Fried egg quesadilla heaven

I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to do justice to this little slice of heaven... but I'm going to give it a try! I swear this came to me in a dream, maybe, or in the shower? Anyway, it was percolating around in my brain for awhile and finally I thought I might as well just start experimenting... a few go-rounds with a fry pan and a few eggs later, and I think I'm ready to share my new favorite.

So I start with two white corn tortillas and some no-stick spray on the skillet.

Lay one tortilla in the sprayed pan and warm a bit. Sprinkle some cheddar around the outside of the tortilla, in a ring around the edge, to hold the egg in place. Once the cheese has melted a bit, break an egg into the middle.


Let the egg cook a bit (1-2 minutes), sprinkle a litle more cheese over the egg and then place another tortilla on top; then flip the quesadilla.

Once both sides are browned and the egg is the desired "doneness," it's ready to go. (I have returned a quesadilla or two to the pan upon learning it was too gooey for my taste. I like my egg a bit runny, but not too runny... a bit of a science to it, but I've learned as I've gone along.)

One hand on the quesadilla, one hand on the camera, here we go! You get the idea, right? Yum.

A quick Google search only returned scrambled egg quesadillas. Hmm. No so much. That's a bit too much like a breakfast burrito... fine in it's own way, but no fried egg quesadilla! Do you think I might have actually invented something? That would make my day. Especially since it's something that's so yummy, I think I ate it almost every night for a week not that long ago... sad but true. I have yet to talk my nightly dinner companions into it, they look at me a little like I'm headed for the Cocoapuffs, but maybe one of these days...

Friday night grateful moment

Life is good! Another mellow day in the country... home tomorrow by dark or so. Even though we just had that special day yesterday chock-a-block with thankfulness and football and naps, I should be able to dredge up a few extra things I'm thankful for...

*Thankful for the wide open spaces. The dogs have had such a wonderful time running to and fro. There has been a great deal of gopher digging and mouse chomping and let's-get-as-muddy-as-possible (mostly Ruby). They run as far up toward the tree line as they can before we call them back. But even Ruby hasn't gotten lost-lost... I did have to holler quite mightily to call her back from chasing a deer into the next county this afternoon, though.

*Thankful for a boy who is willing to help out, and can kick in with a good attitude too if you ask just so (and he knows future computer time is hanging in the balance! Ah, motivation...).

*Thankful for yummy leftovers. I have had so many of those perfect bites--that amazing combination of turkey-stuffing-gravy-mashed potatoes-cranberry sauce-yams. I know it is startling to think that all those dishes could get on one fork and into my dainty mouth, but it happens. And it's heaven. (I almost took a picture of my plate yesterday as I was about to tuck into it, but then I thought, "Good grief, I don't want people to know how much I eat! It's a shocking amount!" and thought better of it. So you'll just have to trust me that it was divine.)

* Thankful for blue sky patches among the clouds, and temperatures that have been rather moderate. I guess I'm a wee bit sad that we haven't had snow, but the warmth has been welcome.

* Thankful for a couple more days of home-time.

* Thankful we can put the tree up on Sunday so it's ready to to be reclined around when the Goerlitz Jrs. come to town next weekend.

* Thankful I didn't go out Black Friday shopping... I mean, I went out, but to little shops in little Joseph... no wild crowd mongering for me. And extra thankful I'm not a Wal-Mart employee in Long Island, NY. (Aside: I don't usually watch a lot of commericals, as any TV I watch has been dvr'd (meaning zip-zip through ads, oh joy), and wow, did we get our fill of ads yesterday. Who exactly is out at 4 a.m. the morning after Thanksgiving? I can't remember which store was advertising this crack-o-dawn opening time, but I was particularly mystified by what exactly it is one needs that can only be gotten at 4 a.m.... I'm assuming it's something quite special that would be gone by, say, a normal 10 a.m. shopping spree?)

* On my outing, I was thankful to discover a very fun bath/body shop in town, with a day spa. Yipee. A girl needs her indulgences. I will remember that for future trips...

* And just so thankful for all the fun pieces that make up life--work, home, relax time, friends, family, food. Seth got a fun little lecture this morning about work, productivity/work ethic and what a big percentage of his life these endeavors will take up in the future. I feel lucky to have enjoyed almost all the work I've done in my adult life, and grateful to have had some of those suck-it-up jobs in my younger years to be able to know the difference.

* Thankful that this is my 4th Thanksgiving in Joseph--we somehow didn't quite make it over the year we got married ('05)! It's a wonderful place to retreat and come back refreshed to the world, ready for the holiday whirlwind. Whoosh--that was the sound of December going by!

Happy weekend, all. There were more pix I wanted to share, but this connection isn't about the uploading right now, so more later.

Top Chef, Season 5, Episode 3

Finally wrenched the laptop away from the 12-year-old clutches and can comment on the episode last night. I was planning to catch up via dvr over the weekend, but we clicked on Bravo at the right time and had all been sufficiently Mythbusted or Time Warp-ed out, and everyone was game. So I didn't get to pace and talk to the TV, but I did get commentary from the peanut gallery, so it all evened out.

We were a couple of minutes late to the show so I didn't see the name of the guest judge, and didn't immediately recognize him. I've read more about Grant Achatz than seen him, especially in regards to his cancer fight a year or so ago. But, major chops in the culinary world, and great to see him on Top Chef for the first time. We started watching just as the quickfire started, and I thought, "This seems really weird. Since when do they ever just cook a recipe?" And then. The twist. Happy me. I did also like that the winner of the quickfire wasn't in love with her ingredient... it's easy to cook when you adore an ingredient, but when you have to wrap your brain around something you're not so fond of, it's definitely more challenging. So kudos to Leah, who hasn't been one of my faves so far.

I liked the way the teams split--I would have picked just about everyone Leah did for her team! And nice name, too, with the Sexy Pants. But the Cougars had some strong contestants too. It was good to see Ariane redeem herself with the turkey. I thought they were setting her up for a total fall when she made that comment about not needing much time for the turkey since it was just a breast... I always underestimate the amount of time for just a turkey breast (as I did, indeedy do, once again today!). So my thought was she would bomb... but that is for a future show, I guess. (Can you tell I don't really see her in it for the long haul?)

I liked all the nasty situations that came their way, with the tiny ovens and microwaves, cooking outside and then the rain. (Kind of like real life in the catering world...) But poor little Jeff and his whineing about the terrible conditions that they had to cook in... Ha. I liked it, very much, when Tom just cut him off and said, you know, everyone had the same conditions, and go figure, they still won. Backing up to the decision of which team won, as the judges and the Foo Fighters were sitting around talking about it, the editors did a good job of cutting it to make it seem like it could have been either team. I wanted it to be Sexy Pants, but with the turkey being so good on the Cougar team... it was hard to call. And who knew vegan stuffing could get such rave reviews? I'll have to check that recipe out if they post it online, just to see their tricks.

Sad to see that it came down to dessert again. Not sure exactly what Jeff was thinking with layered pumpkin "foam" and berries; that just sounds bad. When the one Foo Fighter called it a "barfait" instead of a "parfait," we had a good little chuckle. And while the idea of the s'mores didn't sound too bad to me (although I'm hard pressed to name a dessert with bananas I like), it appeared to come down to execution, again. The Foo Fighters were just brutal with some of their judgements--was the vanilla foam on the s'mores like spit? Really? Just honest rocker folk, giving opinions.

I was disappointed that the judges didn't declare a winner on the winning team--usually when they have a team challenge, they still declare someone as most golden, winner of the winners. Not sure why that didn't happen. As for the losers, wasn't too surprised who it came down to. See, it really can end over that one bad dish. To go home over s'mores, really? How sad. But that sad, really? To cry? Hmmm. Other than Ariane and her tears of unworthiness last week, I don't think we've seen that much boo-hooing since our sweet crier in season 1, Dave...

And then there were 13. Still kind of early to put hard money down, but I'm quite fond of our two Europeans and Carla and Jamie... also, I really like Gene's spunk--how about that homemade grill for his pork? But for the long haul, I'm not sure he has it. Time will tell. And I'm happy to watch, every step of the way!

Future related topic: Top Chef's ever-expanding world of endorsements... I wouldn't have an opinion about that, would I?

Happy Thanksgiving!

I haven't done a lot of research into recipes for moose steak... is that a done thing? Canadians, weigh in here... I just couldn't resist the sentiment in this sign.

We left the dense fog of Walla Walla this morning and rose out of the mist by the top of Tollgate, and enjoyed sunshine all the way over to the Wallowas. In quiet and peaceful Joseph, Oregon, it is cool (well, cold, really!) but clear. As I write this the night before Thanksgiving, it is 25 degrees F and going down. Nice to be in by the fire...

Internet connection is much more sketchy than planned, so we'll see what, if anything, gets posted the next few days... I take it as a sign to unplug for a minute or two, or at least just catch up on every gadgety show known to man on the Discovery channel! I sense a Mythbusters Thanksgiving Day marathon...

Wishing everyone, near and far, a very happy Thanksgiving. We all have so very much to be thankful for, today and every day. Again with the royal "we," but I feel confident that if you're reading this, then you probably are also clothed (I don't want to know about your nekid blog surfing, if that's the case...), fed, warm and dry and have confidence that tomorrow will bring more of the same. Right there, count your blessings. That's a gentle suggestion, not quite the order it sounded like...

Peace and joy, turkey and stuffing too!

Does it get any better than this? Why yes, Virginia, it really does! Leftovers!

Yesterday was our 3rd anniversary, and we wanted to celebrate quietly at home--it had been a long day for both of us and we were looking forward to putting our feet up and catching up on Jack Bauer's latest adventures. Alas, I'd forgotten how brutal 24 can be...

So, I needed some comfort food to go with the drama. We both wanted pasta, and I made a very meaty non-meat marinara for Alan, and went straight to the hard stuff (alfredo) for myself. I have not made anything with full-fat dairy in a very long time, and I will blame the Warm Bunny herself for dragging me back with her green bean gratin recipe. I bought some heavy whip to make a butternut squash gratin for Thanksgiving, and knew I could spare a little for some pasta love.

Here's my standby alfredo. I have made this recipe (times 50) for really big crowds, and it works well to multiply. It is very much a keeper, even if the times between making it need to stretch out further and further as the years go by...

Happy Anniversary Alfredo:

2 T. unsalted butter

1/2 c. cream

1 egg yolk

1/4 c. parmesan

salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the cream and simmer. Briefly beat the egg yolk before adding to the cream, stir in the parmesan and warm through. Toss with pasta and devour. Last night I added about 3/4 cup chopped basil, 1/4 cup pinenuts and a generous handful of parmesan. Oh my.

Now very tradtional alfredo won't have the egg yolk, but I'm not a big purist on this, and find it is a good addition without getting too rich. Or so I remembered...

This is NOT an everyday meal. No way. About six mouthfuls in, I was a little overwhelmed with the richness. So my compromise was to add some of Alan's lovely red sauce to it (see below), which cut the richness a bit and I was able to soldier on! I didn't actually make it through my bowl... but I DID rewarm the leftovers for lunch today, and it was even better than last night. If possible.

Yum. Scrum. Love. Pasta. Love. Husband. Happy. Anniversary.

Holiday photo shoot, with few pictures

It was quite a day, last Wednesday. But the pictures (mine, at least, I trust the actual photographers did much better!) don't do it justice, even close. I think it was the waking at 3 a.m.--at least, that's the best I can think of... I was sleep deprived... yeah, that's it.

Anyway, we set up for Christmas first (above), and then ran through Thanksgiving (below, before we set it up all pretty-like). It was fun, kind of like catering in that it moved really quicky and time passed in a flash. Mostly I was pretty pleased with how golden I got the turkey. When you don't have to think about drying it out, is it done? isn't it done? you can just think about the color and crank the oven heat up and go!

One of the fun parts of the set-up was accummulating garnishes for the turkey. In "real life" I am just pleased to get the turkey to the table. But for photographic purposes, I referred to various publications like MS Living, Sunset, Gourmet and Bon Apetit, etc. The settings they featured ranged from quite rustic and bare to very elaborate. I aimed for middle of the road, and let the art directors pull off the platter any items they thought didn't work.

For the Christmas setting, I used sage and rosemary tucked in to the neck area, and bay leaves around the bottom, with halved little key limes and tamarillos and fresh cranberries for red accents (you can see that in the top picture--the tamarillos are the roma tomato-like fruit; I'd never used them before, and they were very pretty). For the Thanksgiving setting I used roasted garlic heads, halved lemons, mandarines and key limes, with lime leaves around the bottom. Oh and persimmons! It had a nice fall feel to it. The picture below is the Thanksgiving turkey garnish, just hanging out and waiting for the turkey...

All in all, a productive day! Next time, though, I will do better at getting some shots of the action...

What the guys need for Thanksgiving dinner

So it's just going to be the three of us for Thanksgiving, which essentially means we can have whatever we want. Not like we don't usually have whatever we want, but somehow, not having guests feels wild and crazy, like we could order pizza or make tacos. Well, that's not happening. I need the stuffing and mashed potatoes (turkey is somewhat optional), but truly, it's about the leftovers. There is nothing on earth like Thanksgiving leftovers all weekend... you have the freedom to pile your plate with whatever strikes your fancy, and who has room for salad?

So in the planning, silly me, I thought I'd open it up for discussion. All went well until we started talking dessert...

Here are the current requests from the men:

Turkey

Stuffing (no fruit and barely any nuts, please, say the boys: see below)

Mashed potatoes

Peas for Alan, green beans for Seth, butternut squash for me

Gravy

Cranberry sauce for me, and me alone.

Rolls with butter

Some sparkly fizzy thing to drink

Dessert... Lemon meringue pie. What? Can you hear that sound of a record player's needle being ripped off a record mid-song? Does that seem even remotely right? This is going to need some serious discussion between now and next Thursday. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm angling for apple pie. I could even be persuaded toward pumpkin, but I'm really not in the mood. Or, maybe, like the vegetable, there will be a different dessert for each of us. That's happened before... (hee hee, I'll make mine, and buy theirs. They'll never know. Oh stop that with the horrified gasps.)

This whole discussion reminds me of a negotiation that took place recently in San Luis Obispo, Calif. A couple, who shall remain nameless, was discussing the upcoming holiday and their menu options. The lovely husband put in a request for fruit-less stuffing. Lovely wife, stunned yet confused, agreed.

What is it about guys and fruit? I've already referenced this dilemma in regards to salads... but apparently it crosses course-boundaries and now applies to stuffing as well. My advice, which the aforementioned wife already had well in hand, was to make the plain, boring stuffing, and separate the batch, jazzing up the concoction with her fruits and nuts, and thus, pleasing all. Or, like me, she could make hers and buy his! Ha. She's probably a much better wife than that (ie me)!

All this menu planning reminds me of a particular Thanksgiving celebrated at my brother and sister-in-law's, a gathering of friends with family too far-flung to make a turkey trek. Anyway, we all contributed various aspects to the meal and one dish from a friend-co-worker of my brother's was a quite-horrifying dressing/stuffing. It was a family recipe, we were told, of an all-meat "stuffing." I had never heard of anything like this. Growing up in a very bread-oriented household, it was quite unthinkable that the stuffing not consist mostly of bread (we don't really quibble over whether it's sourdough, cornbread or someother bready substance). A little internet sleuthing later, and apparently it's not that uncommon; I think the origins are originally French and trickled down to New England via the French Canadians. Just one more thing to thank them for: cretons! Luckily, neither of my men a) like meat THAT much and b) even know that the possibility of an all-meat stuffing exists. We'll keep it that way.

I'll keep you posted on dessert. And I'm open to ideas... anyone got anything for me?

Friday night grateful moment

Ah, finally, here we are at the end of the week. And I have finally given in and accepted that we ARE indeed at the week before Thanksgiving, and thus, at the tipping point into the holiday season. It seems to have come along extra-quickly this fall.

But at least we get the weekend to pause... and be thankful... for:
* Seth found one of his missing coats today. This is truly something to be grateful for. He's having a hard time keeping track of all his many accessories in his new-ish, bigger school, with no locker.
* A happy 3rd wedding anniversary to look forward to on Monday. Three wonderful years!
* Still having some lovely fall days, even though they end (in darkness) too soon.
* The prospect of Christmas on Mayne Island has us all quite happy. Ferry boat!
* Thanksgiving leftovers--not too early to start looking forward to those!
* I am thankful for good health, and some really decent nights of sleep this week (after the way-too-early wake up Wednesday a.m.!). But I haven't gotten run down or a cold yet this season (knock on wood, throw back a little echinacea), and it's been going around something fierce.
* A capella music. My newest little obsession, after falling in love with some songs off a mix from a friend. It is amazing what voices can do. Now, if only mine would... ha! Maybe not having that makes me appreciate it more in others? Yeah, that's it. Sure.
* Work ended on a good note. Slightly hopeful going into the coming week. (Knock on wood again.)
* Friendship, in all its many forms, and all the ebbs and flows over the years; it's wonderful to have people to count on, and to be that person others can count on too. New friends and old, and newly-connected-old-friends, I do treasure.
* My grateful list would not be complete this week without cheese. Had the most amazing lunch at a new-ish local place today, Brasserie 4, and had a wonderful curry cocount chicken soup and eggplant, zucchini and blue cheese pizza. Grateful for all good flavors!

Here are a couple of fun ads for your viewing pleasure. Sony has come up with quite a few in this vein; these two are my favorites. Wishing all a peaceful and joyous weekend!

Tag, you're it!

This is the second alphabet tag-thingy I've done today. Must be all the rage with the kids these days. Anyway, it is supposed to help you know me better. But my bet is that if you're reading this, you knew all of this already... tell me if I'm wrong.

A-Attached or Single: Attached
B-Best Friend: My husband
C-Cake or Pie: Pie, probably fruity with a crumble topping and ice cream.
D-Day of Choice: Saturday
E-Essential Item: moisturizer
F-Favorite Color: green, always green
G-Greatest Accomplishment: my son, Seth
H-Hometown: Walla Walla, WA. I've been here so long, it's home.
I-Indulgences: music, clothes, food
J-January or July: July
K-Kids: Sweet 12 year old, Seth
L-Life is incomplete without: Food
M-Marriage: Yes, if that's what you want.
N-Number of Siblings: one brother in Seattle.
O-Oranges or Apples: Apples. Braeburn, Fuji or Honeycrisp
P-Phobias or fears: Everything moving by too quickly.
Q-Quotes: "Is it true that radical ideas threaten institutions and then in turn become institutions who reject radical ideas?" I'm sure it's not his, but my dad used to say that a lot when I was growing up. I like a lot of quotes, that one just came to mind quickly.
R-Reason to Smile: Thanksgiving is coming.
S-Season: Fall.
T-Tag Friends: I'm tagging everyone. I want to hear from you!
U-Unknown facts about me: I have a hard time thinking of things I haven't shared. It's making me feel like I should be more private... ha ha, that actually made me laugh. Well, chuckle anyway.
V-Very favorite store(s): Amazon.com, Nordstrom, iTunes store. Remember, I live in a retail desert. I have to make the most of online opportunities...
W-Worst habit: Currently, not exercising enough and eating too much cheese. I'd feel bad about it if it weren't so dang yummy.
X-X-ray or Ultra Sound: Whatever the situation calls for.
Y-Your favorite food: Too many to name. But probably more often than not it's cheese.
Z-Zodiac: Scorpio

So fill me in on you... please. Which rhymes with cheese. Have I mentioned cheese lately? I had that eggy quesadilla thing again tonight. It was even better than last night. And I took pictures, though I must say it tastes better than it looks in the picture... So post will follow.

Top Chef, Season 5, Episode 2

OK, here we are at Episode 2 and I'm already talking at the TV and fast-forwarding through the commercials at warp speed. Sometimes I'm venting in frustration, sometimes in incredulity, and of course, at times out of sheer jealousy.

The jealousy: They got to cook in the kitchen at craft? How amazing would that be? And to be expedited by Colicchio? Wow. Nerves of steel, that's what you'd need. This whole season is going to kill me, what with the NYC setting...

Needed nerves of steel aside, the frustration tonight came out of the fact that the contestants were given essentially free reign on a three-course New American cuisine menu and they, for the most part, choked. So what are they doing with their spare time between being chosen for Top Chef and appearing on the show? They should be flippin' memorizing and practicing to PERFECTION at least (bare minimum) a half dozen recipes for every course (with variations, planning for those special twists of "use only organ meats" or "only cook with a ingredients from Bulgaria," which could happen).

For once, I was glad to see people actually step up and offer to make the dessert course. In past seasons it's been frustrating to see dessert getting the shaft from chefs like it's not really cooking. On which planet exactly do you need to have specific pastry instruction to "get" the basics of dessert? Argh. There were some decent attempts tonight, but one of them was NOT the Lemon Meringue Martini with a "Cherry Surprise?" Sounds like something out of a college cafeteria. Well, not any college I went to, but any dish with a "surprise" in it's title is NOT Top Chef material. I was very pleased that Carla's apple tart made it into the top 3. Very nice!

The mild incredulity tonight was the lack of foundation garments during the elimination challenge on Padma. I think she's stunning; her goddess-ness is not lost on me. And I don't believe she's given birth, so nature has been kind to the "girls." But I don't know what kind of stylist would send her on television in a satin halter and NOT instruct on a little help for said girls... 'nuff said. She's still stunning. Even when she's spitting the aforementioned lemon dessert into her napkin. Yep, that bad.

Not too sad to see the Geena Davis look-alike booted; it's so early that there really aren't too many hard and fast loyalties. And she was quite inarticulate about why on earth she would choose something as unique as an ostrich egg for an ingredient, then proceed to hide it in a quiche... seriously? I was just dying for her to somehow use those gorgeous egg shells for something. They were huge and beautiful. Anyway... I am intriuged to see where it goes with the two European candidates. Both seem to have potential for both great cooking and some drama, but if you've watched as pathetically ritualistically as I have, you know that you're really only one truly bad dish away from the good old "pack your knives and go" line from the goddess herself. (However, as was pointed out in Episode 1: except for one season, the winner of the first elimination challenge has gone on to win the whole thing. So all eyes on Stefan.)

OK, I promise I won't inflict this on you every week. But tonight it was just good action. Chop chop.

Whole other topic: Today was my big Christmas and Thanksgiving photo shoot and I think I left my camera at the home where we were shooting... so I will post on that later. Also, I have been obsessing about another cheese craving and tonight I made a riff on a fried egg sandwich and a quesadilla--I have no idea what you'd call it... other than heaven! It was so very, very good... When I have my camera back, I will make it again (and again, and again) and take pictures and post. Major Yum.