Fresh, seasonal, sustainable menu, on a budget

Chef Michael Schwartz is a big believer in fresh and sustainable cooking using local ingredients.

So it's no surprise he's just come out with a book called, "Michael's Genuine Food: Down to Earth Cooking for People Who Love to Eat."

Michael is also the chef and owner of Michael's Genuine Food & Drink in Miami and Grand Cayman island.

And he's an integral part of the White House's "Chefs Move to Schools" initiative to plant school gardens and teach kids, parents, and cafeteria cooks about fresh food and healthy cooking.

All that -- and he accepted the "Chef on a Shoestring" challenge on "The Early Show on Saturday Morning," attempting to make a fresh, three-course meal for four all on our meager $40 budget.

"Early Show" Recipes Galore!
Vote on Next Week's "Shoestring" Main Course

On the menu: Roasted "Double Yolk" Eggs with Tomato and Asiago Cheese, Whole Roasted Chicken with Swiss Chard and Caramelized Onion Panade, and Milk Chocolate Cremoso with Espresso Parfait.

Oh - one more thing - Michael's chef's hat was automatically tossed into our "How Low Can You Go?" competition, in which the "Shoestring" chef with the lowest ingredients cost will be invited back to whip up the feast for our year-end extravaganza.

Incidentally -- YOU can decide what our "Shoestring" chef makes as the main course next week, by voting with your mobile phone.

FOOD FACTS

(Source: Epicurious.com)

Asiago Cheese: A semifirm Italian cheese with a rich, nutty flavor. It's made from whole or part-skim cow's milk and comes in small wheels with glossy rinds. The yellow interior has many small holes. Young Asiago is used as a table cheese; aged over a year, it becomes hard and suitable for grating.

Frisee: A member of the chicory family, frisace has delicately slender, curly leaves that range in color from yellow-white to yellow-green. This feathery vegetable has a mildly bitter flavor and is often used in the special salad mix, mesclun. Choose frisace with crisp leaves and no sign of wilting. Refrigerate in a plastic bag for up to 5 days. Wash just before using.

Arugula: Also called rocket, roquette, rugula and rucola, arugula is a bitterish, aromatic salad green with a peppery mustard flavor. Though it has long been extremely popular with Italians, American palates often find its flavor too assertive. Arugula (which resembles radish leaves) can be found in specialty produce markets and in some supermarkets. It's sold in small bunches with roots attached. The leaves should be bright green and fresh looking. Arugula is very perishable and should be tightly wrapped in a plastic bag and refrigerated for no more than 2 days. Its leaves hold a tremendous amount of grit and must be thoroughly washed just before using. Arugula makes a lively addition to salads, soups and sauteed vegetable dishes. It's a rich source of iron as well as vitamins A and C.

Swiss Chard: Also referred to as chard , this member of the beet family is grown for its crinkly green leaves and silvery, celerylike stalks. The variety with dark green leaves and reddish stalks (sometimes referred to as rhubarb chard ) has a stronger flavor than that with lighter leaves and stalks. There's also a ruby chard , which has a bright red stalk and a deep red (tinged with green) leaf. Chard is available year-round but best during the summer. Choose it for its tender greens and crisp stalks. Store, wrapped in a plastic bag, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The greens can be prepared like spinach, the stalks like asparagus. Chard, a cruciferous vegetable, is a good source of vitamins A and C, as well as iron.

Fontina Cheese: Also called Fontina Val d'Aosta after the Italian valley from which it comes, this is one of Italy's great cheeses. Semifirm yet creamy, fontina is a cow's-milk cheese with about 45 percent milk fat. It has a dark golden brown rind with a pale yellow interior dotted with tiny holes. The mild, nutty flavor, and the fact that it melts easily and smoothly, make fontina perfect for almost any use. Besides Italy, fontinas are made in other countries including Denmark, France and the United States. Many of these fontinas, especially when young, tend to be blander and softer than the Italian original.

RECIPES

Roasted "Double Yolk" Eggs with Tomato and Asiago

Are two yolks better than one? You bet! I have a real fondness for double-yolk eggs. In fact, I think every egg should have two yolks-I'm not an egg-white-omelet kind of guy to be sure. Luckily, there's a farmer in my area who farms nothing but fresh double-yolk eggs; it's pretty cool. Now, assuming you might not be able to get these, for ease, I've simply added extra yolks to the recipe. Crack the eggs into a ramekin along with some tomato sauce and cheese, and bake until the egg whites begin to solidify while the cheese turns into a cap of melty goodness. This makes a great start to a hearty meal and can elevate an ordinary steak-and-eggs dish to a special brunch. Make it ahead and pop in the oven when almost ready to serve.

INGREDIENTS:

4 large (about 1/2 -inch) slices crusty sourdough bread
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black
pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup quality chunky tomato sauce
4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
4 teaspoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh chives
1/4 pound Asiago cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
1 small head frisee

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 500?F.

Lay the bread slices side by side on a baking sheet, drizzle with the oil, and season generously with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Butter the bottom and sides of four 6-ounce ramekins. Divide the tomato sauce among the ramekins, then crack an egg and egg yolk into each. Add a teaspoon of cream to each and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chives and add a layer of cheese to cover the top completely.

Put the ramekins on a baking sheet and set on the middle rack of the oven. Put the bread in the oven at the same time. Bake the bread until crisp, about 5 minutes. Bake the eggs until the cheese is melted and the egg whites jiggle a little when you nudge the ramekins, 8 to 10 minutes. To serve, center the ramekins on small plates and lay a crostini on the side of each. Place a small mound of frisace on top of the bread.

For Michael's other recipes, go to Page 2.