After our big night out, it was hard waking up this morning, and I didn’t get a real start to the day until about 10am. I sat down with my coffee and started going through my magazines from the week. As soon as I saw this recipe in the beginning of this month’s Food & Wine, I stopped, defrosted some chorizo we had in the freezer and began boiling the potatoes. I had bought some eggs from Flying Pigs Farm last week and was anxious to make a dish worthy of them. And here it is. I halved the recipe, and only used 3 eggs on top. I sliced up some of a free baguette we got last night from Amy’s Breads, it still tasted great. This would also be great with chicken sausage, or any sausage you have on hand. The recipe is great for a large group if you’re having guests stay or a big brunch. A great hangover meal as well!

This version of Huevos Rancheros is the making of one of my favorite people, Jess B. She grew up in Albuquerque, NM and knows good huevos and good chili. She wasn’t able to taste my whole dish, but I’m going to have her taste the chili on Thursday, and see how authentic it is. She usually has her mom ship her chili, so she’s not subject to the NYC drought of good chili sauce. In this adaptation, I used flour rather than corn tortillas. I also used frozen hash browns, pinto beans, leftover fresh corn from the cob, and red pepper along with the usual condiments. I made Johnathan scrambled eggs for his dish, but I prefer fried eggs so I can mix the yolk with everything else on the plate. This was Jess B’s recipe for huevos success. When I visited Jess before she moved to Brooklyn, I had a great authentic version at a diner in Albuquerque. Boy was that a BIG meal - and for about $5. It was really spicy, but still felt like a breakfast meal. I feel mine did feel more like a burrito with chili sauce - I just can’t get away from the lure of the burrito. The salty hash browns are a nice alternative to rice though. Please post any other adaptations to the Southwest staple.

Sydney Opera House from the ferry

I was supposed to make the pesto pizza yesterday, and have it posted this morning, but I ended up going out to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I have the dough sitting in the fridge, and I’ll make it today, and post it tomorrow, I promise. Meanwhile I’ve been thinking about what to eat next week, as well as what I’d like to learn to cook better. As I said earlier in the week, I’ve been craving breakfast and eggs (maybe after seeing Michael Phelps eat a 5,000 calorie breakfast), so I thought I’d do a week of breakfast for dinner, and work on my egg skills. As I was flipping through cookbooks, I realized there are not a lot of breakfast recipes (if any) to be found in books by Giada, and Jamie Oliver. Everyone is very focused on dinner recipes and sandwiches. I have one breakfast specific book to work from, as well as one from the famous Bill’s of Sydney I visited, which has the best breakfast in town. So this week also requires some creativity. Brunches and egg breakfasts aren’t always the most healthful - think hollandaise, creamy eggs, and lots of melty cheese. So I want to also try to add lots of veggies and seasonal fruit to these sometimes decadent meals. Don’t worry though, there will still be an eggs benedict night, mmmmm….. I also think this could be a way to get the budget down even more, and support the local farmer’s market more than the past couple weeks. Here’s the line up:

Monday - Sweetcorn Fritters with Roast Tomato and Bacon - Bill’s Sydney

Tuesday - Huevos Rancheros - Jess B Recipe (native New Mexican transplanted to Brooklyn)

Wednesday - Eggs Benedict with Prosciutto

Thursday - Kedgeree with Tea-Smoked Salmon (a classic Anglo-Indian breakfast dish)

Friday - Roast Mushrooms with Thyme and Taleggio - Bill’s Sydney