The Step-by-Step Guide to Eggs Benedict

Hi there, Foodies!

Today, we are going to talk about Eggs Benedict: a buttered English muffin topped with seared ham, a fluffy poached egg, and tangy Hollandaise sauce. (Is your mouth watering yet?). While Eggs Benedict is a much-adored item on the brunch menu, people rarely make it at home. Why? Well, it's intimidating. But don't fear foodies. Despite what you might think, you do not have to be a professional chef to whip up a scrumptious Eggs Benedict in your own kitchen. Let me show you how:

Step #1: Poach your eggs 

We are going to get this out of the way right off the bat. If you can remember two words, temperature and vortex, you will be golden.

To feed my family of four, I used:

• 8 eggs 
• 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar 
• 1 small saucepan of water (about 3-4 inches) 
• 1 thermometer 
• 1 regular, large spoon (no slots) 
• 1 slotted spoon 
• 1 bowl of ice water 

First, heat the vinegar and water over medium heat until it reaches 180℉. When the thermometer reads just under 180℉, lower the heat slightly. The temperature will climb to 180℉, but the decrease in heat will keep the temperature steady for your egg. 

When your water comes to temperature, crack one egg into a small bowl, and place it besides the saucepan. Then make your vortex. Use your regular spoon for this, as slots make it more difficult. Quickly stir to make a whirlpool in the water. Then, pour your egg right into the center. Don't be alarmed if you see a bunch of egg whites float around. This is perfectly normal, and the egg is not ruined. However, the wispies can make the water cloudy, so you can always crack the egg into a strainer prior to poaching it to eliminate the extra runny whites. 

With your slotted spoon, keep the vortex moving. You want your egg to stay right in the center, as it may fall apart if it bangs around the sides of the pot. 

Oops...

Then, patience. Keep the egg turning in the vortex for a good three minutes. The whites should be firm, but the yolk should still be runny. I have made the mistake of pulling it out when the whites were still kind of soft, and the egg ended up being slimy. 

Place your egg into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. When you are ready to serve it, heat it in some hot water for about twenty seconds. Repeat for the rest of the eggs. You can poach two at a time, but I don't recommend doing more than that if you are using the vortex method.

Step #2: Make your Hollandaise sauce 

You will need:

• 4 egg yolks 
• 2 tbsp of lemon juice (I like mine lemony. Feel free to use less if you like your less tangy.)
• 1 stick of unsalted butter 
• Pinch of kosher salt 
• Pinch of cayenne pepper 

Combine the yolks and lemon juice with a whisk until it has a batter-like consistency. It should look something like this:

Then, melt the butter in the microwave. I recommend melting it in a Pyrex measuring cup because it makes it easy to drizzle the butter into the yolk-lemon mixture later.

While the butter is melting, bring a saucepan of water (only half-way filled) to a gentle boil. Rest the bowl with the egg mixture on top of the pot of water (don't let it touch the water), and stir rapidly with a whisk. It is important that you keep stirring so that the eggs do not scramble. Then (don't stop whisking) slowly drizzle in the melted butter. The Hollandaise sauce should be warmed through, thickened, and a pale yellow color. Season with salt and cayenne pepper.

Step #3: Assemble 

You will need:

• 4 English muffins, halved, toasted and buttered 
• 4 slices of ham, lightly seared (or bacon if you prefer) 
• Chives (to sprinkle on top)  

Your Eggs Benedict is almost ready to enjoy! Take one half of an English muffin and place a slice of ham on top. Then add a poached egg, and spoon on the Hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle with chives and enjoy!   

Porto's Bakery & Cafe

Hi there, Foodies!

No one likes to admit it, but let's face it: the days that follow Christmas are pretty depressing. The anticipation is over. The "Christmas spirit" no longer exists, yet decorations and Christmas music still seem to mock you.

However, there is no better way to remedy this "post-Christmas gloom" than to treasure the memories and traditions that you shared with family and friends...and of course, to start planning for next Christmas!

For the past two Christmas Eves, my dad, sister, and I have woken up at five o'clock in the morning to get to Porto's before it opens at six o'clock. Yes, we are crazy, but let me say the same about the better part of the Californian population. The line is out the door if you are not there the second they open (and keep in mind that Porto's is more of a giant warehouse than a hole-in-the-wall bakery).

So you probably want to know why people want to leave the comfort of their warm beds on Christmas Eve in the wee hours of the morning. The answer can be summed up in two simple words: potato balls. If you have not tasted this scrumptious sphere from heaven, you have not lived. It is basically a ball of mashed potatoes with ground beef in the middle that is slightly crispy on the outside. I have no idea how they season the meat filling, but it is by far the most flavorful I've tasted.

Although the potato balls are what Porto's is known for, I also highly recommend the apple strudel and the baked ham and cheese croissant. Of course, the hot chocolate makes the early morning endeavor all worthwhile.

Well foodies, I think the bottom line is this: If Porto's is not a tradition of yours already, it needs to become one. New Year's, birthdays, or just a regular old Monday morning are all perfect....the sooner the better!

Give us our potato balls! 

Masterful bakers at work 

Chili Cook Off!

Hello, Foodies!

Every year, Roscoe's Deli in Fullerton hosts a Chili Cook Off to celebrate the start of the football season, and I had the pleasure of competing in it today with my dad and sister! Despite the fact that it turned out to be a complete and utter failure, I still had a lot of fun. In case any of you plan on competing in a Chili Cook Off any time soon, let me tell you where we went wrong.

The Official Guide to Chili Cook Offs: 

1. Slow cook, not overcook. After spending hours perfecting our Crock Pot of chili, we foolishly let our chili cook overnight to "allow the flavors to meld." NO! Our chili overcooked and lost its bold, authentic flavors. 
2. Spice is good! In most chili cook offs, the judges taste as many as 100+ chilis, so your chili has to be memorable in order to win. In chili language, "memorable" means spicy. Crazy spicy. If your face is not turning a violent shade of red and you are not holding back tears, it is not spicy enough. Serranos, jalapenos (the heat is in the seeds and membranes!), and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (they come in cans) are great ways to add some spice to your chili! 
3. Display is key! Having a memorable display is also key in setting yourself apart. A good place to start is to make an eye-catching sign with the name of your chili. I have also seen lights, garnishes in pretty bowls, and even Crock Pots decorated with tissue paper flames (fire hazard?!). It really boils down to people wanting to come try your chili as opposed to the 99 other entries. 

 Here is our display. It certainly was not a bad first attempt, but needs some work for sure! 

Look at this awesome shirt we got as a memento! 

Also, while we were waiting for the judging to be over, we got an order of pancakes at Heroes, a restaurant that neighbors Roscoe's. They were fluffy, scrumptious, and bigger than my face! If you can eat all six of them, you get them for free, but I honestly do not know how that is humanly possible. I seriously struggled to finish one of them!

Well, I can't say this Chili Cook Off was a successful one, but I definitely learned a lot and am looking forward to next year! 

The Whole30 Diet

Hi Foodies!

Lately, the Whole30 diet has been all the rage. If you have not heard of it already, the Whole30 is a diet where you don't eat sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, dairy, carrageenan, MSG, or sulfites for 30 days. These foods have been shown to have a negative impact on our health, and by removing them from our diets for 30 days, we can find out what we are really sensitive to. 

I have been trying out different Whole30 recipes and these are some that have been really delicious: 

Tomato Bacon Quiche 

This quiche is seriously one of the most scrumptious breakfasts I have ever had. Not only is it filling, but it has a ton of flavor and you do not at all feel deprived. 

One thing I have yet to find is Whole30 compliant bacon, as most bacon is cured with sugar. I have heard that Whole30 compliant bacon is available at Whole Foods. 

Recipe here.

Slow Cooker Chili 

I absolutely LOVE this chili. It cooks for 8 hours in a slow cooker, so the flavors really have time to meld together. The recipe actually calls for ground bison, but I use ground turkey and it is really tasty! 

Recipe here.

Collard-Wrapped Turkey Burgers 

This is a really simple, delicious recipe. I was actually satisfied after this meal, and didn't miss my hamburger bun at all! Instead of wrapping the patty in collard green leaves, I used butter lettuce. I cooked the butter lettuce like the recipe said to do for the collard greens, and the lettuce was a little too soft and soggy. Next time, I won't cook the lettuce, or at least not cook it for as long. Trader Joe's didn't have any turnips, so I couldn't make the fries. Instead, I made crispy brussels sprouts (recipe here). I think they would be really good with some bacon! 

Recipe here. 

Salmon with Lemon & Herb Butter

Hi Foodies!
What is better than buttery, flaky, tender salmon? Last night, I made this really delicious salmon with compound butter (compound butter is butter with other ingredients, like herbs) The recipe is below, and I hope you try it!

Compound Butter:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter (softened)
• fresh dill
• fresh thyme
• lemon zest
• juice from one lemon
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• salt

Salmon

• 4 salmon fillets
• extra-virgin olive oil
• salt
• white pepper
• sliced lemon
• salted butter

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2.  Make the compound butter: In a bowl, combine the unsalted butter, thyme, dill, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt.
3. Prep the salmon: Drizzle salmon with extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and white pepper.  
4. Cook salmon: Heat salted butter in a pan. Then add your salmon fillets. Cook for about 90 seconds on each side. Place them in a casserole dish. They should not be completely cooked. Top with compound butter and lemon slices. Cook in your 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes.
5. Serve and enjoy!

Floats 101: The Ultimate Guide to Ice Cream Floats

Hi again!

Today I am going to talk about ice cream floats: a scrumptious desert perfect for any occasion. 

There are SO many float recipes out there, but here are a few of my favorites: 

Root Beer Floats 

This one is a classic, and all you need is vanilla ice cream and root beer. Brown Cows, which are milk and root beer, are also yummy.  

Love Floats

My wonderful 6th grade teacher made these for my class on Valentine's Day. They are strawberry ice cream in Sprite. Valentine's Day was actually the first time I had tried a Love Float, but let me say this: they were DEEE-LICIOUS! 

Chocolate Raspberry Sodas

These are a very special treat in my family. We actually made them for my mom's birthday (which was on Valentine's Day) and they are to-die-for. To make them, add chocolate ice cream and sweetened raspberries (they are usually in the frozen fruit section) to sparkling water. 

February Tip

Hi Foodies!
First of all, I apologize for not posting a January Tip. It was a very busy month!
I will post two February Tips to make up for it.

TIP NUMBER ONE: 
At Christmas time, my Aunt Tanya gave me this wonderful cooking hand book called Stuff Every Cook Should Know. It is by Joy Manning and it is BURSTING with great tips. When reading it this morning, I read about how to know if your eggs have gone bad. Eggs usually keep for 5 weeks when refrigerated. If you are not sure if they have gone bad, put one in a bowl of cold water. It has gone bad if it floats to the surface. 

TIP NUMBER TWO: 
Have you noticed that in all those cooking competition shows a contestant almost ALWAYS gets penalized for lack of seasoning? Well, if I were ever on one of those shows, I would want to know everything possible so I wouldn't get it trouble for THAT.
In Stuff Every Cook Should Know, Joy Manning said, "...the popular belief that salt is unhealthy. But more than 80 percent of the salt Americans consume is packaged food. If your diet is mostly home cooked, you probably don't need to worry about salt unless your doctor tells you to."
When cooking, follow these simple steps to ensure you have a well-seasoned dish:

1. Salt the ingredient BEFORE you cook it, ESPECIALLY when it is raw meat. When seasoning raw meat, Joy Manning recommends using 1 teaspoon of salt for every pound of meat. 
2. Add salt to your finished dish. Be sure to ALWAYS taste your food and add the seasoning you feel is necessary.  
3. Joy Manning also says it is a good idea to add acid (a little bit of vinegar, lemon, or lime) to your dish after salting it. 

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

Hi there!
I have just one more recipe to share with you before we begin 2017: Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake.
I have to admit, this is my all time FAVORITE dessert. It is moist, decadent and perfect for birthdays (I have it for my birthday every year), holidays, or any other special occasion. The best part is, this bundt cake is INCREDIBLY easy to make and takes very little time.

Here is how to make it:

Ingredients: 

• 1 yellow cake mix (we like to use Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines brand) 
• 1 small package of instant chocolate pudding 
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup water
• 3 eggs 
• 1 cup sour cream (this is a KEY ingredient...it is what makes this cake so moist!) 
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 

Start by mixing the first three ingredients (until large clumps are gone). Then, add the next four ingredients. When the batter is smooth, stir in the chocolate chips. Pour into a greased bundt pan and bake for 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes. Today, we sprinkled crushed candy canes on top to show our holiday spirit, but we usually sprinkle on powdered sugar and it is SCRUMPTIOUS!

I hope you are all having a very happy New Years Eve! 

December Tip

Hello Foodies!
I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends.
Lets take a second to talk about onions. Onions make our food TASTY....and our eyes WATER. Today I am going to tell you how to get your onion flavor without crying.

HOW TO NOT CRY WHILE CHOPPING ONIONS: 

1. A Nice, Cold Bath: Give the onions a 15 minute soak in cold water before chopping them (Note: The water does extract some of the onion flavor, so be forewarned) 

 2. Refrigerator: Storing onions in your refrigerator weakens the chemicals inside the onions that make your eyes burn.  

3. Air: It also helps to have good air circulation, so open a window or turn on a fan before you begin chopping.

4. Wear goggles: Wearing goggles is a reliable way to keep chemicals from the onion out of your eyes. 

Happy New Year! 

Cherry Pie

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Here is the recipe for a cherry pie, just like the one I made with Miss Patricia on Wednesday.
(2-crust, 9 inch pie)

The first step of making your pie is to make the crust. Before you begin your crust, it is important that everything (ingredients AND tools) is chilled. You want your pie crust dough remain as cold as possible.

Crust: 

1. Combine 2 cups of flour with 3/4 tsp. of salt.

2. Add 2/3 cup of Crisco to the dry ingredient mixture. Mix until the Crisco and dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated (the mixture should look like little peas)

3. One Tbs. at a time, add 5 to 6 Tbs. of ice water to your mixture (don't actually put the ice into the mixture--the ice is there simply to keep the water really cold when it is in the cup). The dough should be sticky and lumping together.

4. Shape your dough into two disks.Wrap each of them in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

In the mean time, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and work on your...

Filling: 

5. Drain 2 cans of red tart cherries over a bowl. Be sure to SAVE the juice. You will need it later. 

Miss Patricia recommends using Oregon Brand Pitted Red Tart Cherries. 

6.  Combine 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 8 tablespoons of cornstarch in a saucepan.

7. Add 3/4 cup of the juice from the cherries to the saucepan. 

8. Stirring constantly, cook mixture over medium heat. When it is thick and bubbly, remove from heat. 

9. Stir in 1 Tbs. of butter and the cherries into your sugar and corn starch mixture. 

Once the dough has been in the refrigerator for 30 minutes...

10. Unwrap one of the dough disks and roll it out with a rolling pin. This will be your bottom pie crust. Place it in your pie pan. Handle the dough as little as possible, or it will become tough. 

11. Once the dough is in the pan, poke holes in it using a fork. This will prevent it from bubbling while baking. 

12. Bake the crust in your preheated oven for 10 minutes. Baking the bottom crust before adding the filling will prevent it from getting soggy.  

13. When the crust is done baking and has cooled, pour in the filling. 

14. Roll out the second disk of dough and place it on the top of the pie. Pinch the edges of the top crust to form a seal. 

15, Spread a little butter and sprinkle some sugar onto the top crust. 

16. Cut slits in the top crust to allow the steam to escape while it is baking. 

17. Cover the edges with tin foil to prevent them from over browning.

18. For 15 minutes, bake the pie at 400 degrees 

19. Then, after the 15 minutes, change to 350 degrees and bake for 30 more minutes.  

20. Let the pie cool and enjoy! 

November Tip

Hello, everyone!
We foodies wait for one day that comes only once a year. Actually, scratch that. We LIVE for this one day. We DREAM about this one day. We PLAN all year for this one day. This day is known as Thanksgiving. Which just so happens to be tomorrow.

Pies are a Thanksgiving classic. Although they are mouth-watering, it takes years of practice to prepare them perfectly. Today, my most esteemed baking mentor, Miss Patricia, taught me how to make the perfect pie, and I will now share what I learned with you! I hope these tips come in handy tomorrow and for the rest of your pie-baking careers!

1. When preparing the dough, use white (not yellow) Crisco in the place of butter. It makes for a flakier crust.

2. If you are blind baking (baking the bottom crust for a bit before adding the filling) your bottom pie crust, poke holes using a fork before you bake it. This will prevent it from bubbling. 

3. After adding the top crust of your pie, make slits at the top. Then, when you bake it, it will be able to breathe and won't make a mess in your oven! 

4. Before baking, add a little butter and then sugar to the top crust to make it taste even better!   

5. When you are making your filling and it is not thick and bubbly like you want it, add more corn starch. However, it is crucial that you combine the cornstarch with water BEFORE you add it so that the filling doesn't get lumpy. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

This post is dedicated to Miss Patricia's mom, Ruby, who was a wonderful baker. This green apron was hers.