Soft Scrambled Eggs

This is one of my favorite lazy Sunday brunch treats. The combo of soft eggs and pesto remind me of the Sunday brunches my husband and I use to have at Noho Star just about every weekend (I dont know why, we just love that place!). Please note: this is not an everyday egg dish since its hardly low in calories. Its a decadent and delicious way to celebrate breakfast every once and awhile.

Eggs:

4 eggs

1/4 cup of heavy cream

1 pinch of salt

1 pinch of ground black pepper

1 ts of unsalted butter

Pesto:

1 cup of fresh basil

2 tbs of pignoli nuts

1 clove of garlic

1/4 cup of olive oil

1/4 cup of parmesean

Loaf of Italian bread or baguette

goat cheese

*Make the pesto first since this can easily be made a head of  time and you dont want to get distracted while cooking the eggs.*

Grind pignoli nuts in food processor first. Add the basil, garlic, and salt to the mix and process until it  forms a paste.  Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, then add the Parmigiano 1 tablespoon at a time – until thick. Set aside covered.

 Heat up butter in a pan on low heat while whipping eggs and cream together in a bowl. Once combined and butter foams, add egg and cream mixture to the pan. Slowly stir the eggs from the outside of the pan to the center with a rubber spatula until the eggs form soft little pillows.This will take about 10 minutes.

Cut the bread up in thin slices and toast. Slather a good amount of goat cheese on each slice after toast, then pesto, then top with scrambled eggs. Delicious.

Aquagrill

I love oysters. They are briny, salty, and silky. Mmmmmm – even better? 6 oysters are about 1 point on Weight Watchers. I’ll repeat that because its worth repeating: this means a dozen oysters are only 2 points. Luxurious and diet worthy.

Aquagrill boasts an extensive oyster menu so I went there for brunch one day. The critics were right – the oysters are wonderful and they have over 25-30 different types to choose from on any given day. One day I plan on getting the $70 one-of-every-kind platter just because I need an excuse to have 3 dozen oysters to myself. Since I didnt have the cash to fulfill this dream, I decided to stick with a mix of blue point and malpeque oysters and they were amazing.

Next comes the actual food (although I could have easily dined on oysters alone if I had the cash), I had the warm chicken salad with artichokes, bacon, and a roasted potatoes. Sounds delicious right? It was good – but I have to admit I was expecting a chicken breast…not fatty chicken thighs. In my opinion, thighs have their place on a menu and it generally isnt in a leafy salad. That kind turned me off to the whole plate. Also, my husband got the shrimp fettucine with pesto. The shrimp was cooked well but there was no pesto; it was chopped basil. Fehh..

Verdict: come here for the warm complimentary scones/muffins and the oysters. Skip the rest.

Smorgas Chef

Smorgas Chef was one of my first experiences with Scandinavian cooking several years ago and I fell in love with it.  The food features vibrant herbs and delicate flavors. Cloudberries, lingonberries, herring, house-cured gravlaks, and Norwegian Jarlsberg cheese are all over the menu and its fabulous.

I’m particulary fond of their brunch menu – which features delicious skillet baked eggs. Whats a skillet baked egg?  Two pan fried eggs in a cast iron skillet with ham, Jarlsberg cheese, spinach, tomatos, and hollandaïse. Amazing. So amazing. You wont need to eat anything else for the rest of the day. They also have one with just mushrooms and veggies and one with baked cod, tomatoes, spinach, and parmesan. They also make very light and fluffy vanilla waffles with clouberry sauce. Mmmmmm..

Brunch not your thing? The swedish meatballs with chive mashed potatoes and aquavit cured gravlaksare awesome. Go here, try some of the food, and let me know just how much you liked it.

Wall Street Location:

53 Stone Street New York, NY 10004
(between Broad Street and Hanover Square; 2 blocks south of Wall Street)

Egg: A Brooklyn Staple

First I want everyone know, I didnt just want to like Egg – I wanted to love it. It has all the makings of a ‘Vicky Top Ten’. Breakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day (and theyspecialize in it), most of their ingredients are from local farms, and the foods got southern flair. Unfortunately it didnt live up to the hype.

It was around 2pm on a Saturday and the hubs and I were more than peckish. We originally planned to eat at Relish but of course they were filming a movie IN the diner for the entire day. So we wander around Berry and saw Egg…and thought why not.

We didnt really wait to be seated since it was already past 2. We did however wait for the food. I ordered the Grits and Eggs with a side of homemade sausage. My husband went for the pulled pork sandwich because he wasn’t in the mood for breakfast. We waited almost an hour for our food and we were STARVING when it arrived so we started scarfing it down. After the first few bits it hit me – the sausage was bitter and dry and the grits were bland. Not to mention the fact that my eggs were runny. Ugh. I was so sad. My husbands sandwich was also dry. Seriously? This was the famous Egg??

Once again – since I love Egg in theory I promise to give it another chance.

I love Moscato d’Asti

This is just about the best brunch wine you could ever have. Its light, its sparkling, its sweet (without being too sweet), and its not too expensive. Sometimes it can bee tricky to find a good one so here are a few of my favorites.

1 – La Spinetta, 2008, Moscato D’Asti Vigneto Biancospino

This is a Piedmont sparkling wine that has yellow/light green reflections. Its sweet without being ‘sticky’ and contains grapefruit/peach undertones. It also has a very low alcohol content (5.5%) so you can literally drink the entire bottle without getting a headache.

 Average Price: $19.99

 

2 – Bricco del Sole, 2008 Moscato d’Asti

Another Piedmont, the Morando family has been making wine since the beginning of the 19th century. Since 70% of their production is Moscato you KNOW it’s gonna be good. I find this to be slightly sweeter than the La Spinetta but its not hheavy at all. Still really light. Also they are ORGANIC!! Honest  – its the truth. One of the best organic wines out there.

Average Price: $15.99

 

3 – Saracco, 2008 Moscato d’Asti

Golden in color, this wine’s flavor has been compared more to pears instead of the typical ‘peach’ taste. It also can have a jasmine fragrance and a little after tingle of candied fruits.

Average Price: $ 16.99

 

Whats the difference between Asti Spumante and Moscato d’Asti??

Asti Spumante is a straightforward  fully sparkling wine with sweet/fruity flavors. Its usually just enjoyable as a dessert wine.

Moscato d’Asti is a low-alohol, semi-sparkling wine with about half the carbonation of a typical sparkling wine, and is released very soon after the vintage to preserve its uniquely fresh character. It’s not as sweet, has a very complex perfume, and a vibrant acidity. Its low alcohol level and fresh/sweetness makes it perfect as a brunch wine or simply a ‘sitting-by-the-pool’ wine.

NOTE: Moscato d’Asti’s are best within 2 years of the vintage in order to keep the ‘freshness’ alive.