Friday, April 1, 2011

Wild Mushroom Toasts with Eggs Recipe


Eggs are probably the original convenience food. According to Sara Foster of Foster’s Market fame in the Durham/Chapel Hill area of North Carolina, “When it comes to convenience food, you can’t do much better than eggs; they’re nourishing, they cook in minutes, and they’ll keep in your refrigerator for weeks." I totally agree. Eggs are so versatile and you can add just about anything savory to eggs and they’ll be delicious.

We’re the kind of people who can eat eggs morning, noon, or night. How about you? Do you think eggs are only for breakfast? If you do, I hope this recipe for wild mushroom toasts topped with eggs will convince you otherwise. This is adapted from Sara Foster’s delightful cookbook Casual Cooking, More Fresh Simple Recipes from Foster’s Market. The book has an entire chapter titled “Anytime Eggs,” and features such recipes as individual prosciutto, spinach, and egg “pies,” and smoked salmon toasts with poached eggs and Dijon dill sauce, which we had for dinner recently and it was so good we ate them before we got a chance to take a picture.  


The recipe calls for assorted wild fresh mushrooms. I bought a box of assorted mushrooms at the market, but next time I might try to choose my own mushrooms. The box I bought had a couple of exotic mushrooms, but the majority were baby bellas.

I didn’t have my wonderful egg poacher here that I so love, so we did what I call “soft fry” the eggs. They’re a cross between fried eggs and poached eggs. To “soft fry” the eggs, break them in a skillet with hot fat just as you would for fried eggs and, after a couple of minutes, add a little water and cover the eggs with a lid for the remainder of the cooking time. This method is much easier than poaching eggs and they turn out prettier than fried eggs in my opinion.

Enjoy eggs “anytime” as Sara Foster recommends.


Wild Mushroom Toasts with Eggs
Adapted from Sara Foster’s Casual Cooking

Serves: 4
Level: Easy

2 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing the bread
4 ounces assorted wild fresh mushrooms, trimmed and sliced if needed
1 shallot, peeled and minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped minced chives, plus more for garnish
4 1-inch-thick slices of crusty, rustic-style bread
4 large eggs

Heat the butter with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often, until the mushrooms are golden brown and soft. Add the shallot and sauté about a minute more, until the shallot has softened. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in the chives. Remove the mushrooms from the heat and keep warm.

Preheat the broiler. Brush one side of each bread slice lightly with olive oil. Place the bread under the broiler for about 1 minute per side to toast lightly. Set aside while you cook the eggs.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Crack eggs into pan and cook 2 minutes. Add one tablespoon of water, cover with a lid and cook an additional 2 minutes until whites are set, then remove the skillet from the heat. Remove the eggs with a slotted spatula and place one egg on each toast. Top the eggs with the mushrooms and chives. Season with additional salt and freshly ground black pepper if desired and serve warm.

Now for the winner of the give-away. The question I posed on my last post with the French Bistros photos – “Do you wish you had gone to culinary school?” yielded a lot of interesting answers and I enjoyed reading each and every one of them. Many of you, in fact more than half, said you had dreamed of going to culinary school.  Some of you actually have attended culinary school and I really admire you. Others said they were dreaming of winning a contest that would whisk them off to the bistros of Provence to enjoy the food. Moi aussi. How about this charming bistro in Arles, Le Café La Nuit, which supposedly was the bistro that inspired Vincent van Gogh’s painting Café de Soir.

Le Cafe La Nuit in Arles, France

It’s wonderful to be able to dream, isn’t it? Where would we be if we didn’t dream? Walt Disney said “All of our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” Walt was right about my dream of culinary school. I didn’t have the courage to pursue it. But there are others in the world that do have the courage to pursue their dreams. Of course I’m referring to the people in the Middle East and their dreams of freedom. It’s a very dangerous but exciting time in parts of the world today.


I wish that each of you could receive a copy of this fun read - Under the Table, Saucy Tales from Culinary School. It’s Katherine Darling’s memoir of adventures in the student kitchens of the legendary French Culinary Institute in New York City. However, there is only one winner and the winner is Ally from Sweet & Savory.  Ally’s name was drawn the old fashioned way, from a hat, and she too has dreamed of going to culinary school. Ally just delivered an adorable baby girl so you might want to drop by her blog and say congratulations on the new addition to her family. Ally, if you’ll contact me with your mailing address I’ll get the book off to you. Keep dreaming everyone.

For those of you that wished me well with our move in to our condo that is being renovated from head to toe, we're in but not quite settled. In any renovation, especially a major one, there are glitches. I'll have pictures when we're complete.

62 comments:

  1. We are in the "eggs anytime" category. As long as there's an egg in the refrigerator, I'm confident of a tasty meal. Congratulations to Ally--on the book and the baby! I'll mosey on over for a visit.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  2. P.S. Meant to say that your recipe and method are deliciously calling my name. With the toast on the bottom, there's no need to "sop"--although it's a favorite thing to do!!

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  3. This looks wonderful!!... your photos are terrific too, great job.

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  4. Bonjour Sam- love that photo of ~Le cafe La nuit~ all decked out in Vincents beautiful sunflower yellow, the colour he loved.
    I have never cooked my eggs "soft fry" but it makes sense - will try it in the morning.
    Bonne Nuit. xx

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  5. Eggs and mushrooms...very, very nice. Often make mushroom omelets, but this is just a little extra special. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. Ahh that's the type of egg poacher i use when J doesn't make his..we like eggs at all times of day too..
    I look forward to seeing your new nest photos:)

    Have a great day.

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  7. Oh My - this sounds delicious!!! Will have to try for a Sunday Brunch!

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  8. I often have breakfast for dinner but that usually means pancakes or waffles. Eggs on toast with seasonal muxhrooms would be welcome too!!!! Congratulations to the winner!

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  9. Would love to have this for breakfast right now, the eggs sound just wonderful with the wild mushrooms!

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  10. Well you know how I feel about eggs. Could eat them morning noon and night. I'll have to get that cookbook, just for the egg chapter alone. :-)

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  11. My April project is to try and cut our outrageous grocery bills. Eggs anytime is something for me to remember -- even if I splurge on wild mushrooms. Your photos are lovely and are making me hungry!

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  12. Congrats to Ally!

    That toast looks incredibly yummy! I love mushrooms and eggs. Very Easter-like.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  13. Sam I love eggs and toasts look absolutely delicious! have a nice weekend gloria

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  14. Great dish...I'd happily eat this for lunch today. Interestingly, I just heard about this way of cooking eggs and tried it but wasn't so successful. Must try again!

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  15. I hate it when I buy those mushrooms at the store and there's one "exotic" and then the rest baby bellas!!! I have been buying individuals ones if I can find baskets of them.

    This dish is mouth watering good! Congrats you the winner!

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  16. Congratulations Ally - enjoy your win!!

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  17. I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to my eggs. I want them in the morning, poached and super tasty. Unless they're hard boiled...in which case i will eat them all day, every day :) Love the recipe and great giveaway!

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  18. There is something simple and beautiful about egg dishes, Sam. They are indeed my go-to convenience food, and I really like this combination of the woodsy mushrooms and the creaminess of the eggs. Good thing all that hokum about eggs being unhealthy wasn't true!

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  19. Yea for Ally! Such a neat win!

    Sam, we really are kindred spirits. I adore eggs, which are probably the one food I cook well. Or I think so. ;-) I could eat them at every meal. And this dish is right up my alley. Looks delicious!

    BTW, did you get any storms your way? We have two trees down and no power still. I'm up the other way right now and am headed down to check. I had to cancel my lunch/shopping with two blogger friends. Sigh. But we're grateful the trees fell where they did instead of on the house. Am waiting for word from the tree people now.

    xo,

    Sheila :-)

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  20. I am an "eggs at any time" type of person, too, Sam! I also like mushrooms quite a bit. The combination of eggs and mushrooms prepared this way sounds perfect. It is a delicious, quick and easy meal!

    Congratualtions to Ally on winning this interesting book and on her new baby!

    PS: My husband's nephew went to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. His education there was outstanding. If anyone is really serious about becoming a professional chef I'd highly recommend going to a CIA school.

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  21. That looks and sounds wonderful Sam! Yes, we eat eggs for lunch and dinner as well as breakfast. Usually it is an omelet, frittata or quiche. I am going to have to try this recipe and next time I go to Barnes and Noble I am going to check out that cookbook by Sara.
    Hugs,
    Penny

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  22. Wow! I actually won??? I almost didn't even check b/c I figured I wasn't the winner! Thank you so much! And thanks for directing folks to my blog as well:) Do you have an email address where I can send my mailing address?

    Or my email is sweetandsavoryfood@hotmail.com. Can't wait to hear from you!

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  23. this is so gorgeous! i've never heard of soft frying before, but i love eggs so i'm definitely going to try it!

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  24. I'm going to try your soft fried eggs. we love them poached and I have a lovely poacher but these look lovely. Congrats to your winner too.

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  25. I have never soft-fried an egg! Wow that looks delicious! I agree that eggs can be any meal - although my family begs to differ. But they still had a chicken-spinach frittata for dinneror dinner last night and ate it al. These delectable mushrooms and eggs are oin my list.

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  26. I have never soft-fried an egg! Wow that looks delicious! I agree that eggs can be any meal - although my family begs to differ. But they still had a chicken-spinach frittata for dinneror dinner last night and ate it al. These delectable mushrooms and eggs are oin my list.

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  27. I am definitely one of those people who did not think that eggs are just for breakfast. Love eggs! Love this recipe.

    Have a great weekend.
    Velva

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  28. Sam - Your presentations always blow me away. I believe if you made me something I knew I didn't like, I'd eat it anyway just because it looked so good. I think mushrooms and eggs go together very well - I'd sure dive into this.

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  29. oh la la great breakie :-) thanks for coming down under with me Sam hugs Rebecca

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  30. Can't wait to try the soft-fry method tomorrow!

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  31. We almost had asparagus, mushroom and goat cheese omelets for dinner this evening but my sister invited us for homemade seafood chowder . . . it was delicious, my brother-in-law made it!

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  32. Whoops, congrats to Ally, I'll be sure to pop over to her blog!

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  33. Sam, I love your soft-fried eggs! That's the first time I have heard of the technique and the end result is beautiful - wish I could have this for breakfast now, instead of my usual toast and jam!

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  34. We love eggs any time of day too! Your cooking method is the same one I use when I made fried egg sandwiches. The wild mushroom eggs on toast sound wonderful.

    Congratulations to your winner!

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  35. I have never read about your way of cooking eggs – I’ll try it tomorrow morning as it sounds so good. Usually we have just French bread and a “bol” of coffee for breakfast, but we like to eat eggs anytime. Right now I am reading about all the restaurants in Paris as we will be there soon. There are so many restaurants that it is hard to make a list. I have read that a few new restaurants are doing “drunch” which is the new word for late lunch early dinner - I only knew of “brunch” for breakfast-lunch.

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  36. Congrats to the winner Ally!

    Hey Sam, I just saw you guys are having another blog reunion! You may see me there...I am heading towards Texas and Chris's in June...Yay! I love BBQ...and thanks for doing such wonderful giveaways too!

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  37. I'm definitely in the eggs - and mushrooms - anytime category. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!

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  38. I'm in the "eggs anytime" or even "eggs day, noon, and night" time. Your recipe looked so scrumptious and easy that I came home from work last night and made it for dinner! It was delicious, and super easy. I took a photo, and may just have to post about it and link back to your blog in a day or two.... even though recipes have nothing whatsoever to do with animal antics. I have to break the rules sometimes. :)

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  39. You have inspired me today. I will soft fry an egg and try to find both of those books. I love Sara Foster, as you probably know. Next time we visit the kids I think I will stop at Foster's Market in Durham for a fix of her cooking style.

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  40. The photos of the dish are simply beautiful, definitely not just for breakfast. I was thinking that this would be even better with some form of bacon, like maybe crisped pancetta sprinkles.

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  41. Eggs are quite simply the perfect food and I love the idea of an entire chapter dedicated to anytime eggs. The eggs and mushrooms look amazing!

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  42. What a beautiful dish; love the combo of 'shrooms and eggs! I agree with you and others: I could eat eggs anytime!

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  43. I posted your recipe today! Now granted, mine doesn't look nearly as pretty as yours, but it sure was yummy! :)

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  44. Soft fried eggs, I have to try this! Your photos have me drooling!

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  45. Congrats to Ally - she's so sweet. She makes my salsa and sold it at her farmers market last year - she always sold out which was fun!

    You are one of the winners of my most recent giveaway - the Rocco DiSpirito diet book - email me at mybizzykitchen@gmail.com with your mailing address and I will forward it to the publishers.

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  46. This looks simply delicious! i can't wait to give it a whirl. Glad to have found you through another blog. Thanks for the recipe!

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  47. Mmmm, this looks fabulous, Sam! Beautiful pictures...
    Blessings, Catherine

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  48. Oh my this looks SO good and I'm adding wild mushrooms to my market list right now!
    Thanks for sharing this and thanks for the comment on my blog!

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  49. This is the kind of recipe I love to keep in a special spot for a special dinner pour 2 with my man. Anything with mushroom calls my name; thank you for this one; love your egg poacher!
    Rita

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  50. Oh yes, I am definitely in the "eggs anytime" category! And I've done something similar...I love mushrooms!
    I also love Sara Foster's first cookbook. I don't have this one and think I better put it on my wish list. Always very down to earth recipes.
    Congrats to the winner and I hope your little glitches are not major!

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  51. Hi Sam, the berries from my garden were frozen, I put them in the freezer last summer in anticipation of pies for the Winter and Spring! We still have little patches of snow in the yard! Dying for sunshine and nice days!

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  52. Eggs really are the ultimate convenience food but so delicious! And this dish is just what we would make with the right ingredients on hand. The perfect dinner for two! Gosh I missed a blog post or two! Congrats on moving...we may be moving too!

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  53. I can eat eggs anytime too! Looks so good!

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  54. What a delicious looking dish!! Great blog :)

    http://ladyonaroof.blogspot.com/

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  55. Oh, this has my mouth watering! Eggs and mushroom are two of my favorites. Cannot wait to try this luscious recipe.

    Hope that you are settled in your condo and enjoying the good life and looking forward to seeing some photos.

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  56. You are so right. Eggs are for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Lovely meal!

    Kristi

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  57. Sam, the recipe is a study in elegance and simplicity. It is really special and your photos today are wonderful. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  58. I am one of those strange people who don't like mushrooms, but if you put your beautiful plate of food in front of me, I'm sure I'd lick it clean. This looks absolutely delicious!

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  59. Hi Sam - what gorgeous pictures! I'm an eggs anytime gal, but I ALWAYS have them after Saturday morning yoga. It's my routine to come home and practice poaching eggs. I love to try different recipes and you can bet I'm going to give this a whirl. Yum!

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  60. Congratulations to the winner and thank you for this most delicious post and the sweet memories of Provence. I have had cocktails in the early evening, sitting outdoors at the Grand Hôtel Nord in Arles, watching the scene unfold in front of La Nuit.

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  61. This recipe looks positively delicious - I adore mushrooms and love your technique of cooking the eggs too. Will definitely be using it this weekend! Congratulations to Ally for winning the giveaway - lucky girl! I wish I would have had the foresight to go to culinary school. I have chosen to pursue the wine side of things, however, and am taking my Certified Sommelier Exam this Tuesday - wish me luck! Thank you for another delicious post:)

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