Hush: Breakfast Before BBQ

eating light the day after, gravlaks et un peu de moutarde de d'dorf.

Sunday in the kitchen part 3: Salmon Benedict.

I have always liked watching the academy awards. I always think about having a party but I never make plans. This week things just sort of fell together: I wasn't planning on smoking brisket, my neighbor sent it over. I wasn't planning on making hot links, but I wanted something to go with the brisket. I wasn't planning on having a busy Sunday, but I already started curing some fish...

Mom (and gma) came to visit last weekend and she bought some of the freshest laid eggs from her girls. Mom also brought her double boiler. Mom loves the cured salmon, we did this once before (see the previous post gravlaks) and it is so good and so easy, I don't think there is any need to buy lox at the store. Here's what I did:

300 g salmon fillet, skin on, about 1 inch thick.

92 g salt

150 g sugar

small handful of fresh chopped dill

Grindings of black pepper

splash of brandy

EDITOR'S NOTE 12-28-07: Yeouch too much salt and sugar for quanity of fish. See this Gravlaks Recipe for better proportions.

I rinsed and patted dry the fish, then rubbed the salt and sugar, scattered the pepper, splashed the brandy and applied the dill. I wrapped it tight in some plastic wrap, then into a ziploc bag and then into the fridge for three days. I flipped it daily.

After three days the fish is noticeably firmer. To slice, I got my longest sharpest knife and started with the blade perpendicular to the fish then swept diagonally as I cut, finishing with the blade parallel to the fillet, leaving the skin on the cutting board.

Now for breakfast. Mom started making the hollandaise sauce( we sort of used a recipe from Joy of Cooking). Watching her stir stir stir, I figured I could help, I had never made hollandaise but what could be hard about stir stir stirring? Ma hesitantly turned over the whisk and started poaching eggs.

You always hear the warnings from the fancy pants chefs about sauces breaking for no reason and I think, phooey, they are just trying to scare me. Well right before my eyes...

Umm honey?

What ma?

It's not supposed to look lumpy...

What tha.....?

And in a matter of seven seconds it was (as we say on the Southside) all broke up. S being the cool calm museum professional, assessed the sit and resuscitated the patient with the immersion blender.

Final assembly on cinnamon raisin toast. Sounds funny, but with the toast, it tasted as good as I had imagined. You gotta make the bread a day ahead, of course. Broken sauce and all, not going to win any image awards, but robo-yum. What did you do this weekend?

Cheers.