Tag: omelet

Codfish Omelet Sandwich (Torta de Bacalhau)

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There are some foods that are wonderful and then there are some foods that are made exponentially more wonderful when they are transformed into a left over dish.  With the base main meal being Baked Codfish Casserole (Bacalhau Assado), Torta de Bacalhau is one of those foods.  Much like how people quite often calculate their Thanksgiving dinner to not only include enough turkey and stuffing for the dinner itself, but to also account for a sufficient amount of leftovers, most Portuguese people do the same with their Bacalhau Assado.  On Thanksgiving night or the next morning there is really nothing like biting into that Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing sandwich topped with just a bit of cranberry… Well, with Bacalhau Assado, there is nothing like frying up some left over casserole into an omelet and adding in a nice slice of cheese and serving it up on a nice fresh pop-seco roll.

In Portuguese Torta is meant to mean any leftover food that has been folded into egg and fried up and then stuffed into a sandwich.  In my opinion, Torta de Bacalhau is the king of that particular type of sandwich.  Not to say that a turkey dinner is not grande and wonderful, but that sandwich the next day is a meal all on its own.  The same is true for the Codfish Omelet Sandwich!

You will need to start by gathering about 2 cups of leftover codfish casserole.

Place that on a cutting board.

Dice it up a bit into even smaller pieces.

Get 10″ non-stick skillet ready with a fair amount of olive oil. Heat over med/high heat.

Place 1/2 your chopped casserole into the preheated skillet. This recipe will yield 4 sandwiches, but to keep it manageable, it needs to be done in two stages.

While the codfish is reheating in the pan… Crack 6 eggs into a bowl. Normally I like to add cream or milk to an omelet, not here.

Vigorously beat eggs.

Move the contents around a bit until you have some caramelazation.

Add in a small pinch of salt, just enough to season the egg… remember the cod is salty itself.

When it gets to this stage, its time for the flip. “Have courage” as Julia Child would say. The reason we used so much olive oil was so this step would not overwhelm you.

Once flipped, cook for another minute and remove from pan.

Add on two slices of whatever cheese suits your fancy, I prefer good old-fashioned melty American cheese.

Split down the middle.

You need to act quickly because we want the cheese to melt in while the egg is still hot.

Gently fold the egg up and over the cheese.

Once you’ve done this on both, they are ready for bread.

A pop-seco (Portuguese bread roll) is the best choice here. You want a medium bodied bread with a crispy crust.

Slice open while leaving it still attached.

Add the omelet right onto the bread.

Serve immediately!

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Recipe for Torta de Bacalhau:

(serves 4)

2 cups prepared Baked Codfish Casserole

1/4 cup olive oil

4 slices American cheese

pinch of salt

4 Portuguese pop-seco bread rolls

Directions:

Chop prepared codfish casserole.  Add 1/2 to a preheated 10″ non-stick skillet with olive oil.  Fry codfish casserole over medium heat. Beat 6 eggs.  Once codfish casserole is heated through and starting to caramelize, add in 1/2 egg mixture, sprinkle with a small pinch of salt.  Cook 3/4 way through, then flip.  Remove from skillet.  Add two slices of cheese to one side of the round omelet.  Divide in half and gently fold cooked egg over the cheese.  Serve in fresh bread roll. Serve hot.  Enjoy!

Breakfast in Bed – Fancy Pants Version

done22My special “Breakfast in Bed” Series continues today with “Breakfast in Bed – Fancy Pants Version”.  This series is designed in preparation for Mother’s Day or any time that you want to spoil that special someone with that extra effort.

Beds across the nation will be warmed up with the love of children to their mother’s showing them just how much they are loved and appreciated by that extra effort to take care of Mom as she takes care of them each and every day.  Today’s installment features a fancy kicked up breakfast.  Some of it can be prepared ahead of time, but some elements are meant to be done the morning of.  And unlike my first installment, Breakfast in Bed – Kid Friendly Version where most everything was disposable, this version takes a bit more effort because after breakfast there will be dishes to do and we don’t want to leave that to Mom!

So, again if you are Mom and you are reading this, now is the time to hand the computer or tablet over to your significant other or older child (as there are way too many breakables involved here for a youngster) and turn away.  I will now be addressing the Preparer.

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Some of the elements here such as the Chocolate Covered Strawberries and the Codfish Cakes can be made a day in advance.  Then other elements, such as the Tea, the OJ and the Southwest Veggie Omelet  need to be prepared the morning of.  Although, you should definitely refrigerate your oranges for the OJ, otherwise you will have warm OJ.

Start with your Mom’s favorite tray. This is mine. I bought it the last time I visited St. Michael. It is hand-made and adorned with hand crafted St. Michael’s signature blue and white tile. The scene depicted here is of the ‘Portas de Cidade” or Gates to the City. The Portas de Cidade is a famous landmark in Ponta Delgada, St. Michael’s capital city and is a source of great pride for all Azoreans.

Here is a mini tutorial on how to make delicious Chocolate Covered Strawberries from scratch:

Like I mentioned above, These can be done the night before, but they can also be done same day so long as you have a chilled area for them to set up quickly.

strawberries

Start with some fresh strawberries. Wash and dry them thoroughly. Moisture is melted chocolate’s worst nightmare.

Next, pour half the contents of a chocolate chip bag into a microwave safe bowl.

Pop it in the microwave. Start off with one minute on high. Stir.  Every 15 seconds, stir until you get the proper consistency.

When your chocolate still has this much texture to it, it should be ready to stir into melty goodness.

When your chocolate looks like this, you are ready for dipping!

dip

Give each strawberry its own individual bath.

Be sure to have a plate or cookie sheet covered with parchment paper to receive the dipped strawberries so they may cool and firm up.

Once you have them all dipped and ready to so, get them to a cool place to chill.

Next, here is a mini tutorial on how to make fresh squeezed orange juice:

OJ

There is nothing like fresh squeezed orange juice. It is not like the kind in the carton.  The nutritional value of the fresh squeezed is far superior to anything you might find at the supermarket.

oranges

Start with some beautifully ripened oranges.  It is a good idea to refrigerate these over night, otherwise you will end up with warm OJ, not great.

I found that one large orange was enough to fill a juice glass. Obviously this depends on how large you can find the orange and how juicy they are. Cut them in half to start.

Here are three different methods to getting one delicious glass of OJ:

hand squeeze

The first method of juicing is just to hand squeeze the orange into a glass. I find that this is the least efficient way as you will have a hard time squeezing out every drop.

core squeeze

The next method is a much more common method, using a juicer. This one has the little rim that catches seeds, nice! You will want to work the orange onto the juicer with a bit of elbow grease to get every last drop.

The third option is the squeeze juicer. This baby really gets every last drop out and prevents seeds from falling in the juice! I always find it funny how it almost seems like the orange is put in backwards, but it literally turns the fruit inside out.

This main plate features a Southwest Veggie Omelet and Codfish Cakes.  Recipes and tutorials are detailed on their respective postings.  Take a look, the omelet tutorial teaches how to make the perfect omelet and customize it to your tastes.

Although you may think of Codfish Cakes as a lunch or dinner item, it is especially good in the morning and with some eggs, so give it a try.

tea pot

And last, but not least is the tea. I found this little gem while traveling in Utah. I fell in love with this hand-made beauty and started collecting personal tea pots ever since. If you are looking for a lovely gift for Mom, check out Golden Moon Tea, they have some great high quality teas and tea ware.

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Supplies you will need:

* Pretty Tray

* Pretty plate

* Pretty napkin

* Crystal juice glass

* Personal Tea Pot

* 3″ glazed tile

* silverware

Food and drink:

* Southwest Veggie Omelet

* Codfish Cakes

* Fresh squeeze Orange Juice

* Chocolate Covered Strawberries

* Tea (don’t forget whatever your Mom takes in her tea, ie. sugar, milk, honey or lemon)

 

Have fun and remember to think about what your Mom loves and tailor her Breakfast in Bed to what she likes best!  A nice handmade card goes a long way too!

 

Southwest Veggie Omelet

done2It is really hard to find a good omelet!  Maybe I’m just picky, but I prefer eggs made at home to those out in a restaurant any day.  This Southwest Veggie omelet is light and fluffy, perfectly seasoned and has some key elements that make it ‘Southwest’.

Once you get my simple techniques down you can make this into any type of omelet you like.  Add ins in this beauty include mushrooms, scallions and pepper jack cheese.  Maybe you aren’t into spice, that’s O.K. substitute with a Swiss or a Cheddar.  Maybe you like some meat in your omelet, have at it.  As long as you get some key techniques down, you can rock your non-stick skillet like a cooking superstar!

Some things to keep in mind: First lets start with the ingredients, the basic to any good omelet is your egg to milk ratio.  I like 2 eggs to 1/4 c. milk.  If you want to substitute out an egg for egg white, be sure you use 2 egg whites for every one egg.  And DO NOT salt until the egg is in the pan, we will go over this in the tutorial.  Also, be sure your burner is set to medium heat, you don’t want to scorch your eggs here, have patience.  A good omelet needs some TLC.

ingredients

The ingredients you will need for this omelet are: 2 eggs, 1/4 c. milk, 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms, 1/4 c. sliced scallions, 2-3 oz. pepper jack cheese and a pinch each of kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

butter in pan

Use a 10″ non-stick skillet (save yourself a headache). Even though the pan is non-stick, you are going to want to butter it up… So add one pad of butter.

mushrooms

Saute the mushrooms in the butter. DO NOT add salt as you don’t want to draw water from the mushrooms. Let them gently brown.

add scallions

After a few moments, the mushrooms will be nicely browned, but not overcooked. Add in the sliced scallions. I like to keep the scallions at about inch long pieces for this recipe because I feel like they can stand up to the mushrooms at this size. Any smaller and they could get lost.

add milk2

While the veggies are sauteing, take a minute to beat the eggs and milk together with a fork, vigorously.

add more butter

Once you have sautéed the scallions in with the mushrooms for a couple of minutes, add in another pad of butter. Move the butter about the pan to add an additional layer of protection for your eggs. You do not want the eggs to stick,

add egg

Gently pour your eggs in over the veggies. The eggs will naturally spread the veggies. Once poured, just make sure you redistribute the veggies throughout the egg.  Once poured, sprinkle your kosher salt, just a pinch and your fresh cracked black pepper.

technique1

Pretty immediately the eggs will start to set up. Take a minute to go around the pan and gently lift some of the set eggs to allow for the runny part to take its place in the pan. This is where the fluffiness factor comes in with my omelets. This is a crucial step.  Do this all the way around the pan, lifting in 2-4 spots.

technique2

Once you have made your omelet fluffy, you will want to get it to one edge of your pan. Due to the two layers of butter that were added, this should not be too difficult. If you are struggling a bit with a gentle shimmy, just go around the pan with a spatula and loosen the edges. Then flip. I did an air flip, so I couldn’t take a picture as I did not have the hands for it. I would encourage you to try the air flip if as it is quick and easy. As Julia Child would say “You just have to have the courage”. But, if you aren’t feeling particularly courageous, you can just use your largest spatula to help you to maneuver your eggs over to their other side.

add cheese

Immediately apply the cheese to one side of your omelet to allow for maximum melting time. And lift the non-cheese side over the cheese side. Slide the omelet off the skillet and onto a plate. This process is pretty quick because the majority of your egg is already cooked from the first side and the fluffing technique.

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Enjoy!

Recipe for Southwest Veggie Omelet:

(serves 1)

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup scallions, sliced

2-3 oz. pepper jack cheese

pinch of kosher salt

pinch of fresh cracked black pepper

2 pads of butter or margarine

Directions:

Beat eggs with milk.  Set aside.

Saute mushrooms in butter in a non-stick 10″skillet.  Add in scallions once mushrooms have browned.  Add in an additional pad of butter.  Add in beaten eggs.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Lift gently along the sides allowing unset eggs to run under set eggs.

Flip.  Add cheese to half the omelet.  Flip the remaining half over the cheese.  Serve.

Enjoy!

*note – this is a gluten-free recipe