Eggs Florentine

I'm upset at Park Chow. If I don't eat at the bar, something bad will happen. They screwed up my Eggs Florentine by giving me a Benedict and telling me that's what I asked for. I can make these at home... forget park chow.

First start with Rose Levy Beranbaum's crumpet recipe, it will take about 2 hours. You will need a ring and a non-stick pan, wish i had a skillet but i don't... worked fine in a regular pan. The ring, can be as rose puts it an old well washed tuna can with the tops and bottoms gone. I'm not gonna
have a can of tuna any time soon, so i used these circle cookie cutters i found at the Chinese restaurant supply spot on 7th and Clement.

I used the volume measures since I don't have a kitchen scale (someday...)

1 cup unbleached all purpose
2 tbsps non-fat dry milk
1 tsp. instant yeast
sugar 1/2 tsp.
salt 1/2 tsp.
water 3/4 cup

mix all well in kitchen-aid using paddle attachment slowly reaching #5 until smooth ( around 5 minutes ) place in a container and let double in size (~ 1 hour)

you could make some hollindaise sauce around now. (*)
make some spinach (**)

mix, 2 tbsp. water
and 1/4 tsp. baking soda.

mix into the batter, it will collapse a bit.

let double again.

~ 30 mins ~

heat pan at lowest temp until a drop of water fizzles out quickly. (evenly heated)

melt tsp butter, brush the rings
put the rings in the pan
brush inside the circle on the pan

pour batter in let it cook until the top is not shiny.
remove ring with tongs or something, flip the crumpet to the other side.
cool on a wire rack

Next, (*) hollandaise sauce.

whisk 3 egg yolks, 2 tbsp lemon juice in a metal bowl
place bowl on top of boiling water (double boil)
slowly whisk in about 3/4 stick of melted butter until sauce has doubled
add a small pinch of sugar, pinch of salt, pinch of cayenne whisk it together
put it aside

(**) spinach

wilt in small amount of water and lid salting the leaves and adding a few drops of lemon juice.
chop

-- poaching eggs... i dont know how to do this right, my first try. please advise me as this will need modification at a later date (TODO)

boil water in a heavy bottom put in about 3" water (??) a splash of vinegar. i think alice said to use something good tasting because it will show up a little bit with the egg. bring to just before boil. no bubbles. drop eggs in and let cook. fish them out with a slotted spoon.


assembly, i don't know the right order i guessed...

toast a crumpet
place a poached egg, some chopped spinach on top,
hollandaise sauce
salt and pepper.

Vegetarian Lasagna

Every vegetarian makes a lasagna. I just made a mighty mean one. So, the end all idea I've taken away from lasagna is that pretty much anything you find in a ravioli is going to work great in a lasagna. I learned this lesson the hard way, after finding myself making raviolis at 2am with about 40 bucks worth of cheese that still needed a home. My pasta wasn't behaving one way or another and I was tired of rolling it out. That's when it finally hit me, out of laziness of course, I'm just going to stick all of this into a lasagna.

* Sauce
--------

roast tomatoes and red bell peppers (burn them first and remove the skin)
Edit: Roasting them in the oven at 350 until wrinkly is waaaay easier, but you lose the charred flavor.

**** season with sugar, salt, oregano, and use a liberal amount of olive oil. bake 200 degrees for 2 hours, flipping once.

saute shallots and leeks
white wine, marjoram. reduce.

add roasted tomatoes and red-bell peppers sliced up.
let simmer, break things down with your spatula.
puree it all.

* Cheese layer
--------------

Goat cheese, ricotta, parmesan, roasted garlic (touch of olive oil and a sprig of thyme), egg (mix it all together)

* Vegetable layer
-----------------

Chanterelle mushrooms, sliced, sauteed golden in olive oil. Sauteed diced onions. Spinach wilted down in all that left over oil from the last two. Chop the cooked spinach so that it can come out in a bite and not completely pull its way out of the lasagna. Mix this together with some fresh chopped parsley, salt and pepper.

* Pasta layer - Spinach
------------------------

Spinach colored pasta is so pretty, I can't help but color my pasta nowadays.

2 Cups flour, 2 yolks, 2 eggs, 1/2 lb spinach pureed, rolled out into sheets.

Assembly,

sauce, pasta, cheese, pasta, vegetable, pasta, sauce, pasta, cheese + sauce +
mozzarella on top.

bake 400 degrees @ 20 mins covered with foil, remove sprinkle parmesan cheese on top,
return to the oven for 15 minutes or until top starts to brown up.

Spinach and Red Chili Fettuccine with Pesto-Alfredo Sauce

First, the Fettuccine

~1/2 lb of spinach
2 eggs
1 cup, all-purpose flour
1 cup, semolina flour
Crushed red-chili flakes
Salt

Mix flour (i like the bounce semolina adds, you can use just regular flour if you like it lighter) separately, process the spinach all the way down, beat 2 eggs and mix in add salt and chili flakes. Slowly mix in the flour, i use a mixer pushing the flour out to the edge and pouring the egg mixture in the middle. When the flour comes all together you can knead it by hand and wrap it up in plastic to let rest for about 20 minutes. Roll-out the sheets to the second to last setting and cut fettuccine size. Boil in salt water.

Pesto-Alfredo sauce

Pesto, I kind of guess on the ratios...
Pine nuts (toasted)
Garlic (about 3 cloves)
1-2 bunch(es) basil
Good Olive Oil
Salt

Butter (3 tbsp.)
Flour
Cream (1/2 pint)
Milk
Parmesan cheese (~ 3/4 cup grated)

Mortar and pestle or process, toasted pine nuts, fresh garlic, basil, olive oil, salt. (hold the cheese, since the sauce will be loaded)
Set aside.

In a pot, melt the butter. Whisk in about (~ 1/2 cup) all-purpose flour, pour in cream (1 cup) then milk (1 cup), slowly add cheese, always whisking. Continue until you have a consistent creamy Alfredo. Whisk in all the pesto you just made.

Toss the noodles and the sauce together, I like it topped with some fresh ground pepper.



*variation w/sundried tomato pesto.