Tuesday, April 26, 2011

pretty woman

hi everyone! happy tuesday! i have a bunch to do today so i'm just going to crank this out.

last night i came home with a dinner plan all set; i'd spotted these scotch eggs on tastespotting earlier in the day and decided to make my move. i've always wanted to try these things, and as they require some frying, i figured it'd be best to get them out of my system before it gets so bleeping hot in my kitchen i barely want to cook, much less negotiate with hot, splattery oil. i changed the recipe a bit to suit what i had, and to make it small enough for me & sam. i paired it with these sesame soba noodles and fresh squeezed juice to try to keep it light. a great meal it was, but light it certainly wasn't. don't make this for dinner unless you plan on retreating immediately afterwards to bed to watch a movie. (fortunately, this was exactly what i had in mind.)

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vietnamese-ish scotch eggs

4 eggs, soft boiled (put eggs in a pot; boil some water; pour it over them and turn the heat to medium; set a timer for 6 minutes; remove the eggs and plunge them into ice water. peel when cooled.)
1 lb ground pork
2 stalks of lemongrass, chopped
3 small green chillies
4 cloves of garlic
2 inch piece of fresh ginger (skinned)
a spoonful of brown sugar
zest of one lime
fish sauce
salt
1/2 bunch of cilantro
a couple cups of flour
a couple cups of panko
1 egg, beaten

combine the lemongrass, chillies, garlic, ginger, and lime zest in the food processor until quite pulverized. add the brown sugar, then turn on the food processor and stream in fish sauce until it turns into a loose paste. add salt to taste. (beware: this will be pretty spicy. i was talking on the phone when i was making mine and i somehow got chili on my hand and then on my phone and then on my face, and way too much of my conversation became about my face being on fire.) finely chop the cilantro. mix this, the pork, and the paste together well.

now you're going to want to get a piece of saran wrap. grab a piece of the pork about as big as your fist (a little bigger, in the case of my toddlerhands,) and pound it out so it's about 1/2 inch (or less) thick. put the egg on top. caaaaarefully use the saran wrap to envelop the egg in the pork mixture. seal it well and make it as round as possible, then pop it in the freezer until you're ready to use it. repeat 3x.

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once you're ready to go, get some oil going in a pan on medium-low heat until it's good and hot. take your eggs and roll them in flour, then egg, then panko and plop 'em in the pan. you want to cook them until they are very dark on each side - 3-4 minutes - and turn so every side is well cooked. repeat. you can keep them warm in the oven; i set them on a drying rack as they came out and put them in at 300.

and voila! they were so tasty - sam had his with some sriracha sauce and i just drank lots of milk to minimize sweating. they are hot and heavy, but so good, and paired with fresh juice and soba noodles it was a pretty great dinner.

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juice
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aaand an outfit at last! i had to get dressed in a hurry today - i'd planned on tights but it was already over 70 by the time i left my apartment this morning and i was worried i'd overheat. what i should have worried about was wearing newly-thrifted shoes without road-testing them first - my feet hurt so bad after walking to and from the subway this morning that i'm truly not sure how i'll make it home today. and the title of this post doesn't refer to my appearance, but the fact that this dress is straight outta that 1990 julia roberts classic.

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dress: thrifted
belt: urban outfitters
shoes: painfully thrifted


all right, that's all from me for now! have a lovely tuesday!

xo audrey

14 comments:

  1. i love this pretty woman dress! you poor thing. we've all been there with the shoes. is the pain something regular bandaids can take care of? or at least prevent blisters?

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  2. Love the dress - it IS just like the one in the movie! I have had that thrifted shoe problem before which is why I keep a pair of flats in my office (and a cardigan, two pairs of socks and an umbrella). Like a boyscout, I am always prepared (because there is nothing worse than the walk home from my bus stop with raging blisters!)

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  3. How funny, we made homemade scotch eggs with quails eggs the other day for the first time. Deeeelicious!
    The shoes may be painful but they look GOOOD on you!
    xxx

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  4. That food looks Wonderful! I will definitely have to try that recipe. I am also Really Loving your dress. It is very Chic!

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  5. OMG that dress is GREAT! pretty woman playing polo...or rather watching. so fun. eggs look good too :)

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  6. Love love love the dress! And the food looks delicious as well!

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  7. your blog's an eye opener for me. i gotta try this somedaay. love pork and soba.

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  8. @十十f十 definitely do it! i have to warn you, the scotch eggs were pretty tricky and a bit of a mess, but well worth the trouble.

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  9. @lauraa scotch eggs with quail eggs!! brilliant! i'll try that next time.

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  10. @Higgenbottom ugh. . . i wish. i put bandaids on as soon as i got to work but ended up (eek) buying a new pair of shoes on the way home. foolish.

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  11. oooo, they make eggs like this in Egypt but wrapped w/ homemade falafel batter and fried. Super yum! Then they smash it in a pita and smother it w/ tahini goodness.

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  12. Huh. I'm Vietnamese, and I don't think we have recipes like this! Good job adapting it!

    14 Shades Of Grey

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  13. your dress is adorable. very "Pretty Woman" ...sans the hat ;)

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  14. i am in love with this dress. so julia roberts. you have lovely style!

    i wander, i wonder

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