Cranberries in December

First, let me apologize for not having posted anything in a few weeks.  I've been having a difficult time with the early darkness of winter, as I always do at this time of year.  I have been trying to accept the cold, but I need the sun to help me out a little, too.

Also, it's difficult to cook a dish and photograph it before I lose natural light.

But enough with the excuses.  Let's bring some of that brightness we're craving back into the kitchen.

During Thanksgiving this year, I learned how to roast a turkey (!). This is a first for me, because I had been a vegetarian for the previous couple of decades.  My aunt Lynne usually hosts Thanksgiving and  texted me a while back so see if I would eat turkey along with everyone else if she purchased a sustainably-raised one.  I gladly accepted this offer and jumped at the chance to actually learn how to cook a turkey.

While our family has a set of traditional dishes at Thanksgiving, like the turkey and fixings, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, vegetable sides, and my beloved cranberry sauce, the way in which each is prepared changes each year.  This is wonderful for us home cooks, because we get to try out new dishes and flavors.  Our menu is always current and accommodating (last year I wrote about cooking for a group with various dietary needs).

Cranberry sauce from a can is absolutely delicious.  But it's also easy to make from scratch and can be varied endlessly.  Aunt Lynne made a cranberry chutney this year, more savory than sweet.  Of course I wanted the recipe - it called for a reprise during Christmas!

I'm hosting a smaller group of family for Christmas this week.  I'm so excited that I planned a seven course meal and maybe even a "table scape."  Okay, not really a table scape, but I do have a tablecloth and matching napkins. And a table and chairs, if I remember to bring them in from the patio in time to warm to room temperature.

Part of this meal is a cheese plate with olives, crackers, and this festive cranberry chutney. You can make it in about a half hour and hardly need to pay that much attention.  If you have been crazy with holiday get-togethers and have been charged with bringing an appetizer to one, I encourage you to steal this idea. No one will be disappointed, except Grinches.

CRANBERRY CHUTNEY

• 4 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 small onion, chopped finely
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 T. ginger root, minced
• 2 t. mustard seed
• 1/2 t. red pepper flakes
• 1/2 t. salt

In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients.  Put on high heat until simmering, then reduce to low. Simmer until thickened and cooked through, stirring occasionally.  Allow to cool, transfer to fancy serving bowl, and think of all the possibilities!

Pad Thai at Home...with Bacon!

I've heard that orders for Pad Thai in Thai restaurants outpaces every other dish on the menu by a landslide. In me, this triggers the response of ordering something different when I go out for Thai (and I highly suggest the Pad See Ew at Thai Monkey Club in Denver) .  But I do love Pad Thai.

There are a couple of issues with making my favorite recipe for Pad Thai at home, however.  Namely, it calls for shrimp and that means I'd have to make a special trip to the store and spend more than I'm willing for sustainable seafood on a weeknight.  Same with the tamarind puree.  And just where does one find "sweet" radishes?  But since I am still reaping the benefits of my shopping trip to H-Mart, I do have plenty of rice noodles and at the time, I had lots of shiitakes.

A couple of impulse buys and substitutions later, and Bacon Pad Thai is on.  At home.  So I traded brown sugar for palm sugar, ketchup for tamarind puree, cucumber for sweet radish, and a lovely combo of bacon and shiitakes for shrimp.  I think that's enough to call a recipe my own, don't you?

Also, this is a good recipe for mise en place, as there is some knife work and a few different parts that come together quickly. Consciously shifting the time spent on cooking to prep work allowed me to focus on neatly chopped and julienned vegetables. Aren't they pretty?

And then it really is a snap to put together. I did have a head start because I had purchased bacon as a reward for completing the food sensitivity thing and had pre-cooked half the package for another meal. Okay, just BLTs my way, which will hopefully be another post soon.

Also, mise en place cooking results in many photos, in my case.  I hope you are inspired to try out the recipe and make your own substitutions to make it work for you. For example, you could sub extra tofu and mushrooms for bacon and watered-down soy sauce for the fish sauce if you're a vegetarian. Or if you do keep shrimp stocked at home, you can go back to the standard.  So, settle in for some knife skills practice and enjoy your restaurant meal at home.

BACON PAD THAI

• 8 oz. rice noodles (medium width)

• 2 T. brown sugar
• 1 T. ketchup
• 2 T. fish sauce
• 1 T. lime juice
• 2 T. white vinegar
• 1 t. paprika
• 1/2 t. cayenne, or to taste
• 1 t. salt

• 3 T. vegetable oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T. onion, minced
• 2 T. cucumber, seeded and minced
• 2 T. carrot, julienned (optional)
• 1/4 cup tofu, julienned
• 3-4 strips cooked bacon, chopped finely
• 2 eggs, beaten

• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup mung bean sprouts (optional)
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts, plus more to garnish
• lime wedges, to garnish
• chopped cilantro, to garnish (optional)

Soak noodles in a bowl of warm water for 15 minutes, as you begin to prep the rest of the ingredients. Then drain and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, ketchup, fish sauce, lime juice, vinegar, paprika, cayenne, and salt. Set aside.  This might be a good time to beat the eggs in another small bowl and set aside, as well.

Heat oil in a large (non-stick) skillet over medium-high heat.  Add garlic, onion, cucumber, carrot, tofu, and bacon. Toss gently in the oil and cook until vegetables soften.  It will smell really, really good.  Push vegetables to the side of the pan and allow the oil to re-coat the pan.  Pour in beaten eggs.  As the eggs set, push in edges with a spatula and continue until eggs are cooked through and separated into pieces.

Mix everything back together and add the softened noodles.  Pour in the water and reduce the heat to medium. Allow the steam to cook the noodles for two or three minutes.  Then add the sauce and sprouts and stir to coat. Continue to cook for about five minutes, allowing the noodles to absorb the sauce and the pan to become almost dry.

Place into serving bowls and top with peanuts, lime, and cilantro.  Enjoy!

A Quick Homemade Ice Cream

Did you know that you can basically combine cream and jam, freeze it, and you have a great homemade ice cream?

Okay, so I would recommend an actual ice cream maker, too, and a little alcohol (for texture!).  But that's it!  No egg custard or standing over the stove in a cloud of steam for twenty minutes in the dead of summer.

I found this novel idea within the pages of Bruce Weinstein's The Ultimate Ice Cream Book, which is as the name promises.  All of the basics are there, but so are unusual flavor combinations and many ideas to build on.  I am also lucky enough to have received several jars of the best-ever homemade apricot jam from my Aunt Lynne (the very same Aunt Lynne responsible for the gingersnaps at Thanksgiving time), and one recent evening I thought a bowl of apricot ice cream would be nice.

Lo and behold, there the recipe was...just sitting there between Maple Ice Cream and Mint.  Twenty minutes later, I had my bowlful of apricot ice cream.  Sans stove.  As soon as my ice cream canister was frozen again, I made some blueberry.


QUICK JAM ICE CREAM

• 1/2 pint jam of your choosing (or marmalade)
• 2 T. liquor of choice, like whiskey for nuance or vodka for clean flavor
• 1 pint half and half

Stir together all ingredients in a medium bowl (or large pitcher for easy pouring).  I used a whisk to break up the jam, but left fruit pieces whole for texture.

Pour into ice cream maker and freeze accordingly.  Scoop ice cream into storage container and put into the actual freezer.  No need to wait for anything, though, serve yourself a generous scoop while making the transfer.

The ice cream will be a little soft at first, but also will not harden completely after an overnight freeze, due to the alcohol.  This means you can have it for breakfast without having to wait for it to thaw first.  See?  I take care of you.

Garden Series Part III: Strawberries

The strawberry plants in my garden this year are the result of one strawberry plant I started late summer 2011.  I am happy to report that I have gleaned at least one quart of berries so far, and I expect that there will be more to come.  Although, it is nearing the end of June and these ever-bearing plants will have to stop producing for now and gear up for another harvest in late summer.

It was difficult for me to come up with a recipe for strawberries.  I have mostly been eating them out of hand and giving them as gifts to friends and family.  On the other hand, I saw some recipes floating around some major food publications for strawberry galettes and shortcakes and even Pickled Strawberry Jam.

Also, my apartment gets up to about a billion degrees when the weather is hot...so a bowl of strawberries left on the counter does not keep well.  I need to use the daily harvests a little more quickly.  Yes, I've learned my lesson and I do have a refrigerator.

Then I remembered a homemade soda workshop that my friend Jaime and I prepared a while back.  We figured out a system of syrup-making to syrup-ize pretty much any appealing kitchen ingredient.  It was a great workshop and I wish you all could have been there, but I can link you to the GoogleDoc, where all this information still lives today.

We spent an afternoon making about 15 different syrup flavors, using herbs, fruits, extracts, and spices.  We poured them each into squeeze bottles and encouraged the workshop participants to mix and match flavors to their hearts' content.  On of my favorites was strawberry-basil.  Please, please, please try this combination and enjoy your homemade sodas all summer long.  Well, at least as long as your syrups last.


STRAWBERRY SYRUP

• 2 cups fresh strawberries, halved or quartered
• 1 T. sugar
• 1 cup simple syrup

Stir cut strawberries with tablespoon sugar and let macerate for 20 minutes.  Prepare a cup of simple syrup by combining about 3/4 cup each of sugar and water in a small saucepan.  Heat over medium until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Set aside to cool.

Puree fruit in a blender or food processor, to a rough puree, not a smooth puree.  Run mixture through strainer to remove solids, and stir in simple syrup.  Store in a glass jar.

BASIL SYRUP

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 fresh basil

Bring sugar and water to a low simmer.  Add the basil and stir, blanching for about a minute.  Turn off heat and allow to steep for three minutes.  Strain into glass jar and allow to cool.  Over-cooking the basil will result in an off-flavor that will dull the fresh taste the syrup should have.

STRAWBERRY BASIL SODA (or Summer in a Glass)

Mix about two or three tablespoons strawberry syrup with one tablespoon basil syrup (below), pour over a glass of ice and top with soda water.  Adding a shot of gin to most homemade sodas is a good thing.

Making Pasta at Home

Since I have been on a fresh pasta kick, I thought perhaps I would show you the process of making it at home.

Of course, if you have a pasta machine, you probably already have this down.  I, for one, keep losing the recipe I like, and keeping it here will be helpful for at least myself. Hopefully for you, too.

Many recipes will call for several eggs to make a very rich and yellow dough.  It turns out that I prefer the flavor of the pasta itself and like a leaner dough.  I also like using semolina instead of regular all-purpose flour, but AP flour works, too, in a one-to-one substitution ratio.

Some other tips might be useful, too, aside from the actual recipe.  Making pasta at home it actually quite simple if you have the tools, but it does require some time and little finesse.  The process requires some space and a whole afternoon.

FRESH PASTA

• 1 1/2 cups semolina flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 t. olive oil
• pinch salt
• a small bowl of all purpose flour, for dusting

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until the dough gathers to together and moves en masse around the blade.  Remove the dough from the processor and knead by hand for a minute.  It will be sticky and have a grainy feel; the goal of kneading it is to bring the dough together and jumpstart the process of allowing the moisture to be absorbed.

Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to a few days.  Remove from fridge and cut dough into quarters.  Run each quarter through the widest setting on a pasta rolling machine several times, folding into thirds and forming a rectangle.  This serves as kneading the dough, so run each quarter through until it starts to feel smooth and elastic.

Still folding dough in thirds after each pass, move to the next setting.  Once on the third setting, stop folding sheets of dough and dust well with flour as you set them aside for the next round.  They can be stacked to save space. Run each through the progressive settings twice until you get to the second-to-last setting - my last setting is "6" and is too thin, which always tears the dough.  Cut each sheet in half when it gets too long to run through the machine comfortably.

Once you have achieved the thickness you like, you can cut the sheets into squares for ravioli.  If you have fettuccine, linguini, or spaghetti plates, go ahead and use them.  If not, and you want noodles, roll each sheet into a tube, crosswise, and cut into slices of your desired thickness.  Unfurl the rolls into long noodles!  This is the best way to get pappardelle, too.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of well-salted water.  Like usual.  The only difference is that fresh pasta cooks in 3-5 minutes.  Drain and serve with any sauce you like - fresh pasta is so good that even tossing it with butter and salt like dish for a picky child will be delicious!

Stay tuned for late-summer garden recipes, in which I'll use beets and fresh pasta dough to make Beet Ravioli with Poppy Seed Butter.  It's good.  Really good.

Garden Series Part I: Radishes & Sage

With the garden salad as a warm up, I thought I might share a recipe from the garden each week or so as new produce can be harvested.

In the past week, the various lettuces have indeed provided many salads - I can practically feel all the vitamins and nutrients flowing through my veins!  Radishes also popped up, and by "popped up" I mean they were pushing themselves right out of the ground.

I haven't come across many people who share my love of radishes, but I would like to put in a good word for them.  Not only are they quick to mature in the garden, but also come in a wide variety of shapes and colors and can be eaten raw or cooked.  I prefer the bright and cheerful French Breakfast radishes shown here, but I would love to try other heirloom varieties, too, like the "Watermelon" or even "Red Meat."  I have tried growing a "Green Luobo" radish, but unfortunately without edible results...

If you are a non-believer when it comes to radishes, you might try cooking them.  It brings out the sweetness and cuts the heat.  I have read about the French tradition of dipping radishes in anchovy butter, so I thought I would start with that idea and cook my radishes with anchovies in a pan of browning butter.  And what else goes well with brown butter?  Well, sage and pasta, of course!

At first I was going to cook the radishes in anchovy butter and eat them as a side dish, but then mixed it all together to see what it was like.  That was a good decision, I must say.  I also had some leftover ricotta from the last post's ravioli, which added to the dish.  Now, I am out of radishes and am disappointed I won't get to have this dish every night.  Forever.  At least those radishes are fast-growing!

ANCHOVY BUTTER RADISHES & SAGE PASTA

• 6-8 oz. fettuccine pasta
• 1 bunch radishes (about 8-10)
• 2 T. butter
• 1-2 anchovy fillets, or about 1 t. worth
• 4-5 leaves fresh sage
• ricotta cheese, for serving (optional)
• salt to season

Cook pasta according to directions, drain, and set aside.  I used fresh pasta here, since I had dough ready and I have a pasta machine to make noodles at home.  I'm planning on a special Friday post this week about making pasta at home.

Meanwhile, trim and halve or quarter radishes so they are bite-sized pieces.  Melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat.  When the butter begins to brown, turn the heat to low and the whole sage leaves to the pan.  Let them fry until they are dark green and translucent throughout, a few seconds on each side.  Remove the leaves from the butter and set aside.

Turn the heat back to medium and add the radishes.  Cook until softened, tossing or stirring them frequently. Remove from heat until the pasta is cooked, if it's not done already.  Add the pasta to the butter and radishes, toss, and heat through.  Season with salt.

Divide among two dishes and top each serving with a dollop of ricotta and the fried sage leaves.

*I forgot the anchovies the second time I made this dish.  If you're vegetarian, it is still good without the anchovies - but if you are not, remember to add them.  They add really nice balance and complexity to the dish.

Sunday Dinner

I didn't grow up with Sunday dinners - but I was lucky enough to have a homemade family dinner most every evening.  Very lucky, and I believe this fostered my love for food and cooking.

I found out only a couple of years ago that my mother, who taught me how to cook, grew tired of cooking a long time ago.  I have also come to realize that learning how to cook from one's mother was dying tradition even by the time I was a child.  I value having received the education, and more so before my mother was over the whole thing.

Because normally I am cooking for just myself, I have the option to put together something quickly or make something as elaborate as I choose.  I think that for families, today's world would make it nearly impossible to have family dinner every night.  I wonder if the specialness of Sunday dinners will survive a little longer than the daily grind...

I think that I am increasingly enchanted with the idea of Sunday dinners.  It makes an allowance for a time-consuming, special meal that I can share with loved ones or enjoy in solitude.  It's a chance to impress or to remind - oneself as well as others.  It's like having recital, but takes the pressure off the rest of week by requiring no dress rehearsals.

After a few weeks of eating simply, I decided to make ravioli.  From scratch.  The day was beautiful and my back patio is now in its season.  The garden is brand new, but it's coming along quickly.  (Actually, this photo is from eight days ago and the garden already looks completely different.  Yep, that's compost in the corner.)  Photo courtesy of my dinner guest.

HOMEMADE RAVS, FOR SUNDAYS

• 1/2 recipe fresh lasagne noodles, or fresh pasta dough if you have a pasta machine
• 1 bunch kale or other greens, stemmed, thinly sliced

• 1 pint ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• olive oil
• 1/2 t. salt, plus more for pasta water
• a few grinds black pepper
• 1/2 recipe tomato-butter sauce
• parmesan, for serving

Cut the lasagne noodles into square(ish) pieces or roll out your fresh pasta dough and do the same.  If you go with the store-bought fresh lasagne noodles and made the sauce in advance, this could actually be a weeknight meal.

Steam kale and set in strainer in sink to drain well.  Place the ricotta in a medium bowl and crack in both eggs.  Stir to combine well and season with salt and pepper.  Give the drained kale another once over with a knife and stir into ricotta mixture.  Set a large, well-salted pot of water to boil.

Put a spoonful of ricotta mixture in the center of each pasta square. Bring opposite corners together over the filling to create a triangle and press to seal.  If the pasta just doesn't stick to itself, use a little water as a binder.

Once water is boiling, add the ravioli and boil about 5-6 minutes.  When they are done, they will float to the top and have an al dente texture and appearance.  Don't worry, you'll know it when you see it.  Use a "spider" (or large, wide slotted spoon) to gently fish the cooked ravioli out of the water.  Set aside onto a towel-line platter to soak up some of the cooking water.  Serve with a ladle of tomato sauce over each ravioli and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

Serves 4, or 2 with lunch leftovers.

P.S.  Happy Memorial Day!  I don't know how to grill, so you get pasta instead.

Caramels

Caramel is perhaps the ultimate candy.

It can be made at home or made especially for you in small batches, from scratch, with quality ingredients. Caramel represents the fascinating properties of sugar and can be made in endless varieties to suit any taste. Umm...except those who lack a sweet tooth or cannot have sugar. I'm sad for people in either situation, but in very different ways.

All candy making depends on sugar's stages of melting. Unlike the boiling point behavior of a pure substance, water boils off proportionately to rising temperature, as it escapes the sugar's crystalline structure.  After most or all of the water is gone, the sugar molecules actually begin to melt and consequently break down, turning brown and "caramelizing." Caramelization is responsible for many kitchen miracles, like grill marks, a good stir fry, anything that is cooked or baked until "golden, brown, and delicious," and good cooking in general.

When I had my candy company, I called it Fahrenheit, because of the importance of temperature in candy making.  I've mentioned this before: a candy thermometer is important.  Very important!  So is knowing the stages of cooking sugar, which have fun names like "soft crack" and "hard ball." Sounds pretty serious, yeah?  Well, if you like candy, it is.

This seriousness is actually one of the reasons I like making candy. I get to experiment and dream up flavor combinations, but I also get to be precise and finicky.  Attention to detail and accuracy are necessary.  Problem solving is involved and I'm willing to make several batches of a candy to see if I figured out the problem.

There are some tricks out there and plenty of modern-day ingredients that make things pretty easy (like corn syrup and sweetened condensed milk).   However, I like to know the long way home before testing the shortcut. That way, I know the proper way of doing something and can make an informed decision about whether the cheater's way is worth it (see Cheater's Hollandaise - totally worth it).

Example: I grew up outside of a very small town in the mountains, the lovely Beulah, Colorado. To get to the main part of town, one can take the long way 'round: an extra mile of paved, not-too-windy road; or the cut-off: mostly dirt and sometimes treacherous.  It turns out that the long way is generally safer and takes about the same amount of time as the cut-off.  I feel this way about most things in life.

So, how about a recipe?

CLASSIC CARAMELS

• 1 cup heavy cream, preferably organic (better quality and flavor, and usually contains higher fat content than conventional)
• 5 T. butter
• 1 t. salt
• 1 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/8 t. cream of tartar
• 2 T. brown rice syrup

In a small saucepan, combine cream, butter, and salt.  Set over low heat and slowly bring to simmer.  To avoid the cream boiling over, turn off the heat and cover once the mixture starts to simmer.

Meanwhile, put sugar and cream of tartar in a medium, heavy saucepan and stir to combine.  Add 1/4 cup water and allow the sugar to be moistened completely by the liquid.  Add the rice syrup, cover, and set to medium-high heat.  Keep an eye on this - once the mixture comes to a boil, remove the lid and clip in a candy thermometer.  I like to set a timer for five minutes from the moment I turn on the flame, so I remember to check the sugar before it boils over.

The sugar will take a while to get to temperature; we're aiming for hard crack/just beginning to caramelize/290-310 degrees Fahrenheit.  While you are monitoring the sugar, prepare an 8x8 baking dish by spraying it with vegetable oil.  I have recently discovered that ungreased silicone ice cube trays are also great for caramels.

Once the sugar gets to temperature (or begins to take on a tawny color), turn off the flame.  Remove the thermometer, but keep it handy.  Very slowly, poor the cream mixture into the sugar mixture, pausing to allow bubbling-up to subside.  Once it has all been added, slowly and carefully stir to combine.

Clip the thermometer back into the pan and set the heat to medium.  Prepare a glass of ice water and keep it close, along with several metal spoons.  In Colorado, at altitude, you want to begin testing the final texture at about 232 degrees.  To do this, turn the heat to very low, take a small spoonful of caramel, and place the spoon into the ice water.  After a few seconds, taste the cooled caramel.  If it's runny, turn the heat back up to medium and repeat your test every two degrees - until you reach the texture you like.

When the desired texture is achieved, turn off the flame.  Let the caramel rest for a few seconds and allow the boiling to subside.  Poor the caramel into the prepared baking dish or molds; do NOT scrape the bottom of the pan to get out every last bit.  The final layer of caramel on the bottom of the saucepan is likely overcooked and too hard.

Allow the caramel to cool completely on a flat surface.  Once cooled, pry out the slab onto a cutting board and cut into desired pieces.  Wrap them in waxed paper.  They will keep at room temperature for weeks!

*Soak any burned or leftover caramel in regular hot water.  It will be easy to clean after a good soak, but won't be easy to scrub off right away.

**There are so many possibilites for customizing your caramels!  I plan on making a recipe zine that includes my favorite variations.  But as promised, replace three tablespoons of the butter with bacon fat and add a 1/4 teaspoon maple extract to the cream mixture for MAPLE BACON CARAMELS.  You will not be disappointed.  Unless you are a vegetarian.

***If you are feeling fancy and adventurous, dip the finished caramels in tempered chocolate.  Sprinkle the chocolate with a little garnish of your choice before it sets.

****If your caramel got too hard when cooled, reheat your finished caramel (not yet in waxed paper!) in a low oven, until it is pliable.  Transfer to a saucepan and heat over a low flame. Add one tablespoon of heavy cream and mix in thoroughly (but not vigorously!).  Once the caramel starts to simmer, remove from heat immediately and poor back into your baking dish.

Hollandaise Magic

I am not much of a breakfast fan, but brunch... brunch is perfect.

When I go out for brunch, I usually opt for savory dishes.  Any menu item with hollandaise sauce gets priority at ordering time. Think about hollandaise for a minute.  It's buttery, creamy, and if I get my preference, quite lemony.  And while the traditional Eggs Benedict is a great choice, if that's the only way you have had hollandaise, you might not know how great it is with greens.

Yesterday, I was unable to decide whether I wanted to make brunch or go out.  I just could not make the decision, but I had known that I required hollandaise sauce either way.  As I was working and chatting with coworkers and trying to make up my mind about brunch, I eventually realized that I had planned an entire homemade brunch menu.  Love it when my subconscious helps me out like that.

I hadn't made hollandaise sauce in a while and I felt up to the challenge.  Turns out that it's no challenge at all - especially when you use a "cheater" blender recipe that isn't really cheating at all!  The only things that are missing from the process is a lot of whisking and a sore arm.  The result is brilliant - in flavor, texture, and ease.

If you wish to try out my very own version of Eggs Benedict, hmmm... let's call it the Cole Benedict... swap the English Muffins for home fries, the Canadian bacon for sautéed greens (kale always seems to be on sale), and poached eggs for fried eggs.  Serve with a side of (good ol' American) bacon and with plate of fresh fruit.  The strawberries we had yesterday were the best in months! Drain off and save the bacon fat (for something like maple-bacon caramels) and use what's left in the pan for the eggs.

And the hollandaise-greens combo is seriously a perfect pairing. If you just sauté some greens and top it with hollandaise sauce, you have a very good plan.  And maybe just a little bit of magic.


CHEATER'S HOLLANDAISE
(adapted from Eric Ripert's Blender Hollandaise)

• 10 T. butter
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 medium lemon
• pinch salt

Melt butter over medium low heat in a small saucepan.  Swirl to melt thoroughly.  You may skim off the milk solids if you are so inclined, but it's not necessary.

If your kitchen is cold and the egg yolk is straight from the fridge, you may want to pre-warm the blender pitcher with hot water.  Dump water and dry pitcher.  Blend together egg yolk and the juice of one half lemon.  With the blender running, remove the center of the lid and slowly pour in the melted butter in a thin stream.

Once combined, taste sauce.  It will probably be very thick and I will always want more lemon.  Add a pinch of salt and lemon juice to taste.  Blend again and taste to adjust salt.  Pour all over everything on your plate.

This recipe will serve four well, but will generously serve three.  As a rule, hollandaise does not keep well, but yesterday's third serving is miraculously still in the fridge intact.  Don't use any metal ever when working with lemon juice and eggs.