A Visit From The Easter Pig - Scotch Eggs in Sauce Moutarde

I find it sad that the Easter Bunny gets so much press this time of year, yet nary a word to the children of America about the Jolly Easter Pig.   Maybe it's because the Easter Pig doesn't bestow copious amounts of tooth rotting candy upon the younger generation as the Easter Bunny does (oh yes, dentists laugh maniacally at this time of year)  The Easter Pig doesn't hide eggs all over the house in every nook and cranny (to be found 4 months later) either.  When the Easter Pig leaves his bundle of eggs, they are all safely tucked into the refrigerator.  Granted, he leaves annoying hoof prints on your sofa, but I feel this is a small price to pay for the Scotch Egg deliciousness that he has stowed in my ice box.

Yes, you read that right.  The Easter Pig doesn't leave colored eggs like the Bunny.  Oh No.  In magnanimous fashion, he deposits copious amounts of Scotch Eggs into the refrigerator.   ;)

mmmmm  Scotch Eggs, that delightful combination of a hard boiled egg wrapped in luscious sausage all breaded and then deep fried to a golden crunch.   Who needs chocolate eggs and jelly beans?  Not me!

So, Thank you Easter Pig!!!!

Image Courtesy of arjenfun.com

In all seriousness, the "Scotch Egg" is really nothing more than English "Pub Food".  But hey, Pub goers need to eat too.  Personally, I like them served with Sauce Moutarde that has been spiked with a little horseradish as well.  Yes, Easter morning fodder at it's best.  After all, one can only east so much egg salad.

I blogged about Scotch Eggs before (back in February of 2009) but I figured that since it's the season, I would bring them back again....  

Scotch Eggs

12 Hard Boiled Eggs (medium eggs work best, but large are fine too)
Flour
A zip bag
2 lbs of Pork Sausage
Beaten Egg (for dredging)
2 cups Bread Crumbs (I mix Panko and regular Bread crumbs)
2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
Peanut Oil
Sauce Moutarde (with HorseRadish)

I originally posted this as a recipe for 6 eggs, the only real difference is this a double batch.

Mix Bread crumbs with Nutmeg, Salt and Black Pepper.

Place 2 TB flour in a zipper bag, then coat your peeled and dried eggs with a light dusting of flour.

Divide you sausage into 12 pieces (about 3.25 oz) then wrap each egg completely in sausage.

Dip in beaten egg.

Roll in breadcrumb mixture.

When all the eggs have been wrapped and breaded, begin heating the oil in the deep fryer to about 350 degrees.
Drop 1 egg at a time into the hot oil and cook until golden brown.

Place on a layer of paper towels to drain and keep warm in a 175 degree oven while continuing to fry the remaining eggs.

Drop the temperature in the oven to 150 degrees (or just turn it off and leave the door closed) while you make.......

Sauce Moutarde

(with horseradish)

1/4 cup Egg Yolks - approximately 3 - 4 Large Egg yolks.
1 TB Water
1/2 Tsp Kosher Salt
1/4 Tsp Sugar
1/2 TB freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
20 TB Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 TB Horseradish
1 1/2 TB Dijon Mustard

Combine Yolks, Water, Kosher Salt, Sugar, Lemon Juice, and Cayenne in a bowl; whisking well.
Place this over gently simmering water and whisk until it becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Remove the bowl from the water and begin whisking in the butter in 1 TB chunks.

If the sauce cools to the point where the butter no longer melts into the sauce, place the bowl back over the simmering water to heat it back up.
When all the butter has been incorporated, whisk in the Dijon and Horseradish.

Pour into a pitcher that can be immersed in hot water to keep the sauce warm.

Slice Scotch Eggs and serve with the Sauce Moutarde on the side.

Mangia!!
~~

Homage to Julia Child - Oeufs en Croustades a la Béarnaise

There is really not a whole lot to say about this, except that I love poached eggs, I love toasty bread and I loved the movie, Julie & Julia. Since I have a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I went through the egg (oeuf) recipes. This one caught my eye... Although Julia's original recipe calls for a Béarnaise, my favorite sauce is Hollandaise. And Julia was very fond of changing her recipes. The book even offers myriad of combinations. So, in the spirit of Julia and all things improvised.....

Oeufs en Croustades a la Hollandaise

First the Sauce Hollandaise
OK, I need to be honest, this is not Julia's recipe, this is the way that I usually make it, because it seems to work best for me. It is slightly different than the 1/2 batch that I made for my Eggs Benedict Pizza. I do not normally use clarified butter, I use butter chunks, because they melt slowly, thus controlling the rate of liquid butter being added to the sauce and preventing 'breakage'.

1/4 cup Egg Yolks - This is approximately 3 - 4 Large Egg yolks (If 4 is a little over 1/4 cup, just use the 14 TB of butter)
1/4 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper -or- a Dash of Tobasco
12 - 14 TB Unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1 TB freshly squeezed Lemon Juice

Bring water to a simmer in a small sauce pan.

Whisk yolks, sugar, salt, and cayenne together.

Move everything to a stainless steel bowl and whisk until the yolk begin to pale & thicken slightly.

Place the bowl over barely simmering water and continue whisking until the mixture becomes smooth, creamy and thick enough to leave a clear line on the back of a spoon (Trace, in Soap-makers terms)

Do not heat the yolk mixture too much or you will end up with scrambled eggs; the proteins will re-bond with each other if the yolks get too hot.

Remove from heat and begin adding the butter 1 piece at a time, continuing to whisk until the butter has completely melted and emulsified before adding the next piece.

If your sauce begins to cool to the point that the butter is having difficulty melting and incorporating you can return the bowl briefly to the simmering water to warm the sauce again.

When all the butter has been added and the sauce is smooth, whisk in the lemon juice to loosen the sauce a little.

Place the sauce in a thermal carafe to keep it warm.

And unused sauce can be placed in a small bowl and refrigerated for up to 2 days, with Plastic wrap on the surface to prevent crusting.

Simply re-warm the sauce over gently simmering water, whisking constantly.

Toasts and the Poached Eggs
The above Hollandaise recipe is enough for 8 toasts and eggs, but since this was a late lunch for me, I made 3 for myself, and thankfully had hollandaise left over. Cause when it's cold, I like to spread it on toasted bread, instead of butter. I am only going to touch lightly on the poaching of eggs. I covered the process better in my Eggs Benedict Pizza post so I didn't take many pictures this time. Although the timing is important here as you want the toast to come out of the oven just after the the eggs are finished poaching and have drained slightly. So...

Place 2 inches of water in a saute pan or a deep skillet, add 1/4 cup vinegar and a pinch of salt, placing it over medium heat and bring to a simmer.

Crack eggs into little ramekins so they can be eased into the water; set aside and let them warm up a little to room temp.(I am using Jumbo eggs I picked up when I was on my way to Julian last weekend)... The one on the left is a large egg from Trader Joe's for comparison.

And how awesome!!! I got a double yolker!!!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice bread about 1 inch thick.

Julia removes the crust, so I did.

Using a fork, scrape out a hallow, stopping about 1/2 inch into the bread.

Brush all over with olive oil.

When the oven is heated and the water is simmering, place the bread in the oven for 8 -10 minutes.

Slide the eggs into the simmering water.
When the whites of the eggs are set, remove from water with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain slightly. Seasoning with salt and pepper to taste

Remove toasts from the oven and place on the serving plate, very carefully tucking an egg into the hallow. (I almost broke the middle one)

Pour or spoon Hollandaise over the top and garnish with paprika if desired. I was too hungry to bother....

I just dug into that golden deliciousness.

Mangia!!
~~

Eggs-periencing Divinity - Pizza alla Eggs Benedict

This will be my last pizza for awhile. Yes, the end, of the rather long process of consuming the pizza dough that I did not want to waste. As with any ending, it is usually fitting to produce what could be considered a finale. This is what I have chosen to conclude this romping through the halls of pizzadom.

My favorite breakfast food on the planet (and also great when one is slightly inebriated).

Eggs Benedict, Pizza Style!!!

I have made a few changes to the classic recipe, mainly due to the process that pizza must undergo to be properly cooked. A 500 degree stone is no way to poach an egg. Thus, I prepared my eggs ahead of time, and let them cool, so when added to the pizza they should simple re-warm and not actually cook, for solid yolks on poached eggs is not very desirable. Besides, what are you going to dunk your bits of pizza crust in?

I went for what was in my refrigerator, cause I did not want to stop at the store. I happened to have Hot Capicolla (Hot Copa) to function as my Canadian Bacon (Center cut Ham), but Bacon (pre-cooked), Pancetta (pre-cooked) or Black Forest Ham would be nice too.

I also changed my normal Hollandaise recipe. Normally I use cold butter to make Hollandaise, but I used melted butter this time in order to speed up the process a little.

The good news is that, unlike most of the other Pizzas I have been making over the last few days, THIS one actually has a recipe… So lets jump right in and start with the Hollandaise. OH Wait!!! First, put your stone in the oven at 500 degrees and start heating it.

OK, NOW lets start the Hollandaise... (This is actually enough Hollandaise for 2 pizzas, but I am a Hollandaise Fanatic, and I always over do it.) ;)

Hollandaise

2 Large Egg yolks
1 tsp Water
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp Sugar
1 TB freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper -or- a Dash of Tabasco
6 TB Unsalted Butter; Melted
Paprika, when Topping

Utilizing a glass bowl, whisk yolks, sugar, salt, cayenne and lemon juice together.
Melt the butter and make sure it is still hot.

Begin drizzling in the butter a little at a time, continuing to whisk until each addition emulsifies.

Pour finished Hollandaise into a squeeze bottle and place that in hot water to keep the sauce warm.


4 Poached Eggs - per pizza (although you CAN use only 3, it's up to you)

Place a deep skillet of water on the stove over high heat.
Once it begins to boil, add 1 tsp Salt and 1/4 cup vinegar, bringing back to a simmer.

Crack eggs into custard cups.
When water is simmering, slide the eggs from the cups into the hot water.

Cook until yolk is JUST beginning to thicken.

Remove with a skimmer to a paper towel lined plate and allow to cool - Be careful, I broke 1 of mine.


Preparing Pizza -

Press out a circle of dough to about 9 inches
Cover your peel with corn meal move crust to the peel. (shake the peel to make sure it moves)
Spread with 3 TB Hollandaise (I use a small frosting spreader for this)

Lay down about 5 pieces of Hot Capicolla, Ham, Canadian Bacon or your choice of cured meat.

Move pizza to your preheated stone and bake for 5 minutes.
Remove the par-baked crust and deflate any bubbles in the crust before placing the poached eggs on top. (Hit the eggs with a couple grinds of Black Pepper)

Return Pizza to the stone and bake an additional 3-4 minutes.
Remove from oven and squeeze warm Hollandaise over the eggs.
Sprinkle with Smoked Paprika, Sweet Paprika or even more Cayenne. (your choice)

Then move to a plate without cutting, this is definitely a Knife and Fork type Pizza.

NOW the best part, cut off a piece of the crust and poke it into one of the hot liquid Hollandaisey yolk...

MMMMMM.... Yes, at moments like this, I truly feel the presence of Divinity all around me.

Mangia!!
~~