June 3, 2020

Omelet Muffins

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Omelet Muffins

June 3: National Egg Day

Rise and shine! Whenever we stay overnight at our Hawaii ex-pat friends Pat and Phyllis S.’s house in San Antonio, Texas, we get a good breakfast or brunch to tide us over before we hit the road for a 3 ½ hour drive back home to the Gulf Coast. Sometimes they would cook fried rice or pancakes and other times they would make toast and eggs. One of their omelets was in muffin form and it was a hit with us that we asked for the recipe. Now we feed omelet muffins to our own overnight guests (except to Pat and Phyllis because they introduced us to this recipe) for a different breakfast or brunch offering. Omelet muffins are delightful for a hearty morning meal and anytime on National Egg Day.

Recipe

(From Pat and Phyllis S.)

For the omelet

  • 4 eggs
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon oil
  • ¼ cup milk
  • salt and pepper to taste

For the fillings

  • Meat options: cooked crumbled bacon or pork sausage, diced cooked Spam or ham, chopped char siu, etc.
  • Vegetable options: diced onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, mushrooms, etc.
  • Cheese options: cheddar or swiss

Directions

In a bowl, beat the eggs with the baking powder, oil, milk and salt and pepper.

Lightly grease the six wells of a small muffin tin. Place meat and/or vegetable fillings in the wells. Top with cheese of choice. Fill with the egg mixture. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for approximately 5 minutes before taking them out of the pan. Serve hot.

Notes

  • Phyllis S. likes to add a teaspoon or two of shoyu (soy sauce) and a teaspoon or two of sugar as a nod to her Japanese-American husband’s tastes.
  • National Egg Month is in May.
 

April 21, 2013

In Ovis Apalis

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In Ovis Apalis

(Roman Boiled Eggs)

Roman Eggs

April 21: Birthdate of Rome (753 BC)

Highlander chose to spend his 50th birthday in Italy (Rome, Florence and Venice) a few years ago as a most memorable milestone trip. We went all over The Eternal City (churches, piazzas, the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Roman Forum, the Vatican, cafes and more) and were awed by the history, art, architecture and culture!

On Capitoline Hill, we saw the famous statue of the she-wolf suckling twins Romulus and Remus, the mythological symbol of the founding of Rome. According to the popular legend, the unwanted twin sons of the war god Mars and a Vestal “virgin” were cast off into the River Tiber. A she-wolf found the babies and nursed them as her own, until a shepherd came and raised them. When the brothers grew up, they fought over a site where they were to establish a city. Romulus killed Remus and became king of the Italian capital that bears his name.

Romulus and Remus

In observance of the birthdate of Rome, we ate an ancient appetizer called In Ovis Apalis (boiled eggs with a pine nut sauce). There is an old Latin saying “ab ovo usque ad malum” which translates to “from the egg to the fruit,” suggesting the courses of an Italian meal from the beginning to the end (or from antipasti, primi, secondi and all the way to dolci).

Do as the ancient Romans did and eat In Ovis Apalis to celebrate Rome’s birthday!

Recipe

(Adapted from PBS)

Ingredients

  • 4 boiled eggs
  • 2 ounces stone pine kernels (pine nuts)
  • 2-3 tablespoons vinegar (we used white wine vinegar)
  • 1-2 teaspoon honey
  • pinch of ground black pepper

Directions

Boil the eggs. Cool down. Remove the shells. Cut them in half lengthwise. Set aside to make the sauce.

Roman Eggs

Toast the pine nuts by sautéing them in a pan till lightly browned (about 5 minutes or less). Remove to cool. In a measuring cup or little bowl, combine the vinegar, honey and pepper. Stir in the pine nuts. Place the sauce in a small dish or serving boat to accompany the boiled eggs. Pour the sauce on the eggs and eat immediately to avoid making the yolks soggy.

Roman Eggs

Notes

  • In Ovis Apalis is also a good recipe to use up leftover boiled Easter eggs.
  • Ancient Romans added a pinch of lovage (celery leaf) to the sauce recipe.
  • We toasted the pine nuts to accentuate its flavor. Soaking them in the sauce somewhat tones down the acid in the vinegar.
  • Highlander’s birthday is on April 20. Our trip to Italy for his 50th year coincided with Roman (and national) celebrations around the week of April 21. Several museums and public events were free or discounted then, allowing us to take advantage of what the country’s tourism industry had to offer.
  • Search our blog for other Italian recipes.
 

April 1, 2013

Chick-in-Eggs

Posted by HI Cookery under 04 April | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Chick-in-Eggs

Chick-in-Eggs

April: Easter Week

We dress up deviled eggs as little devils after Halloween, on November 2, National Deviled Eggs Day. But around the Easter season, we make special spring chicks because they look so cute cracking out of their shells.

Eggs are festive food this time of the year as they are symbolic of transformations. The dead of winter is reborn into the hope of spring; the rising of Jesus from the dead represents new life; yolks turn into yummy appetizers.

Do deviled eggs differently during Easter Week and decorate them as spring chicks! Blessings to all our blog readers on Easter!

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 4 hard boiled eggs, cooled and shelled
  • 2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder (or to taste)
  • carrot sliver
  • black food gel tube

Directions

Boil, cool and shell the eggs. Slice a little piece off the bottom of an egg so it could stand on its own. Slice the egg 1/3 from the top, making the bottom 2/3 larger.

Chick-in-Eggs

Remove the yolks to a mixing bowl. Use a sharp paring knife to cut triangular “cracks” from the top and bottom of the egg whites. Set aside. Add mayonnaise and curry powder to the egg yolks and mash with a fork until smooth.

Chick-in-Eggs

Generously fill the bottom of the egg whites with a mound of the yolk mixture (we used a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip). Cap off with the top egg whites. Peel a small part of a carrot. Cut out into tiny triangles for the beaks. Position them on the egg yolks. Lightly touch the tip of the black tube frosting to make the eyes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chick-in-Eggs

Notes

  • Thanks to Lisa L. for the idea of decorating our deviled eggs into spring chicks.
  • Knead the black tube icing and squeeze out the excess liquid on a napkin before decorating the chick-in-eggs to avoid runny smears on the yolk filling.
  • Search our blog for other Easter and egg recipes.
 

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