Eggs Blériot

I named this after this guy!



This is a really aesthetically pleasing brunch dish--the bright green avocado, yellow yolk, and pinky-brown salame look beautiful together--and the rich flavors are tres magnifique. This is a nice dish to impress the ladies, or the parents, but make sure you practice poaching the eggs beforehand--it's tricky!

2 eggs
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 tablespoons salt
1 avocado, halved
2 paper thin slices Fra'Mani Salami Nostrano (this is a veeeery fancy dry salame (it runs about $20/lb at Fairway) you can substitute with Genoa salame or even sopressata if needed, but american "salami" is a big no-no)
french baguette
salt and pepper, to taste

Slice two wedges from the baguette and place them side by side on a plate. Place a half of the avocado upside down on each wedge. Dash them with salt and pepper, and then place the salami on top. (That was the easy part)


Poaching the eggs is the trickiest part of this dish. The most important part is to ensure the entire egg stays intact, so poach them one at a time. Fill a deep saucepan about 1/4 of the way with water. Stir in the vinegar and salt. Crack an egg in a bowl--don't mix it! Wait until the water is at a rapid boil, then turn down the heat until it is barely moving. Take a wooden spoon and stir until the water forms a vortex. With your other hand, pour the egg in to the middle of the whirlpool, and simultaneously, STOP stirring and slide the egg in to the center of the vortex. This technique (plus the salt and vinegar) helps the egg to stay together. This takes some finesse so be prepared to have some practice eggs. When the egg is fully poached (between 3.5 to 4 min), the white will be solid with a runny yolk.

Finally, take caution when transporting the egg to the plate--you don't want to break the yolk, or drip water everywhere! Use a food or tea strainer to carefully cradle the egg and release excess liquid.

Girlie Strawberry Cocktail

I made this about an hour ago, imagine Sixteen Candles in a glass.

1 part Strawberry Smirnoff
5 parts Cranberry juice
Whole frozen strawberries

Mix the booze and the juice in a cocktail glass. Use the strawberries instead of ice cubes. They're real tasty (and kind of sexy) to munch on later.

Zucchini Soup with Basil

This is a classic summer soup. The recipe comes from my mom, and although she prefers to serve it warm, I really like it chilled. Following this is a recipe for croutons that taste great with the soup.

3 T. margarine (or unsalted butter for the purists)
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
3 celery ribs, diced
1 med. onion, minced
1 bay leaf
½ t. chopped thyme leaves
11/2 pounds small zucchini, cut into ½ inch pieces
3 c. chicken broth (vegetable broth will work too)
salt and pepper
8 small basil leaves


In a large heavy saucepan, melt the margarine in the olive oil. Add the celery, onion, bay leaf and thyme and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft (about 20 minutes). Increase the heat to moderate, stir in the zucchini and broth, season with salt and pepper and simmer the soup until the zucchini is soft (about 10 minutes). Don't forget to toss the bay leaf before blending!

Puree the soup in a blender (in small batches) until smooth. Return the soup to the saucepan and reheat gently, Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with croutons, tomatoes, or basil leaves.

Vegan Basil Croutons

These croutons are great with salad, but we made them especially for the Zucchini Soup with Basil.

Tip: Trader Joe's, Arnold's, Whole Foods, and Cobblestone Farms make vegan country-style loaves.

2 T margarine
1/3 cup basil leaves, finely chopped
Two ½ inch thick slices country bread cut into ½ inch dice

In a large skillet, melt the butter over moderately high heat. Stir in the chopped basil, then add the bread cubes and toss to coat with the butter. Season the bread cubes with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes, or until the bread cubes are lightly toasted and crispy. Transfer to a paper-towel covered plate to absorb excess oil.

Summer Pasta

I made this in August on a rather hot afternoon. Hot dishes are okay in the summer as long as they have light and bright flavors (and the nice yellow and green colors in this recipe are nice too). I had this with a pretty mild white wine, but Bekim thought a summer ale goes nice too. This pasta is vegetarian (take the cheese out and it will be 100% vegan), but it is also nice (and more filling) with grilled chicken strips mixed in.

Summer Pasta

1lb fettucine pasta
1 yellow pepper
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1/2 onion
4 cloves garlic
8oz (small container) grape tomatoes
small ball fresh mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup white (preferrably) or red wine
olive oil


slice up all your vegetables nice and thin.
after you put the water on, start sauteeing the garlic, onions, zucchini and squash in olive oil. after they start getting soft in the center, add the yellow pepper. you want the other vegetables to be soft but the peppers should have a bit of a snap to them. add the red or white wine (i made it with red, but only because i was out of white, either is fine) and a bit of water. leave it uncovered, the liquids will reduce and will form a thin sauce. when the vegetables are almost done, throw in the grape tomatoes and cover. you want these to cook only slightly.

cook and drain the pasta and return to pot. add a little olive oil and throw in all the vegetables. tear up the fresh mozzarella in to bite sized pieces and throw them in. stir the pasta for about a minute until the mozarella melts and becomes a little stringy. add salt and pepper to taste, and serve with grated Romano cheese.

Huge Avocado and Bacon Sandwich

Avocado sandwiches are my favorite lunch food. I've been working on variations of this one the past couple days, this version is my favorite. All the flavors seem to meld together so well!

1 avocado, sliced
2 slices fried bacon (i used turkey bacon)
2 Campari tomatoes, sliced (Campari tomatoes are sweet and juicy, and are between grape and regular size)
2 slices Provolone cheese
2 slices artisan-style whole wheat bread, toasted
Goddess dressing (made with tahini, soy and chives! i like the Annie's brand)
black pepper to taste

i like to layer this sandwich as follows:

(bread)
goddess dressing
pepper
avocados
t.bacon
tomatoes
cheese
(bread)

Make sure you use big slices of bread, since this sandwitch can be rather slippery. It may be even easier to make this in a wrap-style. This is really good with kettle-cooked blue potato chips!

nom nom nom

I love to cook and eat! This is my new recipe blog, I hope you enjoy it!