Eggs with Mustard Creamed Spinach and Crispy Breadcrumbs

I don't think my love affair with eggs for dinner will ever, ever end, for as long as we both shall live.  And while I am all for the usual suspects (I mean, who doesn't adore pancakes at 7pm?),  when I run across a salty, savory version of eggs, I am even happier...and that's exactly what this little number is.

You start with the bread crumbs.  Whirl a slice of bread in your food processor until it is a pile of crumbs, toss it with some olive oil and a little mustard, and then bake them in the oven for 5-10 minutes until they are golden and crispy.  Next you saute some baby spinach until it is all nice and wilted, and then stir it up with a little more mustard and a teeny bit of half and half.  Last but not least, fry up a few sunny-side-up eggs.

All you have left now is the assembly: bed of spinach, topped with eggs, sprinkled with mustard crumbs.  I tossed some fresh oregano on top because it is going bananas in my Aerogarden and I am using any excuse to snip it back and use it as a garnish.  

Now it is all over but the eating, and the singular happy feeling of having breakfast for supper!

Eggs with Mustard Creamed Spinach and Crispy Breadcrumbs, from Bon Appetit

• 1/2 cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless country-style bread
• 5 teaspoons Dijon mustard, divided
• 2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds (if you have them.  If not don't worry.)
• 1 9-ounce package fresh spinach leaves
• 3 tablespoons half and half
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 2 large eggs
• Fresh thyme sprigs (for garnish)

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss crumbs with 2 teaspoons mustard, 2 teaspoons oil, and mustard seeds in medium bowl to coat. Scatter on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add enough water to deep large nonstick skillet to cover bottom. Add spinach; toss over high heat to wilt, about 2 minutes. Scrape into sieve set over bowl; press out liquid. Wipe out skillet; reserve.
• Transfer spinach to medium saucepan. Add 3 teaspoons mustard, half and half, and chopped thyme. Stir over medium heat until thick, about 3 minutes. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Remove from heat.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in reserved skillet over medium-high heat. Crack eggs into skillet, spacing apart. Fry until whites are cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Divide spinach between 2 plates, spreading out as base for eggs. Top with eggs, crumbs, and thyme sprigs.

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Deviled Eggs with Tarragon and Shallots

Well, the Easter Bunny is almost here, and you know what that means.  Yes yes, there are chocolate bunnies, and jelly beans, and we all need to switch our closets from the winter clothes to the summer clothes, but that's not the most exciting part.  The most exciting part is that there are hard-boiled eggs everywhere you turn.  Which means...deviled eggs!!!

Now, the garden variety deviled egg is just fine with me, and I can eat an unmentionable number of them at a clip.  But a whole new deviled egg world opened up to me with this month' issue of one of my favorite magazines, TASTE OF THE SOUTH.  Along with a whole raft of recipes for barbecue that I intend to make all summer long, there was also an entire array of recipes for variations on the deviled egg...including this little beauty, which I promptly added to our Friday Night Lights rotation.

Among other things, I learned a deviled egg fact that I had never learned before, which is this: in addition to the usual approach, which is to cut the eggs in half lengthwise and filled them up with the mashed egg yolk filling, you can also just lop the top off, carefully scoop out the yolk and then refill it as an upright egg (as in the picture above0.  Who knew???

Of course, you can also make them the regular old way.  I was so overwhelmed with the possibilities that I did both.

There's no such thing as too much deviled egg, after all.  This scrumptious spin on the traditional recipe calls for mixing the mashed egg yolks with mayo, Dijon mustard, chopped fresh tarragon and chopped shallot.  Grind a little fresh pepper in there and you are in deviled egg heaven.  (Which now that I read that sentence back seems like a contradiction in terms, but when it comes to deviled eggs, who cares?)

Deviled Eggs with Tarragon and Shallots, from Taste of the South

• One dozen hard boiled eggs
• 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 1/2 tablesppons chopped fresh shallot
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Cut eggs in half lengthwise, or cut the top third off the top.  Scoop out the yolks and mash with a fork.

2. Add all remaining ingredients to the mashed yolks and mix well.

3. Spoon yolk mixture into egg whites.  (You can also scoop the mixture into a large ziploc bag, snip off the bottom corner and squeeze the mixture into the egg whites, similar to using a pastry bag.  I find this to be a lot less messy.)

4. Garnish with more ground pepper and tarragon sprigs if you like, and serve!

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Mustard Chicken Salad

These days my house pretty much either looks like this, is about to look like this, or has just looked like this:

So you better believe that if I am going to have a SALAD for dinner, it is going to be a nice, hearty, substantial salad that gives me the strength I need to shovel the driveway again.

Okay, so I don't personally shovel the driveway.  Ever.  But you get my drift.

This scrumptious chicken salad fits the bill perfectly, and in addition the recipe has forever convinced me that if you needed pieces of cooked chicken for something, you MUST roast it in the oven.  I used to be a poach it on the stovetop girl, and all these years I never realized that roasting it makes the cooked chicken taste one million percent better.  One million, not kidding.

Anyway, after you have roasted the chicken and gotten your fabulous-tasting cooked chicken, you quickly dunk some broccoli in some boiling water, just until it is cript-tender and a lovely bright green.  After that it is just a matter of mixing up the mustard dressing and tossing the whole thing together: the chicken, the broccoli, the dressing, some cherry tomatoes and a little tarragon. 

Now THAT'S a salad that a person can eat in front of a fireplace.

Mustard Chicken Salad, from Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?: Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips 

• 4 bone-in chicken breast halves
• Olive oil
• Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
• 5 cups small brocolli florets
• 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup whole grain mustard
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Place chicken in a baking pan lined with foil and rub with olive oil.  Sprinke liberally with salt and pepper and roast for 45 minutes.  Cool, discard skin and tear chicken meat into bite-sized pieces.

2. Fill a large bowl with ice water and bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add broccoli to the boiling water and cook until crisp-tender, about one minute.  Drain and place the brocolli in the bowl of ice water.

3. make the dressing by whisking the mayo, mustards, vinegar 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt together.  Add enough dressing to the chicken to moisten well.  Add the tarragon, broccoli and tomatoes and mix gently to combine.  If you have time, cover and let sit in fridge for a couple of hours so the flavors can develop even more.  Serve at room temperature.

Click here for printable recipe

Rosemary Merlot Flank Steak

Well, it's now reliably over 50 degrees most days here in the Northeast, and you know what THAT means.

It's GRILLING time.

Not that the resilient and reliable Southern husband won't happily dig the grill out from under a snowbank in the middle of February if I really need him to.

But let's face it, it's a lot more fun when the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming and you don't have to wear your snow boots. This recipe is the perfect one to kick off grill season, and if you don't count the time I sent him outside in a snowstorm to roast those tomatoes for me, it's the first time the Southern husband has seriously cranked up the grill in 2010.

You need a nice flank steak for this one, and you marinate it for at least 30 minutes in a mixture of chopped onions, beef broth, chopped fresh rosemary, salt, oregano and (here's the beauty part) about a cup of red wine. I love a nice glass of merlot, so that's what my steak got to marinate in.

Once you have the steak on the grill, have someone reliable keep an eye on it while you make the sauce, which is basically a mixture of that marinade you just soaked the steak in, with some tomato paste and Dijon mustard stirred in. Boil it for about 7 minutes until it is reduced to about a cup. When the steak comes off the grill, slice it up and pour some of that sauce over the top, and summer will seem just around the corner.

Rosemary Merlot Flank Steak

1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup beef broth
1 cup red wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 minced garlic cloves
1 pound flank steak
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1. Combine first seven ingredients in plastic bag, add steak and marinate in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

2. Remove steak, reserving marinade. Grill steak for 6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 5 minutes and then slice against grain.

3. While steak cooks, combine leftover marinade, tomato paste and mustard in small pot. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced to one cup, about 7 minutes. Serve sauce over steak.

Click here for printable recipe

Chicken with Mustard Wine Cream Sauce

This very well might be my all-time favorite dependable easy-but-elegant dinner recipe. Manageable enough to make for a crowd, easy enough to make for a lovely weeknight supper, elegant enough for entertaining, and 1000% reliable. Now, how many things can you say THAT about?

Here’s what you do: take a couple of boneless chicken breasts and pound them with a mallet or the bottom of a jar until they are nice and flat and all your frustrations are worked out. Heat up a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and lay those babies in there. Grind some fresh pepper on top and sprinkle them with salt, and don’t touch them for 6 minutes, then flip them over. Cook another 6 minutes, and by now they are nice and brown and done. Take them out and put them on a plate and cover them with foil. Now pour ¼ cup of white wine into the pan, and let it boil for about a minute. Pour in ½ cup cream, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard and about 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh thyme and stir it all up until it is simmering nicely. Add in any juices from the plate where the chicken is resting. Let it simmer for about two minutes, during which time you can steam some nice thin asparagus.

The assembly: Nice little pool of mustard sauce on the plate. Lay some asparagus on top of the sauce. Chicken on top of that. Drizzle more sauce over all. Grinding of fresh pepper on the top. Light some candles, pour a glass of merlot, and dinner is served. How easy is that?

This fabulous sauce also works wonders with veal cutlets, shrimp and filet mignon. Just so you know. I wouldn't pour it over chocolate chip cookies, but pretty much anything else can benefit from a nice dose of mustard sauce. Don't you think?

Chicken with Mustard Wine Cream Sauce, adapted from Everyday Food

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 ounces each)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup dry white wine, or chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  

1. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken; saute until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes, turning once. Transfer to a plate; keep warm.
2. Pour wine into hot skillet; cook, stirring, until reduced by half, about 1 minute. Whisk in cream, mustard, and thyme. Cook, whisking, until thickened, about 2 minutes.
3. Pour any accumulated chicken juices into sauce. Right before serving, pour a little cream sauce on plate. Place chicken (with any veggies you are using, I like asparagus) on top, and drizzle remaining sauce over chicken.

Click here for printable recipe

Bistro Salad

Oh, I love this recipe. Can you fry an egg? Can you make a salad? Then you can make this lovely elegant number that is light and delicious and colorful. This is one of those dinners (and sometimes lunches) that I always have on call for those days when I have run out of clever ideas for what to make for dinner...or those nights when whatever clever idea I DID have on the menu just seems too exhausting.

So here's the scoop: you cook up a few pieces of bacon however you like to make it (I'm currently a fan of baking it in the oven, it's fool-proof and a lot less messy than the stove). Mix up a quick and easy mustard dressing, which you toss with mixed up greens -- your choice but personally I like romaine. Fry up as many eggs as you have people. Or poach them - whatever you like best. Then it goes like this: bed of salad, egg on top, chopped cooked bacon scattered over all, a little fresh ground pepper. If you cook the egg so that the yolk is not too firm, the egg will add to the dressing and you are in Bistro Salad Heaven.

If I have some French or Italian bread around, I will slice and toast it and spread it with whatever soft cheese I have in the fridge...or if not, a little butter will do. Arrange those artfully on the side of the plate and your lucky fellow diners will think you have been planning this meal for days.

Bistro Salad, adapted from Cooks Illustrated, The Best 30 Minute Recipe

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons whole grain mustard
1 shallot, peeled
i clove garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
Salt and fresh ground pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
12 baguette slices
2 tablespoons olive oil, toasted
your favorite spreadable cheese -- Brie, Boursin, etc.
8 slices bacon, chopped and cooked
1 tablespoon butter
4 eggs
10 cups of your favorite lettuce variety

1. First, make dressing by processing vinegar, mustard, shallot, garlic, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in blender or small food processor for 15 seconds. Add oil and process until emulsified, about 15 seconds.

2. Drizzled baguette toasts with olive oil and spread with your favorite cheese, set aside.

3. Fry eggs in butter until desired doneness (about 2 minutes for soft yolks, 3 for soft set and 4 for firm set.)

4. While eggs are cooking, toss lettuce with bacon and enough dressing for your taste (start with 1/3 cup and add more as needed). Divide among plates.

5. When eggs are done, slide one onto each plate and arrange cheese toasts around the edge. Grind fresh pepper over all and serve.

Click here for printable recipe.

Steak Diane

If you ask the Southern husband what his favorite steak recipe is, after he gets done telling you how there is nothing better than a plain steak with some fresh ground pepper cooked really rare on the grill, he will get around to saying Steak Diane. Whenever I tell him this is on the menu his face looks a little like this...



Only a little less furry. Actual faces have been changed to protect the innocent.

Meanwhile, I did do my level best to figure out why this recipe, which is basically a tenderloin filet with an insanely delicious sauce of mustard, cream, Worcestershire sauce, shallots and a few other things, is called "Diane." I did some cursory research on Wikipedia and got some vague references to Diana, goddess of the hunt. Maybe she liked her dinner with a nice mustard sauce after a long hard day at the hunt? I have five friends named Diane (I just counted) and so many one of them will chime in and tell us.

One way or the other, if you are looking for a drop-dead elegant dinner that is also pretty much as easy as they come, this is for you. I like to serve mine on a bed of baby spinach, but pretty much any plain side veggie will do. There are a ton of Diane recipes out there; this the best version I have run across...so far.

STEAK DIANE for two, from The New York Times

• 2 6-ounce beef tenderloin filets
  
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot or onion
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
• 1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
• Lemon juice to taste, optional
• Chopped fresh chives or parsley leaves for garnish

1. Flatten fillets a bit with the palm of your hand, the back of a skillet or a small mallet; they should be about 1 inch thick. Sprinkle with salt and a lot of pepper. In small skillet, preferably one just large enough to hold both filets, combine oil and tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat. When butter foam melts, sear steaks on both sides, just until browned, no more than 2 minutes a side. Remove to platter.

2. Wipe pan clean with towel; add remaining butter over medium heat, with shallot or onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in mustard, Worcestershire and cream. Add some salt and a fair amount of pepper. Stir once or twice, then taste and adjust seasoning.

3. Keeping mixture at a steady simmer, return meat and accumulated juices to pan. Cook, turning two or three times, until meat is done to your liking, just 1 or 2 minutes a side for medium-rare. Remove to a plate, and add lemon juice, if using, salt and pepper to the sauce as needed. Spoon sauce over meat, garnish with chives or parsley, and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Pineapple Chicken

Today I need to give a shout-out to one of my favorite cooking magazines, and that is Taste of Home. I do love my share of the fancy ones, like Saveur and Bon Appetit, and I get tons of recipes and ideas from fancy cooking experts like Mark Bittman and all the fabulous blogs that I read. But Taste of Home is kind of in its own category. It is a collection of recipes and cooking tips and ideas from home cooks across the country, and while you won't find too much fancy stuff in there, you will find recipe after recipe for good old-fashioned home-cooked dishes.

This pineapple chicken is one of my favorites. Like most of the Taste of Home recipes, it is pretty fast and simple, and the mix of pineapple and mustard and honey and herbs...YUM. I did swap out fresh thyme for the dried thyme called for in the recipe just because I had some hanging around, and it worked just wonderfully. I also threw on some chopped cashews because I also had those hanging around, and they added a nice salty crunch. (I am trying to get better about completely using up whatever ingredients I happen to buy. I have two unused leeks lurking in the refrigerator right this second waiting for inspiration to strike. Send suggestions.)

Anyway, if you, like me, are always looking for a new spin on chicken, give this recipe and try, and check out Taste of Home when you get a second, too.

PINEAPPLE CHICKEN, from Taste of Home

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 can (20 ounces) unsweetened sliced pineapple
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Hot cooked rice

1. Sprinkle chicken with the thyme, salt and pepper. In a large skillet, brown chicken in oil. Meanwhile, drain pineapple, reserving the juice. Cut pineapple rings in half and set aside.
2. Combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons juice until smooth; set aside. Combine the mustard, honey, garlic and remaining pineapple juice. Add to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove chicken and keep warm.
3. Stir cornstarch mixture. Gradually add to pan; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Return chicken to pan. Top with pineapple; heat through. Serve with rice. Yield: 4 servings.

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Fettuccine with Asparagus and the Best Goat Cheese Ever!

Okay, this scrumptious recipe comes with a history lesson and a lead on the some of the most delicious goat cheese I've ever eaten. Ready? Here goes.

As those of you who have been reading this blog for a while already know, my favorite place on this earth is the beautiful state of Vermont, where I spent a happy childhood disobediently running through corn fields, putting on plays with my cousins in my grandparent's horse barn and otherwise frolicking around.



Yep, that's yours truly on the hay cart, dressed very appropriately in the green flowered dress. Thank God I'm A Country Girl.

Anyway, I escape back up there whenever possible, and one of the places we always love to visit is Hildene Farm in Manchester. (Here comes the history lesson.)

I bet you did not know that Robert Todd Lincoln (only child of Abraham and Mary Todd to survive to adulthood) had a summer home in Vermont, did you? He did, and it is gorgeous Hildene Farm, where you can tour the historic home...

And wander through the beautiful gardens...

where thousands of peonies are in full gorgeous bloom each summer...

...and take in the spectacular views of the Battenkill Valley. Even the teenager got a little inner peace here, while feverishly looking for cell phone reception. (Southern Vermont...not so great on the whole cell phone reception thing, which is panic-inducing to teenagers. Mine, anyway.) I just love this place. So imagine my delight when my aunt and uncle came down from Vermont for the weekend recently and dropped this off for me.

As it turns out, for the last three years Hildene has been developing a cheesemaking operation, using cow's milk from local farms and milk from their own herd of Nubian goats. This round of cheese was one of the first samples created last January. And oh, my goodness.

Is it the sweet Vermont air? Is it the Nubian goats? Is it the benevolent spirit of Robert Todd Lincoln? Whatever it is, it made for one of the most creamy and delicious goat cheese I have ever eaten. We started out with just some of it on crackers...

And then used the rest of it in a fettuccine dish that used chopped fresh asparagus, some grainy mustard and a good helping of this spectacular cheese. Heaven, heaven, heaven.

This summer the nice folks at Hildene have promised me a behind the scenes peek at the cheese-making operation, and my Nikon and I will be back with a full report (I can hardly wait to see what a Nubian goat looks like!). In the meantime, if you are ever in the area, you MUST stop in and visit beautiful Hildene - click here for more info. The plan is to make cheese all year round, from this delicious goat cheese to Edam, Havarti, Gouda and Feta, so you can pick yourself up some cheese while you are there.

And if you can't make it to beautiful Vermont, you can still pick up some nice goat cheese at your own market and try out this quick and elegant recipe.

FETTUCCINE WITH ASPARAGUS AND GOAT CHEESE, adapted from Everyday Food

• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 3/4 pound fettuccine
• 2 bunches asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
• 4 ounces goat cheese, cut into pieces
• 2 tablespoons grainy mustard
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

1. Toast pine nuts in a small skillet until golden, about 2-3 minutes

2. Cook pasta in salted water until al dente, adding asparagus in last 5 minutes of cooking time. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and drain.

3. Return pasta, asparagus and reserved pasta water to pot and toss with goat cheese, mustard, dill and pine nuts. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Dijon Shrimp Scampi

I have had this great little recipe for ages, and I have absolutely no idea where it came from. It's in standard rotation here at the Jacksons because it is so easy and so elegant. It's great for weekday dinners when you want to make something quick and tasty, but it is also perfect for a little (or big) dinner party, because it has a lovely little sauce that looks and tastes very ooh-la-la. Because it has just a few ingredients, it's important that all of them be fresh and lovely. So here's my suggestion for how to go about that.

Shrimp: I've said it before, I'll say it again -- the absolute best place to get shrimp is Costco. I buy the great big bags (actually, I think they only come in great big bags there) and when I get home I divide them into bags of 10 each and throw them in the freezer. That way there is always a little bag-o-shrimp on hand, and when I get down to the last one I send the ever-helpful Southern husband to Costco for more. This time he came home with the shrimp, a giant bag of macadamia nuts, about 25 lemons, two dozen organic eggs and an industrial size box of Bounce. It's always entertaining to see what catches his fancy at Costco.

Lemon juice, garlic, parsley: all fresh please. Trust me, you will taste the difference.

Mustard: follow the directions and use the Dijon. It's got a little bit of white wine in it and that makes a nice impact in this recipe.

Butter: use the good stuff. I like Kate's Homemade Butter (that is an actual brand, I don't own a churn. Well actually, I DO own a churn, but it is purely decorative.) You can buy it at Whole Foods and Fairway.

Rice: I love basmati rice for this recipe, it has a great popcorn-ish flavor to it. And while we are on the topic of rice, can I just say that I ADORE my rice cooker. I held out for ages before I bought one. Who needs a whole separate appliance for cooking rice, I told myself. But my reckless Southern husband went out and got one ANYWAY and ever since then my rice has been perfect every time. And it also makes rocking great steel-cut oatmeal and cheese grits too.

So without further ado, here is my nice little recipe, origins unknown, for Dijon Shrimp Scampi.

DIJON SHRIMP SCAMPI

• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• Hot cooked rice

1. Melt butter with garlic in large skillet. Saute shrimp over medium-high heat until just cooked through, about 3-5 minutes.

2. Blend in mustard, lemon juice and parsley and heat through.

3. Mound rice on place, place shrimp on rice, drizzle mustard sauce over all.

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