Ristorante

Morning! First post of 2011, hope you like it. This was a valentine lunch I prepared for my girlfriend and I. Also hope you like the video!

-

Egg Salad-

To some egg salad is no more than an ugly slop of hard boiled eggs mixed with a spoon full of mayonnaise served on slices of faceless bread. But with the right amount of enthusiasm you can make something spectacularly delicious in a very short amount of time. To me it’s all about the texture. I try to keep the yolk as moist as possible, push it to the limit of becoming completely hard boiled. It’s not just hard boiled eggs on bread. It’s an opportunity to design a rainbow of sensations that will leave you wanting more.

-

Ingredients:

1. 6 small eggs
2. 1-2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
3. 1 tablespoon of mustard
4. 4 slices of bread
5. butter
6. cheese
7. salt and pepper for taste

Remember ingredients are just the structure of the recipe. Think of ways to improvise for different flavors and sensations. If you want it to be more solid and savory try adding bacon. If a crunch is what your looking for, try chopped celery or corn. What to add some heat? a spoon full of wasabi will do the job.

-

Directions:

Let the eggs sit out for a while to reach room temperature. This will help you cook them more accurately. Put them in a medium pot and fill the water just a little bit above the eggs. I always use my fingers to measure water height so about 1 finger nail high. Bring it to a boil and turn off the fire. Let it sit for 5-7 minutes. This depends on the amount of energy there is in the water, so use your best judgment. I was in a little bit of a rush so they only sat for 5 minutes which wasn’t enough for my eggs. But its ok! IMPROVISE! Move the eggs from the pot to a bowl of iced cold water and let it sit there for 5 mins to stop the eggs from cooking any longer. Crack and peel the eggs. Place them in a large mixing bowl and add mayonnaise, mustard and salt and pepper. Mash with a spoon or fork, just don’t get to crazy you want to leave a pleasant texture. Adjust taste as needed.

Now what I did to fix the under cooked eggs was move the whole mixture to a large pan and under low heat corrected the consistency of the eggs and had the opportunity to add some more flavor with some butter and a few dashes of smoked tabasco.

I buttered the slices of bread and grilled them on a griddle. I like to use unsalted butter for bread. Add cheese so they melt. Remove the toast when they are nice and golden.

Now assembly is up to you. I simply topped the cheesed toast with the egg salad and finished with the second piece of toast. Then halved the sandwich diagonally. 

-

Thats it! Hope you had as much fun as I did. This makes 2 sandwiches, one for you and the other for your lover. Let me know what you think and how your sandwich goes.

-RW