Weekend Cooking

I do most of my cooking and all of my experimenting on the weekend. So that means that today - Tuesday - I start planning for what I want to make this coming weekend. When will it appear on this site - who knows? I think it depends on how excited I get by the process or by the results.
Any early contender for this weekend is Buttermilk-Lemon Chess Pie. I've not made chess pie before, but this combines two of my favorite things - buttermilk and lemon. And get this - there's buttermilk in both the crust and filling. Yes, this has potential.
There may also be biscuits in our future.
Yum.

Eggs Benedict

Delicious, home made Eggs Benedict

I recently read a blog post that was partially about not ordering Eggs Benedict at restaurants* which is something I never would consider since I don't care for eggs, but I know the MotH and the Boy both love Eggs Benedict, and I highly suspect that the Boy would eat almost anything if it had Hollandaise sauce on it. I made my first Eggs Benedict on January 1, 2009. I wanted to start the year off right, both culinarily and for the guys in the house and to see if I could actually make Hollandaise sauce from scratch - not that I had ever tried to make it any other way for that matter. 
Suffice it to say, I made Eggs Benedict three weekends out of the four that month and continued to make it until the weather got too warm to eat that much for breakfast. It helps that I found an dummy-proof recipe from Cook's Country. I can still see the cover of the magazine - it had a half cut grapefruit on the cover (Feb. 2009)

I don't know that you need a recipe for Eggs Benedict per se, but I did learn some things about timing and how to make this work. The poached eggs can be done four at a time, the muffins can be toasted under the broiler and then the Canadian bacon added and heated through (Note: Cook's Country says you can toast muffins and warm bacon up to 20 minutes ahead and reheat in a 200 degree oven before serving) I make the Hollandaise sauce first and let it sit over the warm water of the make-shift double boiler while I toast the muffins, bacon, and cook the eggs. The MotH and the Boy both like fried eggs (w/runny yolks), so I don't poach much anymore, but the timing is the same.

Lovely, toasty English muffins

Cook's Country recommends Bays English Muffins which are found in the refrigerator section. I prefer the original flavor as we're not huge fans of sourdough flavor. They toast up very nice, have a great crunch and lots of holes for Hollandaise to get trapped in. They are also very inexpensive - 6 muffins for $2.59.
While Eggs Benedict, in and of itself may not need a recipe, Hollandaise Sauce does. This is a half recipe based on the Cook's Country recipe (you should join for the yearly fee - it's worth it for just this recipe alone!). You will need an instant thermometer to check the temperature (we all want to be safe).
6 T unsalted butter, softened
3 large egg yolks
1/4 boiling water
2 t fresh lemon juice
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt

Starting Hollandaise

Whisk butter and egg yolks in large heatproof bowl over med saucepan with about 1/2" of simmering water. Don't let the bowl touch the water. Slowly add boiling water, whisk constantly until mixture
thickens and reaches 160 degrees. Add lemon/cayenne off heat. Season 
to taste with salt and serve. 

You may wonder why there is a photo of  Two Pigs Farm Maple Syrup. 1. It's amazing, I order one bottle every year. It is not cheap, but it is beyond incredible. Again, I highly recommend it. 2. I don't like eggs, as mentioned before. So instead of Eggs Benedict with the boys, I have an English muffin smeared with Hollandaise sauce and a side of hot breakfast sausage. One of my favorite things with sausage, besides grape jelly or mustard, is maple syrup. So that is why I have a photo of my favorite maple syrup of all time here. 


If you're wondering; I don't get anything, nor would I accept anything for any items recommended. It's just what I like. Everyone has their own opinion.
* This was a well written article from a chef's point of view and highly enlightening about how food is put together in restaurants - yes, a little scary. It also would make me try to disuade any dining companion from ordering Eggs Benedict at a restaurant. Jared (One Hungry Chef) goes on with sourdough recipe for English Muffins to which I would never aspire - mostly because sourdough anything does not have huge fans in our house. That said, please read this post and poke around the blog. I find it a fun read and very informative.

Key Lime Pie

Beautiful Key Limes

I was fortunate to find some key limes at the store recently and I can't resist buying them. Last year, I was able to purchase locally-grown key limes, but the farmers market that sold them has changed hands and I'm not over-thrilled. That said, I asked our office expert in key lime pie for his (yes, his) recipe and he gave it to me from memory (scary)..

Key Lime Pie

Notes:
These are simple ingredients and there are few of them which is my favorite kind of recipe. This is just proof that it doesn't take a lot of ingredients to make something that is really a great expression of the ingredients, individually or as a whole. I am a bit concerned about the tartness of the pie - Key limes vs. Persian limes, but we'll just have to give it to try and see if the balance is there or not.*
Seems like a lot of lime juice at first, but it eventually works into the condensed milk/egg yolks mixture. Just make sure you don't slop it around like I did and end up with it on your kakhi pants too.


Key Lime Pie
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Crust:

Key Lime Pie Crust Ingredients

9" pan – spray with non-stick (I used a pyrex glass pie pan)
9 full Honey graham crackers – broken, not crushed. Pieces should be no larger than about ¼" but variation in size and shape is entertaining to the palette (typical C).
5 tbs melted butter
2 tbs granulated sugar
Mix together, spread in pan, bake for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool while you make the filling.


Filling:
½ cup + 2 Tbs fresh squeezed lime juice. Varies depending on the
tartness of the limes
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
4 egg yolks (whites saved for divinity when the humidity cooperates) 
Blend ingredients thoroughly. Pour into crust, bake for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool. Then chill in refrigerator (between 4 and 8 hours depending on the coldness).

Key Lime Pie Filling Ingredients**

Pretty damn easy when you get right down to it. Thanks C!


* Well, it's tart, but in a good way - ie. not too much so but it is not cloyingly sweet (that is WAY worse than being too tart). I'm pleased. I need to try this recipe with Persian limes to see what the difference is and if they are a decent substitutes for Key limes.
** Excepting egg whites that will be used as mentioned above.

Vanilla Taffy

Vanilla Taffy Ingredients

Some how cooking for Christmas and New Year's passed me by, but now it seems, I'm finally in the mood to get off my backside and get in the kitchen. I've been checking the humidity for a couple of reasons - 1. Vanilla Taffy (or crack as it is known in our house) and 2. Divinity. I have never made it before, but there is a first time for everything. Today the weather is in the mid-forties and tonight should but just a smidge above freezing and it's clear-ish right now -- hopefully that will last so I can make Taffy and burn both of my hands in the process. I have already purchase a new candy thermometer (which I desperately needed since my old one is just about impossible to read) and I'm finally in the mood for molten sugar, vanilla, butter and my silpat.

Yes, it looks like crack.

Ah, homemade candy in the winter - there isn't much better.

Current weather: Inside: 68 degrees, 43% humidity; Outside: 44 degrees, 52% humidity


1 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
3/4 c. light corn syrup
1/2 t. cream of tartar
1 T. butter
2 t. vanilla

Different pulls - more opaque = more air.

Place sugar, corn syrup, water and cream of tartar in sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Cook without stirring until the mixture reaches 266 degrees (I'm not kidding about the temp).
Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla - it will bubble up. Pour onto greased cookie sheet or cookie sheet lined with a silpat mat. When cool enough to handle, but still (really) warm enough to be flexible, pull bits of taffy until opaque. Twist into long cord and let sit until hardened. Once hardened, break into small (1" or so) pieces. Wrap pieces in wax paper and store in a cool, dry place.

Burnt hand - not fun, but worth it.

Pasta Sauce

I don't have a recipe per se for pasta sauce - which I call spaghetti sauce, but I use for all kinds of things. This is something I make w/out using a recipe and change every time I make but only slightly. This is also sneaky - a way to get a few extra veggies in when no one is paying attention. This is weekend thing so I don't have to cook at least one night a week  and is easy to double and freezes like a very cold dream.


Onions - how ever much you want - for a double recipe - I use at least 1 1/2 large onions, but maybe more or less and type doesn't matter too much (yellow, white, red, whatever)
Carrots - grated on a box grater - sneaky vegetable - usually about 4 ish but could be more or less depending on size and how many are in the fridge

Saute onions - I start them first w/olive oil and get them going while grating carrots. Add carrots (all extras peels from onions, carrots and mushrooms, etc. go to compost bin). Saute until they start to soften. In the mean time (what does that mean really?)...slice mushrooms - sneaky vegetable #2 and add to mixture - let cook until the mushrooms dry out a bit (takes a little while, suck it up and deal). Now the fun starts.
Add:
handful of dried oregano, handful of dried basil, garlic (how ever much you like) and cook until fragrant - you'll know. And then ... the wine. Add red wine - now -- right when the pot starts to dry out, turn up the temp a bit and then hit it w/some much needed alcohol. I use red wine - typically Merlot since that's what I like and let is simmer until almost gone - Those handy dandy little single serving bottles work well in this application. I suppose you could do without, but why the hell would you? 
Then and only then do you add the tomatoes. And again - whatever you have - I've used whole, diced, crushed - 2 large cans.. doesn't really matter they all break down in the end. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and let it go until you're happy with it - I tend to simmer for an hour or so - turn off for an hour or two and then bring back to simmer and then store - might not matter - probably just a habit, but I don't question it.

This is a vegetarian sauce- probably because I started making it when I was a vegetarian. I have since gotten over than phase, but it did not do me any harm - I always had bread and cheese and that's all that really matters after all. You really don't even need pasta with this - just some in a bowl with grated parmesan on top and good bread for dipping - dinner.