There are some items that, in my mind, should be in everyone’s culinary tool kit, such as knowing how to:
- Throw together a solid pasta sauce on short notice
- Roast garlic
- Poach eggs
- Make a pie crust
- Steep a cup of tea from loose black tea
Most of my days are framed around one of these items – though lets not kid ourselves, I make tea every day so there’s a pie crust out the window and off the check list. I’m also a creature of habit, and when I find something I like I find it hard to let go, especially when Mister doesn’t intervene in the dinner department. Part of this is because I’ve been a vegetarian for 17 out of my 23 years it can be hard to find food that really fuels me but that isn’t a huge production to make. And isn’t lentil based.
So I tend to find recipes I like and lock in. Baked potatoes are suddenly the perfect side dish to any meal! Slow cooker french onion soup will immediately pair with whatever you’re thinking of!! And then this past winter, I discovered the croque-madame.
Yesterday’s mystery sandwich
The Croque-Madame
Ingredients
-Your favourite sandwich bread
-Ham slices (or tofu ham slices!)
-Mayonnaise
-Honey Dijon Mustard
-A couple slices of Swiss or Gruyere Cheese
-Two eggs
Method to the Madness
-Toast your bread.
-Make a cheesy, tofu (or real) hammy sandwich using the above supplies
-Poach two eggs using Smitten Kitchen’s method, which works every time (just be gentle lifting them out!)
-Pop your two poached eggs on top of your sandwich and enjoy!
This is an incredibly simple recipe that you can change by adding tomato, basil, making it open faced, using different meats or mustard’s….but taking the time to poach an egg or two takes this up a notch from a sandwich to something that feels really indulgent and comforting.
Croque-Monsieurs are much more common I think, and involve taking the above sandwich and fusing it with a fried egg in a frying pan so there is an egg on the top of the sandwich but it’s crispy and fried…but I have texture issues with fried eggs. They seem hurried to me, and the process involves soaking the sandwich in either butter or pam, neither of which really appeals to me.
The Madame is a completely addictive, simpler and gentler version of the Monsieur. In no time flat it’ll have you buying the ‘good’ Omega-3 eggs because the colour is better when you pop the yolks.
Perfect for lunch on rainy Tuesdays. Are there any skills that you think everyone who has to fend for their own food should have?
Nilsa
I think everyone who wants to be anything in the kitchen should have knife skills, because it makes you look cool when you can whip that onion into shape without crying! Plus, I hear the knife skills classes are fun for both boy and girl.
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Emily
I still cry when I chop onions. I even tried doing it with a metal spoon sticking out of my mouth, but then there were still tears *and* I looked stupid :)
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Ben
Oh. My. God. So excited to eat that ASAP.
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Jenny
In all seriousness, I thought that you had put two scoops of vanilla ice cream on your sandwich – and was totally prepared to believe that it tasted amazing. I’ve actually never had a poached egg before, which I realize makes me a bit of a freak – but perhaps I’ll give it a shot!
I’ve found that I can cook just about anything with the right recipie, but I’m more of a snack for comfort & impromptu guests kind of person. I whole-heartedly believe in having at least 2 kinds of tea in the house at any given point in time (even though that’s really just for me), and two kinds of cheese (blue and a double creamy usually) and crackers. I’m a tad of a cheese snob, and it’s just the tastiest thing ever. Tasty snack runner-up: Raw honey from the comb & a big glass of milk.
I sound like I belong on a farm, but I swear I’m a city girl.
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laylou
Kitchen skills, from an Italian’s perspective:
- make a zesty, hearty meat sauce
- always have good bread on hand (I don’t have a breadmaker or the time to make my own… yet!)
- anit-pasto (meats, cheeses)
- know when pasta is done just by looking at it and not throwing it against the wall
- pan frying chicken breasts for Chicken Parmesian
- not related to being Italian, but making chocolate chip cookies without having to look at a recipe, and ensuring they are gooey and chewy, not hard and crunchy
I have never had a poached egg either but I suppose I should try it as the sandwich you made looks delicious. Thanks for sharing!
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nicoleantoinette
I’m not an egg person. It’s kind of awful because eggs always *look* so good, but I can just never really get into them.
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Lauren
Wow, it’s lunch time. I’m starving!! That sandwich looks so good. I’ve actually never had a poached egg either and I’m not sure I’m ready to start. I have yolk issues. I have egg issues. I eat like I’m three years old!
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Noelle
That looks decadent. And the only essential kitchen skill I can think of is making oatmeal exactly the way I like it. Once that is accomplished, I can do anything.
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laura_marie
I think it would be nice to think that anyone who makes food for themselves could just know some staples like the different ways to cook eggs, grill a hamburger to a specific done-ness, know when the cookies are done and not burnt on the underside or goopy in the middle, etc. However, that’s easier said than done assuming you don’t eat those three foods everyday.
Really though, I think it’s very useful to know how to make a big thrown-together skillet meal out of anything that happens to be in the fridge/pantry. They usually make enough for leftovers, plus it helps with the end of the week ‘i’m just going to have this snack bar and a potato with a side of raisins for dinner’ problem.
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fuchsiag
*Joins the never-had-a-poached-egg bandwagon*
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bFlat
Hi Kyla, I found your blog through your guest post on “Who’s Your Dachshund” so I’m not some creepy stalker person. I love your blog and hope to continue reading it. Congrats on the wedding!
Introductions aside, I also have never had a poached egg in my life. Though making a solid pasta sauce is crucial and it has bailed me out a number of times.
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michelle woo
Share the recipe for slow cooker french onion soup! It’s my absolute fave.
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Jessica
OMG that sounds amazing. I would love to learn to make it. Also, I get a big FAIL for cooking because I can’t do any of the things you mentioned. Are you free for lessons?
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Mermanda
Ok. I have to try this. I never poached an egg before.
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Elizabeth
I totally agree that there are some things that everyone should know how to do in a kitchen. I was confounded by the few people I met in school who didn’t even know how to check to see if their noodles were cooked! I suppose that is why EasyMac was invented…
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butterflycharlie
I thought I was going to be the first to raise my hand and say I have next to no culinary know-how but I see that Jessica got there first! ALthough saying that, I think I make a pretty damn good cheese on toast and a good cuppa tea! So hey, I’m half way there, right?! Plus, I’m pretty good at ordering take-aways…
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