Mother's Day Meal

Nothing was too good on Mother's Day this year...

I decided to pull out some stops on an old classic and give it a little extra kick.

Egg's Benedict. But, seriously, it was a little more than that!

Fresh Crab, Egg's Benedict in a Black Truffle Sauce

1/2 cup Rosemary Cabra Romero
1/2 cup Caciotta Al Tarfino w/ Black Truffles
3 slices of a small round artisan bread
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tblsp butter
2 tblsp flour
1 cup milk
1 cup claw crab meat
2 medium potatoes
1 orange bell pepper
1/4 cup onion1 clove garlic
3 eggs
fresh: chives, dill, lemongrass
paprika, salt

Sauté potatoes (however you want them cut, bite size pieces work best for plating) with 1/8 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon butter, pinch of salt, dill and lemongrass for about 10 minutes. Cube the bell pepper and add along with the onion and garlic. Continue sauté until onion becomes slightly translucent. Let simmer on low until ready to plate. Add salt to taste. (Could also replace potato with sweet potato.)

Bechamel Sauce: Heat 2 tblsp butter until a little bubbly. Add flour in increments until blended. (Note: Beginning stage will look clumpy, but whisk vigourously until rue sauce is completed - you DO NOT want pockets of flour in a sauce.) Slowly add milk, and whisk until creamy. (Requires a lot of whisking power.) Add all cheese and leave on low heat to melt. Add more milk for thinner sauce, or less milk for thicker sauce. (Can also add some heavy cream to make a more rich sauce, but not recommended replacing milk with cream.)

Prepare 3 sunny side up eggs in a pan with remaining butter. No need to salt or spice eggs.
Toast the bread in the oven until toasted to desired texture. (Note: The more toasted the bread, the harder it is to cut.) Place the bread in the center of the plate. Take some of the crab and place it on top of the slice of bread. (The more crab, the more better.) Next, place the egg on top of the crab meat. Take your potato mixture and place around bread and egg (outside of plate).

Now it's time to add the sauce - start from the center and work your way out and around the plate. Finish with a light dusting of paprika and garnish with the chives.

Serves 3, with a cook and prepare time of about 45 minutes.

All ingredients found at Whole Foods. Upgraded take on a classic protein and starch dish. And the best thing about it is that all ingredients can be replaced with something else of desired taste and texture. (With the exception of the flour. I don't know another way to make rue without flour...) Bread can be replaced with freshly made rice cakes, or potato pancakes. Happy Eating and Yummy Yummy!

Respect is taken, when respect is given...

Namaste and Slainte