Eggs Benedict 2.0!

Awhile back I wrote about my first attempt at making eggs benedict, then my first taste of a real eggs benedict from a diner, and now it's back again! 

Breakfast week in cooking class was a blast! Class starts at 9am and finishes at noon so it's not even close to being too late for breakfast. It could be 6pm and STILL not be to late for breakfast but that's besides the point! 

Starting off, we team had to make an omelette and a perfect egg over easy. We hit crunch time and my team only made one omelette (a tiny bit brown on one side but nice and soft on the inside). But we each made our own egg over easy. I'm just gonna brag here a little and say mine was perfect! (I'm patting myself on the back right now as I right this - not really but shhh) I got the perfect flip on the egg so that the white cooked just a little and the yolk didn't break or overcook. I'm super proud of myself!

Back to the Eggs Benedict! This one came out much better than my first one and was much more traditional. Toasted english muffin, slightly browned canadian bacon, and a poached egg on top! I guess the excitement is in the hollandaise sauce...

For this I whipped 4 egg yolks with 1tbsp of water in a metal bowl. I placed the metal bowl over a pot of boiling water (make sure the bowl isn't actually touching the water, that would be too hot for the eggs!) and I stirred the eggs to heat them up a little. Then I took it off the heat and my lab partner slowly added a cup of clarified butter while I whipped the mixture (Yes. Use clarified butter. It makes a difference and it'll taste better that way!) until it was blended together. Then we added 1 tbsp of lemon juice and seasoned it with salt and cayenne pepper to taste and voila! incredible eggs benedict! (We added more hollandaise sauce after I took the picture. Just cover those eggs, they like it that way.)

Filled Croissants

I don't quite know how I came up with this idea but one day I decided it would be a good idea for me to stuff croissants with a fruit preserve and some brie. I'm inventive! 

Again with the pre-made croissants in a tube because they are my best friend when I want to experiment. I just rolled them out, spooned out some blueberry preserve that's been sitting in my kitchen forever. Added a little bit of brie on the big end and rolled! 

Turns out I may have used too much blueberry preserve... my ratio was a little off.. but it was still good! Breakfast on the go for a week! 

Where Dreams Come True

The last day in New York we had our first meeting at Food Network Magazine. Let me tell you, this was the visit I was most excited about. I love food and Food Network is my go to channel when I'm at home. Dreams coming true. 

Of course this was the morning that both my trains were delayed/late which ended in me frantically texting multiple people in the group to stall and keep the professors from heading up to the magazine without me as I sprinted several blocks to the building. I barely made it. I ended up sprinting to Hearst building, begging the front desk guy to let me up to the right floor (he responded with "Do Yo Thang Girl" - Thank You) and getting to the magazine with one professor holding the door open for me. I apologized profusely for being to which he responded "aren't you cold?". No... the adrenaline pumping through my veins kept me warm.. 

But I made it. Land of Emily dreams. 

NYC - Il Laboratorio del Gelato

How do you know you're from around here? When it's below 30 degrees in March and there's snow on the ground but you still go get gelato anyways. Yep. Winter does not stop us. We had to find Il Laboratorio. And it was worth it.  

This place is super cool with a sterile lab feel chock full of tubes and weird funnels accompanied by the cute italian guy scooping you ice cream. I'll take it. I love the fun aesthetic/fun theme they have going for them and the gelato is great. I got a small (all of the sizes come in these cute mini take out containers) which was two scoops. I got the marshmallow and I think pomegranate. They were both good and blended well together. Creamy and delicious. And cold. 

NYC - Veselka

We had a solid day off near the end of the week and decided to have our adventure eating around the city and hitting a bunch of places with our spare time. We started a little late and had brunch at Veselka! 

Veselka was pretty cool. It was a freezing day and we somehow managed to be seated at a table so close to the door that it snowed a little right above us. This place had an eclectic diner kind of feel which was fun. The waitress we had was a little iffy with us but another one that happened to walk by our table was funny and really sweet about the snow. 

Veselka has Ukrainian specials all over the place and I of course went for the Perogis because I'm in love with all things potato and Perogis are boss.

I ordered a large plate - fried (which is supposed to be 7 perogis according to their website now but I'm counting more in my photo... hmmm)  

So let's see, I got 2 spinach & cream cheese, 2 sauerkraut & mushroom, 2 arugula & goat cheese, and 1 meat. I think.... in any case the arugula and goat cheese were my favorite. The perogis come with a side of caramelized onions and sour cream which is awesome too. (Not a huge fan of applesauce though but that's a personal preference thing). Anyways, this was a solid brunch.