Gordon Ramsay's Huevos!

Yes, today I'm talking about GR's eggs (not to be confused with anything else)! He calls them "Sublime Scrambled Eggs" and I'd have to agree. These are the best eggs I've ever cooked and, if I may brag, I've gotten pretty good at them.

On a recent trip to Ireland I realized how much I really like soft scrambled eggs but didn't really understand how to cook them that way. But GR has answered my scrambled egg prayers! Who knew that you'd really need a recipe for scrambled eggs, but I'm glad I found one. This has really changed my breakfast dining experience.

You start them in a cold pan, with cubed butter and stir them over the "lowest heat possible." According to Mr. Ramsay, they should start to scramble within 4 to 5 minutes. I did not find that to be the case. It was more like 20-30 minutes. Which makes me wonder- how hot is his lowest heat? The Brits must be cooking on hotter stoves than I am. So far it looks like all my GR recipes involve slow stirring on low heat.

Once the eggs finally start to scramble, you add more butter and créme fraíche and then garnish the final product with fresh chives. The chives are such a great touch! I really love the flavor they add. The only problem with chives is that you generally can only buy them in large bunches and you only ever need just a little bit. (What's that about, chive packaging companies? Maybe I'll get my own chive plant, like my friends Mandi and Craig had when I made these eggs for them on a weekend getaway to their neck of the woods!)


(Don't worry, for those of you who know I don't eat much meat- that's not real bacon in the photo.)

I've been so proud of these eggs, that I've just been making them for people as often as I can. After the weekend with Mandi and Craig, a bunch of us went out of state for our friends' wedding and I made a huge portion of eggs for the 6 of us staying together. It definitely took about an hour to cook these eggs, but they were delicious and everyone seemed to like them! (We felt very business like in our conference/dining room and came up with some brilliant solutions to all the world's problems as well as putting together an impromptu Madrigal performance for our friends' wedding reception that night. You should have seen it. I think there's video, actually).

The only draw back is the time it takes to cook them. Scrambled eggs are supposed to be quick and easy. So the last couple of times, I've cranked the heat up just a bit and when I see the eggs start to scramble, I take them off the heat (GR does tell you not to let them sit on the heat- maybe I'm just figuring out how to incorporate that technique) and I'm finding that this method works well at cooking the eggs faster but still giving you that creamy consistency. I also have omitted the butter, just for health reasons and only add the créme fraíche and chives if I have them.

This morning, with my sublime scrambled eggs and decaf coffee, I was reading "Julie and Julia" and I gotta tell ya, I'm really glad I'm not attempting Oeufs en Gelée any time soon. Look it up if you're curious.  

(Neither is that real bacon. The same fake stuff as before. It's actually not too bad).

Things I'm loving today

My roommate's new milk frother! It just makes breakfast time way more fun!

Gettin' My Grub On!

As you can probably tell from my last post, I like Gordon Ramsay. I've decided to start amping up my cooking skills by pulling a "Julie and Julia" and start cooking my way through GR's, "Gordon Ramsay Makes it Easy" cookbook. So far I've made three yummy recipes and have learned lots of things- like what arborio rice, shallots, and oyster mushrooms are. I'm also learning a bit more of the metric system, as he's included both the US standard of measurment and the practical one that the rest of the world uses.

So I shall take you on the journey of my first recipe: Risotto with Wild Mushrooms.

My first day of cooking actually began with the purchasing of GRMIE ("Gordon Ramsay Makes it Easy." Julie abbreviated "Mastering the Art of French Cuisine," so I figure I can abbreviate my cookbook as well). It was quite a lot of fun! I went to the Barnes and Noble on the Upper West Side after work and perused the cookbook section. I actually stumbled onto MtAoFC, flipped through it's massive weight and knew it wasn't for me. It was kind of like stumbling onto some ancient holy text.

I also picked up Alton Brown's latest book. I've always liked him. I remember being introduced to him in one of my video production classes in college. The professor used his TV show, "Good Eats" as an example of some cool camera shots and great production value. Plus he grew up in Georgia, like me.

And I learned that Kelis has a cookbook! Who knew? I wonder if there's a recipe in there for milkshakes...

I finally found the section I was looking for- cookbooks alphabetically arranged by author's last name. I found the GR section on the very bottom shelf, practically hidden behind a big beam. I was a little miffed by this blatant disregard for Mr. Ramsay, but I got over it and pulled out GRMIE (yes, it was my very first pick) and sat on the floor, leaned up against said beam, crossed my legs, as I am apt to do, and flipped through the pages.

(This was actually taken on the floor of the Barnes and Noble. Note the carpet a the top of the photo).

I found it to be quite easy to read, really liked the font and format and all the fun pictures! It also comes with a DVD that I have yet to watch. (Mainly because I am one of the most technically unsavvy 32 year olds I know and I don't know how to work the many different DVD/Playstation/Wii sources attached to our ginormous, fancy new TV. [Thanks Christine!]).

The next stop was the grocery store, as I'd already decided to make risotto. I have, in fact, made risotto twice before, having been inspired by "Hell's Kitchen." And, actually, the first page I opened the book to was the mushroom risotto- it was obviously meant to be. That's where I learned about the rice and the shallots and the mushrooms. Picture it- me, at prime grocery shopping time, in one of the smallest grocery stores I've ever been in, on the UWS, bustling with post-work suits (male and female suits), and me on my smart phone, with my NYC purse large enough to hold my work shoes and Krav Maga gloves and now, a Gordon Ramsay cookbook, looking up shallots, oyster mushrooms and the difference between chives and scallions.

(This is how I marked items off my shopping list. I took a pic of the book, then crossed items out with the editing function of my phone. Who says I'm not technically savvy??)

They fit a surprisingly large amount of food in that tiny, fancy, two story grocery store. The best part, though, was the check out. They have a separate line just for strollers. Then the rest of us go through the smallest amusement park-like line I've ever been in, complete with steel barriers to keep you in order. There's no way a stroller is fitting on that ride. (I really wanted to take a picture of this system, but I thought the people in line might not appreciate that).

I made it home with all my bags and cookbook and bottle of cheap cooking wine and got started! Risotto takes a little bit of time and I have always wondered how they made it in Hell's Kitchen in such a short amount of time- you have to slowly add broth to the rice and be constantly stirring it. Maybe one day GR will tell me his restaurant secret.

The final product was pretty yummy, if I do say so myself, although not as creamy as it looked in the photo. My roommates seemed to like it pretty well. But for this first recipe, I think I had the most fun shopping for the ingredients and learning all the new things I learned!

Next up: GR Sublime Scrambled Eggs.

Today's Top Ten
The Top Ten Things I love about Gordon Ramsay

10.

All those deep wrinkles in his face he doesn't seem to give a shit about.

9.

The way he says "risotto."

8.

How awesomely cute he is with kids.

7. 

His cookbook, "Gordon Ramsey Makes it Easy." 

6.

How brutally honest he is- whether your food is incredibly delicious or incredibly shitty.

(There don't seem to be any images online of Gordon being complimentary, which I think is unfair).

5.

How he says, "What is that??"

4.

His witty British sense of humor.

(I don't know if he actually said that.)

3.

His Instagram page.

2.

His passion for cooking. 

1. 

His passion for life.

It's been a while, but I'm back!

Hello blogger world!

It's been several years since I've posted and I've decided to start this up again. A lot has happened in the three years since my last post. For 14 months I was in an incredible, life changing relationship and now I'm not. There will be plenty of posts about that, I'm sure. I'm still living in NYC pursuing the artistic world in its various facets. I've started writing for my friend's magazine "Read Me," where I'm writing a series on finding happiness and joy. (This break up really did a number on me. I've found myself in the most depressed state of my life this past year, so I'm seeking happiness all over again.)

I'm in therapy now. I'm trying to figure out what it is exactly that I want to do and be and have. I'm not as happy-go-lucky as I used to be and I want to get that back. Re-reading my older posts really hit hard the difference between the person who I once was and the person who I have been for the past ten months. There are definitely big things that have changed, that have become truer than that girl who made some of those posts, but I also miss the care free, happy girl who enjoyed making her Top Ten lists.

I'm on a journey. A journey to healing. A journey to happiness. A journey to acceptance. And everyone keeps telling me it's not about the destination- it's about the journey. So if you care to take this trip with me, I welcome your support, your comments, or just your silent presence on my blog site.