Egg Drop Soup p. 127

Ever since I was sick around Christmas when I was a young girl egg drop soup has been a comfort food to me. I didn't realize how easy it was to prepare until a few weeks ago.

Start with around 4 cups of stock (I used chicken stock)and bring it to a simmer. Meanwhile in a separate bowl beat 4 eggs together. When the water begins simmering add in the eggs and stir until the eggs are cooked (just a couple of minutes). Garnish with cilantro, soy sauce, etc. You will need to season with salt and pepper to taste. This makes two good size servings or four small servings.



I fell in love with how easy and delicious this soup was that I've made it several times since. My absolute favorite though was when I mixed in a cup of cooked, shredded chicken and leftover cooked leeks.



Words cannot describe to you how amazing it was. Definitely my favorite thing I'd ever made. Seriously. And it only took five minutes max.

Curried Deviled Eggs p. 85

Oppsy. Its been a while. I didn't realize how long its been until I sat down with my book to look at the pages I've been meaning to post and realized that this one was made at Easter. EASTER! Yikes.

Deviled eggs is one of the staples, at least in my opinion, of an Easter meal. Something about eggs, I don't know for sure. But I wanted to try a variation, as there are mutliple good ones offered in How to Cook Everything. I'd also been craving some curry around this time as well.

Curried deviled eggs substituted yogurt for mayo (another reason for using this recipe to get rid of the large container of yogurt going bad in my fridge). Instead of mustard, use curry powder and garnish with cilantro.



They turned out very pretty, but I still prefer a traditional deviled egg for flavor.

Eggs Benedict, Unleashed p. 799

This is really a triple whammy recipe as you are really just assembling several seperate things.

First toast your english muffins. I hate english muffins and didn't have any (I made this spur of the moment one Sunday morning) so I used regular bread. A nice french bread or something fancier would probably have been better, but I was a poor planner for this meal.

Make a hollandaise Sauce (page 59-60). This mixes egg yolks, butter, lemon juice and some cayenne. Careful with the cayenne, I made mine too spicy. Keep it warm while you prepare the ham and eggs.

Next you will heat up your Canadian bacon. It only takes a minute or two, you just want to get it warm and crispy. Once done, let it drain on a paper towel.

Final step, poached eggs. I must admit a deep fear of poaching eggs. I've never had a poached egg before, but I've witnessed the process on cooking shows and read about it on various cook books. It seems weird and a freak of nature. So I was very hesitant about this step. But it ended up okay. The water had a milky foam over it, but my perfectly poached eggs were still in there and okay!

Finally assemble. Toast, bacon, eggs, and generous spoonful of hollandaise. Enjoy!

Baked (Shirred) Eggs p. 798

I've seen several baked egg recipes circulating cooking blogs lately. It was a totally new concept to me. Baked eggs. Eggs are usually scrambled or fried ... but baked?

Baked eggs are incredibly easy and perfect for weekday breakfast or a leisurely weekend breakfast. There are also many ways you can vary them.

Mark Bittman gives a 30 minute prep and cook time in the book, but it shouldn't take you longer than 16 minutes, 15 of those are cooking.

Start off with a ramkin or small baking dish. Butter it or rub olive oil all over. Then break an egg in there and bake for 10-15 minutes.

He also suggests adding a bit of cream to the bottom of the bowl if you wish. When its done add a little salt and pepper to taste.

There are tons of ways to spice it up or vary it:
- You can add cooked or uncooked meats or vegetables. I've used proscuitto. But I'd love to try some asparagus with baked eggs.
- Add cheese!
- Fresh herbs
- Your favorite spices.



For this particular baked egg dish I add proscuitto to the bottom, cream, and a little parmigano on top. With both the proscuitto, cheese, and salt it was way way too salty, but still delicious.

Everyday Scrambled Eggs p. 792

Scrambled eggs was the first thing I ever learned cook. Growing up, when my dad was out of town and my mom didn’t feel like making dinner, we would have breakfast for dinner, which always involved scrambled eggs. I’m not really a breakfast eater, but every once in a while I have a hankering for a real breakfast, and I always make scrambled eggs. The other morning was one of those mornings. Instead of just making them way I normally do, I decided to consult How to Cook Everything first.

Initially I didn’t think it was very different, only the addition of cream or milk and adding butter before adding the eggs. Mr. Bittman also suggested using a rubber spatula to scrape the sides where the egg seems to dry out. Normally I use a wooden spoon and the idea of using a rubber spatula was novel, yet made so much sense.





After making the eggs I was so angry. I thought I could cook scrambled eggs… but I was proven wrong. These eggs were lighter and creamer than before and the pan was so easy to clean. Next time I’m going to throw in some cheese with it, which I know will make them unbelievable.

Potato Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette p. 189, with Mustard Vinaigrette p. 200 and Hard Boiled Eggs, p. 791

This is a doozy of a post, so brace yourselves. For the holiday weekend I planned for two big meals. I let Bryan choose what accompanied each meat based on what I’d already chosen. To go with the Grilled Boneless Chicken Bryan chose the potato salad. Potato Salad is a staple for any holiday gathering, in my opinion, yet I had never made it before.

First, peal or wash your potatoes, cut into small bites and cook til tender, but still a little bit firm. You don’t want mashed potatoes. Unless you do, but that’s not potato salad in my opinion.

While the potatoes were cooking I made the vinaigrette. Simply mix olive oil, white wine vinegar and a good mustard. One of the major benefits of How to Cook Everything is the detail that Mark Bittman goes into explaining the mechanics and deviations of vinaigrettes. Please read pages 198-202 if you have any questions, fears, or need new ideas regarding vinaigrettes. I highly recommend it. For the mustard vinaigrette, he suggests adding honey if you want, I happened to have a mustard with honey already in it, so I used that.

Also while the potatoes are cooking, I boiled my eggs. Potato salad is not potato salad without hard boiled eggs in my opinion. Refer to page 791 for your hard boiling needs. Its pretty easy. Add eggs and water to pot, boil. Turn off when it reaches a boil and cover. After about 9-10 minutes drain and run under cold water. Peel and chop.

The basic recipe for the Potato salad calls for your potatoes, vinaigrette, parsley, scallions, and salt and pepper. I skipped the scallions. Page 190 offers a list of some additions to add to your potato salad. I opted for the hard boiled eggs and come chopped sweet pickle (also known as relish). Mix it all up in a big bowl, and cool until ready to serve.



This is a very different type of potato salad than I’m used to and after a couple of bites I was complaining that it just wasn’t like my grandmother’s potato salad. But somehow, before I even realized it, it grew on me and then I had 3 servings. No, its not my grandmother’s, but it has its own charm and is delicious. I plan on making a BLT for lunch and it will be the perfect accompaniment.

Fried Eggs, p.791

I was feeling a bit hungry the other morning and instead of our standard toast or scrambled eggs, I decided it was time to turn to How to Cook Everything to try my first recipe from the Eggs, Breakfast, Diary chapter.

We happen to have a bunch of eggs on hand, so I turned to the fried egg recipe. Its easy and great for those people who don't fully function til after they've consumed a full cup or two of coffee, like me.

First, heat your skillet, spread a little butter or oil on the skillet. Crack eggs in pan.


Turn down heat to low and cook til done.


The recipe says they are done when you poke it close to the yolk and it stays firm. However, one egg fell apart due to my poor spatula skills.