Egg-sperimentation

The other day a I came across a YouTube video of Gordon Ramsay (Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, The F word, etc) making scrambled eggs.  I wanted to give it a watch for two reasons:

1) Whenever he has a new cook start in his kitchen, this is the "proving" dish he uses to determine their ability.

2) I have NEVER actually seen this guy actually cook anything.  So far, he's all talk.

The recipe is simple, as it should be.  Two Eggs, butter.  You crack the eggs into a preheated pan, drop in the butter, and start stirring.  And keep stirring. 

Keep the eggs moving constantly, and as the pan heats the eggs, temper the process by removing it from the heat (still stirring).  As the curds begin to form, keep adding and removing the heat until you have a cottage cheese-y consistency.  Done.

What you are left with is a very moist, semi-dense mass that, although tasty, is not the fluffy consistency I like.  I decided I would take a portion of what he was using, and add my own twist.  The results were, in my opinion, fantastic.

The recipe is very similar, with a slight change:

-2 Eggs
-pat of butter
-1/2 tsp water

Why water? Well, it seems to help with egg volumization.  The stirring and folding of the eggs that we do later creates air pockets that trap a small amount of the water and steams the egg.  I have tried it without the water, and I find it to produce a denser, and slightly drier final product.

Another change, melt the butter in an 8" frying pan.  Allow the butter to heat through.  But don't burn it. If it turns brown, start again.  Your pan is likely too hot if that happens.

Crack the eggs in a bowl.  This serves 2 reasons.  First, clumsy egg crackers will have a chance to remove any shell fragments before the eggs are in the pan.  And it allows you to slightly stir the eggs.  Not whisk with a fork as many people are likely to do, that blends the eggs into one single coloured substance that taste just fine once cooked, but are not the visual end product I'm looking for.  Just mix the eggs with a spatula lightly until the yolks become broken and separated into a dozen or so strands.  Don't over-mix.

Pour the mixture into the pan.  Let it sit till you just can't see the bottom of the pan.  Maybe 15 seconds.  This is a good time to drop the toast in the toaster.  Return to the pan and start pulling the egg from the sides toward the centre.  Do this once or twice more or until most of the egg mixture has had contact with the pan.

Now, start folding the mixture while breaking it into smaller pieces.  It will likely be necessary at this point to remove the pan from the heat.  Stir and fold the mixture gently until you are left with a mound of what looks like moist popcorn.  The moment that all of the egg has solidified into either yellow of white curds, immediately remove from the heat and serve.

I tried this on my kids this morning and is ANYBODY knows scrambled eggs, it's Brooke and Mitch.  The eggs were a hit. 

Perhaps not up to Gordon Ramsay's standards. But %*#@ him, as he would say.

Pork Chop Glaze

Just a recipe for a tasty after-grilling glaze for pork chops.

Juice box of apple juice (It's all I had)
2 tsp brown sugar or real Canadian maple syrup
1 tsp curry powder

Reduce over medium heat while chops are grilling.  At the end, add a pat of butter and a tablespoon of corn starch slurry to thicken if desired.  Pour over cooked chops while they rest after cooking.

Beer Can Chicken

This is by no means a cutting edge, or unique process. This is a method I had seen deployed numerous times on countless cooking shows. But I had never tried it myself.

Yesterday was the day. Father's Day. The day a man is required to grill the family dinner. At least that's the way it reads in the manual I follow. So this is that day I decide to try sodomizing a chicken carcass with a half a can of beer. That last sentence should make the results list of some rather spicy Google searches. Sorry, freak. No pictures here. Keep looking.

A simpler method, there could not be. You cover the chicken with your favorite rub, insert can, and place on a sacrificial baking sheet on the barbeque and keep the temperature slightly north of 300 degrees till it's done. Use indirect heat.

Trust me, it's amazing.

Recipe - Molten Chocolate Cake

I have stolen this somewhat from Michael Smith. But, I'm pretty sure he doesn't read my blog, along with the rest of the world. So I should be safe posting it here.

4 oz Chocolate (Whatever your taste. I like 70% myself)
1/2 stick of butter
2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tbsp Maple Syrup
2 tsp sugar (white or brown)
1/4 cup of flour
2 eggs

Oven to 350.
Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler or microwave. Be careful if you use the microwave. Don't overheat it. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the Vanilla, maple syrup, and sugar.
fold in the chocolate and flour. Don't worry about using all of the flour. The mixture should remain pudding-like.
If you have ramekins, great. Otherwise, you can use coffee mugs. To prep these, coat them with some melted butter. I use a pastry brush. Then sprinkle in some white sugar and shake it around to coat the butter. Divide mixture into your prepped vessels. You can get 2 tall cakes or three squat ones.
Place ramekins (or mugs) on a baking sheet and place on a middle rack. After 15 mins, they should be done. A toothpick inserted to the CENTRE of the cake will come out gooey. but what you want to do is pit a tooth pic into the top 3rd of the cake. It should be clean.
Turn out cakes onto serving plates. Add some ice cream and renew your gym membership.

Recipe-White wine sauce

Here is a simple creamy white wine sauce that has had good reviews. I haven't tried it yet, but will post it here so I don't lose it:

INGREDIENTS
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried parsley
DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, combine the cream, wine, flour, salt and parsley. Stir all together bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened.

Reviews say that the sauce is a little bland. So I think I'll add some basil or garlic.