Eggs Sardou

This is a family favorite on Alex's side. His dad grew up in NOLA (New Orleans) and brought a love of regional dishes to the family. Eggs Sardou is a delicious combination of poached eggs, creamed spinach, and artichoke hearts on a toasted English muffin, covered with creamy hollandaise sauce.

This recipe is most definitely not Weight Watchers friendly, so I resisted the urge to eat two and just had a small one. Alex's family knows about my blog and they wanted to be a part of the pictures, so the pictures are my brother-in-law, Pete, and sister-in-law, Mariel, posing with their delicious brunch.

Eggs Sardou

Ingredients:

Poached Eggs (1-2 per person)

Creamed Spinach (recipe to follow, but any kind will work)

Artichoke Hearts (canned or jarred)

Hollandaise Sauce (recipe to follow)

English Muffins (optional)

Paprika (optional)

Poached Eggs:

Fill a saucepan or dutch oven with water and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, gently crack in eggs, getting close to the surface of the water when you crack them. With a slotted spoon, gently move the white strands back onto the egg so it cooks together. It's done when the whites are no longer transparent and the yolks are still runny. Remove gently with a slotted spoon.

Creamed Spinach:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 bag or 2 boxes (16 to 24 ounces) frozen spinach
salt and pepper
dash nutmeg

Melt butter in top of double boiler over low direct heat (place a heatproof glass bowl over a pot of gently boiling water). Blend in flour until smooth. Cook until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk and cook, stirring, until thickened. Add spinach. Cover and cook over boiling water, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Blender Hollandaise Sauce:

3 egg yolks

1/4 tsp Dijon mustard

dash Tabasco sauce

1 TBS lemon juice

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

In the container of a blender, combine the egg yolks, mustard, lemon juice and hot pepper sauce. Cover, and blend for about 5 seconds.
Place the butter in a glass measuring cup. Heat butter in the microwave for about 1 minute, or until completely melted and hot. Set the blender on high speed, and pour the butter into the egg yolk mixture in a thin stream. It should thicken almost immediately. Keep the sauce warm until serving by placing the blender container in a pan of hot tap water.

Assembling Eggs Sardou:

Toast english muffins, and top with creamed spinach, artichoke hearts and then a poached egg. Drizzle hollandaise over everything and sprinkle with paprika.

It helps to have the creamed spinach made before-hand. We used Thanksgiving leftovers so it was easy to throw everything together. It's an impressive brunch dish! Just be sure to have some hot sauce on the table for those true Nawlins folks.

Easy, Healthy and Yummy Side Dishes

Here are two of the side dishes that I made for Thanksgiving this year. Both are very easy and very good; they were great compliments to the rest of the family dinner. They are also Weight Watchers recipes, so you know they are good for you!

Sauteed Green Beans with Pine Nuts (1 point per serving)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup(s) slivered almonds (I used pine nuts)
2 tsp olive oil
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
8 cup(s) green snap beans, fresh, trimmed (please don't use frozen! They will be mushy)
1/2 cup(s) canned chicken broth, or vegetable broth
1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, or to taste

Instructions:
Place almonds in a large dry skillet and place pan over medium heat. Cook until nuts are golden brown, shaking pan frequently, about 2 to 4 minutes. Remove nuts from pan; set aside.
Heat oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook , stirring, 1 minute. Add string beans and sauté 1 minute. Add broth to pan; cover and steam until string beans are crisp-tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper; stir to coat. Remove from heat; stir in toasted almonds. Yields about 3/4 cup per serving.

Barley with Apples, Onion and Squash (3 points per serving)

Ingredients:
3/4 tsp table salt, divided
1/2 cup(s) uncooked barley
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cup(s) butternut squash, diced
1 cup(s) onion(s), chopped
1/2 cup(s) sweet red pepper(s), diced
1 medium apple(s), peeled, cored, diced
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup(s) fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth

Instructions:

Bring 3 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to a boil in a medium saucepan; add barley.

Cover saucepan and simmer barley until tender, about 30 to 35 minutes; drain.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add squash, onion and red pepper. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are browned and almost tender, about 8 minutes.
Stir in apple, garlic, thyme, black pepper and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring, until apple is almost tender, about 2 minutes; stir in broth, scraping bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Stir in cooked barley; toss over low heat to mix and coat. Remove from heat and serve. Yields about 3/4 cup per serving.

Happy Thanksgiving! TWD "Pumpcan" Twofer Pie

I am so very proud of this pie. Yes, it's a little late in terms of the TWD posting schedule, but since it was Thanksgiving, a little flexibility is allowed. Besides, I was way too full to get my butt up to the computer until now.

After reading the comments section online, I decided to do some research and see what other Thanksgiving Twofer pie recipes call for. The ingredients were the same, but others stated to spoon the pecan mixture on top of the pumpkin, in order to acheive the layers. I also noted the different baking times and temperatures. In the end, I decided to try the spooning method because I really wanted to see if I could make the layered pie. And I did!

Dorie's directions tell you to pour pumpkin, sprinkle on the nuts, and then pour in the pecan syrup mixture so that it all blends together. I mixed the nuts and syrup together and then carefully spooned it over the pumpkin layer. I also didn't use the full batch of pumpkin, because the other bakers noted it was too much. I used the leftover to make Alex a mini-pie, ala Engineer Baker style :-)

Alex's mini-pie

This pie turned out fantastically! It was so delicious and the pecan layer hardered into a really sweet and crunchy crust on top of the pumpkin. It didn't photograph as well as I wanted, since it was a little tough to cut through the pecan layer. But trust me, it was gooooooood.

A slice of delicious

Everyone loved it and I will definitely make it again this way. But, alas...I can't take credit for this dough. I was really pressed for time and went with a store bought shell. Next time I'll make my own.

My Thanksgiving Contribution Line-up

Alex and I are celebrating Thanksgiving at his parent's house this year and my parents are driving down from Boston to join us. I'm SO excited! We are very fortunate that both sets of parents genuinely like each other and get along even without us around. This is going to be a great holiday! The only thing that would make it better is if my sister and her family could join us, but I know that nephew Riley wouldn't be able to handle the 8+ hour car ride.

We already know that we're going to spatchcock the bird and my MIL follows the fabulous Baltimore tradition of serving sauerkraut with turkey. Seriously, amazing. Try it!
I am going to contribute some Weight Watcher healthy side-dishes to mix in with the deliciously fattening array of mashed, sauteed, broiled, grilled, fried and baked selections.

Here is what I will be adding to the meal:

Appetizers:

WW Roasted Chickpeas

Good Things Catered White Bean Dip with Homemade Pita Chips

Sides:

WW Sauteed Green Beans and Pine Nuts

WW Barley with Apples, Onions and Squash

Dessert:

Tuesdays With Dorie Thanksgiving Twofer Pie

Helene's Blueberry Tart (possibly, if I have time)

Hmmm...that looks like a lot. Am I too ambitious? We'll soon find out!

A Monday Full of Great Things!

Wow! When have you ever had a Monday that made you smile? Today is a great day!!

I received my very first blogger award, from the oh-so-sweet Christine at Cooking with Christine. She's got a great blog with delicious recipes, and those Nutella Cookie Bars are positively drool worthy. Not to mention she's an Army wife and mother of 2...and she still has time to cook and blog!! Thank you, Christine! This was so nice - I'm flattered!


It is now my duty to pass this award on to some of my favorite bloggers:

1) Amber from Amber's Delectable Delights. She has fantastic recipes and great pictures...and of course, all the food is amazing. Check out her blog and try them out for yourself! I highly recommend the Ranch Oyster Crackers and Veggie Pizza (minus the bacon of course).

2) Rebecca from Ezra Pound Cake. Her photography is amazing, the recipes are delicious and her writing never fails to crack me up. Seriously good blog.

3) Caitlin from Engineer Baker. I love that she loves making mini adorable versions of everything! I nearly purchased a teeny-tiny cookie cutter set just because she has inspired me. She also takes recipes and divides them up like only an engineer could, which I find fascinating. Great blog!

Okay, so you're thinking "Beth, that's nice and all, but is a blog award enough to put you in a really good mood on a MONDAY?" Well, okay...no, that's not all....

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!!!!!!

Pending inspection of course, but OMG we bought a house! We are so incredibly excited. Oh, and terrified. But I've been assured that's totally normal. Right?

It's an adorable 4 bedroom/3.5 bathroom townhouse in a fantastic neighborhood, outside of Baltimore. The previous owner took wonderful care of it and she recently updated all the bathrooms. The kitchen will need a facelift in a little while, but all the appliances are new. I finally get a gas stove! There is a gorgeous deck overlooking woods in the back and a woodburning fireplace in the living room. I can't believe it. I finally feel like a grown-up. A broke grown-up, but still...it's pretty cool.

Sick.

Ugh, I hate the annual winter cold. Sometimes it's a head cold, sometimes it's a chest cold -- this time it's a whopping sinus/head/sore throat combo. I can't take my usual barrage of Advil Cold and Sinus because it will interact with some medications I'm on, so I'm stuck relying on Emergen-C and Zicam.

So, the baking and cooking will be on hold. I can't imagine anyone would want me snuffling over their dinner. I will, however, be making the next TWD recipe, Thanksgiving Twofer Pie (pumpkin on the bottom, pecan on top). Like a mullet! Business in the front, party in the back :-)

I'll be back soon.

Would you like me to spatchcock your bird?

Oh get your mind out of the gutter, you dirty perv! I'm talking about the best way to cook your Thanksgiving turkey - spatchcocking (or butterfly). Of course, why would you say butterfly when you can say spatchcock? Try it. It's fun.

This Washington Post article came out right before Thanksgiving last year and all of Maryland went spatchcock crazy. That was the main topic of conversations before and after Turkey Day. "Did you read that article? Did you try it? I did! Amazing! Who knew?"

Spatchcocking is simply cutting out the turkey backbone so that it lays flat and roasts in a much shorter time. We cooked our ultra-delicious Aaron's Kosher Turkey in about 1 hr 45 minutes and it was perfect. A little strange looking, if you're used to the whole bird presentation, but the taste is worth it.

Here is the article link, complete with an easy explanation. Cutting out the backbone was not hard at all, really. Alex used his trusty Cutco scissors and worked at it for about 20 minutes. Also, if you're so inclined, you can save it for soup and stocks. Done.

Trust me. You really want to spatchcock your bird.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/13/AR2007111300406_pf.html

Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

picture "borrowed" from Mrs. Sacs Purple Kitchen

Yeah, they are just as delicious as they sound! Our friends threw a Pumpkin Party last Saturday night and everyone was asked to bring a dish made from or with pumpkin. Squash substitutes were not allowed :-)

I requested a dessert, since I was going to be out of town and it would have been easier for Alex to transport a dessert to the party. After asking my faithful What's Cooking Nesties, one of them suggested her Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake brownies. Knowing that one of the party hosts loves cheesecake, I jumped on this. I was a little apprehensive about the pumpkin/chocolate combo, but they turned out to be amazing. Oooey, gooey, chocolate, pumpkin-spicy amazing.

I'm borrowing the picture from Mrs. Sacs Purple Kitchen website. I didn't get a chance to take a picture because Saturday was so rushed (had a flight to catch) and Alex whisked the brownies off to the party. They were devoured and that makes me happy. Oh, and they are most definitely NOT weight watcher friendly!

Ingredients:
Brownie Batter (or, if you're pressed for time like I was, you can just use a boxed mix)
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon

Cheesecake Batter
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp each ground ginger and ground cloves

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8" square metal baking pan.
Beat together melted butter, sugar, and vanilla, then beat in eggs one at a time. Combine dry ingredients and then gradually stir into butter mixture with a wooden spoon. In separate bowl, beat together cheesecake batter ingredients.
Spread about 2/3 of chocolate batter into prepared pan, and spoon cheesecake batter over. Dollop remaining brownie batter over cheesecake batter. Swirl the batters together by running a butter knife back and forth through the pan.
Bake for 40 minutes, or until center is set. Cool completely on wire rack and chill before cutting and serving.

TWD just under the wire - Rugelach!

I was a little sad that I didn't get to make last week's recipe, Rugelach, so I made time to do it this week. Granted, it's 11:15PM on Tuesday night and I just took the last batch out of the oven, but I made it!

I had to smile when I saw how many TWD bakers struggled to pronounce this tasty treat. I guess I take it for granted that rugelach (as well as kreplach, gefillte, gribnes, challah, and teglach) are a part of my vocabulary. Rugelach also have a special place in my heart for two reasons. First, my beloved Bubbie Ruth made amazing rugelach, and second, there is a small bakery in the shuk (market) in Jerusalem that makes to-die-for chocolate rugelach. No, I'm not exaggerating. These rugelach are A-MAZ-ING. People line up around the street for them. And now I'm drooling...

My mom typed up my Bubbie's recipes for me, so I consulted her rugelach before I checked the official Dorie recipe. Surprisingly, they were similar in terms of filling and dough - with a few alterations. Bubbie used sour cream and butter, Dorie uses cream cheese and butter. I decided to hedge my bets and go with Dorie's dough and Bubbie's filling: apricot jam with walnuts coated in cinnamon sugar. Then I remembered how much I loved those chocolate rugelach, so I filled the other batch with raspberry jam, chocolate shavings and walnuts.

Overall, the dough was great! Super easy to make and pretty easy to work with. I rolled my first batch way too thin and a few of the pieces fell apart when I tried to roll them. After tasting a few of the baked rugelach (for research purposes, of course!), I wish I had used more filling. It's a delicate balance because you don't want to overload the small crescent, causing it to tear and spill; but you don't want to have too little sweetness with the tangy dough.

I will definitely make these again, with both fillings, but I'll use a heavier hand.

Weight Watchers Shepherd's Pie

I love Shepherd's Pie. I mean, it blends meat and mashed potatoes together in one delicious mouthful...how could I not love it? However, it's hard to make Kosher and it's even harder to make for a gal watching her serving size and Daily Points. But then I stumbled across the BESTEST recipe ever. Ever.

Now, granted, the picture sucks. I apologize. It's not easy to photograph because as soon as you take a scoop out, all the yummy liquid runs out. And then on the plate, it just looks like a jumbled mash. But please trust me. It's soooo good.

Ingredients:

2 large potatoes, peeled (optional) and cut into 2-inch pieces (I didn't peel because we love skins in mashed potatoes)

1/4 cup fat-free sour cream (I used Tofutti non-dairy sour cream)

1 TBS reduced calorie margarine

1/8 tsp salt

2 tsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 lb uncooked ground lean turkey breast (look for All White when selecting ground turkey)

3 TBS flour

1 TBS fresh rosemary, or 1 tsp dried

1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp pepper

2 cups canned chicken, beef, or vegetable broth

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring it to a boil and let the potatoes cook until they are fork-tender, about 10-15 minutes. Drain potatoes, transfer to a large bowl and add sour cream and margarine. Mash until smooth, season with salt & pepper, then set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery, cook until soft - about 5 minutes. Add turkey and cook until browned, breaking up the meat with as it cooks, about 7 minutes or so. Add flour, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper and stir to coat. Add broth and bring it to a simmer. Allow to thicken, about 3 minutes.

*I set aside about 1/3 cup of the broth and mix with 1-2 tsp cornstarch to help with the thickening. Totally optional!*

Transfer vegetable/turkey mixture to a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate or casserole dish. Spread mashed potatoes on top and smooth out with the back of your spoon/spatula. Bake until potatoes are golden, about 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it after about 15 minutes, because sometimes the liquid likes to bubble over! Slice it into 6 pieces and serve. It's 5 points per serving.

We have our winners!

Thank you all for the comments! Nice to know that no one really relaxes with a 15-mile run. Since there were 13 entries, I had a friend pick two numbers without knowing what they were for, and she selected #6 and #11. So, congratulations to Sabrina and Liz! Check out their great baking blogs, too.
Yay for fun presents!

A Give-away!!

So I have to put the baking on pause for some travel, but I wanted to leave my wonderful readers with something fun. It's a give-away!

Outside of my full-time job I work as an Independent Consultant for Arbonne International. It's a really great health and wellness company, with all hypoallergenic and botanical products. I'm an allergic-to-everything freak and I can't use or be near anything that has chemical perfumes or dyes without breaking out into a horrid rash, so these products have been a godsend for me.

Now that winter is approaching, I'm going to give 2 lucky winners a great skin conditioning product. This awesome sea salt scrub is by far my favorite product. It exfoliates and moisturizes your skin with botanical oils. The sea salt scrubs away yukky dry winter skin and the oil soaks in and leaves you supah dupah smooth. This is also part of our aromatherapy line, in the Awaken scent. It's a great blend of citrus and spices and it's very invigorating.

Okay, okay, so how do you win? Leave me a comment about your favorite way to pamper yourself. Bubble bath, yoga, a 15 mile run (seriously?) or Godiva bonbons...share it here! When I come back from my trips, I'll pick 2 winners randomly and send you a wonderful gift. What can I say...I'm a giver!

No TWD for me

Sorry friends :-( I spent all weekend baking my cookies for Operation Baking GALS and I needed a break. I'm going to bend the Dorie rules a little bit and bake the rugelach next week instead of the assigned cake. Hope that's okay, TWD Leaders!

I was supposed to be traveling for work, but this trip fell through. I'll be on the road this weekend and late next week.

I look forward to seeing all the other rugelach bakers! You all give me such nachas, I'm kvelling*. In honor of the fact that you're baking a traditionally Jewish dish, I leave you with some hilarious Haikus for Jews (from David Bader).

"Can't you just leave it?"
the new Jewish mother asks --
umbilical cord.


Hava nagila,
hava nagila, hava....
enough already.


Mom, please! There is no
need to put that dinner roll
in your pocketbook.


Lonely mantra of
Jewish mother: "They never
call, they never write."


Scrabble anarchy
after 'putzhead' is placed on
a triple-word score.


Is one Nobel Prize
so much to ask from a child
after all I've done?


*10 brownie points for a translation. Nu? You could learn a little Yiddish for me, after all I've done.


PS - TWD'ers - if you're responding to a comment I left you about a certain project(wink wink) please email me instead of leaving a comment. It's easier for me to keep track of everyone :-) bethberg12@yahoo.com Thanks so much!!

Snickerdoodley-doo & Operation Baking GALS

It's time for the next round of Operation Baking GALS! I wanted to offer the soldiers a good cookie variety so I made Mandel Bread, Granola Grabbers and I tried a new one, Snickerdoodles. There are a ton of Snickerdoodle recipes out there, and the majority of them call for shortening, but I just couldn't do it. I finally found one with butter on Recipezaar and it had a ton of great reviews. They were SO spot on.

I didn't think there was much to Snickerdoodles. Sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon-sugar, right? WRONG! It's much better than a sugar cookie. It's got a slight tang from the cream of tarter and the texture is crispy on the edges and chewy in the middle. The tops are a little cracked after baking and it's a very pretty, classic cookie. I hope the troops like them!

The dough is super sticky, so be sure to chill both it and the baking sheets. They spread really easily so keep the dough chilled and the balls small. While one batch was baking, I kept the dough and my second baking sheet in the fridge, rotating them as needed. Also, it helps to wet your hands to roll up the sticky cookies.

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1.5 cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 3/4 cup flour

2 tsp cream of tarter

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3 TBS cinnamon

3 TBS sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350, rack in middle position. Cover your baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mats.

Mix the butter, sugar and eggs together until creamy. Combine flour, cream of tarter and baking soda together in a separate bowl. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet. Chill the dough and your cookie sheets for 10 minutes. Mix 3 TBS sugar and 3 TBS cinnamon together in a small bowl. Scoop 1-inch balls of dough and roll between your hands (think walnut size). Coat the cookies by rolling them around in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place on the ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Enjoy with a big cold glass of milk!