Artichoke & Hollandaise

I love artichokes.  Their flavor can be an acquired taste, and to tell you the truth, I was not nearly as captivated by them when first introduced to this member of the thistle family.  But it wasn't long before addiction set in.  The flavor is not only wonderful, but there's something very 'cool' about scraping the leaves through your teeth.  It's one of those vegetables that makes you wonder about the first brave soul to figure out that such pleasure existed in this odd and somewhat intimidating-looking plant.  However, by far my favorite part of this vegetable is the heart.  It's definitely worth all the work excavating through the leaves to find.

My favorite way to enjoy artichokes is stuffed with flavored bread crumbs and served with a lemon-butter sauce.  But like the many other foodies who were compelled to break out their personal copies of Mastering the Art of French Cooking after watching the movie Julie and Julia, I had to try Julia Child's suggestion of enjoying a steamed or boiled artichoke with Hollandaise sauce on the side.  And while I'm sure Ms. Child would frown upon my shortcut blender Hollandaise, I cannot taste a difference (or enough of one, anyway) between my blender version and the stand-in-front-of-the-stove-and-stir-butter-til-your-arm-falls-off version.

As a bit of an aside, take a gander at the beautiful board my dinner is resting on.  It's one of Ann's (The Maple Cutting  Board Gallery).  I love the design in the wood, the beautiful edge of the board.  Now that Ann and her husband are creating these boards themselves, I'm going to have a difficult time reining in my wish to add to my collection.  I imagine that is going to be a futile endeavor...

Artichoke with Hollandaise Sauce

4 large artichokes
lemon

Hollandaise Sauce (recipe follows)

Trim artichokes by cutting off the stem so that the artichoke will sit flat and steady.  Cut off about 3/4- to 1-inch of top of artichoke.  If desired, snip tips of large outer leaves.  Rub cut edges with cut lemon to prevent browning.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (should be large enough so that boiling water will cover artichokes).  Carefully drop artichokes into boiling water, cover, and cook for 45 minutes - 1 hour.  To test for doneness, tug at one of the bottom outer leaves.  It will come out easily when artichoke is fully cooked.  When done, remove with tongs and drain.  Serve with Hollandaise sauce.


Hollandaise Sauce
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup butter, melted and bubbling

Add egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and hot pepper sauce to blender, and blend about 5 seconds. With blender running, and partially covering top, pour in bubbling butter in a steady stream. Blend until thickened, about 30 seconds. Serve immediately.

Yield: 3/4 cup

Source: GE appliance recipe, copyright 1978


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Eggs Benedict with King Crab

Yesterday I tried my hand at making English muffins. I love English muffins. Those little nooks and crannies of a well-made English muffin were made for oozing, melting butter or drizzled honey, or some homemade jam. My first attempt was slightly lacking but held great potential! A couple of them (the recipe made 8) even came out fairly well! They taste wonderful - I just need to get the grilling temp even. I will definitely work on that.

Now that I had a few of these on hand, I wanted to do something really special with them. Melted butter, drizzled honey, or homemade jam not withstanding, I decided on Eggs Benedict, which has to be my all-time favorite brunch dish. Now, many years ago, I had brunch at a little restaurant in Dallas that offered up a few different versions of Eggs Benedict, among them E.B. with King Crab. How decadent is that?! A split, toasted English muffin, layered with steamed King Crab meat, a poached egg, and a river of Hollandaise over top. It was the best brunch dish I'd ever had and have since recreated it at home for friends. And what a great way to start the new year, yes? Sheer decadence (to which will give way to more healthy eating... I hope... but... that's for tomorrow... ) ;-D

Eggs Benedict with King Crab

English muffins (recipe follows or use store-bought), split & toasted
King Crab, steamed
Eggs, poached (one for each English muffin half)
Hollandaise Sauce (recipe follows)

Layer toasted English muffin with crab meat (as much as you like!) Place a well-drained poached egg over crab meat, and pour Hollandaise sauce over eggs. Serve and enjoy!!

Hollandaise Sauce
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup butter, melted and bubbling

Add egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and hot pepper sauce to blender, and blend about 5 seconds. With blender running, and partially covering top, pour in bubbling butter in a steady stream. Blend until thickened, about 30 seconds. Serve immediately.

Yield: 3/4 cup

Source: GE appliance recipe, copyright 1978

English Muffins
1/2 cup non-fat powdered milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon shortening
1 cup hot water
1 envelope dry yeast
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
Non-stick vegetable spray

Special equipment: electric griddle, 3-inch metal rings, see Cook's Note*

In a bowl combine the powdered milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, shortening, and hot water, stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool. In a separate bowl combine the yeast and 1/8 teaspoon of sugar in 1/3 cup of warm water and rest until yeast has dissolved. Add this to the dry milk mixture. Add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Preheat the griddle to 300 degrees F.

Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt to mixture and beat thoroughly. Place metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with vegetable spray. Using #20 ice cream scoop, place 2 scoops into each ring and cover with a pot lid or cookie sheet and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the lid and flip rings using tongs. Cover with the lid and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack, remove rings and cool. Split with fork and serve.


*Cook's Note: Small tuna cans with tops and bottoms removed work well for metal rings.

Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/english-muffins-recipe/index.html

For Printable Recipe, Click Here

Eggs Benedict

I'm still having computer issues, but I have pockets of "onlineage". I can finally start catching up on some of my meals of the last week. One particular morning, I woke up to a beautiful morning. I wanted something 'sunny' and not heavy. So I lightened up Eggs Benedict by layering a beautiful beefsteak tomato instead of ham beneath the poached eggs. I make a blender Hollandaise that's easy and delicious. It was a great start to my day!

Hollandaise Sauce

3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup butter

Add egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and hot pepper sauce to blender. Blend about 5 seconds.

In small saucepan melt butter until very hot and bubblying (or melt in microwave, microwaving until very hot and bubbly). With blender (containing egg yolk mixture) running, pour in bubbling butter in steady stream. Partially shield with lid to prevent butter spattering. Blend until thickened, about 30 seconds. Serve immediately.


Source: Cooking with a Food Processor (General Electric Company), copyright 1978