Hello, San Diego Bay!

Trapper and I are getting settled in our new place and I was able to spend part of Sunday testing out the kitchen. We absolutely love the sweeping views of the bay, skyline and Coronado Bay Bridge from the boardwalk, literally steps from our front door. Trapper takes his leash in his mouth and leads me on a walk, three or four times a day. We stroll along, taking in the sunrise over the bridge, Navy carriers, sailboats, kayaks and paddle boards out in the bay, runners, bikers, and walkers along the boardwalk, and the reflection of the sunset on the downtown highrises. Before bed, we take another short walk, when all is quiet, and savor the beauty of the nighttime city lights and sky.

Saveur posted a link to this recipe for Roma Eggs on Facebook a few weeks ago, and I immediately e-mailed it to myself as a possibility for brunch during Tennessee's visit. I love poached eggs and this Italian-style alternative to Eggs Benedict sounded so flavorful. The test run was successful, and I am planning on making Roma Eggs Sunday morning, served with Thomas Keller's Smashed Roasted Marbled Potatoes with Garlic Confit (I also made the Garlic Confit yesterday, which keeps for up to a week in the refrigerator). Of course, the Prosecco will also be flowing.

Roma Eggs

I made a few minor adaptations to Saveur's recipe, using ciabatta rolls and sun-dried tomatoes. I also toasted the bread under the broiler rather than baking it. English muffins or any kind of Italian or country-style bread would work well. You could use Prosciutto or Pancetta.

Prosciutto, Sun-dried Tomatoes, Pesto, Eggs, Parmesan and Ciabatta Roll

Roma Eggs
Adapted from Saveur
Serves 2 - 4

Ingredients:

2 ciabatta rolls, sliced in half
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (for brushing bread and frying prosciutto)
1/2 cup homemade or store bought pesto
4 slices prosciutto
8 sun-dried tomatoes (I used jarred sun-dried tomato halves marinated in olive oil)
Kosher salt, to taste
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 eggs
Freshly grated Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preparation:

1. Preheat broiler. Place bread cut side up on a rimmed baking sheet; brush with olive oil. Broil until lightly toasted. Remove from oven and spread cut sides with pesto.

2. Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a 10" skillet over medium-high heat. Add prosciutto and fry, turning once, until crisp, about 2 minutes. Place prosciutto on halves of bread. In same pan, add sun-dried tomatoes and sauté, about 2 minutes. Place tomatoes on top of prosciutto.

3. Bring a 10" skillet of salted water to a simmer over medium heat; add vinegar. Crack eggs individually into 4 small dishes. Slip eggs into simmering water; turn off heat, cover, and cook until whites are just firm, 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon remove eggs from water, and place on top of tomatoes and prosciutto; top with Parmesan and pepper.

Just a few steps from our front door

Bon Appetit Cook the Cover: Chicken & Dumplings with Mushrooms

It would be nice to find a soft place to land and stay there for a while, but Trapper and I are on the move again! We moved into our little cottage just a year ago, but got the boot at the end of the lease. The owners, who live in the front house, claimed they planned to move into the cottage and rent out their house as a vacation rental. I didn't really buy it, and my suspicions were confirmed when I saw an ad on Craigslist advertising the cottage for availability on March 1. I won't get into the drama of what I went through initially when I moved in, but it must be time to move on.

So, I'm sitting at my computer, with boxes and packing paper all over the place, trying to get this blog post published before I unplug the computer and move it over tomorrow in time to meet the Cable/Internet technician. I've already started moving boxes of kitchen and other fragile stuff over to the new place, and the movers will come in a few days for my furniture. Trapper won't have a big yard, but we will still be in Coronado and just steps from the bay and his favorite swimming beach near the Ferry Landing. We can walk the boardwalk around the bay, under the bridge, along the golf course, and into town. We have an awesome view of the San Diego skyline from our patio and I look forward to taking advantage of the many resort amenities in the complex - pool, gym, saunas, hot tub, weekly happy hour... I'm especially motivated to get settled quickly, in anticipation of Tennessee's arrival at the end of the month.

I've missed participating in Bon Appetit's "Cook the Cover Challenge" the past few months, and February's "Modern Comfort" version of Chicken and Dumplings looked too good to pass up. I don't even recall if I've ever made Chicken and Dumplings, but I did enjoy this version with bacon, white wine, and assorted mushrooms. It was even better the next day for leftovers.

You can find Bon Appetit's cover recipe for Chicken and Dumplings with Mushrooms in the February issue and here. 

The only change I made in the original recipe was searing the chicken to a rich golden brown on both sides. Next time, I will also reserve the crisped bacon and sprinkle it over the finished dish at the time of serving, rather than adding it to the pot to simmer for 2 hours with the chicken. If you don't want to make the dumplings, this would be fabulous served over mashed potatoes, or even rice.

For my "cover" photo, I added a glass of wine. I used a nice Sauvignon Blanc in the recipe and managed to polish off the rest of the bottle that evening!

Cheers!