Eggs Benedict

We had a bit of Hollandaise sauce left over from another recipe and decided to put it to good use in this tasty breakfast treat.

INGREDIENTS

2 slices of rustic bread
2 eggs
3 cups spinach
1 small tomato
3-4 tablespoons Hollandaise Sauce (click here for recipe from an earlier post)

Bring water to a boil in a small pot. Break the eggs and gently drop into the boiling water. Cook for about 1 minute - the yolk should be still runny. In the meantime wash and steam the spinach for 1-2 minutes until just wilted. Slice the tomato into thin slices and lightly toast the bread. To assemble, place the pieces of toast on two plates, spoon the spinach on top and add the tomato slices. Put the poached eggs over the tomato and drizzle with the Hollandaise sauce. Simple, pretty to look at and delicious!

Serves 2

Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

This is a quick, easy, and tasty treat that could be served at any meal! The best thing about this dish other than how sumptuous it is, is it only takes fifteen minutes to create.


INGREDIENTS

1 bunch aspargus, trimmed (tip for trimming: bend the bottoms until they snap off to remove tough ends)

For the Hollandaise sauce
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon lime juice
1-2 generous pinches of tarragon
salt and ground pepper
3/4 cup olive/canola oil mixture or 1 cup melted butter

Steam the asparagus for ~3-5 minutes - we think they are best when still crisp.

To make the Hollandaise, place all ingredients for the sauce minus the oil into a food processor or blender. Pulse briefly. Gently pour the oil mix or butter into food processor while blending continuously. The consistency of the sauce should be similar to yogurt however we have had batches that were somewhat runny but tasted just fine.

Serve the asparagus drizzled with Hollandaise sauce and enjoy!

Serves 2-4

Evelo's Bed and Breakfast

City: Minneapolis, MN
Address: 2301 Bryant Ave. South
Price: $85 (breakfast included)

Located in uptown Minneapolis and within walking distance from downtown, Evelo's B&B offers 4 guestrooms in a beautifully restored Victorian home. Two of the rooms are a little on the small side, but still very comfortable. Bathrooms are shared.

There is a screened-in porch perfect for reading the newspaper in the morning (New York Times and a local newspaper are provided daily).

The common areas downstairs are stunning. The Evelos have a wonderful collection of Art Deco lamps and pottery displayed throughout the house.

Breakfast at Evelo's is an elaborate affair. It consists of an assortment of pastries and jams, fruit and bagels (the spread is different every day) in addition to a featured dish. The tomato-egg bake served on our second morning was delicious!

Given all the amenities, the convenient location and the excellent price, Evelo's B&B is an excellent choice for your stay in Minneapolis.

Simple Black Bean Quesadillas with Salsa Verde

We love how quick, easy and nutritious this recipe is. For a vegan treat, omit the cheese, or substitute with soy cheese.

INGREDIENTS

For the salsa
1 pound tomatillos
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
salt to taste

For the quesadillas
1 (14 oz) can black beans, drained of liquid
4 whole wheat tortillas
2 oz softer cheese such as cheddar or muenster, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

Preheat the broiler. Husk the tomatillos and wash well. Arrange the tomatillos on a baking sheet and place under broiler for 4 minutes. Turn tomatillos on the other side and broil for 5 more minutes. Place the roasted tomatillos in a blender and blend briefly until broken up and chunky. Place the blended tomatillos in a bowl and mix in the onions, salt, sugar and cilantro. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving allowing the flavors to develop.

In the meantime, heat and lightly mash the beans in a medium pan adding the cilantro at the end. Heat up a large pan and place a whole wheat tortilla in it. Scoop half of the bean mixture onto the tortilla and spread evenly. Place half of the cheese slices on top of the bean layer and top with a second tortilla. Cook the quesadilla evenly on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side. Repeat the same with the ingredients for the second quesadilla. Serve warm, accompanied by the salsa verde.

Serves 2

Asian Legend

Cuisine: Taiwanese, Chinese
Address: 516 E. William St., Ann Arbor, MI
Price: $

We spotted this new restaurant in the old spot of Kabob Palace and decided to give it a try. As a rule of thumb, eating Chinese food outside of the Chinatowns of big metropolitan areas can be a disappointment. But Asian Legend ended up convincing us that fresh tasting, authentic Chinese food can be had right here in Ann Arbor.

Asian legend has a narrow and rather long dining room and friendly and competent service. There are nicely framed black and white photos lining the sunflower yellow walls. Overall the look of the place is neat and pleasant.

The menu is refreshingly different than what we have seen at other Chinese and Taiwanese joints. There are plenty of vegetarian choices and several fresh, lightly cooked offerings. We wanted to sample as many things as possible, so we ordered four of the appetizer/snack plates (小吃 xiao chi). The seaweed and dried tofu ($4.25) is a cold snack - we loved the texture of both the tofu and the seaweed - very refreshing!

The Chinese watercress with garlic ($5.95) was simply delicious! The watercress was gently sauteed with a bit of garlic and salt - that's it!

The scallion pancake ($2.25) was a bit thicker than what we have experienced at other restaurants but still pretty tasty.

We also tried the beef wrapped in onion pancake ($4.50), which was quite good, especially dipped in the chili sauce provided at each table.

We are definitely adding Asian Legend to the list of favorite cheap eats joints!

Spicy Coconut, Sweet Potato and Collards Curry

We love the unusual combination of ingredients in this recipe. It is based on a recipe found in Peter Berley's Fresh Food Fast: Delicious, Seasonal Vegetarian Meals in Under an Hour.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons neutral oil (for frying)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pack extra firm tofu
2 cups diced onion
1 large sweet potato, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 (14 ounces) can coconut milk
1 bunch collard greens
1/2 cup cilantro for garnish
salt to taste

Cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes and fry in the neutral oil until golden brown on all sides. Scoop out of the pan and let drain on a plate. Add the olive oil to the pan, and sautee the onions for 3-4 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, garlic, ginger, coriander and turmeric and stir well for about 1 minute. Add the coconut milk and two cups of filtered water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 12 minutes. In the meantime, remove the tough stems from the collard green leaves. Slice the collard leaves into 1/4 inch ribbons. Add to the curry and cook for about 3 minutes until wilted. Add the tofu cubes and stir well. Season with salt and garnish with cilantro. Serve over rice.

Parallèle "45"

Producer: Paul Jaboulet Aîné
Appellation: Côtes du Rhône
Region: Rhône, France
Vintage: 2005
Web: http://www.jaboulet.com
Store: World Market
Price: $10.99

Notes: Deep dark red color, nice fruit aroma, smooth with very little acidity.

Matsu Chan

Cuisine: Japanese
Address: Harvard Square Plaza, 5990 Sheldon Rd., Canton, MI
Telephone: (734) 459 1779
Web: http://www.matsuchan.com
Price: $

Hidden in the corner of a stripmall, Matsu Chan is a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant that serves Japanese ramen noodles. It is run by a husband-and-wife team - the wife waits the 6 or so tables while the husband cooks up a storm behind a tall counter. The decor is quirky - the walls are lined with a collection of license plates from all over North America and there are stacks of Japanese comics in a corner. Most of the customers are Japanese (which we took as a sign of authenticity) and the wait could be long if you go during lunch hour.

There are ample options for vegetarians and you can also request substitutions. We tried the plum rice ball appetizer ($1.75) and we thought the plums gave it a pleasantly tangy taste. The gyoza were stuffed with meat (unfortunately, there wasn't a vegetarian version) and pan-fried. We thought they were a little chewy.

The main attraction at Matsu Chan are of course the noodle soups and we have tried a range of them. The vegetable ramen came in an overwhelmingly big bowl with a ladle to match! The veggies were just crisp enough and plentiful. The menu suggested that the noodles would come in a "clear" broth, but we found the broth to be anything but clear - it was starchy and gelatinous. The mountain vegetables (山菜, sensai in Japanese or shan tsai in Mandarin) ramen ($7) came in a "soy" broth that had much the same properties as the clear broth. Very tasty once one overcomes the disappointment of the broth consistency. The last ramen soup we tried was the seafood ramen ($9), served in a clear broth similar to the vegetable ramen one. It came in a huge bowl with plenty of leafy greens, squid and prawns. We also tried both a seafood and a vegetarian version of the nabeyaki udon ($11). Both were very satisfying and are probably our favorite soups at Matsu Chan, but contrary to what we had experienced in other versions of this dish, the udon came with a hardboiled egg, rather than a poached one. Finally, we wanted to try one of the rice-bowl entrées, so we ordered the eel rice bowl (there are no vegetarian rice bowls). It tasted fine, although we think any of the soup entrées would have been a better choice.

Overall, Matsu Chan is a good dining choice on a cold winter day - and there are plenty of those in Michigan!

Lemon Corn Muffins

We love how crunchy these muffins are - we can't get enough! They are not too sweet and have an exquisite lemony flavor. And the best part is - you can make them with ingredients that you likely stock in your pantry.

INGREDIENTS

1/4 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/8 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 cup whole milk
1 egg
1/2 cup fresh or dried blueberries

Preheat oven to 375°F and grease a large 6 muffin pan. If you don't have a muffin pan handy, use ceramic ramekins instead and increase the cooking time by a few minutes.

Combine the sifted flour, baking powder, cornmeal, sugar and lemon zest in a bowl.

Melt the butter. In a separate bowl, beat the egg. Add the butter and yogurt to the egg, along with the milk.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing thoroughly. Once the batter is well mixed in, add the blueberries and stir them in gently.

Pour the batter into the greased muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 6 muffins

Garden Vegetable and Potato Lyonnaise

This could serve as a delightful side dish or as a main dish if accompanied by a salad. We liked the flavor of the caramelized vegetables and the sweetness of the onions. We have modified and decluttered a recipe found in Michel Nischan's Homegrown Pure and Simple cookbook.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 sweet potato, peeled
5 small turnips, peeled
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
5 red-skinned potatoes

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Oil a 9-by-11 inch pan with half the olive oil.

Peel and cut the sweet potato and turnips into 1/8 inch slices and keep in separate bowls. Slice the onions. Without peeling them, thinly slice the potatoes.

Next, place consecutive layers of each vegetable in the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper in between. There should be enough for two layers of each sliced ingredient. Sprinkle the top layer with a tablespoon of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Tightly wrap the pan in aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes, removing the foil for the last 10 minutes to allow the top layer to brown.

Serves 8

Castello D'Alba

Producer: Castello D'Alba
Varietal: Tinto Rariz
Region: Douro, Portugal
Vintage: 2003
Store: Everyday Wines, Ann Arbor
Price: $16.99

The back label claims that one would be able to taste "silky smooth, intense blackberry and red plum fruit flavors combined with a creamy note of vanilla." The wine was relatively smooth upon opening but it got even better a few days later.

Zucchini Quiche

This quiche is one of the staples in our cooking. It is easy to make and simply delicious. And the best part is - it keeps well and tastes even better the following day!

INGREDIENTS

Pie crust
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup olive oil
salt

Filling
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 zucchini, sliced
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 ounces hard cheese, grated
2 teaspoon fresh dill
salt and pepper to taste

To make the pie crust, mix the flour and salt. Add the olive oil, and mix with a fork until you see fine crumbs. Add about 1/2 cup water or enough to form a firm dough. Let dough sit for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Roll out the dough and put on a pie plate. Pierce dough with a fork and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 10 -15 minutes.

In the meantime, use a large pan to sautee the onions in the olive oil until golden brown. Add the zucchini and cook for another 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and add the milk and dill. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Spoon the sautéed vegetables into the pre-baked pie crust. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and pour the egg mixture into the crust. Bake at 375°F for 40 minutes or until set in the middle and slightly brown on top.

Serves 8

The Metro Café

Cuisine: Modern American
Address: 303 Detroit Street, Ann Arbor, MI
Telephone: (734) 213 9100
Web: http://www.metrocafea2.com
Price: $$

The restaurant space is on its fourth incarnation that we are aware of. The interior has been slightly updated - new artwork and (thankfully!) no dolphins in sight - to create a modern, comfortable atmosphere without pushing the envelope too much. Dinner starts with a bread basket many sizes too large for the three rolls inside it. The rolls were a little greasy and chewy - stay away unless you are starving! We sampled three small plates - beef empanadas ($7), teriyaki tofu ($8) and spiced vegetable tempura ($7). There were three beef empanadas on a bed of mesclun greens and an orange sauce drizzle. The teriyaki tofu came slightly charred, layered with gently sautéed spinach and mushrooms. The tempura was a mix of sweet potatoes, peppers, asparagus, etc. and came with a rather heavy cream-based dipping sauce instead of the traditional soy sauce based one. All three dishes were tasty and nicely presented. Although we ordered from the "small plates" section of the menu, the portions were larger than expected and enough to feed two hungry diners. The dessert platter looked tempting and decidedly more original than anticipated. We tried the raspberry passion fruit tart ($6) and the molten lava cake ($7). The passion fruit tart was pleasantly tangy offering a nice contrast to the intense chocolate of the lava cake. The molten lava cake came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side and both desserts were accompanied by a raspberry sauce drizzle. Very tasty!