Marinated Ramen Eggs

I am high-key obsessed with the jammy eggs that come in ramen. So much so, that I started making them on the regular and not even putting them in ramen. I’m just snacking on them. The simple marinade penetrates the white of the egg and infuses the whole egg with umami flavor.

Thanks to Uncle Roger for the tip on how to keep the floating egg parts submerged! You know when your eggs are properly marinated when they are brown all over and when you cut them open you can see the marinade has gotten inside the eggs.

Marinated Jammy Eggs for ramen or for snacking

Makes 4 eggs

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sake
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1 teaspoon Knorr chicken bouillon (optional, but this is the MSG part of the recipe)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons miso paste

Directions:

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Gently lower in the eggs so they don’t crack and turn down the heat slightly so it’s not an aggressive boil. Boil for 6 minutes 45 seconds. This is my magic number to achieve not too runny and not too cooked eggs. If you like yours cooked more, boil them longer.

Drain and place eggs in an ice bath till cool. In the meantime, combine all the marinade ingredients in a mason jar and whisk well so the miso paste breaks up.

Peel the eggs and gently place them in the jar. Take a paper towel and place it on top of the eggs so it becomes saturated with the marinade. This will ensure that any parts of the egg that are floating will get marinated.

Place in the fridge overnight. Enjoy your eggs the next day or the day after. I don’t usually let them sit longer than two days (but they also don’t last that long).

Colcannon Ravioli

It’s St. Patrick’s Day and although I don’t really have much of a connection to this day, I thought it would be fun to serve something festive for dinner.

I’ve made colcannon in the past, which is a traditional Irish potato dish with cabbage, and as I was leafing through an Alice Waters cookbook I saw a recipe for potato and spinach ravioli and I thought it would be the perfect dish for St. Patrick’s Day. I didn’t follow her recipe, but made up my own and after boiling the ravioli I sautéd them like pierogis.

Spinach and Potato ravioli in a garlicky cream sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the pasta dough:

• 225 grams 00 flour
• 75 grams fine semolina flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

For the filling:

• 1 pound potatoes, any variety (I used a combination of russet, new potatoes and fingerling)
• 8 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup cream, divided
• salt and pepper, to taste

For the sauce:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup cream
• salt and pepper, to taste
• zest of 1 lemon

Special supplies:

• Small food processor or immersion blender
• Potato ricer (you could use a potato masher but it won’t be as smooth)
• KitchenAid pasta roller adapter (or a hand cranked version would work too)
• Ravioli cutter (or a pizza cutter would work)
• Shot glass
• Large spider strainer (a slotted spoon would work)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl or on a clean, dry countertop, combine the flours. Make a well in the center and add the eggs and olive oil. Whisk the eggs and oil till scrambled, slowly incorporating the flour. Mix into a rough ball and knead for 10 minutes. Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside for at least 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and cut them into roughly the same sized pieces. Boil in salted water until tender, about 10-15 minutes. Place the squeezed spinach and 2 tablespoons of cream in a food processor and run it till the spinach is puréed. You may need to add a little more cream to get it going. When the potatoes are done, drain them and press through a potato ricer into a medium mixing bowl. Add the spinach, Parmesan, butter, remaining cream and salt and pepper. This should be a relatively homogenous consistency. Add more cream if necessary to make it smooth. Place mixture in a gallon zip top bag and refrigerate until cool.

3. Time to assemble the ravioli. Tear a small handful of dough away from your pasta ball and flatten it with your hand. Set the pasta roller on the largest setting and run the dough through. It’s ok if it tears apart a little. Roughly fold the dough into thirds and run it through again on the same setting. Repeat this three or four times until your dough is smooth.

4. Adjust the roller to the next thinnest setting and run the dough through once. Repeat this step making the roller thinner each time until you’ve run it through the thinnest setting.

5. Place the sheet of dough on a clean counter top. With a ravioli or pizza cutter, cut the sheet in half, across the width, not the length.

6. Cut a hole in the corner of the bag containing the filling and place about 1 teaspoon of filling on one half of the pasta sheet. Repeat so you have them evenly spaced on the dough, about 6-8 on the sheet. Place the other half of the dough on top and gently press the air out between the sheets without smashing down the filling. Use a shot glass to center the filling and lightly press down (don’t cut through the dough with the shot glass). This makes the ravioli look more uniform.

7. Use your ravioli cutter to cut out 6-8 ravioli. Pick up each ravioli and make sure the edges are sealed. Pinch any areas that look separated. Place on a semolina lined tray. Cover with foil.

8. Repeat steps 3-7 with the remaining dough and filling.

9. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Just before the water is boiling, place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil and butter. Add the garlic and cook till fragrant, turning down the heat to prevent the garlic from burning, about 1 minute. Add the cream, stir, and turn off the heat while you cook the ravioli.

10. Add the ravioli to the boiling water, gently stirring with a spider strainer. Boil the ravioli for 3-5 minutes, until al dente. Remove one ravioli and cut off a corner to see if the dough is cooked to your liking.

11. Heat the sauté pan again over medium-low heat. Remove the ravioli from the water using the spider strainer, give it a good shake to remove excess water, and place into the sauté pan. Gently toss the ravioli till they are all coated with the sauce. Add salt, pepper and lemon zest to taste. You could either serve right away or continue cooking the ravioli until they ever so lightly brown, like pierogis.

12. Serve the ravioli with a drizzle of cream and a grind of pepper.

Quick Weeknight Pasta with Broccoli and Buttered Bread Crumbs

Sometimes I want pasta and I don’t have a lot of energy to cook. Last night I threw together a simple pasta dish with broccoli bits and buttered fresh bread crumbs. It came together in about 15 minutes and was everything I wanted. I happened to have a bag of brown rice macaroni, which ended up being really delicious. You could use any kind of small pasta shape.

Quick Weeknight Pasta with Broccoli and Buttered Bread Crumbs

Serves 2-3
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1-2 slices good quality white sandwich bread (to make about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs)
• 5 ounces small pasta (about 1 1/4 cup)
• 3 ounces fresh broccoli, chopped into small bits (about 1 cup)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon sun dried tomato oil
• 1 teaspoon good quality olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sun dried tomatoes, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving

Instructions:

Bring a salted pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, tear up your bread into chunks and place in a food processor. Process until they are crumbs, but not too fine. Set aside.

When water is boiling, add your pasta and stir occasionally. Set a timer and cook until al dente. Meanwhile, heat butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add bread crumbs, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Turn down heat a little and stir frequently until crumbs are golden brown. Set this mixture aside.

When there are 4 minutes left on your timer, add the broccoli bits to the pasta. When pasta is cooked to your preference, drain.

Wipe out the sauté pan with a paper towel and add the sun dried tomato and olive oils. Heat over medium and add the garlic and sun dried tomatoes. Cook for about a minute, stirring, until garlic is fragrant. Add the drained pasta and broccoli and the parsley. Stir until everything is combined. Adjust for salt.

Plate the pasta and sprinkle each serving with grated parmesan cheese and the toasted breadcrumbs. Serve immediately.

Air Fried Salmon Sushi Cups

This fun appetizer has been popular among social media channels, and it’s no wonder. A Japanese-style barbecue glaze is drizzled over air fried salmon and rice cups and topped with spicy mayo – it’s creative and a real crowd pleaser!

Cook time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4 (two cups per person)

Marinade/glaze:

• 1/4 cup mirin
• 1/4 cup sake
• 1/4 cup agave
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce

Spicy mayo:

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon sriracha
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

For the salmon cups:

• 1 cup short grain sushi rice
• 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound wild Alaska salmon, skin removed, cut into small pieces
• 2 nori sheets, cut into quarters
• 2 teaspoons tempura flakes
• 2 scallions, green parts only, chopped
• Furikake, to serve

Tools:

• Air fryer
• 8 silicone muffin cups
• Rice cooker

Directions:

Mix together the marinade/glaze ingredients. Reserve half of this mixture in a small saucepan. The other half pour into a sealable container along with the salmon. Place salmon in fridge and marinate for 15-30 minutes.

Combine the spicy mayo ingredients in a small bowl, cover, and place in fridge till ready to serve.

While salmon is marinating, cook the sushi rice according to package directions. When rice is cooked, mix in the rice vinegar, sugar and salt. 

Meanwhile, heat the remaining glaze over medium-high and simmer for 10 minutes until it’s the consistency of thin syrup. Set aside until ready to serve.

Drain the marinade from the salmon and preheat air fryer to 400F while you assemble the salmon cups. Place a piece of nori in your palm and add 1 tablespoon of rice to the center. Place the nori into a silicone muffin cup. Add one more tablespoon of rice and press down with the back of a wet spoon so there’s a small indent in the rice. Place 2 tablespoons of salmon pieces into the rice. Sprinkle some tempura flakes on top. Repeat with three more muffin cups and place all four into the air fryer. Cook for 5 minutes or until salmon begins to brown on top. Remove from air fryer and repeat with remaining 4 muffin cups.

Remove from muffin cups and place on a serving tray. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon of glaze, and top with a small dollop of spicy mayo, a sprinkle of chopped scallions, and a shake of furikake.

Knitted Bandana – a Free Pattern

Recently a friend sent me an Instagram reel of a bandana cowl and it was the answer to all my cold neck problems. My hair has gotten so long that it’s becoming a hassle to wear it down with a hat and also manage to tie a scarf around my neck. So much hair everywhere! I decided it was something I could figure out – and I knit it up in about three hours. Then I made six more for holiday gifts. Here’s my sister modeling hers:

I’m calling this a “knitted bandana” to be trendy, but really I’m naming this pattern a dickie scarf. Remember dickies? If you’re over 40 I’m sure you’ve at least heard of them or definitely owned one in the past. It’s all the style of wearing a turtleneck sweater without the bulkiness of having to cram it under another layer of clothing. A dickey scarf is similar – you have the warmth of a cozy turtleneck without having to deal with the bulk of a scarf.

This pattern is so simple and a great stashbuster project.

Knitted Bandana – or as I’m calling it: knitted dickie scarf

Sizes: Adult M (L)

Ingredients:

• 1 skein bulky yarn – I suggest Wool and the Gang Alpachino Merino
• size 10 US circular needles, 16″
• darning needle

Abbreviations:

• CO = cast on
• PM = place marker
• K2, P2 = knit 2, purl 2
• WS = wrong side
• RS = right side
• K2tog = knit 2 stitches together

Directions:

CO 60 (64) stitches; PM. Join the work being careful the stitches aren’t twisted and work in K2, P2 for 30 rounds. When you’ve reached the marker on the final round, turn your work and knit the other direction till you reach the marker again (WS). You’ll now be working back and forth in rows of garter stitch, decreasing by two stitches on each right side row.

Next row (RS): K2tog, knit to the last 2 stitches in row, K2tog.

Next row (WS): K

Repeat these two rows until you have 4 stitches remaining. Bind off and weave in ends. Ta-da – DICKIE SCARF.

Broccoli and Cheese Bread Pudding

This Thanksgiving we were left with way too many dinner rolls. I wanted to make something savory with them so I put together a bread pudding that was perfect for dinner and even tastier the next morning for breakfast!

Broccoli and Cheese Bread Pudding
A great use of leftover dinner rolls

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 5-7 leftover dinner rolls, cut into cubes
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped finely
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 small head of broccoli, stems and crown chopped into small bits
• 1/2 cup cream
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 2 eggs
• salt and lots of pepper
• pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Coat a small casserole dish liberally with butter and place bread cubes in it. There should be enough bread cubes to cover the bottom of the dish. Set aside. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Turn down heat, add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Meanwhile, boil a small pot of salted water and add the broccoli; cook for 3 minutes and drain well. Add the broccoli to the onion mixture and combine well. Spread this mixture evenly on the bread cubes.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cream, milk, eggs, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Evenly pour this mixture over the broccoli and bread cubes.

Sprinkle on the cheeses, then lightly press down on the mixture to help the bread absorb some of the liquid.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and serve. Save leftovers overnight and eat for breakfast the next day for an even tastier dish!

White Bean + Tomato Stew

I pretty much want pasta all the time. It’s my Achilles heel, so to speak. But my body probably shouldn’t have pasta all the time. So here’s a recipe I tossed together that gives off perfect pasta vibes but uses canned white beans instead. It’s not a stew, exactly, but I didn’t know what else to call it.

White Bean + Tomato Stew: a quick meal to satisfy that pasta craving

Serves 4
Cook time: 20 minutes or so

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 6 ounces crimini mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoons white wine or sake
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• pinch of dried red pepper flakes
• 1 cup marinara sauce
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1 can white beans, drained
• 2 handfuls fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachios

Directions:

Melt butter in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms. Cook until onions are soft and mushrooms have released their liquid, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Deglaze the pan with the white wine and let it bubble for 1 minute. Add the dried basil, dried oregano and dried red pepper flakes. Pour in the marinara and cream, bring to a simmer and turn heat to low.

Add the beans and baby spinach; cook until spinach is wilted, just a few minutes. If stew is too thick, add in a little more cream. Stir in the parmesan cheese and add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle on the parsley and pistachios; serve immediately with a drizzle of good olive oil.

Salad with Pistachios, Craisins and Creamy Honey Vinaigrette

Salad isn’t my favorite. I’ll eat salad and occasionally enjoy salad, but it’s not a dish I love to make for myself. A few weeks ago I found a cookbook in a free box at a garage sale called “The Riversong Lodge Cookbook” by the renowned Alaska chef, Kirsten Dixon. In this beautiful book she has a recipe for a creamy herb vinaigrette in which she includes heavy cream. It never occurred to me to add cream to a salad dressing, but it sounded like a great idea.

So I whipped together a vinaigrette and used rice vinegar instead of my typical lemon juice to tame the acidity a little. I had some pistachios, craisins and chèvre so I tossed those in with some salad greens. It’s now my favorite salad of all time.

Use whatever types and quantities of salad fixings you prefer, but I recommend including something sweet because it pairs nicely with the honey in the dressing.

Salad Creamy Honey Vinaigrette

Makes about 4 side salads

Ingredients for the vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup high quality olive oil
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar would work too)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons cream
• Pinch of dried oregano
• Salt and pepper, to taste

For the salad:

• Salad greens of your choice
• 1/3 cup shelled pistachios, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• Chèvre or freshly grated Parmesan, as much as you prefer

Add all the vinaigrette ingredients to a liquid measuring cup and use an immersion blender to blend until it’s emulsified. Assemble your salad in a large bowl and toss well with the vinaigrette. Serve immediately. Save any extra dressing in the fridge for up to five days or so.

Banana Blueberry Muffins

I’m not really into banana bread. Enough said. So when I had a few overripe bananas on the counter the other day I decided to make up a recipe as I went and ended up with a delicious batch of banana blueberry muffins. They aren’t too sweet, aren’t too dense, aren’t too oily. I guess they are just right!

Banana Blueberry Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe bananas
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375F. In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a potato masher till they are a pulp. Add the eggs, sugars and vanilla and combine with an electric mixer. Mix in the coconut oil.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add this all to the banana mixture and mix till just combined. Fold in the blueberries.

Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Spoon in equal amounts of batter into each cupcake liner. Bake for 22-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Carefully transfer muffins to a cooling rack and let sit till room temperature or until you can’t stand it anymore and have to eat a piping hot one and burn your tongue on a molten blueberry.

Beet Horseradish and Homemade Matzo Crackers

This is more of a “so I don’t forget” kind of recipe. Every year at Passover our family friends have prepared a bright red horseradish sauce as part of the Seder ceremony, going back more than 20 years. They couldn’t attend this year so I took it upon myself to try and make it.

This is clean-out-your-sinuses, see-through-time spicy horseradish. It’s not f-ing around. I was warned it would cause my eyes to tear up while making it, so as a precaution I wore safety glasses and they worked like a charm!

I also acquired a cute matzo stamp so rather than rush to the store last minute for a box of matzo I decided to make it myself. I was surprised how easy it was!

So here’s how I made the horseradish and the matzo so I don’t forget!

Beet Horseradish Sauce

Makes about 2-3 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 fresh horseradish root, about 6-8 inches, peeled
• 1/2 small beet, peeled
• 1/4-1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt, more if desired

Trim and discard the root ends from the horseradish and beet. Grate both of them with a box grater and place in a food processor with 1/4 cup of the vinegar, the sugar and the salt. Process until minced, scraping down sides as you go. If it’s not smooth, add more vinegar a little at a time till it’s the consistency you prefer. Tasting it at this point will not be super effective as the flavors have to meld and mellow. Place in a container and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Then taste for salt. This will keep for a few days in the fridge.

Homemade Matzo Crackers

Makes about 8-10 crackers, depending on size

Not necessarily Kosher for Passover unless you use Kosher AP flour

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup warm water
• Extra kosher salt

Preheat oven to 500F. Combine all the ingredients in a small mixing bowl and turn onto a floured surface to knead. Knead for just a couple of minutes until it’s a nice flexible ball. Roll out as thinly as possible. Using a fork, prick holes in the dough all over. Either cut the dough into squares with pizza cutter or use cookie cutters. Line upside down cookie sheets with foil (this makes the crackers easier to remove when they’re done) and place the pieces of dough on them. Sprinkle with kosher salt and place in the oven. Bake until lightly browned (this took about 10 minutes in my oven but I suggest you watch carefully as you don’t want them to burn.) Remove from oven, let cool and store in an airtight container for up to two days.