Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Eggs Benedict

I’m not a big breakfast eater during the week, eating more on the lighter side. oatmeal, granola, assorted fruits or a muffin, but on the weekends I like a leisurely late breakfast and one of my favorite morning meals is Eggs Benedict. During the warmer months we enjoy going to one of our favorite eateries here, The Merriland Farm where you can simply enjoy a wonderful meal while sitting on the patio among the perennial gardens.. sipping fresh raspberry mimosa’s and all the while you will be having a heck of a time deciding on the breakfast menu.

They serve up a splendid assortment of benedicts, scrumptious omelets, berry laden Belgian waffles, awesome crepes and home made tea breads, made with fruits grown on their own farm. Among my favorites is the Jameison Benedict.. homemade English muffin, poached egg, fresh asparagus, Canadian bacon topped with hollandaise. The farm won’t re-open until early spring here and I’ve just been having a hankering for eggs Benedict, so I made my own Jameison, less the bacon and imagined it was a warm summery morning and I was sitting on the patio enjoying every bit of it. I think I’ll be able to manage the 27 more days left until Spring now :D



Hollandaise sauce is a real treat for me, and my favorite. It’s so simple to prepare and yummy served over fresh asparagus, broccoli or cauliflower. This is an adaption of my Mom’s hollandaise. I like the addition of fresh herbs to the sauce especially if I am making eggs Benedict. This recipe will make about ¾ - 1 cup sauce. You really should serve it immediately, but if you have to hold it for a bit, a double boiler works well, if stirred often.

Hollandaise sauce

·½ cup butter (unsalted) If using salted butter, do not add any salt to the sauce
·3 egg yolks
·1 ½ TBLS lemon juice
·1 TBLS boiling water
·a smidgeon (grains only) cayenne pepper *opt
·finely minced fresh basil, savory, thyme *opt

In a saucepan melt the butter. Don’t let it brown. In a separate bowl beat together the egg yolks, lemon juice, pepper and salt if using unsalted butter. Add boiling water to the beaten eggs..blend well and slowly combine with two teaspoons of the melted butter and beat well with a whisk, allowing it to emulsify. Continue adding teaspoon by teaspoon the melted butter slowly until you’ve used about 4 TBLS or so, whisking in all the while. On low heat cooking the egg/butter mix quickly, about 20 seconds. Keep whisking while cooking. Just as it begins to thicken add the fresh herbs to the sauce and whisk once again. Remove from heat and serve. Enjoy!

Friday, February 20, 2009

If it's Wednesday it must be spaghetti night

It's been a super hectic week here so I was very greatful to have some sauce and meatballs in the freezer and bread dough just itching to be popped into the oven. For dinner last night we had spaghetti and meatballs, garden salad and homemade garlic bread sticks.

The meatballs I usually make up in bulk:

2lbs lean beef
1 lb pork
1 lb veal
breadcrumbs
2 eggs
parmesan cheese
parsley
ground pepper

Prepare the balls and stick them on a cooking sheet and bake 20 minutes until almost done. Add to your sauce pot or bag them and stick in the freezer for emergency dinners like ours last nite :D



The sauce:

2 large cans crushed tomatoes
2 cans tomato paste
2 TBL olive oil
3 garlic cloves, smashed
5-6 basil leaves
good bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped
salt, pepper, 1 TBL sugar
1/2 glass wine

Simmer the garlic in olive oil until just browned. Add tomatoes and let it cook for a bit. Then add tomato paste along with 3 cans water per each tomato paste can. (Total water= 6 tomato paste cans worth) Add herbs, seasonings, wine to the pot and simmer 1 hour.

Slip off your apron, shoes and pour a nice glass of wine for yourself and then relax! Enjoy!