Egg-in-a-Hole Bagels with Smoked Salmon

This fun, simple little dish is a riff on egg-in-a-hole recipes made with thick slices of bread with a hole in the center punched out. Why not bagels, with the hole already there? But unless the hole in your bagel is unusually large, you’ll need to run a paring knife around it to make it a bit bigger. This will give the egg plenty room to cook evenly and quickly.

You could serve just the egg and bagel for breakfast, but adding smoked salmon, cream cheese, and a few other toppings turns the dish into a flavorful, casual—and pretty—dinner for two.

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 “everything” bagel, split
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs
• sea salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• 4 oz thinly sliced smoked salmon
• thinly sliced radish, chopped chives, and capers, for serving

Bagel Toppings

Preparation

1. Run a paring knife around the hole in each bagel half to cut out a larger hole, about 2-1/2 inches in diameter.

Prepared Bagel Slices

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the bagel halves cut-side up and crack an egg into each hole. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Cook until the bagels are toasted on the bottom and the egg white is just beginning to set, about 3 minutes.
3. Turn the bagels over and cook until the egg white is just set, about 2 minutes longer.

Bagels in Butter

Add caption

Plate the bagels and arrange the cream cheese, smoked salmon, radish, capers, and chives around and on top. Serve right away.

Egg-in-a-Hole Bagels with Smoked Salmon

Roasted Petite Potatoes with Rosemary-Garlic Butter

Petite potatoes are very small—about 1 inch or less in diameter. Sometimes called “pearls,” these beautiful, colorful spuds come in purple, red, yellow, and white and have very concentrated potato flavor.

Petite Potatoes

Petite potatoes are great for roasting, needing only simple seasoning and about 30 minutes to become crispy golden outside and creamy tender inside. In this recipe, I finished them with a garlicky, herbal butter sauce to add a little extra rich flavor. And what potato doesn’t love butter?

This simple, easy side dish is as delicious as it is pretty. And it’s as comfortable for an everyday dinner as it is for a special holiday feast.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb petite purple, red, and yellow, or white potatoes, halved
• olive oil, for drizzling and brushing
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 small garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

Dish Ingredients

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Place the potatoes in a bowl and drizzle generously with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
3. Heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Brush with olive oil and pour the potatoes into the skillet. Sear, stirring frequently, 8 minutes.

Seasoned Potatoes  

Potatoes Ready to Roast

1. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast until the potatoes are tender and golden brown, 15-17 minutes, stirring 2-3 times.
2. Meanwhile, heat a small skillet or saucepan over medium heat and add the butter. When the butter bubbles, add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, 3 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the rosemary.

To serve, remove the potatoes from the oven and stir the rosemary-garlic butter into the skillet. Pour into a serving bowl and serve hot.

Roasted Petite Potatoes with Rosemary-Garlic Butter

Chicken Breasts with Apricot-Miso Glaze

You don’t need a whole lot of ingredients to create a whole lot of flavor. In the spirit of keeping it simple, this recipe combines only five ingredients for a deliciously rich—and deceptively complex—glaze for easy pan-cooked chicken breasts.

Miso is a salty, sweet, creamy condiment used in various Asian cuisines, especially Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. It makes a flavorful base for glazes, sauces, and dressings, and takes basic soup broth to a new level. What exactly is miso? Fermented soybean paste, typically made from a combination of soybeans, ground rice, salt, and water.

Miso

Here, I sautéed some shallot and garlic in a little olive oil, then mixed in miso, sweet and fruity apricot preserves, and a bit of butter to mellow the sweetness and add silky texture. How simple can it get?

Tip: Miso is available in some larger supermarkets with ample international products, or you can easily find it in Asian markets. Look in the refrigerated section.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
• 2 tsp finely chopped shallot
• 1/4 cup apricot preserves
• 1 tbsp yellow or white miso
• 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 6-oz boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley for garnish

Preparation

1. Heat a small saucepan or skillet over medium-low heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the garlic and shallot and sauté 2 minutes.
2. Add the preserves, miso, and butter and bring to a light simmer, stirring well to incorporate the miso. (Note: There’s no need to salt the sauce because there’s plenty in the miso. Taste it—you’ll see!) Reduce the heat to low and cook until the preserves have melted and the glaze is slightly thick, 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside while the chicken cooks.

Garlic and Shallot

Miso, Preserves, and Butter Added

Apricot-Miso Glaze

1. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, swirling to coat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the skillet. Cook until golden on the bottom, 5-6 minutes.
2. Turn the breasts over and cook until golden on the other side and just cooked through, 5-6 minutes longer, depending on thickness. (Tip: Lay a sheet of aluminum foil lightly over the skillet to help retain moisture as the chicken finishes.) Add the glaze to the skillet and turn the chicken breasts a few times to coat.

Chicken Beginning to Cook

After Turning

Divide the chicken breasts among 4 plates, spooning any remaining glaze from the pan on top. Sprinkle with parsley and serve right away.

Chicken Breasts with Apricot-Miso Glaze