Sleuthing Is Hungry Work

Obviously, and a full day of genius requires a solid and inspiring start, preferably with a spread dreamt up by a novelist.  Once again, we turn to a favorite, the Nero Wolfe canon, and from its pages we learn what Wolfe’s private cook, Fritz Brenner, has prepared for the great detective’s breakfast.  The Mother Hunt describes mornings in the residence, as observed by the narrator:

The house rules in the old brownstone on West Thirty-fifth Street are, of course, set by Wolfe, since he owns the house, but any variation in the morning routine usually comes from me.  Wolfe sticks to his personal schedule: at eight-fifteen breakfast in his room on the second floor, on a tray taken up by Fritz…

I descended a flight to Wolfe’s room, tapped on the door, and entered.  He was in bed, propped up against three pillows, just ready to attack the provender on the breakfast table…  There was orange juice, eggs au beurre noir, two slices of broiled Georgia ham, hashed brown potatoes, hot blueberry muffins, and a pot of steaming cocoa.

Of course, while Fritz applies his talents throughout the series, the actual recipes were imagined by the writer, Rex Stout, himself quite a cook.  Later he recorded his ideas in The Nero Wolfe Cookbook, from whence today’s submissions came.

Most of the items are familiar to the modern reader, though they reflect their time and place, and are what would’ve been enjoyed in an upper class household in mid-(twentieth) century America.

The eggs are the only item requiring much explanation.  To begin, beurre noir (French for, “black butter”) clarifies itself somewhat when translated.  The eggs are shirred, a preparation not seen much today.  Essentially, eggs are poached until the whites just set and the yolks are “over-easy.”  Therefore, eggs au beurre noir are lightly poached eggs with butter.

Allow some license for the ham, as it’s what was available at the market, and consequently, it comes not from Georgia, but from its neighbor, North Carolina.  The blueberry muffins appeared, separately, in theses pages before; now, they’re part of a larger spread.  Finally, as clementines approach perfection this time of year, they, and not oranges, were squeezed for juice.

Those relatively minor changes aside, this is a breakfast that ignites Wolfe’s genius in the morning, as it’s  been imagined by an epicurean.  Think of what it’ll do for you, in the real world.

*****

Eggs au Beurre Noir

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon sherry

Preheat the broiler.  Melt one tablespoon of butter in each of two shirred-egg dishes. (*1)  Add the eggs, yolks unbroken, two to a dish.  Cook over medium heat for  1 or 2 minutes until the whites set.  Put the dishes under the broiler for another minute, until the yolks film over.  Remove from the oven and put in a warm place.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the remaining butter.  Pour through a cheesecloth, which should trap most of the solids.  Return the clarified butter to the saucepan and increase the flame to medium.  When the clarified butter begins to scorch and turn medium brown, add the sherry (*2) and stir well. Pour the sauce over the eggs.

NOTES:

1 – As mentioned in the introduction, shirred eggs (and their dishes) are rare nowadays.  I wasn’t about to spend $60 to special-order a set, especially not when it became clear ramekins work just as well.

2 – Carefully.  The sherry and the butter react rather violently to one another at first.  After they come together, though, they play nicely.

*****

Broiled Georgia Ham

• thin slice of Georgia ham (*3)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard
• 1 teaspoon currant jelly
• 1 grinding fresh black pepper

Soak the ham in the milk for about an hour.  Mix the remaining ingredients together and heat.  Drain, dry and broil the ham for 3 minutes per side.  Pour the sauce over the ham and serve.

NOTES:

3 – As the text above explains, these aren’t the Georgia hams, “cured to Mr. Wolfe’s specifications” called for in the cookbook.  Oh well.  When one can’t get Georgia hams, one makes do with what’s available…

*****

Hashed Brown Potatoes

• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 cups diced raw potatoes
• 1 teaspoon minced shallots
• chopped cilantro for garnish
• salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste

Melt the butter in a skillet set over medium heat.  Mix together the potatoes and shallots and add to the skillet.  Cook, without stirring, for four minutes.  Once the bottoms have turned golden-brown, flip the potatoes so that the opposite end browns.  Fold potatoes onto plate, season with salt and pepper, and garnish with cilantro.

*****

Blueberry Muffins

• 1/3 cup butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries, washed and drained

Preheat oven to 375°.  Line a muffin pan with muffin (or cupcake) liners.  Cream together the butter and sugar until it’s fluffy.  Beat the eggs and add to the butter mixture.

Into a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Remove the mixer bowl and alternatively add a little at a time of the dry ingredients and milk, mixing between additions, until both are used.

Gently fold in the blueberries, so they don’t break.  Pour the batter into each muffin tin until it’s 2/3 full.  Bake for 25 minutes.

 

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