Eggs Benedict Chef Brett Prepares Breakfast
"He just tells me he has to work on Saturday, when he needs an excuse for not coming home," Sarah sighed, recently. However, it has got to be hard for Brett to juggle his own changing work schedules, time away from medical studies for his wife, and the demands of two dogs, Ben and Punkers. As Brett’s uncle, I am more sympathetic with his situation than is his mother, my sister. The long Labor Day weekend had Sarah looking for Brett all day Saturday, but he and Kathy didn’t make it to Pontotoc until Sunday evening, and Sarah was fit to be tied. As she gets older, it doesn’t take as much to get her that way as it once did. In visiting with Brett Sunday evening, he asked if we had ever eaten eggs Benedict. Barbara stated that she had tried them. I revealed that I had not. "I’ve only heard of them, Brett. What’s in them?" I asked. "You can use different meats, but basically it’s an English muffin with Canadian bacon, topped with a poached egg, and then hollandaise sauce is poured over it," he shared. I make them a lot at home. We went shopping this afternoon for the ingredients; I’ll probably make them tomorrow morning." Monday morning, I slept a little later than normal, and by seven o’clock had eaten a normal breakfast of syrup and biscuits along with a cup of coffee. A cup means one, which is about all I require for breakfast. About two hours later Brett and Kathy arrived. Brett brought the ingredients needed to make eggs Benedict. Kathy retired to the bathroom for her morning shower, and I helped Brett locate the pots, pans, and utensils required for preparing eggs Benedict. I had not anticipated Brett preparing breakfast at our house; else I would have not eaten prior to his arrival. Brett showed me his technique for poaching eggs.
"I crack the egg in a small bowl before dumping it in the water. The first
time I tried this at home, the egg just came all apart when I dropped it
into the boiling water," he stated. "I’ve found it helps to add a little
vinegar to the water and to swirl the water with a spoon or whisk to make
a whirlpool before dropping the egg into the hot water." We don’t have an egg timer, so Brett used the timer on our above-the-range microwave, to control the doneness of the poached eggs. Brett was still poaching eggs when Kathy finished her shower. The Canadian bacon was ready; the English muffins were toasted and buttered. Kathy began to prepare the hollandaise sauce, a process in itself, even using a mix. Apparently, it’s easy to burn the sauce, if one gets in a hurry, so medium-low heat is the rule. I guesstimated it took Brett about an hour from start to finish and remarked, "You have to get up pretty early to fix Eggs Benedict on a work day, don’t you?" He acknowledged he normally didn’t have to fix for five people, and he normally only prepared eggs Benedict on a weekend. I wasn’t hungry when we all sat down at the breakfast table to enjoy Brett’s handiwork, but I was determined to eat at least one of the two eggs he prepared each of us. I found everything to my liking and polished off both eggs, as did everyone but Jason. He only ate one of his eggs. As a rule, Labor Day is not a memorable holiday for me, at least not like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter. I can always associate certain foods with those holidays. Now, it seems, I’ll be able to remember Labor Day as the holiday I first tried eggs Benedict, and if I can get Brett to visit me on Labor Days to come, perhaps, Eggs Benedict will become a Labor Day tradition in our family.
Extended Birthday Ain't Over Till It's Over Around our house, when a family member’s birthday falls midweek, it’s not unusual for that person’s birthday to be celebrated on the weekend closest to the birthday. This year, my birthday fell on Thursday and few were the family members present for the celebration. Rayanne, my daughter, lives in Belmont and has two girls in grade school, so I didn’t expect her to be in Pontotoc on August 16th, and since we were going out to eat to celebrate our wedding anniversary on the 18th that foiled her plans to come for the weekend. The Bodock Festival was slated the following weekend, so there didn’t seem to be a good time for us to get together. Felicia, my newly wedded niece, sent word she had a present for me, but couldn’t make the birthday celebration on the 16th. Nonetheless, Sarah, Barbara, Jason, and Linda Maddox were present for the meal and obligatory cake and ice cream. One of the two bands in which Jason plays and sings performed on Main Street on Friday night of the Bodock Festival. Barbara and I spent a couple of hours Friday evening, proudly informing passerby-friends/ acquaintances that Jason was the lead singer of the group. Felicia also joined us. Saturday is usually the busiest day of the Bodock Festival for vendors and the entertainment for Saturday night normally draws a big crowd. I had committed to help the Pontotoc County Historical Society at the museum. They needed persons familiar with the permanent exhibits to answer questions for visitors. Virginia Dillard felt I could best serve at the General Store exhibit, where memorabilia from my great uncle’s country store was displayed. Rayanne had told us she and "the girls" (Merilese and Katherine) would be over Saturday afternoon, and originally, Anson was to have his car in the car show. For some reason, Anson decided not to show his car but still came to see the other cars. By the time I left the museum, a much-needed rain was falling, drenching festival goers and dampening vendor’s spirits, and eventually raining out the planned nighttime entertainment. Shortly after I arrived at home, Rayanne phoned to say they had changed their minds about staying for supper, but would come by to see me open my gifts. Her news was something of a mixed blessing in that I wouldn’t have to cook for everyone, but it meant less time to spend with family members already difficult to connect with on a weekly basis. Rayanne had found a pair of blue, Docker-styled pants and a patterned blue shirt, both of which are suitable for business casual wear, and both were items needed to replenish my shrinking wardrobe. Rayanne looked tired, so I didn’t try very hard to persuade her family to stay for supper. Now that she’s middle aged (her definition not mine), I suppose she’s slowing down. Felicia and Cullen helped fill the gap created by the absence of Rayanne’s family at the dinner table Saturday night. But, several days would pass before Felicia remembered to bring my birthday present. I don’t wish to convey the impression that I expect gifts from family members on my birthday, for that’s not the case, but, as a matter of tradition, gifts are usually a part of the celebration. A few days later, Felicia dropped by with her mom and gave me the gift she had bought a few weeks earlier. It was a fisherman’s toolkit, consisting of a small flashlight, a folding, multi-function tool built around a set of pliers, and a scale for weighing the "big ones." I hope to field test everything before Thanksgiving. I don’t mind that my birthday was an extended one, stretching across three weeks, for after all, it was a milestone, marking me as an authentic senior citizen. I don’t even mind that not all birthday greetings were timely, though most were. However, I was surprised to open an email on September 15, and find it was a birthday greeting. It came from the personnel office of the Midwest Region of SUPERVALU. I responded appreciatively to the sender but noted my birthday was August 16th. Maybe, next year, it won’t take as long to celebrate my birthday.
Bodock Beau Church Vs. Tavern Aren’t you glad God made us with a sense of humor? And since we are made in the image of God, it’s reasonable to assume that God has a sense of humor, too. The late Grady Nutt suggested that proof of this can be found by simply looking at ones reflection in a mirror. Church vs. Tavern The story is told of a man who got a permit to open the first tavern in a small town. The members of a local church were strongly opposed to the bar, so they began to pray that God would intervene. A few days before the tavern was scheduled to open, lightning hit the structure, and it burned to the ground. The people of the church were surprised but pleased - until they received notice that the would-be tavern owner was suing them. He contended that their prayers were responsible for the burning of the building. They denied the charge. At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, the judge wryly remarked, "At this point I don't know what my decision will be, but it seems that the tavern owner believes in the power of prayer and these church people don't." From Carl Wayne Hardeman – Collierville TN Georgia Blondes Two bored casino dealers are waiting at the crap table. A very attractive blonde woman from Georgia arrived and bet twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) on a single roll of the dice. She said, "I hope you don't mind, but I feel much luckier when I play topless." With that, she stripped to the waist, rolled the dice, and yelled, "Come on, Southern Girl needs new clothes!" As the dice bounced and came to a stop, she jumped up-and-down and squealed, "YES! YES! I WON! I WON!" She hugged each of the dealers and then picked up her winnings, and her clothes, and quickly departed. The dealers stared at each other dumbfounded. Finally, one of them asked, "What did she roll?" The other answered, "I don't know... I thought you were watching." Moral of the story: Not all Southerners are stupid. Not all blondes are dumb...But all men...are men. Submitted by Lamar Bearden – Atlanta GA From The "They Walk Among Us" Files I was at the checkout of a K-Mart. The clerk rang up $46.64 charge. I gave her a fifty dollar bill. She gave me back $46.64. I gave it back to her and told her that she had made a mistake in MY favor and gave her the money back. She became indignant and informed me she was educated and knew what she was doing, and returned the money again. I gave her the money back again...same scenario! I departed the store with the $46.64.….They Walk Among Us and Many Work Retail.
Contributed by Ken Gaillard – Albuquerque NM Copyright © 2000 - 2007 RRN Online.
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Now that my nephew, Brett Brown, has a
salaried position with Blue Cross Blue Shield, his weekends are less predictable
than before. Of course, that’s no excuse for not visiting his mother,
at least from Sister Sarah’s perspective.
