Are all onions basically the same?

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

This special Christmas Eve edition is hitting your inbox a day early. Next week we’ll be back on Sunday morning with the New Years’ edition!

Our goal is to get your cooking juices flowing and inspire you to try new meals, perhaps for a festive meal or as an activity with loved ones.

Make sure to get in this week’s indulgent dishes before your New Year’s resolutions kick in.

As always, a full grocery shopping list in Notion is linked at the end of this email.

In This Week’s Edition

Try Something New 🤯 — Eggs Royale (The Best Benedict)

Throwback Time 🍳 — Bacon Bits

The Leftover Shelf 🥡 — Mashed Potato Pancakes

Extra Helpings 🍽 — Shallots vs. Onions? Eggs in Coffee?

Try Something New 🤯

The best thing I ate this week.

Eggs Royale

The smoked salmon version of the classic holiday breakfast dish. Like eggs benny, but better.

Components

• Eggs (1 per serving)

• Smoked salmon or lox*

• English muffins (1 slice per serving)

• Butter (for toasting)

• Optional: raw or wilted spinach

• Paprika and/or chives to garnish

Hollandaise Sauce

• 1/2 cup (112 g) warm melted butter

• 3 egg yolks

• 1 tbsp (15 g) fresh lemon juice

• Salt to taste

• Optional: Paprika or cayenne to taste

*You can use ham instead for standard Eggs Benedict.

Instructions

1. Make the hollandaise: In a blender, blend together egg yolks and lemon juice until creamy and lightened in color. While the blender is going on high speed, slowly stream in the warm melted butter, little by little, until it has fully emulsified into the egg yolks and is smooth and creamy. It’s like making mayo: if you go too fast, the sauce will break and you’ll have to start over. Season to taste with salt, more lemon juice, and paprika/cayenne if using. Move to a sauce pot or covered container to keep warm until serving.

2. Poach the eggs: In a pot of boiling water, swirl water then slowly add in whole eggs and cook for about 3 minutes (or until whites are set but the yolks are still runny). Remove the eggs from the water and drain them on a paper towel.

3. Toast the bread & assemble: Toast your English muffin slices in a hot pan with some butter until crisped and golden brown on the cut side. To a toasted slice add a layer of smoked salmon, spinach if using, and then top with a poached egg. Drizzle warm hollandaise sauce over top and garnish with chives and more paprika (or cayenne).

Pro Tip — Hollandaise sauce is finicky because butter properties change with temperature. If you let the finished sauce get cold, the butterfats will turn solid below 95 F and break the emulsion. Getting the sauce too hot will cook and curdle the eggs. After making, use an insulated container or keep covered in a warm spot near the stove. In other words, leftovers don’t store well: to maintain perfect texture, hollandaise must be held between 96 and 150 F.

Throwback Time 🍳

Bacon bits are one of the easiest ways to add flavor, umami, and texture to any meal. It’s unreal how much better homemade bacon bits are than store-bought. If you can make bacon, you can make bacon bits, so we urge you to try.

Check out this short bacon bits tutorial, or read the recipe for my homemade cured and smoked bacon here.

By the way - do you follow the Instagram and TikTok accounts? You’ll find a lot more tips and quick recipes on these accounts instead of the longer deep dives on the main channel.​

Once you’ve made your bacon bits, it’s time to boost the flavor and texture of your holiday recipe leftovers such as mac and cheese, baked potatoes, or mashed potatoes. Here’s one way to do that:

The Leftover Shelf 🥡

Leftovers are back in style…if you know how to use them.

This week’s move:

Leftover bacon bits & mashed potatoes → Crispy Bacon & Scallion Potato Pancakes

With a few extra pantry ingredients, you can turn that leftover mash into a whole new weeknight meal in under 10 minutes!

Components

• 2 cups (400 g) mashed potatoes

• 1 egg

• 1/4 cup (30 g) bread crumbs (like Panko)

• 1/4 cup (30 g) bacon bits

• 1/4 cup (30 g) scallions

• 1/4 cup (30 g) grated cheese

• 1 tbsp (15 g) oil + 1 tbsp (15 g) butter or as needed, for cooking

• Kosher salt & black pepper to taste

• Optional: garnish with sour cream, scallions, and more bacon bits.

To assemble:

• Combine mashed potatoes, bacon bits, egg, scallion, cheese, & salt + pepper in a bowl and mix well. Pour the breadcrumbs into a separate small bowl.

• Shape the potato mixture into 3-inch patties and then dip them into the breadcrumbs until evenly coated

• Heat oil and butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat and cook the potato pancakes on both sides until they are heated through and browned, approximately 4 minutes on each side.

Variations: You can also add garlic, cayenne, rosemary, or chives to the mashed potato mixture, depending on your taste preferences.

For a sweet variation, substitute the base for mashed sweet potatoes and dress with maple syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Extra Helpings 🍽

🚀 Viral Eats

The latest cooking trends explained.

​

Q: Eggs in coffee?​

A: Because of their emulsifying properties and stabilizing power, raw eggs are a crucial component in many of our favorite, creamy foods.

Egg yolks are the basis of 1) all mayo-based condiments (like Chick-Fil-A Sauce, ranch, and Caesar dressing) and 2) sweet custard cream delights like egg nog and ice cream.

Vietnamese egg coffee (Cà Phê Trứng) is essentially using a whipped custard in place of coffee creamer. The aerated mixture is both visually and texturally pleasing: its lower density floats in a uniform layer above the coffee liquid and then eats like a richer whipped cream.

This foreign treat had the perfect combination of novel ingredients, textures, and visuals to go viral online and in coffee shops everywhere!

To make Vietnamese egg coffee at home, simply whip together egg yolks and condensed milk (or sugar) and top your brew.

🤔 Reader Q&A

Q: What onions should I buy at the grocery store? And do I really need to get shallots? Thanks. — Ramsey R.

A: Ramsey! We’ve often wondered the same thing. Different cuisines tend to use certain onion types, but that could be due to what was once locally available to those regions before widespread globalization.

The short answer is to use what you have around. Your onion choice doesn’t matter all that much.

Yes, different onions can be sweeter (white, sweet, or Vidalia) or more pungent when raw (yellow, red), but the nuances are nearly negligible, especially after they’ve been cooked into a dish.

Unless you want a distinct red color such as in pickled onions, we generally suggest stocking up on yellow or white onions so that your dishes don’t get stained purple.

As for shallots, you can always just sub in onion. People claim they’re more subtle or better for raw applications. We haven’t tested this yet, so maybe we’ll do a video on it soon… (in the meantime, reply and let us know your allium analysis!)

🤤 More Yummy Content

A Read: Did TikTok Make Tinned Fish Cool Again?​

In a Minute or Less: Eggnog Latte​

What We’re Watching: Italian Pasta Experts Youtube Channel (Italia Squisita)​

Food Science: How to Make Perfect Scrambled Eggs at Home​

Upgrade Your Feed: Connect with Ethan everywhere.​

Ready to shop? 🛒

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