cas' savory eggs benedict

I hate eggs benedict! I think it's gross to put mayonaisse on slimy, sloppy aigs! So I created this new twist on eggs benedict to make it not only edible, but delicious.

You'll need:
Two english muffins
Four eggs
Eight thick cut slices of bacon
Flour
Butter
Half and half
A bunch of Gruyere cheese, grated
Salt and Pepper
Fresh chives or basil
Fresh tomato, diced

Directions:
Chop the fresh herbs and tomato. Set aside.
Fry the bacon 'til crispy. Drain it. Crumble four pieces into bits.
Poach the eggs, but actually cook 'em most of the way through so they're not slimy and sloppy.
While the eggs are cooking, begin toasting the muffins and making the cheese sauce:
The cheese sauce is really easy to make! Just begin by making a roux (melt butter in a medium saucepan and mix in flour until it's a nice, sort of thick consistency). Remove saucepan from heat and slowly begin to add half and half. Move saucepan back onto burner on low heat. Continue to add half and half until cheesesauce-like consistency is obtained. Add salt and pepper to taste. Last, add shredded Gruyere until cheesiness is ideal. If you live in a rural no man's land like I do, you can always substitute baby swiss for gruyere.

Now you're ready to assemble these delicious babies.
Place split muffins on plate. Put one egg on each muffin. Pour cheese sauce liberally over egg/muffin stack. Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top, then tomatoes, then fresh chopped herbs. Serve with bacon on the side. Delicious!

tangy and spicy cranberry relish

This is the perfect complement to any turkey dinner. And it's surprisingly easy to make.

You'll need:

1 bag of fresh cranberries
water
lemon zest
clementine or other orange-y citrus fruit zest.
brown sugar
ground clove
ground ginger

Pour the cranberries into a medium saucepan. Cover with water and begin to boil.
While the cranberries are boiling, add the zest of the lemon and clementine. Add lots of brown sugar, to taste. Add lots of clove, and bit of ginger, to taste. Squeeze the juice of the clementine into the mix. Boil until the cranberries are fully cooked, and the mixture has a thick, cranberry sauce-y consistency. Cover and chill until ready to eat. Yum!