Sautéed Portabella Omelet

For dinner I made a sautéed omelet, which was actually pretty good. I guess I should disclaim the fact that I don’t really like eggs. In my mind, eggs are an ingredient, not something you eat. I bought a half dozen eggs last week for something, and I needed to use up the rest.

I sautéed the portabellas in a cast iron skillet and put a non-stick skillet in the oven and preheated it to 350deg F. Meanwhile, I whipped the eggs in my stand mixer. This gives it a real fluffy texture. When the non-stick was hot and the portabellas were done, I pulled the non-stick out of the oven and poured in the eggs. I then added the mushrooms, some sharp cheddar and Parmigiano-Romano, as well as some bacon. I baked it for about 5 minutes and turned it out onto a plate. It stuck a little bit, so I guess I should have oiled the non-stick.

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Lamb Chops & Bacon Mac’n’Cheese

Dinner tonight was broiled garlic-rosemary lamb chops with bacon, sharp cheddar & Parmigiano-Reggiano mac’n’cheese.

Several weeks back I picked up a family pack of lamb chops on sale. Last night I pulled the last set out of the freezer. I wanted to do the garlic-rosemary combination that I did on my first lamb chops. To my chagrin, I was out of fresh garlic. I ground together some dried garlic and rosemary in my mortar and pestle, but needed some liquid, so I added a little bit of fish sauce. I rubbed this combination on the lamb chops and set them aside while I made the mac’n’cheese.

I took the last of a package of bacon (~ 1/4lb), diced it and threw it in my 12″ cast iron skillet. I cooked it till it was nice and brown, then removed the bacon to a plate. I transferred the grease to a small sauce pan and added some flour to make the roux for my mac’n’cheese. The cheese was a blend of sharp cheddar and Parmigiano-Reggiano that I grated earlier this week. I assembled the mac’n’cheese and spread the bacon on top.

I broiled the lamb chops for 3-4 minutes per side and then rested them while I broiled the mac’n’cheese.

The lamb chops were really good. The mac’n’cheese was good but not as good as my normal recipe. I did not care for the cheese combination and there was too much bacon (who knew that was even possible). With dinner, I had a nice Russian River Valley pinot noir.

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Pasta dinner

I didn’t get home from work until late, so I had to quickly throw together dinner. Here’s what I came up with.

I started with a can of diced tomatoes. I heated it until most of the liquid was reduced, then added a mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and capers, finally seasoning it with some Italian herbs. Before throwing it under the broiler, I added some Rotini and put bacon, Romano, Parmigiano-Regiano, Chevre and Panko on top. After broiling, I added some fresh basil.

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Alfredo

I’d never made a real Alfredo sauce.  I had some heavy cream on hand, so I decided to give it a shot.  Combined with some spinach and cheese ravioli that I picked up at store, with some canned peas on the side, it was fabulous.  (Canned peas seem to have a bad reputation and I’ve never understood that.  I cannot think of a canned vegetable more deserving of vilification than green beans.)

The only problem was that my one serving of Alfredo drowned my one serving of ravioli.  I soaked up some of the extra sauce with bread crumbs.  Next time I’ll probably reduce the milk and cream to 1/4 cup.  The egg is not a traditional ingredient, and I may leave it out in the future.

Alfredo

• 6T heavy cream
• 6T milk
• 18g Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 18g Romano
• 1 egg
• Salt & pepper
• Bacon bits

Combine the cream and milk in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking frequently.  Cut the heat and add the cheese, stirring constantly to combine.  Once the cheese is fully incorporated,  add the S&P to taste.  Then temper the egg and add to the sauce.  Add some bacon bits and turn the heat to medium-low (or medium).  Bring to a simmer, remove from the heat and allow to sit briefly.  Plate and top with additional bacon bits.

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