Kale and fried egg sandwich

After coming home from work earlier this week, I wanted something quick and easy for me and my brother to eat for dinner.  I started off by sauteing some Kale and ended up with a very tasty sandwich.  The best part is, it works for any meal of the day (at least I think it would also make a great breakfast or lunch sandwich).

For one sandwich
Ingredients:
1/2 bunch of kale, washed and dried with the center vein removed
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 egg
around 1/2 Tablespoon butter or oil
a slice of cheese (I used white sharp cheddar)
two slices of bread (I used ezekiel bread)
salt and pepper

Instructions:

1) Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan.  Add some red pepper flakes and when they start to sizzle add the kale.  Stir a few times and cook for 2-3 minutes or until wilted.  Remove from pan.
2) Then in the same saute pan, toast the slices of bread in a little bit of oil or butter.
3) In a smaller pan heat the butter or oil and then add the egg to fry.  Using a spoon, ladle the hot oil onto the top of the cooking egg to cook it without flipping the egg over.  Repeat this until the top is entirely white.  I like the egg to be runny, so I removed it from the heat relatively quickly.  Season it with salt and pepper.
4) Make a sandwich by layering the kale, fried egg and cheese between the bread.  The heat from the egg should melt the cheese if you time it correctly.  Enjoy!

Brownie-Chunk-Vanilla-Mint Ice Cream

At work we always have these extra brownie scraps that we either sample or end up throwing out.  For months now I've been wanting to make this ice cream using the scraps, but by the time I get home it seems that all of my friends or family have eaten all of them.  I have to admit I am to blame for a small portion that manages to "disappear".  This time I vowed to use the scraps for ice cream that I wanted to make by adapting this recipe by David Lebovitz.

Makes about 1 Quart 

Ingredients:

2 cups (80 grams) fresh mint leaves (washed)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 cups whole milk

1 vanilla bean pod

pinch of salt

5 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups soft brownie chunks (SLIGHTLY under-baked is better)

1) In a large saucepan combine the mint leaves, sugar, 1 cup of the cream, milk, vanilla bean pod (first slice it down the middle and scrape the seeds.  Add the emptied pod along with the beans) and the pinch of salt. 

2) Bring the mixture to a boil then immediately remove from the heat, cover with a lid, and allow it to steep for an hour.  This is when I watched Game of Thrones ;-)

3) Strain out the mint leaves and vanilla bean pod into a bowl and make sure to squeeze out all the liquid before discarding them.  Return the mixture to the saucepan and warm it up.  Meanwhile put the egg yolks into a medium bowl.

4) Temper the yolks by adding some of the hot liquid to it while constantly stirring.  Then add the yolks to the saucepan and whisk constantly until it begins to thicken.  Strain (to make sure no scrambled eggs are in it) into a bowl containing the last cup of cream and place in an ice bath.  Stir constantly to cool.  Allow to cool completely.  I chilled mine overnight before spinning in the machine because this created a creamier ice cream.  

5) Spin in the machine according the the manufacturers directions.  

6) Put some brownie chunks into the container you are going to store the ice cream in then add some ice cream and then add more chunks.  Keep doing this until all of the ice cream is in the container and the brownies are throughout the mixture. Serve immediately or store in the freezer (duh) until ready to consume!  Enjoy!

Kimchi Pancake

Kimchi has become extremely popular recently and has been appearing on restaurant menus in very interesting ways ranging from kimchi tacos to kimchi on hot dogs.  So what is kimchi?  It's a Korean dish consisting of fermented cabbage or other fermented vegetables.  Sounds yummy right ;-)  It's actually really delicious and can be used to make this amazing dish I first tried while in China.  It's a Kimchi pancake!!  This makes a great spicy, salty, crunchy appetizer.

Serves 5 people as an appetizer
Ingredients:
1 cup Kimchi cut into thin strips
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup kimchi liquid (from the jar of kimchi)
pinch salt
1 egg

1) Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until everything is well incorporated.
2) Heat a large skillet with a 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.  Add the kimchi mixture and spread it out evenly into one giant pancake.  Cook over medium heat and flip after 3-4 minutes (when it begins to brown).  Cook another 3-4 minutes or until both sides are browned and the center is cooked.  You may have to lower to heat to ensure the inside cooks but the outside doesn't burn.
3) Remove from heat, cut slices and serve immediately.