Fresh Tart

What's this?  Why, it's the best (insert your favorite curse word) breakfast you've had, like, ever.  You'll see the list of ingredients, and you might freak out a little bit, thinking that it's awfully rich for breakfast.  But bear with me, as I'm a big fan of small jolts of dear ingredients, the best possible way to eat healthfully without dying of boredom.

This baby has it all, and I'm not just talking a nice balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fat.  I'm talking crunchy, creamy, salty, spicy, even a hint of sweetness from the tomatoes.  I realize that I'm claiming no new territory here - huevos rancheros fans will be all over this.  But I might be able to shake you egg-&-buttered-toast fans out of a rut, and for that I'd be thrilled.  (This totals around 250 calories, for those who care, and in my experience will leave you nicely satisfied until lunch time.)

Best part - ready in 10 minutes or less.  Yes!  I say breakfast, but I make this for lunch (and dinner!) all the time too.  I'm not sure why I haven't shared it with you before, probably because it feels like sharing a bowl of yogurt, as in, I eat this all the time.  But there was something about the way this morning's gorgeous fall sunlight fell on that equally golden yolk that made me think, Hey, this is blog worthy!  Right?

Oh, I keep forgetting to say (because I keep forgetting that I'm going)...  I'm heading to San Francisco later this week for BlogHer Food '10, a big annual food bloggers conference.  Food bloggers know all about it but the reaction from family and non-blogging friends has been mostly pleasant confusion.

Oh cool.  Wait - why?

I can't say exactly, yet - I've never attended a conference like this before - but I'm expecting serious networking as well as conversations about photography, writing, social marketing, monetizing, recipe writing, web design, niche/audience, on and on.  And on.  This will be two full days of conversation with hundreds of assertive, talented, successful, motivated women, after all.  (There are male food bloggers of course.  Food Wishes, David Lebovitz, Michael Ruhlman, Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, and Amateur Gourmet are all favorites of mine.  But as the world goes, so does blogging...  Women are taking over.  Just kidding.  A little.)

John is going with me, so I'm not sure how much blogging I'll do from San Francisco.  We have drives to take and restaurants to scope!  Also, I'm the type that needs to mentally digest a bit before I summarize.  But despite prolonged exposure to excellent food and wine, I'll most certainly glean nuggets of wisdom which I'll be anxious to share.  Stay tuned for raves...  (And if you're going - email or DM me!  I'd love to meet you!)

Fried Egg Tostada with Sausage, Spinach & Tomatoes
Serves 1

Note: If you're avoiding grains, just skip the tortilla and serve the egg over the spinach & sausage, with the slice of avocado as garnish.  Delicious.

1 small, fresh corn tortilla
olive oil
1/2-inch-thick slice of ripe avocado, mashed lightly with a pinch of salt (about 1 Tbsp.)
1 oz. (about the size of a 1-inch meatball) of pork breakfast sausage (I love Blue Gentian, available at Minneapolis Farmers Market)
3 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 c. spinach leaves
chipotle chili powder
1 large, organic egg
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Rub a few drops of olive oil into both sides of the tortilla.  Toast the tortilla in the hot skillet until lightly browned and crispy on both sides.  Set tortilla on a plate.

Crumble pork sausage into the hot skillet and stir around until nicely browned, about 3 minutes.  Add cherry tomatoes, spinach, a sprinkle of salt, and a dash of chipotle chili powder and stir until spinach is wilted.  Remove pan from heat.  Spread avocado on tortilla, then top with the spinach mixture.

Return pan to heat.  Add a a few drops of olive oil if there is no fat in the pan, then crack egg into the pan.  Sprinkle egg with a little salt and pepper and fry egg to desired doneness (I like an over-medium egg).  Nestle egg on top of tortilla and serve immediately.

I'm supposed to be preparing for a dinner party we're hosting this evening, so this post is going to be short-n-sweet!  Which is fine, since these quiches are short-n-sweet too, and really, what's to say about quiche?  Eggs + cheese = heaven.  There you go.

Oh wait, I do have one note of explanation: I love pie crust as much as the next person, but one of many great things about quiche is that the filling alone is so delicious - and satisfying - that it's damn tasty without the crust.  What a nice way to enjoy something pretty and even celebratory without sweating the calories.

Of course if you can't imagine quiche without the crust, absolutely include it.  The filling below nicely fills a pie shell, or a pie plate if you want to bake it crustless in one dish, or as I wrote it below, baked in 6 4-oz. ramekins (cool leftovers and chill; micro reheat).  Really, whatever you like best.

These quiches come together in about 15 minutes, which means dinner (or brunch) on the table in less than an hour. Tonight's dinner, on the other hand, requires a bit more effort, so I'd best get chopping!  If you're interested, I'm making steaks with herb butter, Swiss chard sauteed with pancetta, raisins, & pine nuts, roasted new potatoes, and light (eggless) chocolate puddings.

Crustless Spinach & Leek Quiches
Makes 6 individual quiches

4 oz. cream cheese, softened (I use Neufchatel/light cream cheese)
1/4 c. milk
3 eggs
freshly grated nutmeg
salt & freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp. butter
1 leek, white & pale green part only, halved lengthwise & sliced thin
1 5 oz. package fresh spinach
1/2 c. grated cheddar
1/4 c. grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Grease 6 4-oz. ramekins and set them on a baking sheet.

Beat cream cheese in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy.  Slowly beat in milk, then eggs.  Add a few gratings of nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. of salt, and a few grinds of pepper.  Set aside.

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add butter and when it melts, stir in leeks.  Add a sprinkle of salt and saute leeks for 5 minutes, until softened.  Add spinach all at once, another light sprinkle of salt, and cover.   Let spinach steam for 3-4 minutes, or until spinach is wilted.  Saute for another 5 minutes or until most of the liquid is evaporated.

Divide leek-spinach mixture among the 6 ramekins.  Top each with cheddar cheese.  Top with egg mixture and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until eggs are set and golden brown on top.  Let cool for 5 minutes, then serve.

This is a quickie lunch or dinner idea, very basic but satisfying and packed with flavor.  Remember when I first posted Mark Bittman-via-Jean-George's ginger fried rice and commented that I'd be riffing on the delicious theme for years to come?  Well here's one riff.  I was so taken with the crave-worthy combination of leeks sauteed with rice, topped with an egg, and finished with nothing but sesame oil and soy sauce, that I couldn't wait to apply the concept to other simple ingredients.

Here I used silken tofu, which has a very scrambled egg quality to it, soft and pillowy with a mild flavor.  I love it, even plain.  Lightly stir-fried with a leeks and soy sauce, and finished with a drizzle of sesame oil, it's completely delicious over buckwheat soba noodles.  You could finish it with the crispy garlic and ginger that so delightfully tops the ginger fried rice, but I didn't even spend that much time on this dish.  This is a really basic, ready in 10 minutes kind of meal.  Eat it in your work clothes, still standing, starving for something warm, pleasantly salty, and comforting.  The fact that it's nutritious is a nice bonus.

On a weekend note: check out the Easy Cream Scones recipe I posted on the Minnesota Monthly/Dara & Co. blog this week.  Nice for Sunday morning, right?  Coffee, paper, warm scones?  See what you think.

Silken Tofu with Soba Noodles
Serves 2

4 oz. soba noodles (or other pasta)
1/2 lb. silken tofu
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. oil
1 leek, white and green parts only, sliced thin
toasted sesame oil

Optional garnishes:
chopped scallions
toasted sesame seeds

Set a large pot of salted water on to boil.  When the water boils, add soba noodles and cook according to package directions.  Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium heat.  Add the oil and leeks and saute until leeks are softened, about 5 minutes.  While the leeks saute, mash tofu in a medium bowl.  Add soy sauce and mash/stir to combine.  Add the tofu to the softened leeks and gently stir-fry until warmed through. Drain the soba noodles and divide into two bowls.  Top with the tofu.  Drizzle a little sesame oil over the tofu and sprinkle with scallions and sesame seeds, if desired.