A "cleanin' out the overcrowded fridge" breakfast made with smoked salmon leftover from a birthday party Jennifer went to last weekend, english muffins we always have hanging around, eggs, dill from the Aerogarden and an easy hollandaise sauce made in the blender.
The blender hollandaise is from a recipe I found in the
Washington Post food section several years ago. As far as hollandaise goes, it's very lemony, but pretty easy, relatively speaking- less stirring and watching to make sure it doesn't break. The lemon flavor went especially well with the salmon and dill.
Blender Hollandaise Sauce
Makes 1 cup
Make sure the egg yolks, lemon juice and hot pepper sauce are at room temperature; otherwise, the sauce could turn out too thin. If it is too thick, add warm water by droplets with the blender on low.
Adapted from "The Blender Cookbook" by Ann Seranne (Doubleday, 1961).
6 oz (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
3 egg yolks, room temp
2 TBS lemon juice
1 tsp hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the butter for about 2 minutes, until it is bubbling (do not let the butter brown).
Place the remaining ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed to mix well.
With machine running, pour the hot melted butter into the yolk mixture in a slow, steady stream through the hole in the blender lid.
When all the butter has been incorporated, the sauce is done. It should have the consistency of a creamy salad dressing. Serve immediately.
Liz, Joanne and I hosted a 25-person baby shower this past weekend in honor of Barbara and baby... based on the reactions we got it seemed to have been quite a success!!
2. Curried chicken salad sandwiches: Made with rotisserie chicken to save time, shredded for spreadability... this recipe was super flavorful and relatively healthy since it used some yogurt rather than straight mayo. Really nice on thinly sliced whole wheat bread with a few leaves of spinach.
3. Egg salad sandwiches: Like their chicken cousins above, these were made on thinly sliced whole wheat bread and topped with spinach. More egg whites than yolks, a little mayo, a little mustard, minced green onions, salt and pepper, done.
4. Smoked salmon and herbed butter sandwiches: smoked salmon, lemony herbed butter, pumpernickel bread. So simple.
6. Crostini with black olive tapenade, roasted tomatoes and mozzarella: Based on a recipe that Liz found, we thinly sliced a baguette and topped it with this black olive tapenade (minus the ancovies), cute little mozzarella balls and a strip of roasted red pepper.
I thought this salmon recipe with a ramp pesto looked simple and tasty, so we tried it out. Very good! The onion flavor is pretty powerful- no making out for any of us tonight. But delicious anyway! 
