Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Snow Day

Time to play with some of my new kitchen toys

I was counting on my new crème brulee dishes being multi-purpose, so I put them to the test this morning. Half a bag of fresh spinach, 2 eggs, a bit of milk, garlic, feta cheese, salt, and pepper were mixed together then divided into 2 buttered dishes.

After cooking them in the microwave a few minutes, I sprinkled on some mozzarella cheese and cooked another 30 seconds. To test how well food came out of the dishes, I tipped the “quiche” onto a plate and added a garnish of “peeled” carrots. I ate one for breakfast (yummy) and plan on putting the other on “health nut” bread with some of the carrots for a sandwich for tomorrow’s lunch.

My new dutch oven (Calphalon Contemporary Stainless 8.5 quart) is also proving to be great for different types of cooking. So far I’ve made chili in it, cooked spaghetti on the stove, and baked in the oven – today I used it to soften rice papers for my lunch of spring rolls. Assembled food included more of the peeled carrots, sliced/steamed white asparagus, mung bean noodles, and cucumber strips. About one minute soaking in warm water in the perfect diameter pan and I was ready to roll.
A bit of teriyaki sauce for dipping was the final touch for a delicious light meal.
It was a fun time in the kitchen. ~~K