Perfect Hollandaise Sauce

To make perfect Hollandaise Sauce, you need a food processor.  Fresh lemon and fresh eggs at room temperature ensure perfection and just before preparation, melt your butter in the microwave.

Recipe:

4 egg yolks (freeze the whites for meringue
juice of half a lemon, freshly squeezed
1/2  cup of Cabot© salted butter (Nuke just before whipping)

Put the egg yolks in the food processor with the metal blade.  Add lemon.  Turn on food processor and slowly drip the butter through the feed tube.  Remove cover and taste.  Add more fresh lemon juice if necessary.  Leave at room temperature until serving time.

Perfect Caesar Salad

            

Caesar Salad is a perfect first course when made properly.  My recipe was developed simply because I loathe the main ingredient of Caesar Salad...anchovies.  In my version, you get a perfect dressing without the slimy fish.

It is attributed to Chef Caesar Cardini of Mexico and if you are a Julia Child fan, watch the episode where she talks abouaesar Salad.   It must have made a strong impression  on her if she carried that passion for it  throughout her lifetime.

 This recipe is easy to make but technique is everything.  Eggs must be at room temperature.  Romaine lettuce must be fresh and crisp.  And buy parmigiano reggiano©.  If you have time for making fresh croutons, it is definitely worth the effort.  And, my preference is to make Caesar Salad dressing in my one of my food processors because you don’t need to grandstand making salad at the table in your own kitchen.

Caesar  Salad

Dressing:

Fresh Romaine Lettuce

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (we will do an extensive lesson another time)
One lemon at room temperature
One egg at room temperature
2 inches of anchovy paste
1 large clove of garlic
1/3 cup of parmigiano reggiano©
A dash of Worcestershire (I use white) 
Croutons

Put everything but the olive oil in your food processor.  Process until blended.  Taste and add lemon and/or cheese accordingly.

Assembly:

Break up romaine lettuce by hand and place in a salad bowl.  Pour dressing over lettuce.  Add croutons.  Serve.

             

Brownies from a Mix

In order to get perfect brownies from a mix, you need to remember two very important things:  the first is to handle the mix as little as possible; the second is to melt butter flavored Crisco as your oil.  This will produce a very satisfactory brownie that most folks will prefer to scratch brownies. 

Perfect Brownies from a Mix

Any brownie mix

1 egg
2 tbl. of butter Crisco, melted
2 tbl. of Nutella (hazelnut spread)
2 tbl. of Hershey Chocolate Syrup
½ cup of half and half

Preheat oven to 350F

Spray brownie pan with Baker’s Secret spray

In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients and fold until blended.  I usually use a fork because it gives me control of the mixture.  Do not overmix.  Place in pan and bake fifteen to twenty minutes.

Chocolate Glaze:

8 oz. of semi sweet chocolate
2 tbl. of butter
A little Hershey’s chocolate syrup
Half and half (about 2 tbl.)

Melt the chocolate and butter slowly.  Add the half and half and blend well.  Pour over the brownies when they come out of the oven.  Allow brownies to cool before cutting.

Seven Cheese Lasagna

Seven Cheese Lasagna

1 large container of ricotta cheese
2 cups of asiago cheese
1 cup of parmiagiano reggiano
1 cup of romano cheese
1 cup of gruyere or swiss cheese
1 cup of domestic parmesan cheese
6 whole eggs
2 cups of mozzarella, shredded
Mozzarella slices
Italian breadcrumbs
2 cups of béchamel sauce

Preheat oven to 350F

Prepare lasagna pan:
Spread the pan liberally with butter flavored Crisco

Prepare the lasagna noodles:

Boil salted water and cook noodles al dente.  Shock the noodles with cold water immediately and leave in cold water until preparation time.  (I wipe moisture off my noodles before placing them in lasagna.)

Bechamel Sauce:
½ stick of butter
3 or 4 tbl. of sifted flour
1 pint of heavy cream
Salt and freshly grated nutmeg

In a sauté pan, melt butter over very slow heat.  Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the flour thickens.  This mixture is called a roux.  Slowly add cream or half and half.  Season with salt and freshly grated nutmeg to taste.  Allow sauce to cool before applying to the lasagna.

Ricotta Filling:

Place the ricotta in a deep bowl.  Add whole eggs, one at a time, beating with a wooden spoon.  Add all the cheeses separately except the mozzarella slices.  Add ½ cup of flavored breadcrumbs to thicken the mixture.  Cool in fridge until assembly time.

Assembling the lasagna:
Take prepared lasagna dish.  Layer bottom of the dish with pasta slices.  Add a layer of the ricotta filling.  Pour 1/3 of the béchamel sauce over the ricotta filling.  Repeat procedure until lasagna is finished.  Top the final layer of lasagna with the mozzarella slices.  Bake for 30 minutes or until lasagna is golden and bubbling with cheese.

The original recipe I used to construct this one is from my buddy, Bert Pearce, of Virginia.