I’m sorry I haven’t been posting enough, readers. I’m sorry I haven’t been cooking much, kitchen. I’ve been quite busy getting things ready for my vacation next weekend- woo, party time, excellent. Anyway, I can’t imagine actually finding enough time to make something and post about it. So, I’m taking a break until July 5th. I may post random little snippits about, like, D&D and stuff, but I wouldn’t expect all that much out of this blog until after the holiday.

Guh… yeah, I’m a wee bit hungover. Oh, too much of a life this weekend! On Friday, Cameron (one of my D&D boys) had a party celebrating his successful defense of his thesis. Huzzah! Lad’s going to have a Ph.D in economics. Because I know it is of utmost importance to everyone, I wore my very cute katamari t-shirt. Lydia made it for me. It’s pink and says “Someday my prince will come for me (rolling)” in the Namco font. It’s really cute. I’d offer a link to a picture, but apparently Cafe Press doesn’t carry that style of shirt anymore. Boo on them. There were very good molasses spice cookies, deviled eggs, and cantaloupe and figs with a creamy basil dipping sauce. Cameron wasn’t happy with the sauce.

On Saturday, I went over to the East Bay and hung out with Lydia, Zack, and Kim. Kim is one half of the musical group Ramen and Rice, a violin-cello duo that perform at anime conventions. They are adorable and incredibly nice. Much fun was had, much shopping was done, and I learned that Lydia puts more cream cheese on her bagel than ANY OTHER HUMAN ALIVE. Seriously. I thought my brother used a lot. She put him to shame.

I rushed back over to the peninsula to get ready for Bud and Eddie’s party. I wore shiny pants. Oh, Bud and Eddie’s parties. I am so glad you only happen a few times a year. Oh, the overindulgence. There were big pots full of bright green and yellow mixed drinks. The yellow was very alchoholic. The green was a little too sweet, in my opinion. The food was appropriately Budandeddie. Baked figs with cheese and walnuts. Bruschetta with a variety of toppings. A potato and shrimp thing on crackers. Mini empanada-like things. Rye bread and blue cheese towers. Spinach dip. Cherry tomatoes stuffed with ricotta (which I think should have been goat cheese or feta cheese thinned out with cream- I just thought the tomatoes needed a bit more salt). Homemade chocolate ice cream with macaroons. Chocolate covered ginger, strawberries, and… something else. I’m sure I’m missing a lot of stuff. Anyway, much fun was had. Whee!

I am very excited for the corn season. We’re just entering it now. I can’t wait to attempt blowing up my house again!

Eggs Benedict / Eggs Silverman

1 English muffin, split and toasted
Ham or Canadian bacon, sauteed in a bit of butter (Benedict)
Smoked salmon (Silverman)
2 poached eggs
Hollandaise sauce
Chopped parsley (garnish)
Truffle slices, warmed in a bit of butter (garnish)

Put it together. English muffin halves on the bottom, then the ham/bacon or salmon, then 1 egg on each half, then the sauce, and garnished with the parsley and truffle.

Check it out. Sorry, I had already eaten half before it occurred to me to take a picture.

Hollandaise
adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking

1 stick of butter, melted and set aside
3 egg yolks
1 Tbsp cold water
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Big pinch of salt
2 Tbsp cold butter, separated
Salt and freshly ground pepper (white, if you have it)
Few extra drops of lemon juice, if needed
Dash of Tabasco (optional)

Fill the bottom of a double boiler with a few inches of water. Bring to a bare simmer, then back the heat down.

While the water is heating, whisk the egg yolks in the upper part of the double boiler until thickened, about 1 minutes. Add the water, lemon juice, and salt, and beat for another 30 seconds. Add 1 tablespoon of the cold butter and place the pan over the water. Start whisking and don’t stop. Keep a pan of cold water nearby in case things start cooking too quickly. If the eggs begin thickening too quickly or suggest lumpiness, plunge the bottom of the pan into the cold water, continually whisking. Once the danger has passed, place the pan back over the simmering water.

Once the eggs have thickened to the point where you can begin to see the bottom of the pan between strokes, and the mixture forms a light cream on the wires of the whisk.

Immediately remove from the heat and beat in the other 1 tablespoon of cold butter.

Secure the pan on a dampened dishtowel. With the whisk in one hand and the vessel of melted butter in the other, start whisking the egg mixture and sloooowly drizzle in the melted butter by droplets. Once the sauce has thickened into a heavy cream consistency, you may pour the butter a little more rapidly. Do not pour in the milk solids in the dregs of the butter.

Taste and season the sauce with salt, pepper, lemon juice, and Tabasco. Pour, serve, and eat immediately.

Mushroom Thing
Vaguely adapted from Alton Brown

1 Tbsp butter or oil
1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced (crimini or button)
2 Tbsp minced green onion or shallot
Shot of sherry
Salt and pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 cup half and half
2 Tbsp bread crumbs
2 Tbsp parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in a large heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and some salt and cook until browned and bereft of most moisture. Add the minced green onion or shallot and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the sherry. Turn the heat off and add the thyme and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in the half and half, bread crumbs, and parmesan cheese. Once the cheese melts and some of the half and half has evaporated, place in a bowl and eat. Or toss it with some sort of pasta. Or use it in stuffed mushrooms.

So long since the last post! Sorry, all. Recipes for stuff will go up later. I need access to my The Art of French Cooking.

Saturday was Parents’ Day. Jon and I made eggs benedict. I poached eggs! Poorly! And made hollandaise! Well! Jon made some really excellent home fries and actually bought truffles for the garnish. Swanky. We also made what we termed “eggs silverman,” with smoked salmon instead of the ham. I had mentioned to Rob on Friday that we were making eggs benedict, and he said, “Try it with smoked salmon.” And you know what? It was better than the ham, in my opinion.

I made hollandaise, and it didn’t break. I was so happy. God, was my arm tired at the end. So much whisking. Julia, you said it would take five minutes. I think I was whisking for ten to fifteen. I will try the blender version next time- it works perfectly well for mayonnaise. And the hollandaise was very good for what it was. Which is to say, I don’t think it’s really my thing. I’ve never been big on sauces or gravies, really, although I do love a good jus. I think thick sauces are just too heavy for me. And the hollandaise mixed with the yolk from the poached egg? Oh, TOO MUCH. We were all feeling a little poorly after eating… oh, so much fat.

And mimosas. Can’t be a proper brunch without mimosas (or bloody marys, I guess, but ew on the tomato juice). We got cheap champagne and good orange juice from Trader Joe’s.

On Sunday, Lydia and I went out shopping and fooding in Rockridge. We ate at a place called the Crepevine. It was not good. The food was pretty meh. Lydia ordered eggs benedict and the eggs were severly overcooked and the hollandaise was grainy and didn’t taste like anything. I had an omelet, it was mediocre. The home fries were a bit undercooked. But what pushed this into a bad dining experience was the fact that halfway through our meal, we found three ants scurrying around on the jam containers. So we got grossed out, and Lydia took the initiative to get our money back. I’m too much of a wimp to do that. I think I’d start crying. She was very cool about it. I wouldn’t eat here again.

Later, we went to Zachary’s, home of really good Chicago-style pizza. This was a much better dining experience. I generally like thin Italian/New York/New Jersey style pizzas, but this was pretty decent. The tomatoes in the sauce tasted fresh, the basil was freshly chiffonaded. The crust was kind of forgettable (I’m just not a deep dish kind of gal) and I felt that the chicken really didn’t lend much to the pizza, although Lydia liked it. Personally, I would go for a simpler pizza. Margherita or something. I would eat here again.

Cheddar Munchies are the work of the devil. They are my new Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese Nips… oh god, they would taste so good mixed together! Oh, brain, why did you have to think of that?

Ugh, bad week. No cooking apart from my fava failure. Drove to work all five days (the train, trying to make up for last week, was two minutes early on Wednesday morning, so I missed it). Ate lunch out all five days (Good Earth Cafe, Baja Fresh, Simply Sandwiches, Izzy’s Bagels, McDonald’s). Sometimes in the middle of the night on Wednesday, I woke up with a giant cramp in my right calf. That sucked. On the plus side, I finally put together my DDR pad on Tuesday. Played on Thursday and Friday. Looked like a huge dork. Passed the light difficult easily, failed the standard difficulty easily. Sweat a lot.

Wednesday was D&D, and my character Jessa was not at all useless. She did get herself bitten by a lot of dire rats, but thankfully made all the saves, so no more filfth fever, yay! And then later Jessa got herself stuck with a whole lot of arrows after she was all, “Oh, look at the pack of bandits carrying a torch. Let me ignite it and BLOW YOU ALL UP.” Except they were only wounded, and wounded bandits carrying bows can get revenge quickly. Billi (Rob’s loresong quickling unfettered) shot two of them dead, and the others ran away. So, with two hit points left, Jessa was able to sing herself back to health. Wooooooo.

Tomorrow is Parents’ Day for Sarah and Jon. We’re having brunch. Jon and I are planning on making some lovely food for them. I’m not letting on anything more, since they read my blog, and I want it to be a surprise.

And with this post, the only decent recipe I’ve made recently is dropping off the front page. Ugh.