993 all time blog views! And a free cookie give-away!

I literally BLINKED and we were on the brink of crossing the 1000 views mark. Holy Moly you guys (and gals).

I cannot tell you enough how humbled I am, this is amazing! To show my gratitude I will be offering a FREE box of my all time favorite cookies from The Brown Butter Cookie Company in Cayucos,CA to the next 7 people who start following Her Name Is Ed. Let's get those blog views over 1000!

All you need to do to win, is hit "Join This Site", it's that little blue button just to the right of this post, then you'll need to leave a comment on your favorite post so far! The first 7 people to do this will receive a box of amazingly delicious cookies from The Brown Butter Cookie Company. I will post up the winners next Thursday when I post the newest blog from guest blogger Sumi Kato.

Hmm, giving away free cookies on the same day our guest blogger will talk to us about diet and fitness? Oh dear..well, everything in moderation, right?

Mike and I fell in love with these salted brown butter morsels a few years ago, right around the time we moved to the Central Coast. Back then they only had their original flavor, mocha, chocolate chip, peanut butter and lemon sugar cookie. Since then they have added  espresso, bourbon, chocolate mint, key lime coconut (which were in Mikes stocking last Christmas!) citrus brown butter,  and many many more. Be careful though, if you do win, because these things are capital "A" Addictive! Now, I have tried and tried and tried to make these at home and in time I will likely share some of those recipes with you, but they have never come out like BBCC. I don't know what I am doing wrong and no matter how much I beg ask they will not tell me their secrets. They are delightfully crisp, a subtle crunch really, and they are the perfect balance of sweet and savory. That little sprinkling of sea salt over the top takes them, well...over the top. There is that warm nuttiness from the brown butter that is unlike any other flavor and I think that is the real secret, how they brown the butter. (Did I mention they SHIP?)

I cannot wait to see where you all leave your comments, I am curious to see which post has been your favorite! Alright ladies and gent's let the games begin!

Eaten Anywhere Good Lately?

Yes! I have. I have been busy busy busy eating EVERYTHING and taking massive amounts of notes so that I can share with you some of my "Off the menu" recipes. Restaurant quality meals that you can whip up at home on the cheap and they are so easy! Be patient, geez. You can't rush genius like this...er...yeah.

I know I have been seriously slacking on the recipe front lately and I promise to make it up to you. I have some real treats planned for you in the coming months.  The entire month of May will be guest blogger month here at H.N.E. And in June I will be unveiling a new exciting project I've been working on! Well a few new projects, and I am so excited to share them with you. I just need some time to get everything in order and that is why I have asked some of my favorite bloggers to come "babysit" you while I am busy doing grown up stuff. Okay?

So...In no particular order I will be leaving you in the capable literary hands of:

One of my very best friends, Jenn over at  Life Behind the Uniform. Child development guru and my favorite camping buddy, Angela from Sing, Dance, Play, Learn. And last but not least, you will be hearing from my accountability partner Sumi who is going to share some diet and exercise tips with us.

 In Angela's case, she bravely embraces cooking with the children in her daycare center. As a former nanny, I can tell you this is no small feat. Angela will highlight some of the benefits of cooking with your little ones, complete with a wonderful photo recipe tutorial.

Jenn has had the opportunity to travel all over the United States as a military wife and she loves to sample the local fare just like me! She will be sharing some of her favorite foodie finds, from coast to coast.

Sumi is also a fellow foodie, but she somehow finds a way to keep herself in amazing shape. I've asked her to share some of her favorite healthy recipes and to give us some tips on getting and staying motivated with work out routines. You all know how I feel about exercise, but if she can kick my butt into gear, you know she MUST be good.

So I will leave you now, with that teaser. Visit their sites, get to know them because they will be taking care of you for the month of May. I promise, I leave you in very capable hands. And don't worry, I will be here still...lurking in the background...

;-)

Because Weekends Were...

...made for FUN!

Holy Moly have we been having an amazing month so far. Yes, I realize we are only a few days in but it has been an amazing few days. More specifically the last two days.

With Mikes work schedule we rarely get to spend an entire weekend together, but it just so happens that this weekend we really got out moneys worth.

He got in from work Saturday morning and as usual he hit the Cider Creek Bakery car show before coming home. Here in Paso Robles we have many wonderful places to choose from for breakfast, but Cider Creek has everything we want/need for our Saturday mornings. Mike goes early to see all the classic cars pull in then he buys us a mocha latte, some muffins and a cheese danish. It's our little tradition. We've been doing it since we moved here and their little bakery has really become a crucial part of our Saturday mornings!

Mike likes to wake me up with his Cider Creek goodies and I am always more than happy to hop out of bed for them. After our coffee and baked goods, we caught up on our weeks. Me at school, and Mike at work. We'd missed a lot this week so we sat and talked for hours actually. It's so good to have a husband who after 6 years is still just every bit my best friend as the day we met.

Around noon I headed out with our dear friend Jessica who owns Paso Robles Sommelier to Farm Stand 46 and Oso Libre Winery for a day of wine tasting and a phenomenal lunch. We browsed their market looking over all the salads, cheeses, wines, meats and pickled veggies. It was a smorgasbord of fine fresh foods. We were in foodie heaven.

Aside from the food I mostly enjoyed our lunch because it gave us an opportunity to catch up a little. As busy as we've both been we just haven't made the time to sit and lunch like that in a long time. It was such a gorgeous day for sitting and munching and carrying on. I think it should be a new mandatory rule: Nurture your friendships weekly, and over an amazing plate of food!

At Oso Libre we just made a quick stop, tried some of the new Primoroso (which was included in my new wine club shipment!) and did a little tasting/window shopping for Christmas.

Later that night Mike and I picked up our Christmas tree, played some holiday tunes and drank warm cider. It sounds so cheesy and like it must be out of some movie about a more fortunate woman's life... but it's not. To make the night even more complete we watched It's A Wonderful Life, which I had not seen before. Mike couldn't believe I hadn't seen it before...I know because he wouldn't stop saying it. "What did your family even watch during the holidays?" Football, Mike...we watched FOOTBALL...

Today we spent the morning and afternoon cleaning, hanging lights and cooking up a storm. We hosted some of my classmates from the PCA (Paso Robles Culinary Academy) for dinner tonight and it was a definite success. I know, I took a vote and it was unanimous.

Holiday Party Spread: Turkey Roulades with Mushroom Stuffing. Ham with Dried Fruit and Pineapples
Green Bean Casserole. Oh! And Pumpkin Liquor for our Coffee!! Yum 

I have to say that I was very hesitant to give up full time work to go to culinary school, but I am SO glad we did. And moreover I am SO grateful to my husband that he works so hard to allow me to follow my dreams. I remember taking virtual tours of culinary schools when I was a preteen. Wishing, dreaming, that someday I would be in the kitchen...cooking up delicious new recipes everyday.

After dinner and dessert and caroling...we decorated mason jars and made some pretty spectacular Christmas themed bark. white and dark chocolate peppermint bark!

Meeting these women at the PCA has been one of the most wonderful things that could happen to me. It's only been a few months and yet I am certain these are friends I will have for the rest of my life. We are kindred spirits really. And we love the same things: Food, Laughing Hysterically and... Crafting!

Crafting table, overflowing with holiday crafts and snacks to keep us energized. We made delicious Christmas bark and decorated mason jars to package it all. 

California Eggs Benedict & An Awkward Introduction

My name is ED (well, not exactly, those are my initials). I am also known as Eva and this is my blog. Welcome, pull up a chair and grab some freshly popped popcorn. Take a look see. Don't gawk though, that's rude. And do not judge. Don't judge my poor grammar and horribly dry sense of humor. Don't judge my use of butter or bacon fat or profanity.

My name is Ed and today I am going on a road trip to save myself from countless hours on the couch eating chocolate covered snacks from Trader Joes. Have you notice that Trader Joes can market anything by covering it in chocolate and a generous sprinkling of chili powder. I was there yesterday and they had chocolate covered dried edamame (soy beans). Why? Because they can. Because you'll buy it. You will. There you will be, waiting in a line that has been cleverly named after a local landmark, and you'll see the chocolate covered edamame sitting high atop a mound of other chocolate covered somethings. You'll pick it up out of curiosity and before you know it, BAM! the package is in your basket. Once you get it home you'll try it and and one of two things will happen, either you'll love it and consume the entire package before dinner or you'll hate it. Then it will take it's place on the lower shelf of your pantry with all the rejected, strange snacks from TJ's. Like vacuum fried bananas, or blackberry and pickle jam. I made the last one up but I wouldn't put it passed them. My name is Ed and I am supposed to be getting ready for a road trip to San Francisco but it is now 11am and I am still in my underwear watching Magic Bullet commercials.

My name is Ed and I need breakfast. And So this brings us to our first recipe (insert cheers and applaud) here. I am sharing with you a recipe for my all time favorite breakfast. Eggs benedict!

I love eggs benedict, I always have. Over the years I have played around with the ingredients using sausage instead of ham, fried eggs instead of poached and different kinds of flavored hollandaise. I usually like the little concoctions I come up with, I mean hey... as long as it includes some crusty bread type component and some lemon butter sauce type component I am in! But no eggs benedict recipe I've tried come close to this. I actually feel guilty calling this a recipe, because only the sauce truly requires a recipe at all.

I am calling this California Eggs Benedict, it is made with a fairly traditional (but EASY) hollandaise, fried eggs, fresh vegetables and thick cut bacon all on sourdough bread. Mmm, I am cleaning the plate as we speak...

The hollandaise will go together much easier if you get all the ingredients ready ahead of time (but keep the butter cold in the fridge until you need it).

California Eggs Benedict

Ingredients

For the sauce:

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup cold butter in 2-3 chunks

1 lemon juiced

s&p

paprika

4 eggs

2-4 slices sourdough bread

1 cup wilted spinach

1 large tomato, sliced thick

1 avocado, sliced thick

4 strips of bacon

This first part is done OFF the heat: In a large sauce pan add egg yolks and lemon juice and mix with a wisk. Turn the heat on low and add one of the chunks of cold butter. Continually mix the butter into the egg yolk mixture. The sauce should start to slowly thicken as the butter melts, add the remainder chunks of butter and keep mixing with a whisk until the butter has all melted and the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Taste and add salt, pepper and paprika to taste. Smoked paprika is especially good in this sauce, you can also add some sliced green onions to your hollandaise if that is your kind of thing.

Next you toast your sourdough bread and set aside. Cook your eggs to your liking (over easy for me please) and cook the bacon. Set up an assembly line of the ingredients and stack 'em like THIS: toast, handful of wilted spinach, avocado, tomato, fried egg and bacon. Smother...and I DO mean smother, with your hollandaise. Eat up. Quickly, before I find you and steal your breakfast. Ask my husband, I'll do it. If you're a light eater than this will make 4 servings, it's a lot of stuff piled on toast after all. If you're like us chubby's over here, this will make only 2 servings and then you'll feel guilty and hit the gym for an hour...erh...I mean 25 minutes...

In the photo you will notice some deliciously crispy fried potatoes. Want them?

SIMPLE: boil a few teeny tiny red potatoes. Poke 'em.... are they tender? No? Keep boiling....

Poke 'em again. Are they tender? Yep? Put them in a hot hot pan with some oil...sizzle sizzle. Smash then with a smasher or the back of your spatula, just once. Sizzle sizzle. Flip. Sizzle Sizzle. Salt and pepper.

Stop looking at me like that I am NOT giving you a "recipe" for fried potatoes. C'mon!