Amanda Hesser's Revueltos con Chorizo

This is the only thing I've cooked since Thursday (not including Ben's birthday cake, but more on that later). It's been a busy couple of days around here! Surprise out-of-town birthday guests, a dinner for 24 people, the advent (at last!) of spring so glorious that I felt like a puppy when we went outside, just itching to rub my body up against the sunshine.

But back to the eggs. I feel like this hardly counts as a recipe. And furthermore, improbably, I cannot find the actual clipped recipe (from the NY Times Magazine a few years ago, when Amanda also wrote about Fluffy Orange Shortcake, remember?) I had luckily committed to memory and then stashed away somewhere. It's driving me a little nuts. I keep telling myself you won't mind if I wing it for you. And you won't, will you? It tasted awfully good when I winged it (wung it?) on Thursday, so here goes nothing.

You take some of your dried Spanish chorizo lying in your fridge. (Doesn't everyone have a link of Palacios chorizo hanging out in there? If not, you should. Don't make the mistake I made once of letting my chorizo sit in the cupboard for a week or two or three only to find it then entirely covered in an even white layer of fuzzy mold. Right as I was about to start cooking.) You slice 9 or 10 small discs of the stuff. You put these in a pan (nonstick or stainless steel, whatever your poison), turn the heat on low and let the fragrant, orange fat render out for a bit. In the meantime, you very lightly beat together two or three eggs (depending on your age, height and sex, I suppose). Let there still be some nicely separated globs of yolk and white. When there looks to be enough fat in the pan, pour in the eggs. Using a rubber spatula, turn the eggs and the chorizo together a few times. Let the curds develop on the larger side, then turn off the heat when the eggs still look moist. The whole process shouldn't take more than a minute or two.

The scrambled eggs will be plump and streaked with orange. The dark red chorizo discs will peek out from the billowy folds of egg. You'll pile the lot on a plate (For me, it goes without saying that this is a single-girl's or guy's dinner, but I'm sure there are many of you out there with partners who would happily eat this for dinner, too.), settle down on the couch with a glass of wine (or a heel of crusty bread), and dig into the creamy, salty, porky eggs that have soft pockets and crispy edges and satisfy your hunger entirely.

Delicious.

And that birthday cake? Comes courtesy of Martha Stewart, and fulfills many people's expectations of the quintessential chocolate birthday cake (three layers, glossy frosting, crazy chocolate flavor). The first time I made this, I brought it to Central Park for my friend Emily's birthday. The Met was performing in the park and the place was crammed with people. Near where my friends and I had set up camp, a few couples sat and entertained a toddler. After I pulled out the candle-bedecked cake, we realized that the little toddler had waddled over to us and was standing behind our circle, transfixed by the towering cake. Mesmerized.  Couldn't take her eyes off the thing. We asked her parents if we could give her a piece of the cake, and they said it was fine as long as they got to have some as well.

Before long, the cake was being eaten by a far larger crowd than I had originally expected. My head got fat with everyone's compliments while opera singers warbled in the background and New York felt like a little village filled with happy people. It was Emily's birthday, but I felt like I had won the lottery. It was July 2001.

Comments

[Mercedes]

You are killing me with that cake! I love that you can remember when Amanda also wrote about orange shortcake- I feel like less of a nerd for remembering when Julia Reed wrote about a frozen tomato ball.

[Lydia]

As if it weren't enough that the eggs and chorizo look, sound, and dare I say smell wonderful -- but now I can't get that image of the chocolate cake in Central Park out of my head! Goodness, now I am so hungry!

[Mary]

I made a chocolate cake for a friend's birthday recently and was decidedly disappointed in it, though they all ate it up in huge forkfulls (forks full?). This cake looks better and the frosting is perfect. As for the eggs - my idea of a perfect dinner (though I'd also add a Spanish salad, just lettuce, tomato, onion, vinegar, oil and salt, don't forget the salt). I echo Lydia's exclamation: "goodness" I am hungry now too.

[Fesser]

Granted, this is scrambled eggs and sausage we are talking about, but if you're "winging it" how is it "Hesser's Revueltos"? For the sake of reference, here is the Hesser version, which is available through the Times archive, (free to Times Select members, which can be anyone with an .edu email address) and through LEXIS-NEXIS at many libraries:

Revueltos With Chorizo
Crack 4 eggs into a bowl and place it next to the stove. Spread 2 1/2 ounces of thinly sliced chorizo in the base of a medium nonstick frying pan. Place over medium-high heat, and when the chorizo has rendered some fat and begins to sizzle, pour in the eggs. Then using a spoon, very quickly stir the egg mixture, breaking the yolks and turning the eggs over and over again until just barely cooked, lifting the pan off the heat halfway through. It will take less than a minute. Spoon onto 2 serving dishes and sprinkle with sea salt. Serves 2.

[ann]

Was that the year they did the Barber of Seville?
I went to that by myself because none of my friends liked opera (I ADORE it).

I positioned myself on the periphery, reveling in the music & the scene. There was a group of about 8 older people near me, all in their late 50s, early 60s. A nice woman asked me if I was alone, I said yes, then she asked if I'd like to join them. I said, oh no, I couldn't. Her entire group then implored me, so I relented. They gave me wine, cheese, all sorts of wonderful food, and a thick slab of Black Forest Cake. I was so sad when the skies opened and a massive thunder & lightening storm forced the proceedings to end, but at least I got to make my best (worst?) opera joke ever... As I was putting on my coat and thanking the group for their kindness I got to blithely add, "Too bad it wasn't Wagner!"

Ah, summer in the city. There's nothing better.

[Julie]

Love that chocolate cake at the opera story. Love Ann's story too. They make New York sound like a small midwestern town.

[Anne]

Just so you know, my birthday is October 15th. I'm just sayin'...

That dinner sounds so lovely and perfect. Eggs for dinner are always best when eaten alone, in my opinion.

[Leland]

God, I love going to free concerts in the Park. Lying out there with thousands of people, drinking wine and eating delicious food, gazing at the stars and skyscrapers twinkling in the background, and listening to the beautiful music surrounding you...it's as good as New York gets.

[French Laundry at Home]

Those eggs look gorgeous. And you know that all those people will be telling that cake story for years. I wonder how long it will take for you to be at a cocktail party and overhear, "you know, I heard about this person who brought an amazing cake to the Park for someone's birthday and shared it with the people sitting around them..."

[Freya]

I would definitely cook this and I'm not single! I love this kind of dish with some tomatoes and chillis too, but that's probably just overkill!

[Luisa]

Mercedes - embrace your inner food nerd, we accept you! :)

Lydia - hope you got some cake for lunch! Or at least scrambled eggs...

Mary - it's such a satisfyingly perfect cake. I've gotten nothing but raves about it (though make sure you only use Dutched cocoa, not the natural stuff).

Fesser - thank you for the exact recipe, I appreciate it. Why would I call this anything but Amanda Hesser's revueltos? I got the recipe from her column, after all.

Ann - love this story! I heart NY. I can't remember if it was the Barber of Seville, but it definitely didn't rain that night (it rained the year after, in 02, I think).

Julie - sometimes, New York is just a little village. I love those moments, I think a lot of New Yorkers do.

Anne - I'll keep that in mind! :)

Leland - it's pretty good, isn't it? I can't wait for summer again - it's almost here!

FLaH - that's a lovely thought, I hope it happens to me! New York is just small enough that it could...

Freya - Overkill? No way! That sounds tasty to me.

[Terry B]

We've also discovered the delights of Spanish chorizo. I make a similar egg dish, but also sauté chopped up zucchini, red bell pepper and onions with the chorizo, then pour eggs in and around all that. It's so satisfying and filling it can serve as dinner.

[gemma]

I don't remember the opera at all but I have never forgotten that cake. I was also devastated that we were sharing it with all those strangers as it only meant there was less for me!

[Molly]

Oh friend, this is SO my kind of dinner! I want to eat it right now, in fact, and it's only 7:36 am. (Then again, it would make a lovely breakfast, too, don't you think?)

So good to be home and reading your words again. I just love how you describe the sunshine and the eggs and the cake in the park. You're a gem, m'dear. xo