This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe, Creamy Mushrooms and Eggs, is egg-cellent, very tasty. It’s egg-actly right for a lingering week-end breakfast, even for a brunch with friends. Or you may go frenchy and make this your dinner appetizer, as Dorie does. I found it egg-tremely filling so I will always serve this as the main event of a meal.
I may live in Colorado but these are not Magic Mushrooms. Promise.
First, I purchased a loaf of challah at my local bakery. Although Dorie suggests baking your own brioche or challah, there is no way, living at 8200 feet, that I’m willing to risk a bread-fail right now. (I’m still swimming upstream after my Cod-and-Spinach Roulade debacle of two weeks ago.) The bread is lightly toasted and serves as the base for this dish.
After putting together a mixture of wild and cultivated mushrooms at Whole Foods, it was quite simple to make the creamy mushroom sauce. Butter. Olive Oil. Shallots. Heavy Cream. Spices. If I’d had my druthers, I would have enjoyed my sauce a bit more runny and will add more cream next time.
Creamy Mushrooms and Eggs
For me, however, this week was all about the poached egg. Not only does Dorie suggest two methods for doing this, Madame Ruffly Poached Egg or the plainer Monsieur Poached Egg, she also explains how to store them for two days in the fridge. Since this dish is à la minute, that’s nice to know. I will admit to leaving the egg in the water for an additional 60 seconds, as she suggested, if we wished the yolk slightly more cooked. Yes, Julia would be horrified.
Today – Thursday, May 2 – would have been Michael’s and my 27th wedding anniversary so it was a good day to lie low, hang out in the kitchen pondering over Greenspan’s poaching methods, and write this Post. I realized it would be twicky, (thank you, Clara) to get through this first year of holidays, birthdays and celebrations without him and this is the last one, thank God.
Although Julia and Dorie love their eggs a tad more runny, Mary does not.
When we celebrated his life last year, at a service here in Aspen, I finally admitted to our friends and family that Michael and I sometimes asked ourselves, “What were we thinking?”
He was a nice Jewish boy, concluding a successful professional career, edging toward retirement. I was a nice Christian girl, editor of the local newspaper, with fire still in my belly and professional mountains to climb. But we worked like crazy and muddled through for almost 27 years. Hooray for us.
When we moved from Aspen to Henderson, Nevada, nine years ago, only Michael realized we were leaving our Colorado home to fight a medical battle we could not hope to win. Sometimes my naivety is a blessing. That’s why returning to Colorado has also been a blessing. I’ve been here only a month but already I’m successfully erasing those tough recollections of our last few years together, exchanging them with happy ones made here. Every Aspen corner and mountain trail holds a hilarious Michael moment. He was that kind of guy. Since one’s Memory Bank can only contain so much, why not load it up with the good times?
Although I suspect Sadness and Grief will always be my Wingmen, I know the only way to honor Michael is to relish and enjoy this Life we made together. When I married him long ago, he opened up doors to Life’s experiences and opportunities that my girls and I could never have known or enjoyed were it not for him. The past 9 1/2 months have been hectic, overloaded with changes. I’m not sure, but I think he would be proud of me. What I am sure about is that he sure as hell wouldn’t have stood for Creamy Mushrooms and Eggs as his anniversary meal.
To see what my colleagues poached up this week, go here. Want to try this delicious recipe. Go here. If only to learn her culinary techniques, I recommend your buying Dorie’s cookbook, Around My French Table.
“relish and enjoy the life we made together” – what a lovely sentiment. Lovely dish, lovely post. Have a fab weekend and the countdown is on for Paris, right?
A very lovely post filled with honesty & thankfulness. Thank you for sharing & the poached eggs look marvelous!
I love how food can bring out such honest and lovely feelings. This is such a homey dish and so I think it is a natural thing to then share as you have. I loved this dish but then I have eaten something similar to this my whole life I think…in one form or another.
He IS proud of you! What a lovely post, my friend…on such a tough day. I’m pleased to hear that your time in Colorado is bringing back beautiful memories of your marriage. Thinking of you. xoxo
Oh Mary, how difficult the past 9.5 months must have been for you but you always put a smile on for your posts. Last week when we were RVing I met a woman who was widowed last May. She had sold their property and possessions and become a full time RVer on her own! I thought of you, something about her carry on spirit. We loved this dish and yours looks delicious. I bet your right that Michael would be proud of you and it cracks me up that he would NOT enjoy Creamy Mushrooms and Eggs!
It´s the simple dishes that usually make us nostalgic, that mix of nature´s bounty and thoughts about our life. How can he not be proud Mary? I find myself in your words, the way you understand every life experience is always worth it. Me, I´m so proud of your perfect runny eggs and your zest for life. Let´s not forget the important little things, like a day with good food and memories.
I am pretty darn sure he would be proud of you. I’m proud of you 🙂
Mary you are such a beautiful spirit and your enthusiasm for life is an inspiration. I hope I could be as strong as you if I ever have to live alone. I sense you have an independent nature, which I would think is helpful. I so glad you had a simple dish to commemorate your time with Michael. It is really the everyday moments that are the most precious.
Mary, He would be very, very proud! A hard time for sure, but I always admire the way you handle life. Your post is wonderfully touching and your Creamy Mushrooms and Eggs look delish!! Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend!
eggs-tra good post…..I wish I could have shared the meal with you and had (a) toast. But see you Monday and we will crack a few jokes as Michael would have wanted.
Thank you for sharing – I had no idea what you’ve been through and really appreciate the caring words and thoughts you’ve extended my way. Glad to hear you’re back in Aspen with those good memories.
Mary, such a lovely post and I’m glad being in Aspen brings out all the good memories for you.
Thank you for your thoughts, things are looking up here. Tricia and I are thankful that
we cancelled the trip with the way things turned out that day in Boston. I loved this recipe
and I think it is definitely a keeper. It’s so easy to prepare and even easier to eat. Yours
looks delicious. Happy weekend.
Your mushies and eggs look great. God bless you and the wonderful times you had with Michael.
I’m reading this a day late, but I’m sending you lots of hugs for yesterday. Your post brought tears to my eyes. I’m sure that Michael would be quite proud of you, making the most of every day. Happy Anniversary to you, Mary. And, nice job on the eggs. This one is a keeper.
Beautiful post, Mary. I love the image of you reawakening all those good memories in Aspen. I’m also glad this week’s recipe was a simple, comforting dish for a difficult day.
Mary, I am a bit late commenting this week, we have two wonderful birthdays to celebrate this week (one being today) so I found myself rather disorganized but not too busy to let you know what a wonderful post this is, food always seems to bring back memories and I am glad that this terrific dish brought back many wonderful memories of Michael! And I can see that you poached your egg to perfection!
Have a good Sunday and hugs from the birthday girl who is turning five today!
.
Your latest Blog was magnificent, I laughed and cried. Happy Anniversary,
and where did you buy the Challah?
love, Blanca
Hope the Lord continues to heal your heart Mary. I know I can’t even imagine how hard this must be. Michael sounds like a gem and that you certainly have an arsenal of wonderful memories. We never know what’s around life’s corners, do we? You’ve reminded me to appreciate every moment. I wish I could appreciate your yummy eggs and mushrooms for lunch today 🙂
Oh, Mary, I have been so distracted lately and only just read your post. Who wouldn’t be proud of you? You came in slowly, exploring everything & now you’re helping to run the group!
You make things I shy away from (not a fan of eggs since 8th grade Advanced Biology class…but that’s a whole therapy session waiting to happen!). You provide so much laughter & encouragement to all of us – we can only hope to do the same for you.
Love & hugs!
I ditto Cher with the he would be and I am 🙂 I am playing catch up after getting over the cancelled trip and Boston tragedy and kind of getting back in the swing of things. Nothing like a weekly deadline amongst friends (Doristas) to get you back into a routine. I just played read through your recent posts I had missed – from the Financiers to this one and enjoyed your humor, your wonderful outlook, your compassion and transparency. So easy to relate to, keeping it real, yet you still elevate the issues and set an example. And your poached eggs looked pretty dang great too 🙂 Nice to be back and thanks for the kind words you left for Nana and I. All the best –
It’s a testament to how great your dish looks that I’m still bouncing back and forth between that amazing looking food, and your beautiful touching story about your life with Michael. So happy that you are enjoying being back in Aspen. How wonderful!
This is the first time I visit your blog as I’m new to the FFwD community (first post this coming Friday). Looking for inspirations, I found a deeply eloquent post. Thank you for sharing your emotions with us. Nothing beats good memories.