Paula Deen's Fried Egg and Avocado Sandwich

Monday, I had to have a delightful (read the sarcasm) medical procedure, which required no eating for 48-hours before. Luckily, my last meal was an awesome family dinner in celebration of my grandfather's birthday. My contribution was stuffed pork chops, which turned out great! I didn't get to eat the red velvet cake (my favorite) or the Au gratin potatoes, and was starting to feel sorry for myself, but I overcame.

So, I fasted for two days, all the while watching Food Network (I'm a glutton), and though EVERYTHING looked delicious, one recipe stuck out in my mind. Well, two, actually, but this Fried Egg and Avocado Sandwich was killing me. A fried egg, tomato, bacon, avocado, on toasty bread with oniony cream cheese? Count me in. During my procedure I had been anesthetized, and apparently I'm not as susceptible to the sedation, so I was given an extra kick of sedative. I woke up an hour earlier than most people do, so I'm told, and the first thing I said was - I WANT THAT SANDWICH! In my haze, I listed off the ingredients and my lovely husband ran to the store and picked everything up.



I fried the eggs, my husband threw the bacon in the oven and after about 10 minutes we ate the single most delicious sandwiches that I've ever tasted. And then I went to sleep at 5:00 in the afternoon and didn't wake again until 8:00 this morning. I started to think, "OK, that sandwich was only that good because you were so damned hungry." Naturally, I tried the sandwich again the second I woke up and it really is every bit as good as I've already said it is. I added a little more avocado and fried the egg to over-easy - mmm perfection.

Family Macaroni Shrimp Salad

My mom made this a lot when I was growing up, mainly for family parties and holidays. This is my version, made to go along with Easter dinner.

Macaroni Shrimp Salad

1 lb. salad macaroni (ditalini), boiled with 3 TB. Salt, drained
1 bunch green onions, quartered and sliced very thin (my mom hates the texture of onions)
1 6 oz. can black pearl olives, sliced
5-6 large eggs, boiled for ten minutes, chopped
1 medium cucumber, seeds removed, small chop
2 cans mini shrimp, drained

Toss all ingredients, then fold in:

Dressing

Combine:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
2 TB. milk
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Berries with Lemon Cream

Continuing on with my lemon obsession, this is something I made last Friday for dinner with friends:

The topping is a mixture of 1 cup of cream, whipped with 2 tablespoons of honey, 4 oz. cream cheese, 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste and one tablespoon lemon extract.

The berries are: 2 packages frozen mixed berries, cooked over medium heat with 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/4 c. coconut rum and 2 tablespoons orange liquer until a bit of liquid leeches out, but not all the way warmed through. Refrigerate for 2 hours, then add 1 pint sliced fresh strawberries and 1 cup fresh blueberries.

I made a dieters version of this a week prior, using a small amount of cream, nonfat milk, honey, plain gelatin, lemon and vanilla flavorings. I used splenda in the berries and omitted the alcohol... the full fat version was obviously much better.

Fingerling Potato Salad

While I'm not very motivated to blog, I do find myself thinking, "I should blog this!" every so often. This dish is something I threw together in a hunger frenzy and it is now in my top 3 potato salads...

I didn't do any measuring here, but the gist of this is: combine the juice of 1 large lemon, 1/3 olive oil, salt and pepper. Boil mixed fingerling potatoes, drain, slice in half and while still hot, toss in the dressing. Add halved grape tomatoes and crumble in some feta cheese. It's not exactly pretty, but it IS delicious!