The Little Paris Kitchen - Croque Madame Muffins

Thanks to my friend Ken in San Diego, I have a new favorite show on the Cooking Channel.  Rachel Khoo lives in a tiny flat in the Belleville district and turned her living room into the smallest restaurant in Paris.  She may only be able to seat 2 people at a time in her 21 square meter studio (that's 69 square feet) but she makes good use of her 2 burner "Coleman stove" and mini-convection oven.  I was terribly impressed as I watched her take on Boeuf Bourguignon.

I really get a kick out of what her kitchen looks like.  In many ways it reminds me of the kitchen in my last San Diego apartment.  In that respect, we are like kindred spirits.  Granted, I had a full sized refrigerator and a full sized range, unlike Rachel, but I think she has more actual counter space than I did.  All her pots and equipment hang from the wall, just like mine use to.  When you have no horizontal space, it's time to go vertical baby.  Luckily, my tiny kitchen had 9 1/2 ft ceilings, so there was a lot of vertical space to be had.  :)  If it hadn't been for the long florescent light fixture, I would have hung things from the ceiling on hooks too. 

Anyway, I really like some of the things I have seen from her so far, such as her method with Oeufs en Cocotte (eggs in pots), in which she replaces the Heavy Cream with Crème Fraîche and then tops the whole thing with Salmon Caviar (oh yeah!), and her Spring Lamb Stew with Mint sauce.  I don't mean like that awful mint jelly sauce either.  Her rendition is made with minced fresh mint.  Sounds delish to me.  The Molten Chocolate Cakes spiked with Salt Caramel made me laugh though, because I have been kicking that idea around in my head for the last couple of weeks, and then BAM!, there it is on her show.

But the one thing that REALLY caught my eye, of the 2 episodes I have seen so far, was her Croque Madame transformed into a muffin.  I know, right?  It's just plain crazy!  The famous sandwich gone rogue.  Now I must say, that when I saw her pull out the white bread, I cringed.  I simply cannot do white bread.  It's like gummy flavorless nastiness.  After I decided that I needed to try her recipe, I went to the store and attempted to make myself buy white bread.   Nope, I just couldn't do it.... I came close though.  I bought a nice loaf of the whole grain white wheat that had become so popular in the last few years.  At least it has a little more flavor and SOME nutritional value.  :)  The problem is, that flatter loaves like sour dough, rye and french won't really work.  In order to line the muffing tin properly you really need the square bread, and only mass produced non-french type breads come that way.  Think Franz, Wonder and Roman Meal.

I have made this twice so far... Yes, I saw the recipe on Friday and I made it both Saturday and Monday mornings for breakfast.  It really is THAT delicious.  But I have made a cheese change.  While a Croque Madame sandwich would normally be laced with Gruyere or Emmental, I have opted for Fontina.  I think it gives the Béchamel a little more zing and melts a little smoother than the other two.  Mind you, I am speaking of the more commonly available Danish Fontina (in the red or yellow wax) not the original Italian variety (Fontina val d'Aosta in the brown wax); though it would probably be even better. 

But enough jabber from me, breakfast isn't going to make itself.

Croque Madame Muffins

Adapted from Rachel Khoo

6 slices Whole Grain White Wheat Bread, crust removed
4 TB Unsalted Butter, melted
2 slices Deli Ham
6 medium Eggs (if using large eggs, you will have to loose some of the white)
1 TB Unsalted Butter
1 TB AP Flour
3/4 cup (200ml) Whole Milk
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of White Pepper
Pinch of Nutmeg
1 oz (30g) Fontina Cheese, grated - divided

First you must trim the crust from the squishy bread.

Take a rolling pin and squish them down to about half their original thickness.

Brush both sides of the bread with melted butter. (you should have a little left over)

Fit each piece into the holes of a muffin tin.

OK, now it's time to make Béchamel really quick, cause it will need to cool slightly.
So, place 1 TB Butter in a sauce pan set over medium flame, then add the flour and whisk until bubbly and slightly nutty smelling.

Add the milk and whisk until it begins to thicken.

Add Salt, Pepper and Nutmeg and cook 1 minute longer to ensure it is thick enough.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in half of the Fontina cheese (save the rest to top the muffins with)

Once the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth, set aside and begin preheating the oven to 350F (175C) degrees.
Place little bits of ham in the bottom of each cup.

Now crack a medium sized egg into each cup.  (if you are using large eggs, you will need to remove some of the white)

Spoon about 2 TB of Béchamel over each egg.

Sprinkle with remaining cheese, and brush the edges of the bread with any of the remaining butter.

Bake for 15 minutes for runny yolks or 20 minutes for "set" yolks.

Then remove from the pan with a small offset spatula, and dig into some creamy golden deliciousness.

Now THAT is how I like to start my morning.

Mangia!!
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Jammin Ham-n-Yams - Salty Sweet Potatoes

I have never been a fan of the Sweet Potato or what we mistakenly call a Yam here in the U.S. Real yams, genus Dioscorea, are rarely available in the US and grow up the 2.5 meters long and can weight 150 lbs. What we call a "Yam" in the US is actually a soft Sweet Potato, as opposed to firm varieties which are referred to as, well, "Sweet Potatoes", both of which are of the same genus (Ipomoea) as your garden variety Morning Glories.

I'll admit it, I have sugar "issues". It’s more or less true, I guess. I don't really care for sweet stuff, (no I am not an alien from another planet) opting more overtly for all things sour, bitter, umami (savory) and salty. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a nice bite of Devil’s Food cake, a tiny sliver of Pecan Pie, or a couple bites of Crème Brûlée. Even though I joke about sitting in a corner with a jar of Nutella and a spoon, the truth of the matter is... Well, yes, it tastes delicious but I actually overload on sweet, for lack of a better term, after 1 or 2 bites even though I would LOVE to eat more... I just can't...

Therein lays my distaste for all things of the sweet potato persuasion. ESPECIALLY that Thanksgiving train wreck called “Candied Yams”, as if the things aren't sweet enough already, let’s just add Brown Sugar… And worse... MARSHMALLOWS. (shudder) Yes, that is what every T-Day tuber needs, sugar flavored whipped gelatin melted over the top... (Sorry, I really do hate them - I can't help it)

BUT <--- Please note that this is a big “but” ;) I do love things that balance Sweetness and Saltiness… I seem to have a higher tolerance for “the sweet stuff” when it has the ability to double as “the salty stuff”. Case in point --- Salt caramels, can’t get enough of them… Pay Day candy bars – AWESOME! Chocolate Covered Bacon, Apples and Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Parmegiano-Reggiano drizzled with Honey, Potato Chip Cookies, Screamin’ Yellow Zonkers, Prosciutto Wrapped Almond Stuffed Dates, Musk melon wrapped in Prosciutto… WAIT!!! Hold up! Those last two items… Hmmmmmmm Yep, that was the answer, and I would not have thought about it if it hadn’t been for Matt74 on BakeSpace and his awesome Prosciutto wrapped Fingerling Potatoes. Which I did make, as a side dish for Cambazola Stuffed Pork Loin, and I absolutely loved them. Well Heck, If you can wrap a Fingerling Potato, then why not wrap a Sweet Potato? So I hunted down some baby sweet potatoes. Trader Joe’s delivered yet again. Most Excellent!!

Prosciutto Wrapped Baby Sweet Potatoes

Baby Sweet Potatoes
Prosciutto Slices
Olive oil
Cracked Black Pepper
Ground Cinnamon (Oh yeah baby!)

I only did a few cause, like bacon, once prosciutto has been “cooked” it doesn’t reheat well.

Preheat the oven to 375

Simply peel the Sweet Potatoes and rub then with olive oil, then sprinkle with cracked Black Pepper and Cinnamon.

Wrap each Sweet Potato in 1 slice of Prosciutto and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet

Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the ends are easily pierced with a fork. (I cooked mine for 25 minutes, which was a little too long)

Serve warm, and enjoy… I sure did, I ate all 5 of them… They were delicious, and the cinnamon really highlighted the flavor, I don’t think I had ever noticed that sweet potatoes have an almost cinnamon quality to their flavor. It’s amazing what you discover about something once the overwhelming sweetness of sugar & marshmallows is removed.

I actually LIKE Sweet Potatoes… Who’d a thunk it? Certainly not me!! Now I am wondering how mouthwateringly delectable they might be is simply sliced and sautéed in butter or olive oil with just a little salt and pepper? OK, maybe more than just a little salt… :) AWESOME!!!

Mangia!!
~~

A Plethora of Pizza

I love pizza … Heck who doesn’t? Especially h o m e m a d e pizza….

Yeah now THAT’S what I am talkin bout!! Super thin, crisp and slightly charred on the bottom. With JUST the right amount of cheese, not enough to throw you into a pizza coma like so much Thanksgiving dinner.

I had decided that it might me fun to throw a little pizza party for my godson in Palm Springs since he is getting old enough to seriously get his hands dirty in the kitchen without the constant worry of hot pots and sharp knives in little hands. So since I was going out to visit one weekend, I made a double batch of dough (see Roasted Potato and Pancetta Pizza) and headed to the desert with my peel, stone, cornmeal and a million toppings so everyone could make their version of the ultimate pizza.

OK, now something that had not occurred to me, since I am usually the one making the pizza FOR people… When you have 5 people all making pizza, it creates a HUGE mess that must be cleaned up. HA!

Everyone has an absolute blast though. Sam, in particular, enjoyed himself immensely, especially the pressing out of the dough.

I was so busy shoveling pizza in and out of the oven that I only got 1 picture of an actual BAKED pizza resting on one of Steph's Pampered Chef stones to cool slightly before cutting.

This was Andy's pizza (above) - Red sauce, pepperoni, Salami, Mushroom, and Black olive; With Fresh Mozzarella and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Sam constructed his pizza with Red Sauce, Salami, Pepperoni, Mushrooms, Black Olives, 1 Basil leaf and Parmigiano-Reggiano - With some Herbes de Provence sprinkled on top... (Gourmet Child I must say)

While his father, Alex, went the Hawaiian route with Red Sauce, Ham, Pepperoni and Pineapple with Shredded Dry Mozzarella.

Stephanie, ever daring and always the individual, was the only pesto'ed pizza. Pesto genovese, Tomato, Salami, Mushrooms, Black Olive, Basil leaf, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino Romano and Fresh Mozzarella with Pine Nuts.

While I stayed within my flavor range with only slight enhancements spurred by Stephanie's reckless abandon with her toppings. Olive Oil, Tomato, Mushroom, Basil and Fresh Mozzarella with a sprinkle of Pine Nuts and a touch of Pecorino Romano, lots of Cracked Black Pepper and a tiny sprinkle of Smoked Salt.

I love getting Sam involved in cooking at such an early age. Showing him how easy it really is. He is always so proud of himself while he is eating it. It gives him a sense of accomplishment. I love creating memorable childhood moments for him. If a little self confidence comes along with that, then so much the better.

I hope he will cherish these times as I do my own memories of my grandmother and mom and the fantastic smells and flavors that issued forth from the kitchen. Getting involved in things like cutting sugar cookies, decorating gingerbread houses at Christmas, rolling meatballs, making cinnamon ornaments, spooning divinity onto wax paper as quickly as possible before it dried rock hard and crosshatching the peanut butter cookies with a fork.

Those are some of my most vivid childhood memories; those spent with loved ones in the kitchen… I don’t see my godson as often as I would like. He lives 2 ½ - 3 hours away now that I have had to move back to San Diego. So when I get to visit, it MUST be a quality visit.

Peace
~~