Tag Archives: cheese

Ham and Egg Breakfast Sandwich

I am so excited about this sandwich. Not just because it’s delicious, easy to make either for breakfast or on a busy weeknight, and made from things we normally have in our pantry (though all those things are true), but because there is finally an entry under my ‘sandwiches’ category. This brings me one step closer to accomplishing my summer culinary goals. Can I hear a “hoo! ha! fuhubugadz!” from anyone out there in the crowd this morning?

Anyone? Fuhubugadz?

Anyway.

The sandwich is nothing fancy, though you could dress it up with chives or peppers or bacon, but I’m sharing here just in case some poor urchin out there hasn’t tried throwing one together before. And I mean ‘urchin’ in the most affectionate way possible–I’m going for a lovable and pathetic Oliver Twist kind of thing. See, I was once of those poor urchins who hadn’t made a breakfast sandwich before, until one of my sisters stepped in and changed things forever.

I can’t remember which one. Maybe Erica? Maybe Heidi? Anyway, it’s satisfying and perfect and . . . well, technically not really a recipe.

“You know, even though I’m posting this on my blog, let’s be honest–this isn’t really a recipe,” I said mournfully to my husband after tossing it on a plate. “It’s more like . . . an assembly.”

“But assembly meals are my favorite kind!” exclaimed my husband.

Then, because he said exactly the right thing at exactly the right moment, I rewarded him with five schmoochy kisses and a partridge in a pear tree.

So with his support and encouragement, and because this satisfied his man-palate and his man-stomach, here we go!

Ingredients

(Serves 1)

1 English muffin, halved
1 egg
Pat of butter
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 slice Muenster cheese
1-2 thin slices good-quality ham

Don’t harangue me for saying ‘good quality ham’–I’m not trying to pull an Ina Garten on you (though I do love the woman)–it’s just that since the ingredients here are so few, the quality will really make a difference. With that note, we shall proceed.

Halve and toast the English muffin . . .

. . . and spread it with butter on both sides.

Set it aside.

In a non-stick skillet, heat up the pat of butter over medium high heat until fully melted. Crack the egg into the butter, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and turn down the heat to medium.

As the white of the egg begins to set, use a spatula to gently break the yolk in the middle and fold the thin edges of white towards the center to create a round shape. Something like this:

And I almost forgot–toss the slice (or slices) of ham to the skillet, next to the egg.

Take a second to slice up the old block of Muenster. And that “old” was an affectionate term, not an indicator of a potentially moldy situation.

Make the slices on the thin side–we don’t want to drown this thing in cheese.

When the egg is mostly set, turn it over (turn the ham over too) . . .

. . . and place the slice of Muenster on top.

Cook the egg for just another minute or two, until it’s fully cooked and the cheese is melted.

You’ll notice that my one slice of cheese somehow became three slices of cheese. I chalk it up to the Mysterious Ways of the Universe.

Now it’s time to assemble the sandwich: put the egg, cheese and ham between the English muffin halves.

Check out the tasty brown bits on the ham. Oh yes.

Serve!

Seek the opinion of the man at the table.

He takes a bite . . . he chews . . . he ponders . . .

He approves!

Make this sandwich! You will approve too.

And now for something completely different: I was recently reading through my daily blog list, happily perusing Amy’s post on a lovely pasta dish with zucchini and mushrooms. She went on to say that she’d just received a gift from a so-called ‘Fairy Hobmother’ from Appliances Online, and encouraged us to leave a comment on her post since this Fairy might grant us an appliance wish too.

“Who is this Fairy Hobmother person, and why the heck would she send me an appliance?” I asked myself. I followed the link to an online appliance store. “Oh well,” I shrugged, “If they employ a fairy who wants to send me free stuff, I guess I want a juicer.” And I moved on with my life.

When I opened my email on Wednesday, surprise surprise: the Fairy Hobmother has not only decided to send me a juicer, but also says that if any of you all want to leave a comment on this post and make a wish, she may also decide to drop by your digs (figuratively speaking) and send you the appliance you’ve been needin’. Wow. I guess this somehow works out for the appliance company financially . . . but I’m not exactly sure how. Thankfully I don’t have to worry about that. Phew.

Now I can start my day off with Swamp Monster food: blended kale, avocados, carrots, and who knows what else. Maybe a splash of heavy cream, ’cause that’s how I roll.

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Roasted Carrots with Feta and Parsley

I used to work for a company called ‘Companion Care,’ which sent me to take care of the elderly in their own homes. This could involve making a meal for them, helping them bathe or use the bathroom, simply sitting and keeping them company, sleeping on a couch next to their bed in case they needed something in the night, and doing moderate cleaning.

And–lest we forget–watching every single episode of The Golden Girls ever to air. Ever. I loved every second of it, and I want to be just like fun-loving Blanche when I grow up.

Minus the philandering part.

Minus the hairstyle . . .

. . . and minus the Southern accent.

So I guess I don’t want to be like Blanche at all.

I will never forget my resolution arising from this stint at Companion Care: I will not become a magazine lady. I remember a particular house in which the piles of magazines were just everywhere. Along with piles of mail of who knows what else–it was overwhelming. And claustrophobic. And gave me the creepy-crawlies all over my flesh.

After being given a subscription to the now-defunct Gourmet magazine by my friend Eve, a subscription to Bon Appétit by my mother, and then getting a free subscription to Martha Stewart Living using airline miles, I have been steadily heading down the path of Magazine Overload. And those creepy-crawlies started to come back.

Firm and unwavering action was needed, so I recently determined to get rid of all of my Martha Stewart issues, which comprised the bulk of my collection. But they couldn’t, of course, go straight to the trash–what if there was the Dish to End All Dishes in one of them and I missed it?? I just couldn’t take that risk. So I’ve been flipping through each magazine and ripping out any particularly inspiring recipes. Though dear Team Martha was involved to a degree in a ravioli disaster, they were also involved in a whomping mushroom success, so I really wanted to ferret out any hidden treasures and bring them to the light. My initial purging project is now 100% complete; my next project will be making all the recipes, blogging about the worthy ones, and then tossing the paper. This may take approximately 1 decade.

But anyway, this is the first recipe I snatched up. It was simple and colorful and, as I suspected, absolutely delicious. And simple. And easy. And colorful. Did I already say that? And low-maintenance. I made a big adjustment to the cooking time and some small adjustments to ingredient amounts, but besides that, it’s quite true to the original.

Ingredients

(Serves 5)

2.5 lbs carrots (9-10 large carrots)
2-3 TBS olive oil
Salt and pepper
3 TBS fresh minced parsley
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Wash and cut the carrots on a deep diagonal, about 1 inch thick.

Toss the carrots with the olive oil and generous amounts of salt and pepper on a large sheet pan.

Spread them into a single layer.

Pop ’em in the oven and roast them at 425 F for about 40 minutes (or until caramelized), turning them over at the halfway point.

In the meantime, mince up the parsley:

And measure out the crumbled feta.

When the carrots are done, they will look something like this:

Mmmm. Caramelization is, like, the best, dude.

Put them in a large serving dish and toss them with the parsley and feta.

Beautiful! I love the colors. Love ’em, love ’em, love ’em.

Serve ’em up!

I made some salmon to go with this:

Unfortunately that particular fish recipe wasn’t quite excellent enough to share with you all, but I highly recommend the pairing.

These carrots are a cinch to make, and would be a great dish to make for a large group of people, or for a potluck. Or for yourself, on your arduous journey toward 20-20 vision. Give ’em a try! You’ll love every bite.

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