Recipe: Chorizo Hash with Sous Vide Eggs

A touch of habanero hot sauce takes it to a whole other level!

Chorizo Hash with Sous Vide Eggs!
Serves 2 (but easy to half and make for 1!)
Special equipment: Sous Vide (if you have!)

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2 Russet potatoes
• 1/2 medium onion (diced)
• 1/2 medium red bell pepper (diced)
• 2 cloves garlic or 2 sprigs of garlic scape (if you can find it)
• 1 link of chorizo (I use the uncured type, if you use the harder chorizo, just dice it)
• Herbs of your choosing (I like rosemary and thyme)
• Handful of cilantro

First, if you're going to sous vide your eggs, get your water bath started and set to 62.5°C. Once it reaches that temperature, gently put your eggs in for 1 hr. If you don't have a sous vide - try making a 6 minute egg (boil water, drop down to simmer, put in egg, time for 6 minutes and then run under cold water). If all fails - make some over easy eggs.

Nice not bath for my lovely eggs.

Pre-heat a non-stick pan over medium flames with about 1-2 T of olive oil. Peel and dice your potatoes into 1 cm cubes. Get them into the pan and toss them in the oil. Continue to toss them every couple of minutes and allow them to cook through and slightly brown.

Any breakfast that starts with potatoes is off to a good start.

As you cook your potatoes, get the rest of your ingredients ready!

Mise en place like a boss!

Once the potatoes have cooked through, toss them into a bowl with a little salt and half of your chopped or dried herbs. Seasoning potatoes while they're warm gives them a great flavor.

In the pan that the potatoes just came out of, put down your chorizo with your garlic and break it up into small pieces.

The smell of chorizo is intoxicating...or maybe it's the garlic.

Once the chorizo is broken up and 75% cooked through. Add the red pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes and add the onion. I always find that if I don't stagger it, the onions are mush before the pepper finished cooking.

Onions and peppers are a breakfast's best friend.

Once the onions and peppers are about cooked through, throw the potatoes back in. Add some salt, pepper, and the rest of the herbs along with your cilantro!

Toss it all together and divide into two plates. Keep warm if you need to, if not, run your eggs under cold water for 30 seconds (so you can work with them) and crack 2 eggs on top of each plate. Garnish with hot sauce and some extra cilantro.

DELICIOUS.

Love when the yolk oozes over the potatoes.

Enjoy with a friend (or significant other)!

SanFran: Top 10

As we rode our bikes back from Sausalito, Joe proclaimed. "I can see why people live in San Francisco. It's nice here."

As with Seattle, we did a lot, and ate even more. Here's my SF 10.

I'll admit it's probably not worth the wait, but if you can grab a table at State Bird Provisions, I'd go for the experience. It's basically American Style Dim Sum, but I liked it (grab the chicken liver mousse!). The ice cream sandwich pictured above was on point.

Some of the best views of the Golden Gate Bridge are via a bike path on the way there! Would highly suggest renting a bike and riding over the bridge. You can take the ferry back from Sausalito (a town on the other side of the bridge), or if you're feeling energetic...ride back!

PPQ Dungeness Island - the salt and peppercorn crab is delicious. Add some garlic noodles and papaya salad and you have a mouthwatering meal.

This was at Jacuzzi Winery; I would highly suggest taking a wine tour in Sonoma! We used Valley Wine Tours and I really enjoyed it (they even provide a nice picnic lunch)! Be careful, as you continue to drink, you'll find the need to buy more and more wine (and in my case, join a wine club).

The Kouign Amann at b. patisserie was delicious! Great pastry shop!

La Tacqueria. I know, if a place sells tacos, it's a tacqueria, but you have to find LA Tacqueria. Delicious tacos, but very filling so don't order too many!

Street art in the Mission is awesome! We walked down Balmy St. and enjoyed all of the graffiti.

Liz knows I love donuts, so she took me to Dynamo Donuts! I had no idea, but if you google "Best Donuts in the US" it will usually show up on the list! Good looks little one.

Sightglass Coffee. The best coffee I had in SF.

Our meal at Saison, which will ultimately get its own blog post. It's probably hard to justify going back because of the price tag, but I did thoroughly enjoy my meal here (thanks Daddy!).

Overall, we had a great time sightseeing and eating our way through San Francisco. It's definitely a different pace (read: slower pace) on the West Coast and I can see how people must enjoy that. I wonder if when they come to NY, they think we're all just crazy. Since one of my best friends is going to move there and Liz will be there for another year, Joe and I have enough excuses to visit again.

As some quick notes of other places we hit up:

• Izakaya Kou: If you need to wait for State Bird, go across the street to Izakaya Kou and get some yakitori.
• Mr. Holmes Bakeshop: Had the infamous "cruffin", but if you've had a cronut, you've had a cruffin. Good, but nothing to write home about.
• Pier 39 to just look at the massive number of sea lions that hang out there
• Mazarine Coffee: Solid cup of coffee, but Sightglass was better (but Milstead in Seattle was the best!)
• Hogwash: Great place to get some sausages and beer. Pretty reasonably priced as well.
• Bi-Rite Creamery: I don't love ice cream in general, so I'm not a good judge, but my sister seems to think it's amazing.
• Hog Island Oyster Co: Oysters are fresh and it's nice to sit outside looking out to the water, but it's overpriced for what you get.

One last picture to close out the trip to SF and the whole reason Joe and I went to the West Coast:

Liz graduated from Berkley! Congrats Lil' One!

Seattle: Crays, Crows, Coffee, Hills, and Pets

I don't know what you've heard about Seattle, but let me clear it all up (if my title hasn't already). It's super hilly, with lots of "different" people, the crows outnumber the pigeons (and they're everywhere), the beer is good, the coffee is better and there is a Mud Bay (similar to a PetCo) on every street. Boom. There's my three day (probably very inaccurate) portrait of Seattle. 

With all that said, Seattle was a great time and we did a lot of awesome things. To keep it short and sweet I've narrowed it down to 10 photos.

Schilling Cider House. ~30 ciders on tap, $2 for a 3oz pour. Taste your heart out. Even beer drinkers will have a good time.

Down the street from Schillings is Fremont Brewing. Good beer and BYOF (bring your own food!). Good for families, couples, and people just taking a break from their bike ride.

My favorite Americano I had in Seattle (and that's saying something!). Nutty and aromatic without the acidic after taste. Amazing.

The Underground Tour. Highly recommended. Very entertaining and good to learn a little history of the city.

I'm not usually sentimental, but something is really nice about seeing HS friends. Taylor's Shellfish - good for oysters (and just for oysters).

Starbucks Reserve. I don't care, I'm a Starbucks groupie (and shareholder). I like the concept of the Reserve, I'm willing to pay a little more to have you melt chocolate chips into my mocha.

The view from West Seattle. We did a lovely kayak tour with Alki Kayak Tours. Sunset tour was great and as an added bonus we saw a bunch of harbor seals! They were adorable.

The tuna flight from Shiro's sushi. Fatty tuna is my jam. Jin was super friendly. Sit at the bar, make a new friend.

Copper Works Distillery. Just a little guy kind of in the middle of nowhere, but they make an awesome gin. Not available (I don't think) on the East Coast, but I shipped a couple bottles home, so come find me for a taste.

This was at the public library, which is a strange place - there was an entire floor that was just red. Cool architecture there, but the citizens don't care, they just go and watch movies all day (told you the people were "different")

So there is it. 10 photo summary.

Fine, pull my leg, we should have one last to round out this post.

Donuts from Pike's Place. PP itself wasn't all that entertaining, but these donuts were solid. They had an almost crueller like texture, and of course Joe got powdered, because he likes to make a mess everywhere.

Seattle was great and sometime we will definitely return. A good mix of laid back and outdoorsy activities mixed with a great food and cocktail scene!

It's called the Superbowl because it holds a lot of food, right?

I love hosting the Superbowl. I get to have a little themed fun, but ultimately I get to make whatever I want. Over the past few Superbowl parties, I've learned a couple of things:

1. Pre-make whatever you can pre-make.
2. Have enough booze.
3. Don't make dessert - someone will bring it.

This year, the line up was as follows, and if I used a recipe, I've cited it below so you can make it, too!

Buffalo Popcorn from Bon Appetit

I was a big fan. You can make it ahead and it's like kettle corn, but on fire.

 The Cheese Bowl

When making a cheese plate, always have different types and textures!

 Clam Chowder from Food Network

A little thinner than I wanted it, but if you steam your own clams and reserve the juice, the flavor will be great!

I feel like I have Salsa and Guac down to a science, and no game is complete without it to munch on.

 Smoked Salmon Bagel Chip

Next time I'd cut the bagel chips a little thinner, but definitely make your own! 350°F for about 15 minutes and they'll be crisp!

 Pigs in a Blanket (the upscale version) from Food and Wine

Andouille in puff pastry - one yummy item + one yummy item = one yummy item?

 Pretzel Bites from Sally's Baking Addiction

If you can get your hands on Beecher's a combo of Jack and Flagship is the way to go. Same blend they use for their Mac N Cheese. Pretzel recipe is legit and I've been asked to make them again next year.

 Lobster Rolls

A lil lobster, a lil buttered roll, a lil mayo, a lil celery salt. That's all she wrote.

 Xi'an Wings from Serious Eats

The second hit of the night. Spicy but addicting! I would definitely make wings this way, because the extra effort upfront keeps me from having to stand by a fryer half the night. You gotta have wings right?!

Not pictured is the brisket, which I thought came out a little dry - and I didn't get a good picture of it. 

I might have overdone it a little, but hey, the only food holidays greater than the Superbowl are Thanksgiving and Chinese New Year, so really, I was right on the money. I like to go big or go home (except I'm already home) because when you have fun with the food for a party, your guests have fun too.

Fatkidathon: The Return of the Blog

It's time. Since I've last posted - I've gotten married, I moved to New York, I started a new job, and of course, I've abandoned this blog.

I thought about having this be more about my life, but realized, my life revolves around food - so the blog remains the same. This time, I'll hopefully be armed with a better camera.

So the mantra remains the same: Live. Love. Eat.

2 weeks ago I hosted my first Fatkidathon: How to be a Fat Kid 101, which was a eating/drinking tour of the new city I call home: Astoria, NY.

Lesson 1: Cheese + Meat = Delicious Snack

In Astoria there's a place called Astoria Bier and Cheese and they carry a wonderful selection of beer, cheese, and meats. Additionally, they make this sandwich which is killer that I often imitate for a snack: Amy's Raisin & Fennel Bread + Cambozola Cheese + Bacon. The sweet, stinky, fatty, and salty combination can't be beat. You just lightly toast the bread on one side, flip it and top with the cheese. Once it's toasted and the cheese starts to melt, you put a slice of bacon on top and serve.

Lesson 2: If you're going to drink beers outdoors, you need sausages and fries to munch on.

I've heard about the Bohemian Hall Beer Garden since I've moved here, but it's taken me an entire year to finally make my way here. The pitcher prices are reasonable, the atmosphere is relaxed, and the sausages are porky and salty - just the way I like them. It's a huge space, but if you come with a large group, you'll have to do a little table stalking to get a spot where everyone can sit together.

Lesson 3: Tapas are great for sharing with friends.

Joe and I did our honeymoon in Spain, and the food was phenomenal. I've been dying to find a good tapas place so we tried out La Rioja which is down the street from my apartment. My feelings are mixed here - some things were delicious (i.e. jamon croquettes, clams in some deliciously hot sauce), while other things were only so-so (i.e. paella mixta, octopus), but I had a great time anyways because I had great company.

Lesson 4: Flan and fruit tarts are great desserts.

I'd like to say I'm sort of a connoisseur of flan and fruit tarts (in reality, I'm probably not)- two of my favorite desserts. Coming from a family where someone always requests a fruit tart on their birthday vs. traditional cake - I've eaten a lot of fruit tarts. While my loyalty lies with Pastiche in Providence, RI, La Bergamote in NY makes a pretty darn good fruit tart as well. Between the fruit and crust lies a nutty layer - I can't explain it, but it's delicious.

The flan is from New York Bakery cafe on 30th Ave in Astoria. Nothing else I've tried there is any good, but the flan is delicious. It's smooth but firm with a delicious caramel flavor. I always get at least two and always ask for extra sauce.

Overall I'd say the inaugural year of Fatkidathon was a success. One of my best friends from college, Tiffany, depicted it best:

Who knew Astoria had so much fun and food to offer?