scoop out the avocado flesh into a medium bowl. Mash avocados and then stir in the additional ingredients. Let sit overnight, covered tightly, to allow the flavors to blend. (If the Guacamole is not tightly covered, the avocados will oxidize and turn brown overnight.)
NOTE Chiffonade refers to herbs or leafy vegetables cut into thin strips or ribbons. To make anything into chiffonade, stack the leaves, roll them up tightly like a cigar, and cut them crosswise into very thin strips.
Tri–Pesto Omelet
MENU
Tri-Pesto Omelet
Colcannon
Portuguese Sweet Bread
TRI-PESTO OMELET
Serves 1
When I first started experimenting with pesto, I made a roasted red pepper pesto with my neighbor’s ripe bell peppers. There is nothing like using fresh ingredients for a pesto! If you like a little spice, try adding some poblano peppers to the mixture.
This particular omelet started with a basic omelet filled with roasted red pepper pesto. Eventually, I got a little inspiration from the leprechauns and decided to add my spinach pesto. Eventually, I mastered a caramelized onion pesto, and the tri-pesto omelet was created!
| 3 | medium-sized eggs |
| 2 | tablespoons butter |
| 1 | tablespoon Onion Pesto (page 20) |
| 1 | tablespoon Spinach Pesto (page 20) |
| 1 | tablespoon Roasted Red Pepper Pesto (page 20) |
| ¼ | cup store-bought or homemade ricotta cheese (page 71) |
| A small amount of each pesto, for garnish |
In a bowl, whisk the eggs thoroughly. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, and pour in the eggs. When the eggs begin to cook, spread the three pestos across the middle of the egg, one next to the other. (Envision your omelet being a trifold with your ingredients in the center.) Spoon the ricotta across the top of the pestos. When the eggs are cooked, fold over each edge of the omelet over the pestos. Flip the omelet over, so that the seam is on the bottom. Cook 1 minute more. (Avoid overcooking—the inside should stay moist.) Use the remaining pesto to garnish the top of the omelet. Drawing the Italian flag would not be inappropriate! Serve with Colcannon and Portuguese Sweet Bread. (Home Fries, page 11, are also shown in the breakfast photograph on the preceding page.)
When scrambling, frying, or poaching eggs, the size of the egg is not important. I’ve found that medium-sized eggs seem to give the best flavor, and so that is the size I use.
COLCANNON
Serves 6
One day at the diner, a customer wrote down song lyrics for me from Mary Black’s song, “Colcannon.”I still have these lyrics:
Did you ever eat Colcannon, made from lovely pickled cream?
With the greens and scallions mingled like a picture in a dream.
Did you ever make a hole on top to hold the melting flake
Of the creamy, flavoured butter that your mother used to make?
On chilly nights in Ireland, families would make this as a treat and serve it warm. They would always make sure to have enough to reheat for the next morning’s breakfast.
The way Colcannon is prepared varies from town to town in Ireland. It is similar to how families prepare mashed potatoes here in the United States. Everyone makes it a little different by adding milk, cream, butter, and spices.
For numerous pairings, I use Colcannon as my starch. It works great with fish, especially as a base for scallops. It is a side dish for several items found on the O’Rourke’s Diner menu.
| 6 | medium potatoes, peeled and quartered—any variety will do |
| 1 | cup minced or diced green cabbage |
| ½ | stick butter, divided |
| 1 | teaspoon toasted caraway seeds (see Note on next page) |
| Salt and pepper to taste |
Boil the potatoes for 20 minutes or until cooked. Drain the potatoes well, and mash them. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet and sauté the cabbage until it softens. In a large bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes, cooked cabbage, and toasted caraway seeds until combined. Season with salt and pepper. Place in the refrigerator to cool (best if cooled overnight).
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in skillet over medium heat. Place scoops of colcannon in the skillet, flatten somewhat, and cook the colcannon patties on both sides until a nice golden-brown crust forms. Serve warm.
NOTE For this recipe, I toast caraway seeds. This process helps extract the oils and intensifies the flavor of the seed.
PORTUGUESE SWEET BREAD
Makes 2 (9-by-5-inch) loaves
In the 1970s, I took a trip to Cape Cod. One early morning, around 4:00 a.m. or so, I smelled bread whose scent outweighed the salty air. I followed the scent all the way to a bakery. For the next three days, I woke up at 4:00 a.m., walked to the bakery, and learned how to make the sweet-smelling bread myself. Today, I use this bread as our house white bread. It is delicious fresh out of the oven and topped with butter.
| 1 | cup warm water (below 115°F) |
| ¼ | cup sugar |
| 2 | tablespoons active dry yeast |
| ½ | stick butter |
| 3 | medium-sized eggs |
| 1 | cup milk, scalded |
| 4 | cups all-purpose flour |
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease 2 (9-by-5-inch) loaf pans.
In a large bowl, combine the warm water and sugar, then sprinkle the yeast over top. Set aside for about 10 minutes until the yeast activates and starts to get foamy. In another mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and add to the yeast mixture. Knead the dough for about ten minutes. Form two loaves and place in the greased loaf pans. Bake for 22 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 325°F and bake for 22 minutes more, or until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when you tap the top.
NOTE Do not add any liquid over 115°F to your yeast, or it will kill your yeast and the dough will not rise.
PESTO
Makes 3 cups
Most know the name, the look, and the taste of pesto—but what is it really? The word itself originated from the Genoese pesta, meaning “to pound and/or crush with marble and wooden pestle,” which was the original method of preparation. Traditionally, pesto consists of crushed garlic, basil, and pine nuts blended with extra-virgin olive oil and Parmesan and Pecorino cheeses.
Here at the diner I have three types of pesto on the menu: Spinach, Onion, and Roasted Red Pepper. The reason for our varieties? For starters, basil was unavailable or very pricey during the winter season; thus I used spinach instead. Pine nuts and extra-virgin olive oil also become costly on a larger scale, so I put my own twist on our three different kinds. Besides, I love the taste!
Pesto
