Everything's Better with Butter

Day 7

It's ironic that my partner walked into class today with a pen reading "Plavix," a blood-thinning medication for people with coronary artery disease. After all, it was emusified sauce day; I'll refer to it as butter and egg day.

We made mayonnaise. Then we ate it. We made hollandaise. Then we ate it. Bearnaise followed, then beurre blanc, and finally, sabayon. At this point, I'm sweating butter. My arm is a condiment dispenser—just hand me your toast.

I figured out why my bearnaise on Friday night turned out foamy: lack of heat. I didn't cook the eggs at a high enough temperature. The problem with such emulsified sauces is that you don't want to scramble the eggs, as you're using an uncooked yolk. I witnessed many people today turn their egg/butter mixtures into omelets.

I have to say my bearnaise this afternoon was a thing of beauty. Even after a morning of tasting sauces, I poured the creamy yellow goo over my pork (does anyone eat bearnaise with pork?) and scarfed it down.

No heavy sauces for dinner tonight—just some chipotle tacos and homemade guacamole I whipped up to make myself feel a little healthier. I did snack on some cherry cheddar cheese, courtesy of my study buddy, while cramming for tomorrow's test. A test? Boo. I haven't studied for one of those since 2003.

Too bad it's not a test to see who could eat the most bearnaise. I think I might have a chance.