Well, dearest readers, none of the recipes I tried last week really tickled my palate enough to post here. So, for the second time in a row I did something very un-cooking inside the lines of me by doing my own thing with some leftover bacon, pasta and marinara sauce. However, I did also decide to try these Garlic Herb Bread Twists from Gourmet magazine. Mangia!

I had some bacon that needed to be cooked and some pappardelle pasta in the pantry. I simply cooked the pasta in salted water until al dente and while that cooked, I diced three pieces of center cut bacon and cooked until crispy. I let the bacon bits cool on a paper towel, and reserved about a tablespoon of the the bacon grease in the pan and lowered the temperature to medium-low. I then added two minced garlic cloves and after 30 seconds, added a jar of marinara sauce and simmered until warmed through. Once the pappardelle was finished, I drained and then combined with garlicky, bacony, marinara and added the cooked bacon bits and freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top. This was super simple and a delicious way to use the rest of bacon in the package.

I also tried these delicious Garlic Herb Bread Twists that were amazing! I used store-bought, frozen pizza dough and the herb filling inside the twists with the garlic oil was a perfect complement to my pasta dish. Next time you have pasta night try this “twist” on the typical garlic bread. Mine didn’t look this beautiful (photo from Gourmet.com) but tasted amazing!

First, let me say to the two people who actually read this blog that I’m sorry I haven’t updated in more than a week! Do you ever have one of those weeks that are so long that you think of things that happened on Monday was actually two Mondays ago? Yeah, long one my friends.

So, I’m back in the saddle again and of course I was in the mood for a fried egg sandwich and had the tasty idea to make a fresh peach, bacon and fried egg sandwich and it was really, really good! I simply smeared a half tablespoon of salted butter on two slices of whole wheat multi-grain bread and toasted. While the bread toasted, I chopped up two pieces of center-cut bacon and cooked in a skillet until crispy. I reserved the bacon fat and then fried the egg until the whites were set and the yolk was still all runny and gooey. I then thinly sliced a peach and placed on the bottom piece of the toasted bread, then sprinkled the crispy bacon on top, followed by the fried egg. I finished the egg with a little sea salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper for spice and topped with the other bread slice. The hint of spice from the pepper, the gooey egg and juicy peach with the crispy bacon were all really good together. In the fall, I could see this being really good with pears too.

There, that’s better. So Cooking Light came up with some wicked good recipes using the incredible, edible egg, one being Poached Eggs with Buttery Multigrain Toast. When I first saw this recipe I thought “um yeah, that seems pretty simple and basic, I’ll try it sometime in 2010.” Well dear readers, I’m glad I decided to try it when I woke up one Saturday morning hankering for eggs and all I had were the ingredients for this dish. Simplicity can sometimes (or really all the time actually) knock your freaking socks off and this recipe is a prime example. I added a dash of red pepper and used Fleur de Sel (oui, oui friends!) because I love those flavor combinations on eggs.

The other egg recipe I tried was an Asparagus Salad with Soft Poached Eggs, Prosciutto, and Lemon-Chive Vinaigrette. The cooking method for poaching the eggs was something I hadn’t seen before. You boil water in a large skillet and then break the eggs into a custard cups covered with cooking spray. Once the water is brought down to a simmer you place the egg filled custard cups in the skillet and cover. In about 10 minutes, voila, they are done. How cool right? This was salty, gooey, eggy-goodness and the chives gave a great herbaceous note to the whole dish, plus the vinaigrette complemented everything on the plate.

Now go get your lutein, zinc, iron and protein with these two egg-alicious dishes!

Photo courtesy of Cooking Light