Failed Truffled Egg Toast

I tried to recreate the delicious truffled egg toast I had at 'inoteca last night, but it just came out horribly.

The recipe I found on chowhound said to use a 1-inch thick slice of bread. Since my bread was already sliced (and sliced too thickly), I decided to just use a normal slice of bread instead of combining two slices. Plus, I'd just gotten back from watching Shrek 2 (very cute you should see it) and I just didn't think eating that much bread was such a good idea at 11:00 pm at night. The bread I had purchased last weekend from one of those charming Chinese bakeries. I love Chinese bread, its so nice and fluffy.

I toasted the bread then I made a little groove in the slice and spooned an egg yolk into the groove. (The egg whites I put into the freezer, as recommended by Nigella Lawson.)

I grated a lot of parmesan cheese and sprinkled it over the egg and toast. Then I stuck the bread into broiler for five minutes. When I checked on it again, the cheese didn't look melted. So I left it in the broiler.

Ten minutes later, I just decided to take the bread out, and it was hard as a rock! Truffled egg croutons anyone?

Oh well, I sprinkled some white truffle oil (well actually it was olive oil with white truffle flavoring-- the real stuff cost 5x more. Maybe I should take the plunge since the white truffle oil smells sooo good? You should try the mushroom ravioli in truffle sauce at Cafe Mozart (W. 70th St @ Broadway) - its delicious!) over the top of the bread. Lingered in the wondrous aroma and crunched on the croutons. Since I'd broiled the egg so long, the yolk had set. No yummy runny yolks for me! Oh well.

I am a kitchen gadget freak.

Okay, I just bit the bullet and bought a Braun Multiquick MR430HC/AC ($19.99) and a Zyliss Comfort Salad Spinner with storage lid ($14.99). Hmm, I wonder if the salad spinner was the same price at Zabar? Oh well, whatever.

The Braun Hand Blender is a multiple use device. It has three different removable attachments:(1) blender, (2) mixer and (3) chopper. So you can put the blender attachment on and make smoothies, puree soups, make mashed potatoes, etc. With the mixing attachment, you can whip egg whites, whip puddings, basically mix up anything. And finally, the chopping attachment allows you to finely mince fruits, vegetables, stuff like that. All the attachments come off and you can just stick them in the sink or the dishwasher to wash. Pretty cool. Since my kitchen isn't very large (NY apartments!) I didn't want to have to get multiple gadgets for all these different functions. Plus, according to the many reviews I read on the Internet, the Multiquick is very easy to clean and it is a gadget which you will use everyday, vs. one that will just gather dust on the shelf. The model I chose is only 200 watts, which I hope is enough juice.

Here are some more resources: reviews on Epinions on the MR430HC and a table from Braun comparing different models. Very helpful!

I decided to choose the Braun MR430HC/CA-- the cheapest model, since I'm not sure if I'm going to use it frequently enough to justify spending $60 (3x as much) for the more high powered one [the Multiquick MR5550CA]. I think it makes sense to ease into it, get this more affordable one, see how much usage I get out of it, decide whether or not its sufficient for my needs and if not then resell this one and buy the more expensive one.

My though process on the mid-range model vs. the high-end model: the more expensive one (the mid-range [MR5550CA] one not the high-high end [Braun MR5550MBC Professional Hand Blender]) does not have a very large chopper attachment, which I believe is the main improvement. So if the mid-range model's chopper isn't that much better than the cheapo version, what's the point of getting it? And although the high end model's chopper is heftier, its shaft is steel which won't work for my nonstick pots. Maybe the mixer part is better on the more expensive ones though. [Epinions on the MR5550MBC]

I sort of wanted to get the Braun Multimix (which is a mixer first instead of a blender first), but (1) it costs 2.5x as much, (2) people complained that the machine would break down and the power would get stuck in the high position. I seriously don't need that happening to me! [Reviews on Epinions]

But, I think my decision was mainly based on value. $19.99 is a great deal for the hand blender! Plus I can puree soups (I am going to make potato leek soup again real soon), whip up a souffle and chop up onions and garlic finely. I think for big jobs, I can just hand chop. But the chopper thingie will be useful for the "fine" chopping which I can't stand doing. I can finally make good cupcakes and icing.

Finally, I decided to get the Zyliss salad spinner instead of the Matfer baking mat (the other kitchen tool I was considering)for a couple of reasons: (1) reviews, (2) value and (3) more pressing need.

America's Test Kitchen rated the salad spinner #1 in terms of getting the job done; that is, getting the salad greens dry, which is important to me. The Zyliss was cheaper than the OXO salad spinner, and according to the reviews the Zyliss takes more energy to use, which will be good for my lazy self. Plus, one thing I get super annoyed with is that my salad greens are soggy after I wash them. Or that my vegetables rot because I get water all over them. By using this salad spinner thingie, I can get the water out of the greens (by just washing them when I get home), and then I can store them in my fridge for long periods of time without worrying about them going bad. I swear, my primary focus in my life is about preventing foods from spoiling!

So while the Matfer baking mat was super tempting, I decided that I don't really have huge issues with my cookies burning, plus I don't bake cookies that often. Plus, the rolling out dough benefit (basically the dough won't stick to the mat since nothing sticks to it), would be super helpful, since dough always gets stuck everywhere when I make pies and things, but it isn't that important. It is more healthy for me to eat salads more often rather than make quiches and chicken pot pies. Plus I don't even make pot pies that often! Is it because the dough sticks? Maybe. But, whatever. I shouldn't be spending so much money on kitchen gadgets! Oh well, whatever. I like to cook, so its fine. Its a hobby and I enjoy it. So there!

Plus, I will prevent food rot which will save me from wasting money! Which is high priority.

I am a kitchen gadget freak.

The Great Shallot Hunt

I've been looking around the city all weekend for shallots. They sure are hard to find; or at least super expensive!

Shallots are used in a gazillion recipes by Mario and all the big celebrity chefs, and I've always wanted to try them instead of substituting them with yellow onions like I usually do. There's a recipe in Nigella Lawson's book, How to Eat, where she recommends that you just roast the shallots in the oven. Then you can squeeze out the yummy gooey stuff with your fork and eat 'em. Yum!

So first, I tried Garden of Eden. I don't normally shop at the Garden of Edenm, since I feel that its totally out of my price range. After hunting through the produce section, I find a basket of shallots for $1.99/lb. Hmm, seemed high to me (that's more expensive than Murray's free-range skinless chicken thighs at Fairway!), so I decided to continue searching.

I then tried the Commodities market on 1st Ave. between 10th and 11th St. Being an organic market, they of course only had organic shallots. How much were they? $3.99 a pound! Garden of Eden started to look pretty good. They carried the shallots in 5 lb. bags as well, so I asked if there was a discount if you bought a bag (similar to buying a bag of yellow onions or potatoes), but they said, "Nope, the 5 lb. bags are $20 each." Outrageous! Commodities also had a tea tasting while I was there; apparently there is some kind of tea which suppresses your hunger so you can lose weight. Um, at $7.99 a box, I decided, I'll just be fat.

I decided to keep looking. (I really wanted some affordable shallots.)

I went to the Whole Foods Market at the Time Warner Center. The shallots there were also organic and also $3.99 a pound. I guess Commodities wasn't that overpriced.

I then tried Fairway Market where the shallots were $3.49/lb. (non-organic) and $3.99/lb. (organic). I didn't see shallots at Zabar, and at FreshDirect (the food delivery service), the shallots were about $2.38/lb.

So tail between my legs, I guess I'm back to Garden of Eden! It pays to shop around!

[BTW, while I was at all of these different stores, I found that the leeks at Wholesome Foods are actually the cheapest around. Funny, huh?]