Turkish Cilbir
In my continuing breakfast series for this week I give you one of my favorite breakfasts that is as easy to make as it is delicious, a traditional Turkish meal, Cilbir. In one cup of yogurt (I use 5% Page) add 1-2 cloves of minced garlic, the juice of one lemon and a handful of fresh chopped dill. Mix well and set it aside, don’t put in the fridge. Melt a tablespoon of butter. Add a teaspoon of paprika. Traditionally you would add ¼ tsp aleppo peppers, but I don’t have any, fortunately I have Flatiron’s 4-Pepper mix, and it was great. You can use crushed red pepper flakes. Stir well. Poach 2 eggs. Toast some bread. I used sourdough. Cut into wedges. Drizzle half the butter sauce on the yogurt mix. Place the eggs on top. Put on the rest of the...
Soufflé Omelette
In my continuing breakfast series this week, I give you a Soufflé Omelette. Don’s Omelette Evolution:As a younger man, I was always served American Omelettes in the south, so that’s the way I made them. Essentially you cooked the beaten eggs, flipped it over and poured in your pre-sauted fillings and then folded it over. I did that for 20 years. Then in Hawaii, I watched the hotel’s omelette chef make a Denver omelette, where you saute the veggies (bell pepper, onions, spinach, etc), then toss in some diced protein and then pour the beaten eggs directly into the fillings. Flip, add cheese and fold over. This is SO much better. I have been cooking them this way for the past 10 years. Now, for the first time, this morning I made a Soufflé...
Bagel Toad-In-The-Hole
This week I’m focusing on fun breakfast ideas. The first entry is a Bagel Toad-In-The-Hole. The idea here is to use the pre-existing bagel hole instead of the classic slice of bread with a hole cut into it. Pre-heat your oven to 375°. Melt a tablespoon of Kerrygold butter in a small skillet. While it melts, add a smashed clove of garlic and a sprig or two of fresh thyme. Rosemary would be good too, I’d think. Stir to infuse the butter with the garlic and thyme. Place in half of the bagel to coat the cut side. You could brush some on the top if you’d like. I used Dave’s Killer Plain Bagels. Lender’s holes are too small and Thomas’s are too sweet for me. Place the bagel halves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover...
Honey Garlic Salmon
Honey Garlic Salmon I do love salmon, but I’ve fallen into the rut of making it two ways, my Five Thing Salmon, or my Nobu Miso Salmon. Five Thing: https://goodpointofview.com/…/five-thing-salmon-and…/ Miso Salmon: https://goodpointofview.com/…/griddle-cooked-miso…/ Tonight I was hankering for something new, and I was recently gifted some honey from Finland. So I leaned into that. So here’s my Honey Garlic Salmon. It’s very delightfully simple. In a bowl, mix some soy sauce, garlic and honey. Crack in some back pepper. Put the salmon in and stir around to coat. In a cast iron pan (or any pan) heat up some olive oil and butter. When bubbly hot, sear all sides of the salmon. If it’s a big fillet, sear and then put...
Cacio e Pepe
Hands down, the easiest meal, but also one of my favorites is Cacio e Pepe, which means cheese and pepper. The sauce is simply the starchy water from cooking the pasta, along with a little Pecorino Romano (or Parmigiano Reggiano) and black pepper. Boil a cup or two of water in a skillet. Add your pasta, do not rinse it first. I use angel hair that cooks in 4 minutes. If it begins to boil out, add a little more water. Remove from heat, DO NOT strain. Add some fresh ground black pepper and fine grate in about half a cup of the Reggiano. Stir until you have a nice sauce. Plate in a bowl, add more Reggiano to top, and grind in some more pepper to...
Lamb Chili
Lamb Chili Our usual proteins tend to revolve around mostly chicken and fish, occasionally beef and every blue moon, some pork. Fortunately our Food Lion is good about supplying lamb, in chops, ground or in shanks. It’s a nice way to mix things up a bit. Here’s three of my lamb favorites:Gyros: https://goodpointofview.com/2023/05/12/dons-gyro/Lamb Stew https://goodpointofview.com/2024/11/17/lamb-stew/Lamb Chops: https://goodpointofview.com/2023/07/19/greek-lamb-chops-with-lemon-rice-and-cucumbers/ In the Spring, I’ll do a Lamb Robert! For Wednesday night we did something new, Lamb Chili. This is a small batch, two dinners and a lunch. In a pot, caramelize one diced sweet onion.Add 4 cloves of minced garlic, stir for 30 secondsAdd pepper flakes....