13.1 Down...Many More to Go!

Let me begin by saying I am NOT a runner.  I used to be in college, but bad knees came along (dang that makes me sound old) and I can no longer run.  I have LOTS of friends who are runners.  Some have competed in 5Ks, half marathons, full marathons...anything they can compete in.  My hat goes off to all of them because I know I couldn't do it.  However, I can only imagine the endurance it takes to successfully complete a marathon is the same endurance it takes to complete culinary school.  I'm beginning to look at each quarter as a marathon (because this is what I would imagine running one would feel like).  I am now at the half way point through my first quarter, and I feel the way I would guess most runners feel at their half way point.  I'm tired.  I'm sore.  I think sometimes the end just isn't ever going to come.  I feel like there is so much to be done and not enough time to do it.  But then I take a breath.  I catch my stride.  I realize I'm doing something I love to do.  I realize the finish line is going to come way before I'm ready to quit.  And I move on.  It's been a juggling act of schedules and chores and errands and everything else since this started, but I know I'm going to miss it when it's over.

This week, on top of mid terms (YIKES...11 weeks is going by really fast!)...we tackled something that I have dreaded for a LOOONG time.  Eggs.  I love eggs.  I'm okay at cooking them, in my own way.  But I knew with eggs would come the one way of cooking them that I could never nail.  Poaching...oh yes...we cooked Eggs Benedict.  After the initial shock and horror of not wanting to screw up in front of my Chef instructor came and went, I decided to approach this little egg with my head held high.  After all, it's just an egg, how scary can it be...right?

As it turns out, I had been trying to poach eggs all wrong for years (go figure!)  It really is not that difficult at all if you have a few trusty tricks up your sleeve.  You need: fresh eggs, a pot of water with a lot of vinegar in it, and a pot of salted water.  Sounds yummy...I know...but hang with me for a second.  Boil one quart of water with 1/4 c vinegar on the stove.  You will cook your egg in this water.  It really doesn't matter what type of vinegar you use, so whatever you have handy will do just fine.  The vinegar in the water helps the egg whites to coagulate faster so you end up with a pretty little bundle of poached egg and not one that looks like it has stuck it's finger in a light socket.  You want to make sure the water is boiling, but not rolling...rolling bubbles will roll your egg...which is bad news.  Then, heat a smaller pot of heavily salted water next to it on the stove, not boiling...just hot.  I'm talking sea water salty.  This will be your rinse water so your lovely little egg doesn't come out tasting like vinegar.  The salt in the water actually helps flavor the egg so there's less for you to do...SCORE!

Now that you got your water ready, let's head for the egg.  Crack it into a ramekin or a small bowl.  Carefully drop the egg into the boiling vinegar water.  Don't be afraid...trust me, if I can do it, anyone can.  The white of the egg should come up and around the rest of the egg and form a little bundle.  If yours doesn't do that on it's own...mine didn't...just take a spoon and help it along.  Boil in this water for 3 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon and put into the salted rinse water.  Leave it sit in this water for a minute to get rid of that yucky vinegar taste...and your done!  Serve these little beauties atop a toasted English muffin, Canadian bacon and topped with hollandaise (see below) and you have Eggs Benedict.  Oh so yummy...and now not quite as scary (I hope!)

Hollandaise Sauce
Makes 6 servings

4 egg yolks
12 oz clarified butter (To get clarified butter, melt whole stick butter in a pot.  Once melted, scrape off the white stuff on the top - milk solids.  If you can't get it all, no worries.)
salt and pepper to taste
dash of lemon juice
2 tsp dill

Whisk 4 egg yolks and 1 oz cold water in a bowl.  Put the mixture over a double boiler and whisk slowly for 2-3 minutes.  Briskly whisk the mixture until it is a light lemon color and slightly frothy, another 2-3 minutes.  If the egg starts to cook around the edges of the bowl, remove it from the double boiler for a bit.  Remember...you control the heat in the kitchen...not the other way around.
Remove the whole double boiler from the stove.  Take about 1 oz of hot water from the pan and add it to your egg mixture.  Cover the bottom of the double boiler with a towel and put your bowl with the egg mixture in it back on top.  This will help keep it warm without continuing to cook.
Slowly whisk in the clarified butter.  The butter should mix well with the egg mixture.  If it looks like they are going to separate, stop adding the butter and whisk the egg mixture harder.  If the mixture becomes to thick, add a little more hot water.
Season with salt, pepper, lemon juice...and I like dill.  Or, flavor however you want.  After all, it's your sauce!!