tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post4264252307314721386..comments2023-04-16T10:39:30.884-04:00Comments on French Laundry at Home: French Laundry at Home Extra: Béarnaise MousselineUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-43967365938680022522008-09-22T04:44:00.000-04:002008-09-22T04:44:00.000-04:00COOL the reduction of acid and tarragon before add...COOL the reduction of acid and tarragon before adding the yolks or they will overcook. Transfer this cooled mixture to a mixing bowl set over simmering water. Add the yolks and beat the crap out of them. Then add the WARM (not hot)butter in a small stream to start.Keep adding until volume builds. Then stop.<BR/><BR/>Hope this helps.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-58514745932260579312008-09-05T02:17:00.000-04:002008-09-05T02:17:00.000-04:00Amazing- you have a broken mess that you are perpl...Amazing- you have a broken mess that you are perplexed over and someone says, I love your salt and pepper shakers-is this Martha Stewart.com?!?!<BR/><BR/>Acid to your egg yolks at the start would have helped- I made bearnaise every night for nearly 10years and always had some acid such as lemon or the vinegar reduction right in the egg over the flame (I started with a baine marie then got astoundingly good stainless steel bowl, open fire- thrill seeker for sure!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-57062354420359526062008-09-03T16:52:00.000-04:002008-09-03T16:52:00.000-04:00bernaise, smernaise...you're playing drums on medi...bernaise, smernaise...<BR/><BR/>you're playing drums on medium and getting 99%!?! <BR/><BR/>::bowing down::amberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12029076436322883513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-77116634100134755022008-08-29T01:18:00.000-04:002008-08-29T01:18:00.000-04:00I suspect something went wrong with your vinegar a...I suspect something went wrong with your vinegar and eggs. When acid meets protein, they tend to precipitate. That's the same problem I have making lemon ice cream. :( Sigh~ Good luck!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06996693761705109185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-50111175607047509472008-08-24T22:42:00.000-04:002008-08-24T22:42:00.000-04:00I just made Keller's bearnaise. It worked fine. ...I just made Keller's bearnaise. It worked fine. But I admit to maybe having been lucky. I got momentarily distracted (thanks rugrats!) and had a giant gloppy mess starting. I panicked, through in the water (which I had held out per your concerns above. Unbelievably, it started to reform and then by the time I through the whipped cream in, it was really nice. <BR/><BR/>But, if it makes you feel better, my steak from the organic butcher was not as tender as usual. <BR/><BR/>Actually, the sauce was fine, but with all due respect to Mr. Keller. I don't know that it was SOOOOO much more light that it was worth the extra effort of adding the whipped cream. I don't think I would do it this way again...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-89126029298384643262008-08-21T03:05:00.000-04:002008-08-21T03:05:00.000-04:00seven minute bernaise all day every day. Start re...seven minute bernaise all day every day. Start reduction in pot put one pound of butter in microwave. Place bowl over pot. place one egg out at room temp. Add cream to reduction once au sec. reduce. Place one egg in warm bowl add lemon juice half egg shell warm water. Wisk until ribbons. add reduction slowly, and butter. Temp is what makes or breaks the sauce.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-4174274227890808152008-08-20T17:07:00.000-04:002008-08-20T17:07:00.000-04:00I think it's safe to say that you never got an emu...I think it's safe to say that you never got an emulsion started, so there was no rescuing it down the road. As bob del grosso said, it was a technical error before you added your butter. Probably you didn't use enough heat to get the egg yolks (lecithin) fully denatured (um, unravelled), so there was no basis for the emulsion to form.<BR/><BR/>I would try whisking the yolks first in a bowl just like you do for bernaise, then adding the shallot/tarragon reduction as you're doing that, perhaps not all at once, so you can get the emulsion started.<BR/><BR/>And contra the previous comment, the water doesn't emulsify the butter, it provides room for you to add more butter to the emulsion, the emulsion is supported by the lecithin in the yolk. There is enough lecithin in an egg yolk to emulsify god knows how much fat, but if it's done in too little volume, you can't keep the fat blobs apart. The water adds volume to the aqueous part of the emulsion.<BR/><BR/>Look it up in On Food and Cooking. Also, silly as it may be, Alton Brown's Good Eats handled emulsion based sauces with admirable clarity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-22478088005348726752008-08-20T11:28:00.000-04:002008-08-20T11:28:00.000-04:00the addition of the water is to emulsify the butte...the addition of the water is to emulsify the butter and to make your sabayon lighter and foamier. i can clearly see that you overcooked your egg yolks thats what those chunks were. the secret to a great hollandaise type sauce is to have a great sabayon to start with, with enough liquid for the butter to emulsify with, if not it will brake. by looking at your picture it looks like you made cooked eggyolk soup. just be gentle with it, make love to it dont phk itAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-52696604192093907632008-08-14T12:38:00.000-04:002008-08-14T12:38:00.000-04:00You cook amazing food, have great taste in music, ...You cook amazing food, have great taste in music, AND you play Rock Band? When can we go out on a date? ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-75170170470082977332008-08-13T18:43:00.000-04:002008-08-13T18:43:00.000-04:00Birds gotta fly, Dogs gotta bark, and sometimes......Birds gotta fly, Dogs gotta bark, and sometimes... sauce has to break. Or never come together in the first place. As a fellow, much less accomplished, home kitchen enthusiast... I say hey! At least the meat turned out, right?<BR/><BR/>And RockBand? Ree-donk-u-lous; though at our house it's Wario Ware or nothing at all.Jakeymonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02647240682449819441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-24537826895734188492008-08-12T11:42:00.000-04:002008-08-12T11:42:00.000-04:00Carol-The addition of water is to help establish a...Carol-<BR/>The addition of water is to help establish a finished sauce that is not too "tight". The addition of wter with the yolks can increase the necessary cooking time by a significant amount as well. Everytime you make an emulsified egg sauce do it over a double boiler to not do so is pretty hairy, but possible. I think you have toi whip those eggs until your arm falls off. Thanks for trying though it made for a very entertaining readAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-54671125950237076692008-08-11T14:23:00.000-04:002008-08-11T14:23:00.000-04:00Sorry, Carol-- I hate bearnaise-related disappoint...Sorry, Carol-- I hate bearnaise-related disappointment as it is the Mack Daddy of all sauces. Looking forward to your next post with the egg purveyor, howev, because the color on those yolks is gorgeous. I can only ever find anemic eggs, even at Central Market or Whole Foods, and it makes me sad.midcitiesmamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14846014470257062107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-73214459770307045532008-08-11T11:58:00.000-04:002008-08-11T11:58:00.000-04:00I hate it when I mess up something that I have mad...I hate it when I mess up something that I have made a gazillion times before. I have a great recipe for Bernaise and I don't even use a double boiler, perfect every time. So glad you had the steak for comfort food.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-61150173354177803942008-08-10T18:20:00.000-04:002008-08-10T18:20:00.000-04:00I think I could help nail down the problem if I co...I think I could help nail down the problem if I could see what happened between the (beautiful, sexy even) pictures of the yolks and the (sad but charming) pictures of the broken sauce prior to the (alas, by then pointless) addition of butter and whipped cream. <BR/><BR/>The water was not the problem, neither were any of the ingredients -or their proportions- responsible. I don't know for sure, but I suspect the sauce failed because of a technical error. The error could be in the book, or perhaps you were having a bad day and forgot to do something (like temper the eggs) that you would have done if you were more on your game. <BR/><BR/>For what it is worth, sauce mouselline is an order of magnitude more difficult than sauce Bearnaise/ Hollandaise -mostly because you must add cold whipped cream to a warm emulsion. If the cream is too cold, the butter will harden upon contact and BLAP! the sauce is KAPPUT. If the base is too warm, the cream deflates and the mousseline does not happen. <BR/><BR/>His success with stuff like this is of the reasons why Keller is such a hero.<BR/><BR/>Finally, I love your blog.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04836391227499190970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-68342379540688603622008-08-10T13:10:00.000-04:002008-08-10T13:10:00.000-04:00As a culinary student who has had to make hollanda...As a culinary student who has had to make hollandaise and Bearnaise numerous times, and failed about half of them (I swear I can make an awesome bearnaise until it's 5 minutes out and then i constantly am screwing it up), I can tell you what our school has taught us and what has worked in the end. We make the reduction (using tarragon vinegar instead of white wine vinegar and dried tarragon instead of fresh)and then add a bit of water back to refresh the reduction. Put this in the bottom of a bowl and whisk it with the yolks until it is foamy. Then put it over boiling water, whisking, until it thickens. At this point, you are cooking the egg yolks but it is very easy to make scrambled eggs at this point, so be careful. When "ribbons" form, remove the yolks from the water and slowly whisk the clarified butter, whole butter, oil or whatever you choose back in. You want the color to be pale yellow so if it gets to bright, add a bit more of warm water and then add continue adding fat until the correct texture is met. They say you should have 2 oz of fat for each yolk. Strain and add fresh tarragon. <BR/><BR/>It sounds like you just needed to cook the eggs a bit more over the double boiler.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-66319840200374337072008-08-10T12:46:00.000-04:002008-08-10T12:46:00.000-04:00I've always added a spoonful of water to my emulsi...I've always added a spoonful of water to my emulsified egg yolk sauces from the start. What I've seen that breaks them up is either temperature or the speed of the mixing or adding the butter. It is, however possible to recover from this. Take a clean bowl, add a spoonful of water, start whisking until frothy and slowly start pouring the broken up sauce. If done properly you should re-form the emulsion.Roberto N.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14860375538825772740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-42255617399784232382008-08-10T06:56:00.000-04:002008-08-10T06:56:00.000-04:00It's got to be the humidity. I recently failed (ba...It's got to be the humidity. I recently failed (badly, and TWICE) at making Quick Aioli--something I've made before without any problems.<BR/><BR/>Misery loves company, so feel better here: http://melissacooksgourmet.blogspot.com/2008/08/quick-aioli.htmlMelissa Bach Palladinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03022691694124423609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-49471961775200209612008-08-10T01:04:00.000-04:002008-08-10T01:04:00.000-04:00Color me impressed with your mad drumz skillz. I'v...Color me impressed with your mad drumz skillz. I've yet to meet but one person who can actually play the drums on that thing.<BR/><BR/>It is still, however, the greatest game ever.Jaye Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11770506885754168731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-52827499716506527962008-08-09T15:33:00.000-04:002008-08-09T15:33:00.000-04:00I love the word, ferdoonkled, I think it works as ...I love the word, ferdoonkled, I think it works as both an adjective and verb!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-85544714284528748362008-08-09T14:04:00.000-04:002008-08-09T14:04:00.000-04:00Sondra: I've had those for a few years -- they're ...Sondra: I've had those for a few years -- they're Kuhn Rikon and I found them at TJ Maxx for about 10 bucks each and LOVE THEM.Carol Blymirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08573307850587096182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-25374413754407914522008-08-09T13:41:00.000-04:002008-08-09T13:41:00.000-04:00Those salt and pepper mills in the first picture.....Those salt and pepper mills in the first picture... Are they a recent purchase? Where did you get them? They’re gorgeous.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-48267915081928519002008-08-09T12:25:00.000-04:002008-08-09T12:25:00.000-04:00Vic...I know who Sid and Marty are...and HRP and W...Vic...I know who Sid and Marty are...and HRP and Witchie Poo and Sigmund etc... :-)<BR/><BR/>CMB...The steak looked good.<BR/><BR/>What shall we have for dinner next SATURDAY NIGHT????pdxblogmommyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07424710962818464421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-91422094284513020222008-08-09T11:33:00.000-04:002008-08-09T11:33:00.000-04:00I agree the eggs needed to be exposed to more heat...I agree the eggs needed to be exposed to more heat. Water is fine.Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00215291368050969180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-40871716498784987552008-08-09T11:03:00.000-04:002008-08-09T11:03:00.000-04:00perhaps the bernaise didnt come together as bindin...perhaps the bernaise didnt come together as binding fat and water is difficult. There are several things that could have gone wrong here- adding water before bringing the eggs up to 160 degrees could cause it to split. Heating the yolks too quickly could casue the to curdle- a blender may have helped, or a thermometer. It looks from the photo like the yolks did not reach the proper temperature. Have no fear, try again. After all, that's what we do in the kitchen. isn't it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4543389752792247888.post-87244047790227784422008-08-09T01:20:00.000-04:002008-08-09T01:20:00.000-04:00Am I the only person reading this who actually kno...Am I the only person reading this who actually knows who Sid and Marty Krofft are?<BR/><BR/>I don't get this. The closest to bearnaise I get is hollandaise, and that doesn't have water added. Nigel Slater says that if hollandaise breaks, 99 times out of 100, an ice cube will restore it. That would make me think water is not the culprit, but I know every time I made Elizabeth David's chocolate souffle recipe and following the directions exactly, added water or liqueur, the chocolate would seize, so I just started eliminating the liquid, and it works perfectly every time. I would try it without the water and see what happens, assuming you're inclined to try it again. <BR/><BR/>But I think you hit the nail on the head. It was Al Gore.Victoriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12069825275231321637noreply@blogger.com