Potato Chive Omelette with Pepper Jack Mornay - Artist Drive, Death Valley!

Artist's Palate

Artist's Palate

Artist's Palate

Artist's Palate

Artist's Palate

Artist's Palate

A nice filling omelette for breakfast before touring Death Valley!

     Potato omelettes are popular worldwide.  Spain is where potato omelets seem to be seen on menus most often.  Chives and potato is nice combination for an omelette flavor.  Pepper Jack cheese adds a complimentary western kick!

     I made a pepper jack cheese bechamel sauce for a souffle in an upcoming recipe.  I decided to add some white wine to the pepper jack bechamel to turn it into a western style mornay sauce both for the souffle and this omelette.  Chardonnay adds a nice flavor and it accents the flavor of the chile peppers in pepper jack cheese.  The sauce gave this omelette a nice zesty flavor!

     A filling hearty breakfast is a good option, before touring and hiking in Death Valley.  Death Valley is the wide open spaces!  There is nothing but raw landscape and very little vegetation.  Restaurants and gas stations are few and far between.  A day in a stark barren landscape has a way of letting fatigue set in, so a carbohydrate loaded potato omelette will help keep the tired feeling from interfering with the day.

     I have mentioned this next statement several times in blog entries that feature sites in Death Valley.  Always enter Death Valley with a full tank of gas, 2 days worth of non perishable food and a few days worth of water.  If you travel dirt roads to scenic places, it may take a while for someone to find your location if the car breaks down.  Even on the main roads it can take a while for help to arrive.  The temperatures are extremely hot in the summer afternoons, so staying hydrated is of first importance.  

     Artist Drive is located just south of Furnace Creek on Badwater Road.  Artist drive is a one way street scenic route that winds through the east mountains of Death Valley.  Artist drive is only a few miles long, but it is one of the most scenic drives that there is.  Overlooks of Death Valley can be found there.  Picturesque colorful mountain landscapes are awesome to see!  

     The feature site along Artist Drive is Artist's Palate.  The colorful mineral rich rock formations resemble the colors on an artist's palate!  Chromatic hues and earth tones combine in the landscape.  Bring a camera when touring Artist Drive, because some great photo opportunities can be found.  

     I use a Nikon D90 SLR with a medium strength lens and a telephoto lens for my outdoor photography.  Lately I have been using that camera for food photos too, because my small camera needs to be serviced.  The landscape photos are high resolution, so they can be expanded.  To view a photo on this blog as a larger image, simply single click on any photo and an expanded slide show will appear!

     Pepper Jack Mornay Sauce Recipe:

     This recipe makes enough for 2 sauce portions!  The base of this sauce is a plain bechamel with no aromatics and no nutmeg.  The pepper jack cheese is all the flavor this mornay needs.

     Heat a sauce pot over medium/medium low heat.

     Add 5 pats of unsalted butter.

     Add an equal amount of flour, while constantly stirring, to form a roux.

     Stir till the roux cooks to a white color, with very little hazelnut aroma.

     Add 1 cup of milk while whisking.

     Add 1/4 cup of cream.

     Add 1/2 cup of dry white wine.

     Stir as the sauce heats and thickens to a very thin sauce consistency.

     Reduce the temperature to low heat.

     Gently simmer and reduce the sauce, till it becomes a thin  sauce consistency.

     Add sea salt and white pepper.

     Add 3 ounces of pepper jack cheese while stirring.

     Stir till the cheese melts into the sauce.

     Keep the sauce warm over very low heat.

     Potato Chive Omelette with Pepper Jack Mornay:

     Cut 1/2 of a peeled russet potato into 1/2" cubes.  (large dice)

     Place the potatoes in a sauce pot.

     Cover the potatoes with water.

     Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat.

     Boil the potatoes till they become tender.  (Do not cook the potatoes till they become mushy!)

     Drain the water off of the potatoes and set them aside.

     Heat a non-stick saute pan over medium/medium low heat.

     Add 3 pats of unsalted butter.

     Add the potatoes.

     Add sea salt and white pepper.

     Gently saute the potatoes for 1 minute, while shaking the pan, so they do not stick.

     Add 2 whisked eggs.

     Add 1 tablespoon of fresh chives that are cut about 3/8" long.

     Use a spatula to even the edges of the omelette.

     When the bottom half of the eegs become firm, flip the omelette.

     Saute till the omelette becomes fully cooked.  Try not to let the eggs brown!

     Triple fold the omelette as it is slid onto a plate.

     Spoon some of the pepper jack mornay sauce over one third of the omelette an onto to plate.

     Sprinkle a few pinches of 3/8" long cut chives over omelette.

     No garnish is necessary!

     Mellow gentle flavors of chives and potato make a nice medium for the accompanying zesty pepper jack mornay.  While touring the west, go with western flavors!  Yum!  ...  Shawna     

Biscuits and Filipino Sweet Longaniza Sausage Chive Gravy ~ The Old Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley!

A different kind of sausage and biscuits breakfast!

     Spanish longaniza sausage comes in mant varieties.  Longaniza is milder than chorizo.  Spanish and Mexican style longaniza is usually savory and not sweet.  Filipino longaniza is sweet and it is twisted into shorter length links.  Philippine style longaniza can be found in Asian markets and Filipino markets.

     I have posted a few gourmet biscuits and gravy recipes in this blog.  My closest recipe to a standard biscuit and gravy is the one made with turkey sausage.  The rule of thumb for any biscuit and gravy recipe is that the gravy must be made with milk gravy (bechamel sauce).  The biscuits can be flavored or plain.  The meat is optional, but sausage is traditional.  Plain milk gravy with no meat over biscuits is the most basic recipe.  Creative recipes like my tea and spice smoked salmon gravy over biscuits is a little bit more advanced.

     A belly full of hearty food is a great way to start a day of traveling and touring.  Death Valley has a way of making anybody hungry!  Eating a heavy breakfast will keep the fatigue of wandering around in a vast desert expanse to a minimum.  Biscuits and beans or biscuits and gravy were good hearty pioneer style meals.

     In 1881, borax was discovered near Greenland in Death Valley.  Greenland later changed its name to the Furnace Creek Ranch.  Furnace Creek is an appropriate name, because the summer temperatures often are over 120 degrees!  

     The Harmony Borax Works produced 3 tons of borax per day.  The 20 Mule Team symbol started with the Harmony Borax Works.  Mule teams carried loads of borax through the Mojave Desert.

     The Harmony Borax Works was sold, after the owner suffered a financial collapse and it became a borax reserve for the Pacific Coast Borax Company.  The Harmony Borax Works was shut down after the crew had been transferred to another site.  The remnants of old Harmony Borax Works and its small town still remain as a Death Vally ghost town and historic site.  The 20 mule team symbol lives on as the motto of the borax industry.

     The Harmony Borax Works is a great place to visit and photograph!  Be sure to have a full tank of gas, before entering Death Valley.  Bring a 2 day minimum supply of water and some nonperishable food to be on the safe side, especially if you tour the dirt road destinations.

     If you travel care free, then there are restaurants, a gas station, cabins, a general store and a hotel at Furnace Creek.  The Pacific Coast Borax Company turned Furnace Creek into a destination for tourists and Death Valley sight seers.  Just follow the signs on California Route 190 to Furnace Creek and it will be easy to find the Old Harmony Borax Works!     

     Biscuit Recipe:

     This recipe makes several biscuits.  The amount of biscuits depends on the size of the biscuits.  Extra biscuits can be frozen for later meals.  

     Place 2 cups of all purpose flour into a bowl.

     Add 1 tablespoon of baking powder.

     Add 1 small pinch of baking soda.

     Add 1 teaspoon of sea salt.

     Sift the ingredients together into a mixing bowl.

     Add 3 ounces of cold butter that is cut into 1/2" cube pieces.

     Cut the butter into the flour with a fork or a baker's cutting tool, till the flour looks like it has been riced to a small pea size.

     Add 1 cup of buttermilk.

     Gently stir, till the ingredients just barely combine. 

     Only knead till a dough is barely formed.  Only knead the dough, till it holds together.  (Do not over mix biscuit dough!)

     Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, till it is 1" thick.

     Use a 2 1/2" to 3 1/2" round biscuit cutter to cut biscuits or cut 2 1/2" squares.  Cut several biscuits.

     Combine the scraps and roll them out again to cut a few more biscuits.

     Place the biscuits on a parchment paper lined baking pan or a baking pan that is brushed with melted butter. 

     Brush the tops of the biscuits with milk. 

     Bake in a 425 degree oven, till the biscuits become fully cooked and lightly toasted on the tops.  (About 10 to 15 minutes)

     Remove the biscuits from the oven and let them cool to a serving temperature.

     Keep the biscuits warm on a stove top.

     Filipino Sweet Longaniza Sausage Chive Gravy:

     This recipe makes one portion!

     Heat a sauce pot over medium, medium low heat.

     Add 2 pats of unsalted butter.

     Add 5 ounce to 6 ounces of sweet Philippine longaniza sausage links.

     Saute the sausages, till they become lightly browned and fully cooked.

     Remove the sausages from the pan and place them on a cutting board.

     Cut the sausages into thick bite size slices.

     Return the sausage pieces to the pot over medium/medium low heat.

     Add 2 tablespoons of chopped onion.

     Saute till the onions turn clear in color.

     Add just enough flour, while stirring, to soak up the excess grease and to form a pan roux.

     Add 1 1/2 cups of milk, while stirring.

     Add sea salt and black pepper.

     Stir occasionally as the milk gravy heats and thickens.

     The gravy should be a very thin consistency.

     Reduce the temperature to low heat.

     Simmer and reduce the gravy, till it becomes a medium thin consistency.

     Add 1 tablespoon of small sliced fresh chives just before serving.

     Biscuits and Filipino Sweet Longaniza Sausage Chive Gravy:

     Split 2 warm biscuits in half and place the bottom halves on a plate.

     Spoon the sweet longaniza chive gravy over the biscuit halves.

     Place the top halves of the biscuits over the gravy and biscuit bottoms.

     Serve with grilled tomato that is seasoned with sea salt and black pepper.

     Garnish with a few 2 1/2" long chive sections.

     The seasoning of Filipino longaniza is very different than American breakfast sausage and it is a nice morning flavor!  This is a tasty biscuits and gravy!  Yum!  ...  Shawna