Flamenco Eggs (or the Man-pie)

Feels great to cook again! :D 
Granted, I did cook all through summer, but it was mainly for my family. Cooking for six is mainly about getting a large quantity of good food on the table, leaving little room for error. Cooking for two is much easier on my nerves and allows for more flavors and experiments to happen (and having a boyfriend who will eat anything I serve helps).

As such, I was looking through 400 Best-Ever Budget Recipes by Lucy Doncaster (my go-to book alongside Cooking School and FamilyFun Cookbook), and found this recipe under the Vegeterian section (GASP, I considered eating veggies!). Considering my budget and time, I had to modify the original recipe quite a bit to make it a fuller one-course meal.

Overall, it was a lovely dish and experience to share with my boyfriend, from cooking the filling, to looking as the eggs slowly rose in my itty bitty toaster oven to slicing and serving it like a big meaty pie.

Ingredients
1 onion, diced
1 red and green bell pepper, diced
10 to 12 slices of bacon (substituting the pancetta in the recipe)
1 can of sausages (substituting the chorizo in the recipe), diced
1 1/2 tsp of garlic
1 tbsp unsalted butter
4 eggs
1 generous tbsp of white wine
1/2 cup of breadcrumbs
1/3 cup of roughly chopped cilantrillo
Dash of paprika, salt and pepper
Shredded cheese to top (Optional, I use my standard Italian blend)

Preheat the oven at 350F ("Bake" on a toaster oven). Melt the butter in a large saucepan and cook the diced onion, bacon, garlic, peppers, sausages and half the cilantrillo.

Add the white wine and season to taste. Let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes until bacon is thoroughly cooked and the onion is translucent. Crack the eggs (avoiding breaking the yolk) and set aside.


Prepare a 7" pie plate (or four baking dishes for individual servings) with cooking spray. Cover the bottom with the breadcrumbs completely.

Drain the cooked filling thoroughly and place it inside the pie plate uniformly. Gently pour each egg and cover with the cheese (if using it) and the cilantrillo.


Bake for 8 minutes (10 to cook the yolks a bit more) and serve immediately.

College style Pasta Carbonara

One of my personal favorites to cook when hunger strikes. My mother makes an amazing plate of the stuff with garlic bread that keeps you wanting more. After two years of failing miserably on my own, she finally told me the secret: white cooking wine and an egg.

Serves 2

Ingredients

-A generous handful of long pasta, like spaghetti

-4 to 6 slices of bacon

-1 tsp of crushed garlic

-1/3 cup of Parmesan or Italian cheese, plus more for serving

-1/3 cup of cooking wine

-1 tbsp of Italian seasoning or oregano if unavailable.

-1/4 cup of vegetable oil I actually replaced this with 1 tbsp of unsalted butter

-1 tsp of salt

-1 tsp of ground black pepper

-1 egg

Boil enough water in a sauce pot to reach three-fourths of its height, adding 1 tsp or 2 of salt. On a skillet, start boiling 1 /4 cup of water to cook the bacon.

While the water boils, cut the slices of bacon into small pieces and slightly season them with the Italian seasoning. To start cooking the ham, add it to the skillet with the white wine , black pepper and the rest of the seasoning. Cover immediately to prevent the alcohol from evaporating.

When the water is boiling (or when the big bubble stream is constant), add the pasta and the oil. Cooking time is at your discretion, but here's a quick guide to get certain firmness:

-8 minutes: Al dente

-10 minutes: firm

-12 minutes: tender

Meanwhile, crack the egg and beat it slightly (as if making a fritatta). After pasta is cooked, drain the water from the pot and place back into the sauce pot.

Working quickly, add the bacon, cheese and egg together and mix until egg's solidified and cheese has melted.

Serve hot with some extra cheese and enjoy.

Cheesy BLT salad with Ceasar dressing

Let's start this blog up with a recent recipe!

Quick, relatively inexpensive to make, it quickly became my favorite salad to make (coming from someone who wouldn't touch a salad a month or so ago).

Cheesy BLT salad wih Ceasar dressing
Serves 2

• Lettuce leaves (for a healthier version, use spinach leaves)
• 1 small globe tomato
• 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup of Mozarella cheese
• 6 strips of smoked bacon*
  *I used Oscar Meyers Fully Cooked bacon for a quick fix.
• Ceasar dressing

1. Take out a skillet and boil about 1/8" of water in it. Chop the bacon into tiny pieces and cook covered for about 5 minutes and uncovered for another 2 to get it crispy.

2. While the bacon is cooking, wash and cut the tomato as you see fit (personally, I like to cut them into bite size pieces) as well as the lettuce leaves. Make sure the leaves are nice (no blackening) Arrange in two plates.

3. When the bacon is done, scoop the pieces with a spoon and serve over the simple salad. Serve with 1/8 of both cheese on top of each plate and about a tablespoon of dressing.

Simple yes, but an effective meal for people on the move. :D