Braised Anatomy

On a recent flight back to Cleveland I sat next to surgical resident who admitted to me that he didn’t know how to cook an egg. Actually…it was worse than that. He first admitted that he didn’t know how to boil pasta. He said that his pasta always comes out looking like “sushi” (personally, I had a hard time picturing that). We did a little trouble shooting and quickly realized that he was adding his pasta to cold water and then boiling everything at once. At first I was shocked…Having grown up in a (we-like-to-pretend-that-we’re) Italian family, pasta was the first thing I ever learned how to make on my own. I won’t argue that it’s engrained in my DNA, but my obsession with cooking at least stems from some sort of epigenetic process. I’m not a master chef by any means, but I think I can cook pretty well, and something as “basic” as cooking pasta (or an egg) feels as natural as breathing. But did it always feel that way?

When we first entered medical school, we were told to be careful not to start speaking “medical-ese” in front of our patients. The first time you hear that, you can’t help but scoff and think to yourself “Are you kidding me?! I won’t ever do that! I totally understand what it means to not understand what the doctor is saying. I would never be so insensitive!”…Three years later, you’re sitting in front of a patient telling them about some sort of disease process, and realize that they’re staring at you like you’ve grown an extra head. Oops.

I guess that as you become more comfortable with whatever new skill or information you’re attempting to learn, you forget what is was like to not understand the “basics”. It’s not that you never struggled with it yourself, it’s just that you’ve reached the point where you’re struggling with the “next step”. And as exciting as it is to master each new step in the learning process, it never hurts to take a step back, acknowledge how far you’ve come, and appreciate that you know how to cook a pound of pasta…or an egg.

 (Adapted from Apron Strings)

What you need:

• 1 large onion (the larger the better so the egg doesn’t spill out)
• eggs
• 1/2 tbs butter
• salt and cracked pepper, to taste

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During my first year of med school, one of my required clinical experiences was a half-day rotation with a family physician at Metrohealth Medical Center.  His discussion with us regarded weight gain — mainly, how freaking easy it is.  “So let’s say the average American gains ~30 pounds between the ages of 20 and 50.  How many calories would you need to overeat to gain 30 pounds over 30 years?”

1 lb (fat) = 3500 Cal.  To gain 30 pounds over 30 years, that’s 1 lb per year or 3500 calories per year.  3500 calories / 12 months / 30 days = 9.7 calories

What does 10 calories look like?  That’s about 3 m&m’s.

 I’ve been thinking lately about how to put a little more health awareness into this blog about food and medicine, so I was thinking about posting periodically about either 200 or 300-calorie snacks.  If you’re looking to maintain or lose weight for health purposes or for whatever-purposes, here are a couple of good links to start with:  BMR Calculator & Daily Calorie Needs.

Until then — enjoy this completely non-health related dish!

 Ingredients (adapted from smittenkitchen.  This is half the size of her original recipe, perfect for a light breakfast for 2-3 people)

• 5 eggs
• 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp salt
• dash black pepper
• 1.5 tsp butter
• 1 small onion, chopped fine
• 5 oz spinach (I used fresh and wilted it in the microwave, Deb used frozen but thawed and squeezed it)
• 4 cups Italian bread cut into 1 inch cubes (I used Jimmy John’s day old bread, 2-3 days old)
• 1 cup (3-4 oz) crumbled feta
• more butter for lubrication

Whisk together the eggs, salt, pepper, and mustard.  Sautee the onions in butter for 5-10 minutes until translucent and golden-brown.  Mix these into the spinach.  I buttered what was probably a 8”x6” pyrex thingy and layered 1/3 of the bread, 1/3 of the spinach mixture, and 1/3 of the cheese in layers.  Do this this three times and then poured the egg mixture on top in an even fashion.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight in the fridge.  The next morning, preheat the oven to 325-350 and pull out the strata so that it can warm up a bit (eggs work better in the oven if they start at room temperature).  Remove the plastic wrap and bake for 30-40 minutes, until browning and crispy on top.  Serve now, and serve the leftovers later.

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