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TV Dinners: V For Vendetta - Egg In A Basket

partysugar — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 16:47:03 -0800

When my mom rented the movie V for Vendetta, she was pleasantly surprised by a scene that brought her back to her childhood. She paused the television and turned to me excitedly and said, "My mom used to make me those everyday for breakfast when I was a little girl!"

If you've seen the movie you know what I'm talking about. V makes Evey an "egg in a basket" for breakfast using real butter and later in the film, the scene mimics itself when Gordon makes Evey the same thing. An egg in a basket is a fried egg cooked inside a piece of toast. I had never seen this tasty little breakfast treat and my mother informed me that she and my grandmother, Nan, referred to it as an "egg in a nest."

The next morning I awoke to find my mom, who doesn't cook, in the kitchen over the stove! "I'm making us eggs in a nest for breakfast!" she told me enthusiastically. An egg in a nest (or whatever you want to call it) is a simply divine breakfast, the crisp, buttery toast and the runny, gooey yolk are a combination that rivals peanut butter and jelly. I was hooked after a single bite and now my mom makes me one every Saturday morning. To make V's egg in a basket, read more

Egg In A Basket (Nest)
From Martha Stewart

2 slices whole wheat sandwich bread
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, or butter
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Cut a 2-inch circle from the center of each bread slice; toast circles and serve along side egg in a basket.
Set slices aside.
Brush 1 tablespoon oil or butter in a medium skillet, and heat over medium heat until hot but not smoking.
Lay bread slices in skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low.
Crack an egg into the hole of each bread slice, and sprinkle each with 1/8 teaspoon salt.
Cook until bottom of eggs are set and golden brown, about 2 minutes.
Flip; cook 2 minutes more for soft-cooked eggs, or 3 minutes more for slightly firmer.

Serves 2

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World's Largest Cupcake Attempt Is a Sweet Success

YumSugar — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:30:04 -0700

Another one to add to the list of highly unconventional cupcakes: This 1,224-pound behemoth of a baked good, which just knocked out a recent record contender for the title of world's largest cupcake.

The prodigious pastry, which composed of triple vanilla cake batter and topped with pink frosting, was more than eight times the size of the previous record holder in girth. It stood 4 feet tall and spanned 11 feet around, and was created by Manchester, NH-based GourmetGiftBaskets.com. It required 800 eggs, 200 pounds each of sugar and flour, five days of preparation, and 12 hours of baking time.
Slices of the cupcake were served over the weekend at the Woodward Avenue Dream Cruise Classic Car Show in Detroit, MI, in exchange for donations to breast cancer foundation Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Even though the cupcake contained an estimated 2 million calories, I wouldn't have been able to pass up this once-in-a-lifetime indulgence. Does the cupcake look appetizing to you?

Photo Courtesy of Charles Whitman

Easter Fun Facts!

partysugar — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 01:11:53 -0700

I hope that nobody minds my tiny obsession with useless knowledge concerning statistics and facts about food and holidays. I happen to think that knowing a plethora of nonsensical information is an incredibly fun conversation starter, especially in awkward or uncomfortable moments. Although DearSugar may not approve, I'm all for avoiding horrid questions by quickly changing the subject. I mean how else do you deal when you're at your family's Easter brunch and your uncle asks you how your job is going and you were fired the week before? Well instead of bursting into tears or bashing your former employer say: hey did you know that 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are made for Easter each year? Or that the world's largest jelly bean weighs over 6000 pounds?? I'm telling you read through my Easter fun facts and you'll have something interesting to say when you are at a loss for words. To find out what part of a chocolate bunny gets eaten first and just how many marshmallow Peeps get consumed each year read more

When taking a bite into a chocolate bunny, 76% of Americans prefer to bite off the ears first. 5% eat the feet first and 4% eat the tail first.
During the Easter season, Americans buy more than 700 million Peeps - making Peeps the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy.
Adults prefer milk chocolate (65%) over dark chocolate (27%).
86% would prefer having chocolate bunnies instead of a live rabbit.
Each day throughout the year, 5 million marshmallow chicks and bunnies are produced in preparation for Easter.
16 billion jelly beans are made specifically for Easter which is enough to fill a plastic egg the size of a 9-story building.

Kids prefer red jelly beans and 75% are willing to do extra chores for more Easter candy.
57% of kids get up super early on Easter to see what the Easter bunny has brought them.
80% of parents carry on the tradition of the Easter bunny by preparing a surprise Easter basket filled with goodies for their children and 90% of adults hope for their own Easter treat.
The first chocolate eggs were made in Germany in the 19th century and remain one of the most popular Easter candies today.

Solid chocolate bunnies are favored, followed closely by hollow chocolate bunnies, marshmallow filled bunnies, and other Easter bunny candy.

In the old days pretzels were associated with Easter because the twists of the pretzel were thought to resemble arms crossing in prayer.
The exchange of eggs for Easter dates back to a springtime custom older than Easter itself in which eggs were given as a symbol of rebirth in many cultures.

The Easter egg roll on the White House lawn has been a tradition since 1878.
After Halloween, Easter is the biggest candy consuming holiday.

Got a fun Easter food fact? Please share it with me, I'm dying to know more!

Source

We Visit Campton Place

YumSugar — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 16:22:21 -0800

Yesterday afternoon, a few of us went out for a fancy lunch feast at Campton Place (it was part of the Dine About Town going on here in San Francisco). Traditionally, it's supposed to be a 3 course meal for lunch, but lucky us, we managed to swing a 5 course meal plus a little tidbit to see us on our way.

So how was the lunch, what was the decor like, and most importantly how tasty were our SEVEN AND A HALF desserts? To find out, read more

Campton Place is one of those fancy restaurants located in a hotel off of Union Square. Its cuisine is best known as "modern American" and the decor is exactly what you'd expect: classy, if not somewhat stuffy (aka, this is the kind of place you want to take your grandma for brunch).

When we arrived they whisked our coats away, sat us at a lovely round table, promptly wheeled over a champagne cart (Party has some great coverage about the champagne) and whisked out a basket of bread.

Since it was Dine About Town (which sadly ends today), there was a fixed menu that consisted of: Celery Root Soup OR Sashimi, Tai Snapper OR Chicken with Watermelon Radishes, and dessert. I ordered the sashimi and snapper, Party ordered the soup and chicken.

Now I know that appetizers generally are smaller portioned, but when the tiny pieces of sashimi arrived on a GIGANTIC plate, I was a little taken aback. The enormous plate made it seem small and inadequate. Luckily the flavor was fresh and lively. I had a chance to taste the soup and I thought it was a nice choice. PartySugar didn't enjoy the chunks of celery and although she enjoyed the flavor, she felt it wasn't very memorable (she also thought she could make something like this at home).

Next up was the entrée. The Tai Snapper was delicious. The fish was flaky, and firm, but not overcooked. The bed of chard that it sat upon wasn't overly bitter and the cauliflower on top had the perfect texture. I also enjoyed the sauce, and actually used the bread to soak up the remaining bits. Unfortunately the Chicken just didn't seem to live up to the hype. Although it looked gorgeous (check out those watermelon radishes), it seemed a bit too dry. When it arrived on the table, the servers went around and drizzled the Au Jus on top, however they took it away and it never returned. PartySugar felt that it could have been better if it was smothered in more sauce.

After the entrée, we were expecting dessert to arrive next. Our server came by and set new place settings for us, only to have them whisked away by someone else. See, it wasn't time for dessert yet, because before dessert comes the cheese course! It was a delicate pairing of epoisse cheese and vanilla bean ice cream on top of caramelized pumpkin seeds. The potent cheese turned out to be a perfect pairing with the ice cream. The creamy textures of both literally melted in my mouth.

Once we had devoured the cheese course, we were then treated with a light delicious Mojito Soda with Coconut Foam and Tapioca. The dessert was amazingly unique and wonderfully tasty. It was intended to cleanse the palate and it absolutely worked. I personally thought the tapioca added a nice texture, but was almost unnecessary, although I don't know what would be a better texture. Some of our lunch dates thought I was crazy for even saying that.

After the soda came the final course: dessert! At this point, we still assumed that we would have the standard dessert, but oh no no, instead of one dessert, we received five different ones (there were five us there). The desserts consisted of 5 different sorbets (quince, pineapple, grapefruit, mango, and coconut), carrot raviolis, a golden egg, chocolate sponge cake with tandoori paper, and "french toast" with kumquats.

WOW.
I could go on about these desserts for quite a long time, but my favorite was definitely the whimsical coconut mousse filled carrot raviolis, avocado mousse and cardamom nage. The sweet flavor and freshness of the carrots really melded with the creamy texture of the coconut. I know people who won't eat carrots that would have LOVED this dish. As PartySugar said, "The carrot ravioli made me feel like a judge on Iron Chef America for its pure ingenuity. The carrots were wrapped delicately around a creamy coconut and mousse filling to create little pillows of crunchy smooth sweetness. When paired with the cool avocado mousse it was like a whole new taste experience for me."

In short, it was FANTASTIC.

But wait, did I say that was my favorite? Because now that I'm thinking about it, it may have been the golden egg. Imagine a slow poached egg, enveloped in a sweet hard caramel shell, dolloped in gold leaf, and then paired with a pistachio financier with rosemary oil. It was so wonderful and dreamy. I have a thing for egg yolks paired with sweet items (don't get me started about eggs on toast with strawberry jam), and this was just divine. I think I may have licked the plate once everyone was done sharing.

When we were about to leave, Boris popped out of the kitchen to present us with a few chocolate goodies. It was the perfect end to a wonderful eating frenzy.

Overall, I had a great time at Campton Place. The food was good, but not amazing, but the desserts... oh the desserts...

If you're in the area and want a unique scrumptious creation, then be sure to stop by and visit pastry chef Boris Portnoy. Although consider yourself warned, none of the desserts were super sweet, it's not really his "thing."

View 15 Photos ›

Come Party With Me: Spring Picnic - Menu

partysugar — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:28:11 -0700

The past couple of days have been gloriously sunny here in San Francisco, inspiring me to plan a Spring picnic. The menu will consist of classic picnic foods best enjoyed under the bright blue sky. Homemade fried chicken will be placed in a big basket with delicious dipping sauces on the side. The recipe includes a spicy ancho honey, but if you prefer to serve fried chicken with blue cheese or ranch dip, offer those instead.

Coleslaw cups are a wonderful accompaniment to the fried chicken. Egg salad sandwiches on hearty wheat bread round out the homemade picnic spread. Supplement the menu with your favorite store bought picnic foods: potato chips, celery sticks, or hummus dip are excellent ideas.

To take a look at these recipes please, read more.

Fried Chicken with Ancho Honey
From Bobby Flay

Ingredients

1 quart buttermilk, plus 2 cups
Kosher salt
2 teaspoons chili de arbol powder, or 2 tablespoons hot sauce
2 chickens (3 to 4 pounds each), cut up into 8 pieces each
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
Freshly ground black pepper
Peanut oil, for deep-frying
Ancho honey, recipe follows

Directions

Whisk together 1 quart of the buttermilk, 2 tablespoons salt, and the chili de arbol in a large bowl or large baking dish. Add the chicken, turn to coat, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Place the remaining 2 cups of buttermilk in a bowl.
Stir together the flour, garlic and onion powders, paprika and cayenne in a large bowl and divide among 2 shallow platters and season generously with salt and pepper.
Drain the chicken in a colander and pat it dry. Dredge the pieces a few at a time in the flour mixture and pat off excess, then dip in the buttermilk and allow excess to drain off. Dredge in the second plate of flour and pat off the excess.
Put the chicken pieces on a baking rack set over a baking sheet while the oil heats.
Pour about 3 inches of oil into a deep cast iron skillet; the oil should not come more than halfway up the sides of the pot. Put the pot over medium-high heat and heat the oil to 375 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer.
Working in batches, add the chicken pieces to the hot oil, 3 or 4 at a time and fry, turning the pieces occasionally, until evenly golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and transfer to a rack to drain; repeat to cook the remaining pieces. Serve hot, drizzled with the ancho honey.

Serves 4-6.

Ancho Honey:

1 cup honey
2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
Salt

Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Season with salt, to taste.

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Coleslaw Cups
From Everyday With Rachael Ray magazine

Ingredients

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
1 head napa cabbage, 20 leaves left whole and the rest shredded (about 5 cups)
1/2 head red cabbage, shredded (about 5 cups)
1/2 head green cabbage, shredded (about 4 cups)
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons celery seeds

Directions

In a jar with a lid, combine the olive oil, vinegar, mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Shake vigorously and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the shredded Napa, red and green cabbages with the parsley and celery seeds. Shake the dressing again and pour over the cabbage; toss to coat.
Trim the ends of the reserved cabbage leaves and place a large spoonful of marinated slaw in the center of each leaf; refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serves 10.

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Egg-Salad Sandwiches
From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

8 large eggs
3 tablespoons part-skim ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons plain nonfat Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 cups watercress, thick stems removed
8 thin slices (1 ounce each) whole-grain bread

Directions

Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside.
Cover eggs with 1 inch of cold water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat; cover, and let stand 11 to 12 minutes. Transfer eggs to ice-water bath; let stand 2 minutes.
Peel eggs; cut in half, and remove yolks. Crumble 2 yolks, and set aside; discard remaining yolks.
Finely chop egg whites, and transfer to a medium bowl. Add crumbled egg yolks.
Whisk together ricotta, yogurt, mustard, chives, and salt in a small bowl; season with pepper.
Add to egg mixture, and gently stir to combine.
Arrange egg salad, then watercress, over 4 slices of bread, dividing evenly. Top with remaining slices of bread.

Serves 4.

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All the News That's Fit to Eat - June 20

YumSugar — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 11:00:50 -0700

Napa Valley is all abuzz over a new Mondavi family tell-all book. Plus, Forget the bread basket, the latest trend is freshly made breadsticks. I think I know what I'm baking next! - San Francisco Chronicle
Pastry chefs are refusing to be sweet, with some even opening their own savory restaurants. Also, if the processing rules change, will camembert still be camembert? - New York Times
At your next dinner party, let lively cool wines revive heat-flagged palates. - Chicago Tribune

A push to sell humanely raised veal is winning fans. Plus, be sure to check out the behind the scenes scoop from the "pie wranglers" from the film Waitress. - The Boston Globe
The husband-and-wife dynamic (aka chefs marrying chefs) is changing the LA restaurant scene. - Los Angeles Times
This year's Oregon razor clam harvest is expected to be a good one. If you're interested learn how to quick fry or slow simmer them. - The Oregonian
The key to a perfect spinach soufflé is in the eggs. - Star Tribune (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
Fresh legumes, like cowpeas, are in season now. They're showing up in soups, salads, dips and more. - Houston Chronicle

Yum Market Finds: Easter Basket Chocolates

partysugar — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 09:59:16 -0700

Easter is this weekend and if you are running around like a chicken with your head cut off looking for goodies to fill your loved one's Easter baskets why not consider a few cool chocolate treats? Aren't these the cutest chocolate bunnies you've ever seen? I found and saved them in the Yum Market on TeamSugar.

Two more chic chocolates that you found so read more

Got little boys who aren't really into chocolate bunnies? Bet they would go crazy for these chocolate eggs filled with chocolate dinosaurs. Equally adorable, eruntale discovered these edible black and white treats.

For a more grown up Easter chocolate indulgence, give these champagne truffles that swwonder saved. Any box that is wrapped in a beautiful satin ribbon has my vote.

Thanks for finding these fabulous chocolates ladies! Keep on submitting stuff to the Yum Market to share with all of us!