grilled cheese egg-in-a-hole

Back in April (around National Grilled Cheese Day), I meant to post about my grilled cheese egg-in-hole, which clearly didn't happen. I got distracted.. For three months.

So here is the story. I could not decide between breakfast and lunch. Grilled cheeses are one of my favorite foods, because it is hard to mess up and so so satisfying. All you have to do is make sure the buttered bread is perfectly toasted and the oozy cheese covers the entire surface of the bread. Whenever I'm feeling a little breakfasty (definitely not a real word), a fried egg always hits the spot. So putting the two together just seemed to make the most sense. God, I love when I'm right. It was brunch perfection.

Grilled Cheese Egg-In-A-Hole
Yields one sandwich

INGREDIENTS
2 slices of bread
2-3 slices of cheese (I use cheddar)
1 egg
2 Tbsp butter (more or less depending on preference)
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat skillet on medium to medium high heat. Place 1 Tbsp butter into the pan with one slice of bread. 
2. Cut the slices of cheese into thirds and assemble around the slice of bread, making not cheesy square I the center of the bread. Cover with other slice of bread.
3. Cook until cheese is melty and bread is toasted to liking on the one side, about 2 minutes. 
4. Flip sandwich over and 1 Tbsp of butter to pan so the other side can get buttery and toasty. Cook for about 1 minute on this side. 
5. With a cookie cutter or small glass (with about 2 1/2-inch diameter), cut a circle in the center of the grilled cheese.
6. Crack the egg into the center of the hole. Add a little more butter before cracking the egg into the pan if not using a nonstick skillet or just want to be safe.
7. Cover and cook egg until set to liking.
8. Slide sandwich onto a plate. Add salt and pepper to taste. Eat and enjoy!

cheddar and chive buttermilk scones

Okay. Storytime. So, when people don't know what the hell to buy me for my birthday, Christmas, etc etc.. I almost always receive a cookbook. And since I spend all my free time in the kitchen, I can see why I'm just so easy to please. But out of all the cookbooks I've accumulated over the years, my sister seems to find me the best ones. She actually puts in a lot of time researching and reading reviews beforehand. It's thoughtful and--I'm almost positive-- a giant hint she wants me to make all that stuff for her.

One of the most recent cookbooks from my sister, Tartine, is a must-have.. at least for me. The recipes from this San Francisco based bakery are not only diverse but doable. And for those less interested in the actual recipes themselves, this gorgeous hardbound book would look sensational on a coffee table.

I've been dying to make scones, because I'm always interested in making something new. When I was strolling through Trader Joe's the other day, I intentionally picked up buttermilk, a block of sharp cheddar, and chives knowing I had to be on this mission.

Note: When attempting to make something for the first time, always have a good standby guide on hand. In this case, mine was the Tartine cookbook. Although their dessert buttermilk scone recipe wasn't quite what I had in mind, it's all about adapting... And I happen to adapt well.

Cheddar and Chive Buttermilk Scones
Adapted from Tartine // Elizabeth M. Prueitt & Chad Robertson
Yields 12 scones

INGREDIENTS
4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 cup + 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, very cold
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar + more for sprinkling
1/4 cup chopped chives

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Then add sugar and salt and stir with wooden spoon.
3. Cut cold butter into 1/2-in cubes and scatter over dry ingredients. Use a pastry blender to cut butter into dry ingredients until it's a coarse mixture with visible pea-sized lumps of butter.
4. Add buttermilk, cheddar and chives all at once to the mixture. Stir gently with the wooden spoon. Continue mixing until dough comes together-- add small amount of buttermilk at a time if the dough is too dry. 
5. Turn dough onto work surface lightly dusted with flour. Shape into a rectangle about 18 inches long, 5 inches wide, and 1 1/2 inches thick. 
6. With a sharp knife, cut into 12 triangles and place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. 
7. Brush the tops of the triangles with melted butter (you will need about 2 Tbsp). Sprinkle extra shredded cheddar on top (optional).
8. Bake in preheated oven for 25-35 minutes until the tops are lightly browned. Remove from oven and serve right away.

Crisp on the outside and SO fluffy, flaky, and tender on the inside. It really is everything a savory scone should be. The end.

cheddar jalapeno bagels w/sun-dried tomato + herb cream cheese spread

I'm not sure what planet I've been on lately. Perhaps one where I'm too busy spending all my money and forgetting I have a blog to tend to or something. My bad.

But to make it up to you (by you I mean whatever loyal, occasional, or drive-by followers I may have), I will share this recipe. Bagels. Wait, let me rephrase that. Cheddar jalapeno bagels. Wait wait, there's more. Sun-dried tomato and herb cream cheese. Oh yes, this is next level Sunday Brunch. Whip up a mimosa with this and you're good to go. Okay, allow me to introduce you to a flavor explosion..

Cheddar Jalapeno Bagels
Yields 8 Bagels

INGREDIENTS
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 1/2 Tbsp white granulated sugar
2 tsp (1 packet) active dry yeast
1/4 cup room temp water
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup diced jalapenos (I eliminated the ribs and seeds of the jalapeno to keep the bagel itself pretty mild)
1 egg, lightly beaten
topping: extra shredded cheddar cheese, jalapeno slices (for the slices I cut straight down into the ribs and seeds which will add a spicy kick to the top)

DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together bread flour and salt. Set aside.
2. In a liquid measuring cup with lukewarm water, dissolve sugar. Then add yeast. Do not stir. Allow yeast to bloom-- this will take about 5-7 minutes.
3. Once yeast has bloomed, make a well in the dry ingredient mixing bowl. Gradually add water and yeast mixture into the well. Use a fork to incorporate the dry with the wet. At this point, it will look kind of shaggy and super dry. 
4. Turn out the dough onto a flat surface. Begin kneading the dough. Add some of the reserved room temp water to help moisten the dough if necessary. I ended up using about 1/4 cup, but add more or less as needed. Knead for about 7-8 minutes until the dough is relatively smooth and elastic. If you punch your finger into it, the dough should spring back. At this point, slightly flatten the dough, add diced jalapenos and shredded cheddar cheese to center. Fold the dough over and knead everything together for a couple more minutes until it looks like the jalapeno pieces and cheese are distributed well.
5. Dust out any leftover dry that may have stuck to the sides of your medium mixing bowl. Lightly grease that same bowl with olive oil. In order to avoid over-greasing, I pour just a little bit onto my fingertips, then spread into the bowl.
6. Place the dough back into the greased bowl and allow to rise for about 1 hour in a warm spot. It's ready when it looks like it has doubled in size.

7. Dust a little bread flour onto your flat surface. Flip the dough out of the bowl. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. The best way to do this is to cut it like a pie.

8. Shape each section into a round ball. Use your finger to make a hole in the middle. Then set aside onto a large parchment-lined baking sheet. Allow the shaped bagels to rest on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes. 

9. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
10. In a large pot of boiling water, boil the bagels--about 45 seconds to 1 minute on each side. You can boil the bagels in batches depending on the size of your pot. I was able to fit about 3 or 4 at a time. Remove the bagels from the boiling water and set back onto the parchment-lined baking sheet.

11. Brush an egg wash (the light beaten egg) onto the tops/sides of all the bagels. Add extra shredded cheddar and sliced jalapenos to the tops (I might have also added a little Parmesan also because I was low on cheddar.)

12. Bake for 20 minutes until the tops are golden brown.

Sun-Dried Tomato and Herb Cream Cheese Spread

INGREDIENTS
8oz. regular cream cheese spread (full fat, low fat, whatever you deal with)
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp roughly chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp roughly chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp + 2 tsp chopped sun-dried tomatoes, drained

DIRECTIONS
1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix together well with a spatula.
2. Once all the ingredients are evenly combined, use the spatula to transfer the cream cheese mixture to a nice dipping bowl. Or do as I do-- throw it all back into the cream cheese container. Top with extra chopped herbs and/or sun-dried tomato if you like.
3. Done! Put the lid back on the cream cheese container and refrigerate any leftover.

 I really need to start hosting Sunday Brunch..

.. because, seriously, this platter is so share-worthy.
I had brunch by myself but that's okay. It was still scrumptious. Totally hit the spot. Nom.

 

(p.s. do you see that melted cheddar in the middle?! ^^ YUM.)