Good & Bad: Poaches Eggs & Fried Croutons vs. Food Network's Eggs Benedict

When it comes to creative food dishes, I struggle the most with breakfast. For some reason, my mind has latched on breakfast consisting of maybe a few basic foods: eggs, protein sides, and grains. Despite the fact that this obviously opens up limitless opportunities, I tend to be stuck thinking that my only option is eggs, eggs with veg bacon, or cereal. The last Good & Bad unintentionally showed off two unique approaches to a grain-based breakfast; this one, again unintentionally, highlights eggs.

Poached Eggs & Fried Croutons

This recipe was introduced to me by Hari, I think, and what caught my attention was the mushroom duxelle -- I'm sure this blog by now has highlighted my love for the fungi. Croutons are not something I keep in the house, so I knew I'd have to make those from scratch, but I don't usually back down from such challenges.

Food Network's Eggs Benedict

Ah, the classic Eggs Benedict. I had an eggs benedict of sorts at a diner that combined goat cheese and spinach with eggs benedict, and it was a match made in heaven. This isn't that level of creative, though -- this is just classic eggs benedict, done Food Network style. Perhaps it's unfair to use a professional recipe against something on a random blog... But this network is the same thing to feature Guy's Grocery Games, so I think it's a fair comparison.

Poached Eggs & Fried Croutons vs. Food Network's Eggs Benedict: GO!





Those poached eggs on top of the croutons may be the best poached eggs I've done. Seriously. I don't think I could replicate that with hours of training.

Now, how did these recipes fare? Both decently. The problem with the eggs & croutons was, once again, that it did not impress me. I was expecting a much richer taste from the mushrooms, and also was very apprehensive about cooking mushrooms for so long. Why do so many recipes call for cooking mushrooms for 10-15 minutes? What is the goal? I do not understand.

As for the croutons, well, you can see my stable of whole wheat being used there. I'm sure if I followed the directions and used french bread, it would have worked out better.

Now, for the eggs benedict... First off, that weird pink flat stuff is veggie bacon, Morningstar Farms to be exact. I really like their stuff; they make a wide variety of veggie meats, though their veggie burgers are meh. Their breakfast foods and BBQ veggie ribs are awesome though. And so how did they fare in this recipe? Pretty good! Like any eggs benedict, the hollondaise sauce is what makes the dish hit or miss. This was my first time making hollondaise, which is why it looks rather goopy and unattractive up there, but the flavour was pretty solid; as I recall the lemon juice and yolk weren't quite mixed as well as they could be, but it didn't really detract from the tastiness. I also think that's all on me and not the recipe; you should have seen my first attempt at homemade French-style ice cream.

So which wins? Really, they're both decent recipes. I'm more partial to the eggs benedict because it was just pure fatty comfort food, but I am sure if you used French bread that the other recipe would come out fine. But for me, it's hard to beat that combination of carbs, egg, and butter.

Poached Eggs & Fried Croutons: 6/10 (giving benefit of doubt)
Food Network's Eggs Benedict: 8/10 (note sure if the Hollandaise fail was them or me, but either way tasty)

Tschuess!

Apple-Brie French Toast

So back in September, Hari visited. It feels like a million years ago -- we were still dating, I still had my best friend, I still didn't have insurance. It's only been a little over three months since then, but it feels like a whirlwind.

Some things don't change, though. Like me cooking.

Apple & Brie Stuffed French Toast

Hari linked me this recipe a while back, and I told him I would make it when he visited. I kept to my word.




Whole wheat bread doesn't make the most attractive French Toast.

I followed the recipe more or less exactly, except that I used whatever apples I had, not Granny Smith specifically. I'm one of those people who can't really taste the different between apple varieties. Or pears. Oranges and clementines taste different though!

But anyway. I'm not a fan of French toast. I associate with slimy bread and general "No". But this French toast? Fantastic. The apples and brie went very well together, and the whole wheat bread gave it some extra depth. It was also extremely filling. One French toast is more than enough for breakfast, trust me.

If I recall, making these was a trick and a half; the bread I was using was big and bulky, and the apples did not want to stay in between. This wasn't a huge issue, though, especially since I love sauteed apples. Once the cheese started to melt, things held together a bit better, but I would recommend cutting your bread in half to do this regardless, so you aren't struggling with batter, bread, and hot apples.

Overall, 9/10. Not a full 10 because it was a bit of a pain, and also extremely rich food displeases my digestive system. But it really was quite delicious.

Tschuess.

Kale with Egg and Toast

So I had a meal before this one that I photographed and everything... But I forget what it was like. It was a pasta dish, I know that much. So instead, we'll focus on what I made for breakfast this morning.

Kale with Egg and Toast

So my boyfriend linked me some recipe, I can't remember what. I was pretty "Whatever" about it, but it led me to find this recipe and another one I will try out later. Now, I'm neutral about most lettuces and greens, but I love kale. So a recipe involving mostly it? Yes, please.

I substituted the diced onions for diced pearl onions. Let me tell you, chopping frozen pearl onions in a blender? Way too amusing to watch. They hop around like popcorn before they finally get ground up. Also, I substituted vegetable broth for chicken stock. And I forgot about the lemon juice.



I was so ravenous that I took one rather bad picture before wolfing it down.

And now for the disappointment... It was kind of a bust. There are various reasons for this. First, the kale is too moist and thus this soaked straight into the toasted bread and turned it moist (ick). The kale, after being simmered in an absurd amount of broth (I used a cup less than stated, and still had almost all of the broth left over. Seriously. I poured it back into containers to save because some of that broth cost me $4/container), simply did not have the nice texture and flavour I associate it with. I'm not even sure I simmered it for the whole 30 min, either.

I couldn't even really taste the garlic or onion, not sure what the point of them being there was. I guess MAYBE the lemon juice would have rescued the kale, but why in the world would you simmer it for 30min only to give it a whole different flavour? A light saute or steam would yield a better texture and colour, and then you could just add the lemon juice after. I don't know.

We won't talk about the sad sunny side up eggs. I should have just fried them.

I don't know how this could be salvaged, or even if it's worthwhile. Suffice to say it's being removed from my recipe list, because I Know better ways to use toast, egg, and kale. (and in the case of the egg and toast, AT ONCE).

Overall rating: 4/10.

I made another disappointing recipe for dessert this evening, but that will wait for another time.

Tschuess.