travel, I was able to work with a chef in the kitchen of the resort!  It was so much fun to see how other parts of the world do things in the kitchen!

The first thing I want to share is omelet making.  Every year for the past 3 years, there is this little Mayan woman who is in her 70′s.  She makes omelets by the 100′s each morning at the resort.  I was able to pull her aside and ask her how she does it.  Even though her English is broken and my Spanish is broken, I think we were able to pull it off!  She makes the most beautiful omelet ever!  This is what she told me:

They blend their eggs in the blender with a shot of cream.  She cracked about 2 dozen eggs at one time and just put a “shot” of heavy cream in and blended away until the mixture was frothy.  At this point, she put the eggs in a pitcher and placed them on ice.  She said that the eggs need to be really cold.  I asked her why she said by blending the eggs, it makes them “fluffy”!  Makes sense!  When I tried it at home, I used 4 eggs…I know it sounds like a lot; but it worked great!

At the resort, you grabbed a bowl and went through a line and picked your fillings.  Each day they had fresh pico, summer squash, onion, spinach ribbons, tomato, avacado, sausage, ham, choizo, bacon, mushrooms – trust me, each day my bowl was over flowing!

Next, she got her griddle very hot and dumped out your fillings and sauteed them in a little bit of oil.  She then splashed some water on the other part of the griddle, she said when the water dances, she is ready to go.  Next she brushed her working area with melted butter.  Now this was the tricky part, she poured the eggs on the griddle, they went everywhere; but with a spatula, form a nice rectangle.  You need to have the eggs thin so they cook fast and you can stuff the omelet with more filling! 

The eggs really cook fast; about 1 minute into the cooking process, she sprinkled about a 1/4 cup or more of that really good shredded queso cheese them put the warm filling on the left side and folded the omelet in 1/3rds.  This equals the perfect omelet! 

She then placed it on your plate and you can then spread refried beans and guacomole on top!  Good bye Heinz Ketchup!

Give it a whirl at home!  You will be wanting to make omelets everyday!

Happy Cooking!

Chef Kathy

I was reminising with my neighbor yesterday afternoon at the pool.  We were talking about different childhood memories that each of us had.  She said she remembers eating Egg in the hole for breakfast as a child.  I said that I remember my Dad making that for us too; but we called it Toad in the hole.  At that time, a couple more ladies came and joined our conversation.  One called it Birdies in a nest and the other called it Pirate Eye Eggs.  When I got back home, I did some research because I thought it was so funny how the 4 of us were talking about the exact same recipe and all of our families called it something different!

Just for fun, here are some other names I found that refers to the same recipe:  One Eyed Jacks, Bunny in a Basket, One Eye Eggs, Frog in a Pond, Eggs in a Basket, Egg Nests, Egg in a Toast, Chicken in a basket, Eggs in a Frame, Eggs in the Window, Powder Puff Eggs, Frogs on a Log.  I am sure that there are more names out there.  Feel free to comment on what your family called these!

I did in research, find out that Toad in the Hole is incorrect.  Toad in the Hole is actually a traditional English dish made by adding sausage to Yorkshire Pudding. 

Anyway, whatever you may call these – this is how I remember my Dad making them.

Butter both sides of a piece of bread (like you would a grilled cheese).  Take a small juice glass and cut out a circle in the middle of the bread.  Set aside the “hole” (we used to fight over these, just brown them in the pan on each side until crispy).

Place your bread in a skillet or if you are making a lot of these, use a griddle!  Carefully crack an egg in the “hole” season with salt and pepper.  When the bottom of the bread is toasted, flip and toast the other side!

YUM!

Happy New Year Everyone!

For me, New Years Day is a day to reflect back on the prior year, being thankful for what I have, learning from mistakes made and setting new goals! Also making those resolutions to exercise more, eat healthier & lose a few pounds.

My goal for this blog in the upcoming year is to provide daily a healthy recipe or two of things we love to eat; but in a healthier version! Trust me, once in a while I will throw a treat out there (could be daily)!

Feel free to send me a comment or email of anything that you are wanting to see on this blog!

I’m not sure about you; but my diet will start on the 2nd…so here are a few family favorites for a fabulous New Years Day brunch!

Enjoy and I hope you will be back reading for 2012!

OVEN FRENCH TOAST ~ This is simple; yet delicious way to serve up a family favorite! I don’t make french toast any other way!
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
6 eggs
2 cups half and half
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. vanilla extract
16 slices of white bread (Texas toast or thick sliced french bread works best)
Melt butter with 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon – pour into an ungreased jelly roll pan.
Combine eggs, half and half, sugar, salt, vanilla and the rest of the cinnamon and mix until eggs are light yellow.
Lay bread slices on top of butter mixture in pan, not overlapping. Pour egg mixture over bread and refrigerate at least 2 hours (overnight is best) Bake at 400 degrees about 20 minutes or until bottom is browned.
Serve with maple syrup or strawberries and whipped cream.

OVEN BAKED TORTILLA ~ I started making this dish for brunch a couple years ago. I adapted the recipe from the cookbook called TAPAS – which is Spanish for “small bites”. It is great cut into bite size pieces with toothpicks and served with a spinach and fruit salad!

Olive oil
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
4 green onions, white and green parts, finely chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 red pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 large russet potato, boiled, peeled and diced
5 large eggs
scant 1/2 cup sour cream
6 oz. grated cheddar or fresh parmesan cheese
3 T. fresh chives
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 7×10 inch baking sheet with foil and brush with olive oil.
Place a little olive oil, the garlic, onions and peppers in skillet over medium heat, stirring for 10 minutes or until the onions are softened but not browned. Let cool, then stir in the potato.
Beat the eggs, sour cream cheese and chives together in a large bowl. Stir in the cooled vegetables and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Pour the mixture into the baking sheet and smooth over the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown, puffed and set in the center. Remove from the oven and let cool and set. Run a spatula around the edge, then invert onto a cutting board, browned side up and peel off the foil. IF the surface looks a little runny, place it under a medium broiler to dry out.
Let cool completely. Trim the edges if necessary, then cut into 48 squares. Serve on a platter with toothpicks!

SPINACH SALAD - I love this spinach salad! It is great for brunch, add a little grilled chicken or shrimp for a lunch or serve it along side a steak for dinner!
8 ounce bag of baby spinach
8 ounce box of sliced mushrooms
6 slices of cooked, crumbled bacon
1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts
1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
1/2 cup red onion
For the dressing:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
4 T. chutney (found at the grocery store by the condiments)
2 cloves of crushed garlic
2 T. Dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
Blend all together in a food processor or blender.
Pour over salad right before serving!

Happy New Year everyone!