BrokeAss Gourmet

BrokeAss Gourmet

BrokeAss Breakfast: Open-faced Breakfast Sandwich

Breakfast sandwiches are a great way to eat breakfast on the run. A bagel or English muffin, a fried egg, maybe a little cheese—wrap it in a paper towel and you’re out the door. But when I have a little more time I like to make a slightly more elaborate open-faced breakfast sandwich. English muffins or toast can certainly be substituted, but to me, nothing beats a fresh, chewy bagel.

Ingredients

  • 2 fresh bagels, any flavor (I like onion) $2
  • 4 eggs $1.50 for 6
  • 1/4 cup jack cheese, shredded $3
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped $1
  • 1/2 small white onion, chopped $1
  • 1 Roma tomato, sliced $0.50
  • 2 tsp olive oil Pantry
  • salt and pepper to taste Pantry

Recipe Serves 2

Directions

  1. In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over high heat. Saute the jalapeno and onion until the onion is translucent, about 2 minutes. Divide the jalapenos and onion into 4 small piles in the pan and crack 1 egg over each pile (do this in 2 frying pans if you don't have a big enough pan for all 4 eggs). Cook the eggs to your preference (I like over-medium). The onion and jalapeno should cook into the eggs and become one unit. Top each egg with 1/4 of the cheese (it helps to cover the pan to encourage the cheese to melt).
  2. While the eggs cook, slice and toast the bagels. Top each bagel half with a cooked egg, tomato slices and plenty of salt and pepper.

Category: Meals

Tags: ,

Share this Recipe: Share on Facebook • Tweet This! • Pin it on Pinterest

Ginger-Shrimp Potstickers

  • Prep Time 0:25
  • Cook Time 0:15
  • Estimated Cost $16.75
  • 2 Comments

I had some shrimp left over from last night’s enchiladas, so I decided to make shrimp potstickers. The key with these is to use just a few simple, fresh ingredients so that the flavors really burst when you bite into them.They’re also fantastic for entertaining because people are always impressed by how elegant they look and how delicious they taste…I think people imagine potstickers to be some sort of mystical, magical, unattainable entity—the unicorn of Chinese cooking. If only they knew that little more is needed to make fresh potstickers than simple ingredients, a frying pan with a fitted lid, and minimal small-motor skills…

*Note: If you keep Kosher, use chicken instead of the shrimp. Veggie? Use crumbled tofu or extra vegetables.

Ingredients

  • 1 12-oz. package of "potsticker wrappers" $2
  • 1/4 lb medium-sized raw shrimp, shelled, deveined, and chopped $4
  • 1 carrot, shredded $0.50
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped $1
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced Pantry
  • 1 small 2" piece of ginger, peeled and minced $1
  • 1/3 cup frozen green peas $1.50
  • 6 tbsp soy sauce, divided $1.50 for 12 oz.
  • 2 scallions, sliced $0.75
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar $2.00 for 12 oz
  • Asian chili sauce to taste $2.50 for 12 oz
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil Pantry

Directions

  1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large frying pan (be sure it has a fitted lid). Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring frequently for about a minute. Add the shrimp, carrot, bell pepper, and green peas and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until the shrimp become firm. Half-way through cooking, pour 2 tbsp of the soy sauce over the shrimp-veggie mixture and stir well. When the shrimp have finished cooking, remove from heat and pour contents into a large bowl. Clean any leftover debris from pan and return to the stove for later use.
  2. To assemble the potstickers, lay one potsticker on a clean, flat surface and put about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the filling in the center. Dip a clean finger or pastry brush into a small bowl of water and gently wet the edges, as with "homemade ravioli." Gently pinch the corners together to form a point and seal the edges to seal in the filling. Set the assembled potstickers on a clean plate.
  3. To cook, heat the remaining oil in the previously used frying pan over medium-high heat. Place as many potstickers as will fit into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, allowing the potstickers to develop a crisp crust on the bottom. Once crust has formed, pour 3 tbsp water over the potstickers and immediately cover with the fitted lid. Allow to steam, covered for 2 minutes.
  4. Carefully remove the lid and allow any excess water to cook away.
  5. To make the sauce, combine the remaining soy sauce, the rice vinegar, chili sauce to taste, and scallions and pour into little dipping bowls.
  6. To serve, arrange on a plate with a little dipping bowl of the sauce. Chopsticks optional.

 

Category:

Tags: , ,

Share this Recipe: Share on Facebook • Tweet This! • Pin it on Pinterest

Not Your Grandma's Hot Chocolate

It was rainy here in San Francisco over the past few weeks. When it rains here, it feels like the rain never stops. I wake up and fall asleep to the pitter-patter on my window; and I never seem to get dry. I grew up in the Northeast, and I can tell you, I much prefer the snow. No matter where you call home, I’m sure you’ve noticed that along with cold noses and wet feet, inclement weather also brings certain cravings. I’ll let Gabi tell you how to satiate that hankering for a hearty beef stew, but right now, I long for a nice steamy cup of Hot Chocolate Alexander. Next time you find a few friends at home and weather too wet to venture out in, serve up a bunch of these and talk about the upcoming spring.

The first item is a small 1-pint handle of Creme de Cacao. This is your basic chocolate-flavored liqueur, and comes in dark, white and clear. The difference is literally a bit of food coloring—there is barely any difference in taste. I recommend clear—for presentation purposes, it is much more versatile. You can go for basic budget-friendly brands like Bols or Dekuyper, but true chocoholics can splurge on such brands as Godiva or Elizabeth Shaw.

Also on the list is a 1-liter bottle of brandy. Look for my upcoming $66 Basic Bar column and you will find brandy. Because it can’t compete with it’s more refined cousins like Cognac and Armagnac; it’s very easy to find good quality yet inexpensive Brandy. E&J and Christian Brothers come to mind, but any will do.

On your way home grab your favorite hot chocolate mix, ground nutmeg, and a half-pint container of heavy whipping cream.

Without adding sugar, use a blender or food processor to whip the cream just until it begins to thicken. A few 30 second pulses should do it. If you don’t have a blender, a whisk will take a bit longer but should do the trick. Refrigerate immediately until ready to use.

  • Ingredients
  • 1 serving hot chocolate, prepared according to directions
  • 1oz brandy
  • ¾ oz Crème de Cacao

Directions

Use a spoon to gently float about 1-2 oz of the thickened cream on top.

A sprinkle of nutmeg makes your hot chocolate an Alexander.

A few suggestions using similar ingredients:

Brandy Alexander

  • Ingredients
  • 1½ oz Brandy
  • ¾ oz Crème de Cacao
  • 2 oz cream, half and half, or whole milk.
  • Nutmeg

Combine all but the nutmeg in mixing tin with ice, shake and strain into wine or martini glass. Or serve on the rocks. Don’t forget to sprinkle the nutmeg on top.

Chocolate Truffle Martini

  • 2 oz Vodka
  • ¾ oz Crème de Cacao
  • hot chocolate mix
  • your favorite chocolate truffle

Put some hot cocoa mix in a small plate and jiggle until it is spread evenly. Use a dab of the Crème de Cacao to wet the rim of your wine or martini glass then dip into the coco mix so it sticks to the rim of the glass.

Combine the vodka and Crème de Cacao in a mixing tin with ice. Shake and strain into cocoa-rimmed glass.

Instead of an olive, we’re going to use the truffle to garnish our martini!
Now It’s a Chocolate Truffle Martini.

Category:

Tags:

Share this Recipe: Share on Facebook • Tweet This! • Pin it on Pinterest

Shrimp and Corn Enchiladas with Scallion-Jalapeno Sauce

  • Prep Time 0:20
  • Cook Time 0:40
  • Estimated Cost $18.00
  • 3 Comments

Even though it’s not BrokeAss, we sure do love shrimp. Fortunately, this recipe is a fantastic way to really maximize that delicious shrimp flavor without spending a fortune on it. Kosher-keepers can replace the shrimp with a firm white fish like tilapia and vegetarians can use tofu instead of the shrimp or just increase the veggies.

Ingredients

  • 6 corn tortillas $1.50
  • 1/4 lb raw medium-sized shrimp, shelled, deveined, and chopped $4
  • 1 cup frozen white corn (we love the "fire-roasted kind") $1.50
  • 1/2 cup frozen green peas $1.50
  • 1 small white onion, chopped $1
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced Pantry
  • 1 small bunch cilantro (including cleaned stems), chopped $1
  • 2 jalapeno peppers, seeds and stems removed, chopped $2
  • 4 scallions, chopped--a few slices reserved for garnish $1
  • 1 cup half-and-half $1.50
  • 1 cup shredded jack cheese $3
  • 2 tbsp olive oil Pantry
  • salt and pepper to taste Pantry

Recipe Serves 2

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and grease a square 8"x 8" pan. Set aside.
  2. Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a medium skillet and add the onions. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until translucent. Add the shrimp, corn, peas, salt and pepper and cook very briefly--just until the shrimp turn pink and firm. Remove from heat and transfer to a medium bowl. Allow to cool.
  3. While the shrimp mixture cools, heat the remaining tbsp of olive oil over medium-high in a medium saucepan. Add the cilantro, jalapenos, garlic, and scallions. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the half-and-half and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally--the half-and-half will thicken. Once the jalapenos begin to soften, either remove from heat and puree in a blender/food processor or use an immersion blender to puree until smooth.
  4. To assemble the enchiladas, stir half of the cheese into the cooled shrimp mixture, reserving the other half. Fill each tortilla with 1/4 cup filling and a drizzle of the sauce. Roll and place seam-side down in the greased pan. Repeat until all of the tortillas and filling have been used up. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and top with the remaining cheese. Bake covered with aluminum foil for 30 minutes. Carefully remove foil and cook uncovered for a remaining 10 minutes until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly. Garnish with reserved scallions.

Category: Meals

Tags: ,

Share this Recipe: Share on Facebook • Tweet This! • Pin it on Pinterest

Grape Juice, Fermented

If there’s one thing a BrokeAss gourmand can’t afford, it’s fine wine. Good thing for us, then, that some of the very best wines are actually the cheapest.

No. I am not going to suggest that Charles Shaw really is a worthy wine for the downtrodden. It’s not. In fact, it’s the only wine I know of that can make you gag before you’re drunk. Nor am I about to assure readers that there are many excellent wines under $20 – because people who consider $20-and-under wines to be bargain deals can’t possibly be broke and therefore have no business reading this column.

But how’s $5.99? That is the retail price of one of the best-selling organic wines in America. It’s just a simple red blend called WELL REaD, produced by Heartswork Winery in Lodi, California, but what makes the wine so remarkable are its ingredients; it is made with nothing but yeast and organic grape juice, unlike many conventional wines, which may be laden with preservatives, yeast nutrients, stabilizers, clarifying agents and more.

The “organic” in WELL REaD is the key point. Certified as such by the USDA, the wine is guaranteed to contain no petroleum-based products, no irradiated matter, and nothing derived from sewage sludge. I think we can trust that most conventional wines don’t contain sewage or plutonium, but almost all of them do contain sulfur dioxide (SO2), or sulfites. This synthetic preservative protects a wine from various sorts of subtle damage, most notably oxidation spoilage, and there have been cases in which entire bottlings of organic wine have gone bad on shelves.

Thus, connoisseurs often steer clear of the organic wine department, and the notoriety that spoiled bottles of organic wine have lent to the entire genre has produced a very fascinating market feature: Organic wines are on average cheaper than conventional wines. (Try finding organic strawberries a quarter the price of the regular.)

It’s true: There is a substantially higher risk that any given bottle of organic wine (compared to conventional wine) will be spoiled upon opening (so save those receipts), but for some that little risk is worth it. Much anecdotal evidence suggests that organic wines do not cause, among other disagreeable symptoms, headaches. This is a matter of debate, but Phil LaRocca, a maker of relatively pricey (up to $50) organic wines near Chico, once told me these convincing words: “Anytime that anyone – whether it’s Joe Shmoe or my grandchildren – eats food without chemicals in it, how can that not be better for you?” I don’t know how to spell Shmoe, but LaRocca’s message rings of sense and truth: Ingest fewer chemicals and more pure foods, and you’ll live long and prosper.

Heartswork Winery operates simultaneously under the name of Our Daily Red and Orleans Hill, and in total the business makes some half-dozen or so USDA organic wines – all of them about halfway between ten and zero dollars. Find more information here.

Category: Wine

Tags:

Share this Recipe: Share on Facebook • Tweet This! • Pin it on Pinterest