Category — Cooking Recipes

If you’re an American and were born in the last thirty or so years, you’ve probably never heard of egg cups and egg spoons .  This clever serving set has been around for hundreds of years, and although virtually obselete in the US, is still popular in Europe.

The Egg Spoon & Egg Cup set above is just $16.99 at ChefTools.com .  The way to use this is to make a hardboiled egg, then place it in the egg cup.  Crack just the top and then eat the egg with a spoon – kind of an old fashioned thing, huh?

Although this is the traditional use of an Egg Cup & Spoon, you can also use the bowl to hold miniature egg creations.  I sometimes like to make scrambled eggs and then put them in the cup, and serve as a side dish with waffles or pancakes.

Mini Scramble Recipe (serves 4):

-4 eggs
-2 pieces of honey maple bacon
-1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
-1 pat butter

Grate about 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese (or even easier, buy the pre-shedded cheese!) Heat up a small frying pan , place 1 pat butter in pan and let spread around surface of pan. Place the two strips of bacon into the pan and cook until crispy.  Once crisped, remove from pan and set aside.  Crack the 4 eggs directly into the pan.  While they are cooking, chop the bacon into small pieces. When the eggs start to get slightly firm, start scrambling.  When it looks like eggs are almost the texture you want, sprinkle the cheese and bacon in.  Once cheese has melted slightly, remove pan from heat.  Scoop eggs into the egg cups and voila – mini cheddar bacon egg scramble!

I had, hands down, the best guacamole this past weekend. It was the Fourth of July, and my friend was throwing a soiree on his deck in Manhattan Beach. There was really no better way to add pizazz to the ordinary fare of burgers and dogs.

We used a recipe from Alton Brown , who so famously uses science to perfect his dishes and this was a standout!

Ingredients

3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions

I like the authenticity of using a traditional Molcajete , which is shown in the image above, but we used a regular serving bowl and it still tasted great. We smeared the good stuff on our burgers and hot dogs and scooped up a good amount on our chips, too.

If you are looking for a pasta dish that is not made with traditional white flour, I think you’ll really like this Potato Gnocchi recipe.  I am gluten free, and I love that I am able to eat this pasta because the flour is Bob’s Red Mill Potato Flour , which is completely gluten free.

Ingredients

• 2-3 Large Yukon Gold or Red Skin Potatoes
• 3/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill potato flour
• 3/4 cup Arrowhead Mills white rice flour
• 1 teaspoon Bob’s Red Mill xantham gum
• 1 large egg
• 1 large pinch of salt

Preparation Wash and peel potatoes. Cook in boiling water until soft but not falling apart. Put through potato ricer or use KitchenAid stand mixer with dough hook to mash potatoes to a smooth consistency. Add egg, salt, xantham gum and half of both flours. Continue adding additional flour until dough forms and holds together. On lightly floured surface roll dough out into long half inch ropes. Cut ropes into halt to three quarter inch pieces. With back of fork gently roll gnocchi with tines of fork leaving slight impressions in gnocchi. Cook gnocchi in boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes or until gnocchi rise to surface of water. Top with your favorite sauce and enjoy.

Summer is a great time to go on a European adventure.  But if you can’t afford to jet off to France or Spain, you can at least experience the cuisine at home.  One dish that always makes me feel like I’m on vacation is Paella .  I find that when people make this at home that they never go all the way – they try to improvise by leaving out the seafood or the chorizo or some other element that just takes away what makes Paella really feel authentic.

Here’s an easy, delicious and restaurant worthy Paella Valencia recipe that my husband makes:

Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless chicken thighs
• 1 lb Spanish chorizo, casings removed and sliced
• 1 lb small shrimp, shelled and cleaned
• 1 lb baby sea scallops
• 1 can whole baby clams
• 2 red peppers, cut into strips
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup white wine
• 3-4 tbs of olive oil
• 1 16oz package of Spanish style yellow rice

Preparation

Start by seasoning chicken thighs with salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan that has a cover (I use the Calphalon One 7-qt Infused Anodized Sauteuse Pan with great results). Cook chicken through and until browned evenly on both sides. Remove from pan and let cool. Add additional oil to pan if necessary and add onions and peppers. Saute vegetables for 5-7 minutes, add garlic and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes. While vegetables cook shred chicken thighs into large chunks and set aside. Once vegetables have begun to soften return chicken to pan, add chorizo, rice, chicken broth and wine. Bring liquid to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Finally add shrimp, scallops and clams plus 1/2 cup of clam liquid. Cover and continue to cook until seafood is cooked through and rice has absorbed all of the liquid. Stir to combine all ingredients and serve.

This recipe makes a mountain of paella, so invite your friends or family over and enjoy this delicious dish together. This recipe is also very customizable, add muscles, squid or lobster for an even more delectable dish.

find more paella cookware here…

Summer is just around the corner, and we are excited about the sweet treats that are perfect for our favorite season. Share your favorite summer sweets recipe for a chance to win a KitchenAid Mixer ! Emily Schuman, Beso’s Style Director, will select the winner and bake up the winning recipe. The grand prize winner will be featured on the Beso Blog in June. If the baker in you needs the best mixer on the market, enter now and share your winning recipe with us! Entry ends May 31, 2010.

My favorite summer dessert resolves around fresh ingredients. I have so many wonderful memories that involve picking berries and incorporating them into a sweet dessert and these vanilla cupcakes with a strawberry meringue buttercream frosting certainly top my list. See my recipe below for strawberry meringue buttercream frosting. It’s best paired with fresh berries and white cake.