(no subject)

Thanksgiving was great, even if my back tweaked about twenty minutes before dinner, rendering me even more out of it than I've been recently. I sat at the end of table and blinked a lot, and everyone else got the rest of dinner onto the table. And there was a lot of food, and who_is_she rubbed my shoulders and neck until I could mostly think again, and dianthus (and craigp?) cleaned, making it by far the best morning after Thanksgiving, and darn, just in case I didn't happen to be feeling thankful to begin with...

Anyhow, a recipe:

Evil Mushroom Sauce
(warning, the reading of the recipe has been implicated in weight gain and GI distress in sensitive individuals)

• Soak one smallish handful of dried porcini in 1.5 c warm water, chop when softened, reserve water
  
• Mince about half a cups of shallots
  
• Partially carmelize shallots in a little olive oil
  
• Add chopped porcini, saute until shallots well carmelized, and everything begins to stick to the pan
  
• Deglaze pan with cream sherry.
  
• Add the water the mushrooms were previously soaked in, and simmer until it is reduced by half in volume. Set aside to cool until not too hot to touch.
  
• Separate the yolks of three eggs. Whisk them thoroughly into the (now only warm) mushroom and shallot mixture.
  
• Return the pan to the flame, over low heat, stirring constantly. (Alternately, use a double boiler.) It will begin to thicken and needs to be stirred to keep it smooth.
  
• When the mixture is nicely thick, slowly add and quickly whisk in about a quarter cup of olive oil. (Or perhaps a little more. The resulting sauce should be about as thick as mayonaise.)
  
• Whisk in a little salt and perhaps some cream sherry, as desired.
  

I believe this is essentially a variation on a bernaise. I don't often have an excuse to cookthis way, but it is kind of entertaining.