April 4, 2011: Jalapeno Hollandaise Sauce Recipe

Here’s one more way you can serve the fresh, seasonal asparagus you’ll find in the grocery store this month – in a traditional manner, using hollandaise sauce, but with a kick – jalapenos!

As I’ve shared before, I did most of my growing up in New Mexico and I simply love anything and everything with a bit of heat from chile. This sauce is actually not very hot, but the little bit of spice makes it taste really special. Poured over freshly steamed asparagus, it makes a very elegant side dish for your Easter dinner – or any meal, for that matter.

These are eggs from my chickens - our smallest hen, Henrietta (yeah, I know, not too creative) lays the biggest eggs, which would be considered extra large if you bought them in the grocery store.

Jalapeno Hollandaise Sauce

3 egg yolks
2 T. lemon juice (fresh is preferred but bottled will work if that’s all you’ve got)
2 T. chopped jalapenos (fresh or canned)
½ t. kosher salt
½ cup butter

Place egg yolks, lemon juice and salt in blender container. Heat butter until it bubbles but does not brown. Cover blender and blend yolks on high for 3 seconds. Remove the lid and pour in the butter with the blender still running, in a very slow stream (otherwise the hot butter will curdle the eggs). Add jalapenos, cover, and blend just until mixed. Serve at once or keep warm by immersing blender container in warm water. Makes 1 cup.

Tip: You can substitute red chile powder or chopped green chiles for the jalapenos, if you prefer.

March 7, 2011: Plum Sauce Recipe

Do you ever dream about food? I do, quite frequently (guess that says something about my psyche!). The other night my dream was about fried rice so, of course, I had to make a Chinese meal for dinner the next day. I thought about making sweet and sour pork to go along with the fried rice but I didn’t have any pineapple. What I did have, however, were plums I’d canned last summer. So instead of the traditional red sweet and sour sauce with pineapple, I decided to try my hand at plum sauce. After doing a bit of research online, I came up with my own variation.

I don’t know if it was because I was really hungry that night or whether the sauce was just plain good but the meal came out fantastic!

This sauce is really versatile. It can be used as I did – added to stir-fried chunks of pork, onion, and bell pepper – or as a unique brush-on glaze for pork loin or ham, a dipping sauce for egg rolls, or for any recipe in place of sweet-sour sauce.

Plum Sauce

1 clove garlic, minced
1 t. finely minced ginger
2 t. sesame oil
1 t. – 1 T. red chili sauce (found in the Chinese food section of the store; the amount depends on the level of heat you prefer)
1 pint jar canned plums (or a store-bought jar of plums or plum preserves)
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
¼ cup brown sugar

In a medium-sized saucepan, sauté the garlic and ginger in the sesame oil until soft and fragrant, approximately 2 – 3 minutes. While it’s cooking, pour the jar of plums plus liquid into a blender and liquefy (don’t worry if there are still small chunks of plums left). Add the chili sauce, plums, vinegar and sugar to the saucepan. Heat over medium heat until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened. If the sauce is too thin, thicken with a teaspoon or so of cornstarch mixed with water.

Enjoy!