This Sunday Patrick Coleff, owner of Reliable Cheese Company in Durham, will lead a discussion on cheese making in the Triangle at the Durham Public Library in downtown Durham. I will be on the panel along with cheese makers from Prodigal Farms and Chapel Hill Creamery. The event is free and open to the public, and there will be cheese samples!
Blessed are the Cheesemakers
Sunday, January 8th at 3pm
Durham Public Library, Main Branch (Roxboro St. in Downtown Durham)
When I find myself in a cooking rut I always turn to for inspiration. The cooks of the Food52 community are just incredible, and I can usually find some new recipe or interesting way of using an ingredient that gets my culinary juices flowing. They also run bi-weekly recipe contests, which is a great way to repurpose an old standby or try something new. This week’s contest centered on sage and walnut, a flavor combination that I have never used before. Juices flowing.
I banged around a few ideas before settling on a baked egg. Nothing screams winter comfort to me like a steaming hot baked egg. Imagine waking up to a quiet house on a cold winter morning, puttering around the kitchen tossing together this simple dish as the coffee brews and the sun rises. Its warm, earthy, and inviting; just what I need to get me going when the temperatures drop.
Credit: Leland Garrett
The Winter Egg
Recipe is for one serving; adjust amounts accordingly
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 2 pieces sandwich bread
- 1 tbsp walnuts, toasted and chopped
- 2 sage leaves, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- salt & pepper
Directions
- Turn your oven’s broiler to HI and position the oven rack about 8 from the broiler.
- Toast the sandwich bread. Cut off the crusts and cut into 1/4 cubes.
- Put the bread cubes, walnuts, and sage into an ovenproof ramekin (4oz. or 6oz. size works). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Pour 2 tbsp cream over the bread mixture. Crack the egg into a small bowl and then slide atop the bread mixture, being careful not to break the yolk.
- Broil for 5-7 minutes until the whites are just set and the yolk is still runny. (The whites will continue to cook once you’ve removed the ramekin from the oven)
- Enjoy in a quiet corner with a hot cup of coffee and a newspaper, preferably overlooking a snowy-white vista.
Move over Charlie, Asheville is about to have a new chocolate factory. Jael and Dan Rattigan of Asheville’s famed are getting set to open their own chocolate factory. When the Buxton Avenue factory starts up (they’re shooting for a March open) they’ll be able to control the quality of their confections from start to finish.
Check out the whole store over at the Asheville Citizen-Times:
A box of French Broad Chocolate Lounge chocolates from my recent trip to Asheville
It’s here! The very first video in the Green Eats Blog Back to Basics Video Series! These videos will cover some of the basic skills of cooking; things like braising, whipping, and roasting. Once you’ve got these basic skills mastered you should be able to tackle any recipe.
In this first video I tackle emulsification – scary sounding process, but in reality super simple. Emulsification is the principle behind things like salad dressings, some sauces, and mayonnaise. Essentially you force two liquids that don’t want to combine (like oil and vinegar) to come together through the help of a binder (like eggs). I’ll show you how easy it is to make homemade mayonnaise and how you can then turn that into a garlicky aioli in about ten seconds flat.
Check out the video and please leave me your questions, comments, and suggestions for future videos! What are some of the basic kitchen skills that you’d like to master?
(And yes, that is our bird Sushi you hear squawking in the background. Also, we don’t own a dishwasher so I apologize for the sink full of dirty dishes. I’m kind of a tornado in the kitchen.)
from on .
Mayonnaise & Aioli
Ingredients
- 2 egg yolks (the fresher the better)
- 2-3 tbsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar
- 1/4 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1-1.5 cups oil (I prefer grape-seed, but canola or rice bran would work too)
- 1 medium clove garlic
Directions
- In a heavy bowl whip the egg yolks until they turn pale yellow and frothy. Add the lemon juice, salt, and mustard, and whip until thick.
- Start adding the oil a drop or two at a time, whipping constantly. Pay attention to the stream of oil rather than the egg mixture. You don’t have to whip fast, two or three strokes per second should be fine, you just want to make sure that all the oil is quickly combined and that the mixture doesn’t separate.
- After the mayonnaise starts to come together and thicken you can begin to add the oil more rapidly, 2-3 tbsp at a time. Make sure to thoroughly combine after each addition.
- Once the mayonnaise has reached the desired thickness, taste and adjust the seasonings. Refrigerate for up to a week, or turn into aioli.
- For aioli, crush one clove of garlic and mix into the prepared mayonnaise with a fork. Taste and adjust seasonings. Refrigerate for up to a week.
The husband and I just returned from a week in Asheville, one of my favorite places on earth. His mother and younger brother and sister came down from Michigan to stay with us, and we spent the week eating, relaxing, and enjoying all the wonderful sights, sounds, and tastes that Asheville has to offer.
The first order of business – relax by the fireplace!
Our first full day was rainy, so we took the kids to the , which despite the plethora of uncomfortable Biblical quotes was really quite fun. Wednesday and Thursday were spent on the grounds of the . We toured the house, spent some time in the gardens and grounds, and of course did the wine tasting.
A glass of the Biltmore Estate Christmas Rose.
We also had some great food; I had an incredible meal of milk-braised pork shank and risotto with lamb belly at . We also ate at (the fried oysters were so good I ordered them twice) and had some of the best Indian food of our lives at . It wasn’t all eating out though – I’m a big proponent of vacation rentals that come will fully equipped kitchens, and ours was no exception. We cooked in for the majority of our meals; I made a roast chicken, a pot roast, and the husband and his sister whipped up some cookies for us.
In between the Biltmore and eating we managed to sneak in some visits to the and the . The beer at French Broad Brewing was superb, but I was most excited about the Chocolate Lounge. I’ve had their chocolates at a few events here in the Triangle, but this was my first visit to the actual shop. The husband and I shared a Mudwrestler – a delicious concoction of a porter, ice cream, and hot chocolate. We also took some chocolates home with us; I’m willing to bet they don’t last the weekend!
We continue to be blown away by what Asheville has to offer. If you want adventure, good food, great wine, and fun for everyone in the family, Asheville has you covered. We plan on making a few more trips this year, and I’ll continue to keep abreast of whats happening in Asheville!
Photos taken with Instagram on my iPad.
Many thanks to Del Holston of the Asheville Visitors and Convention Bureau for the amazing meal at Fig and help with planning our week. Visit their website at for tons of ideas on what to do, where to eat, and where to stay during your Asheville getaway!
Stumped on what to make for New Year’s Day dinner? Here’s a roundup of a few recipes that are sure to get your 2012 started on the right foot:
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The husband and I are headed off to Asheville later today for a relaxing retreat in the mountains. We’ll be eating, drinking, seeing the holiday lights at the Biltmore, and sleeping in every single day. The blog will be quiet in the meantime, but I’ll have lots of pictures and food news to share when I return.
Any tips for must-visit Asheville sights, places, or restaurants?
Gabrielle Hamilton, chef-owner of in NYC and author of the best-selling memoir ““, has a simple Christmas Eve tradition centered on grilled cheese sandwiches, soup, and lots of champagne. Check out her video for the series ““:
For me Christmas Eve means cocktails and Chinese takeout. Back when I first got my driver’s license I would go out for Chinese food every Christmas Eve with my cousins and siblings. It got us out of the house and gave our parents some time to themselves. Plus, growing up in a town with a very large Jewish population, I got to see many of my friends and their families who were out as well (some stereotypes are true). This year we won’t be in Connecticut, but Leland and I will keep the tradition alive by going out to dinner at China Palace here in Durham.
What are some of your Christmas Eve traditions?
It’s time for another installment of the Bon Appétempt video series, and this time Amelia is whipping up some holiday cocktails. ‘Tis the time of year for the festive drink, and whether you imbibe to celebrate or to deal with crazy family, these drinks are sure to warm your cockles. Also, what the hell are cockles?
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Check out the rest of for great recipes and videos.
Whoever decided that it was December 16th needs to slow down. Last time I checked it was November, and now here we are a week before Christmas and I’m wondering where half of my month went. Between holiday parties, work, and attempting to get a few end-of-the-year financial things in order I feel like I’ve barely had time to enjoy December. Luckily I’m just 10 days away from my week-long vacation in Asheville, and I could not be more excited. In the meantime, here are few things I plan on doing to get myself in the holiday spirit:
- Bake cookies
- Make my house pate and give it as gifts to a few good friends
- Watch Elf
- Make mulled cider
- Make mulled wine
- Make mulled cider wine?
- Bake more cookies, or maybe pies
What are some of your week-before-Christmas traditions?
