This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

This program is sponsored by Middle Tennessee Federal Credit Union.

To sponsor local programing like this.

Visit.org slash.

Donate to become a member or contact Tiffany McDonald at t mcdonald@wkt.org for sponsorship opportunities.

[[♪♪] [♪♪] [♪♪] Hello, I'm Melinda Keifer, your host for Live Green, Tennessee's fifth annual holiday cooking edition.

Today we have some great recipes for you.

We are going to demystify Eggs Benedict.

So a lot of research and practice.

We've got incredible tips for you.

And I'm Grada Casey Joining Melinda in the kitchen today to share with you one of my favorite family recipes.

It's a homemade orange roll which you're going to really enjoy.

And then I'm going to do a hot baked spiced fruit, which I think you'll love.

So simple recipes that truly all have American origins.

We can't wait to share them with you.

Let's get cooking.

Let's do it!

Okay, let's get started Grada.

What have we got today?

Well, I am going to show you how to make one of my basic recipes that I use in my kitchen all the time.

Melinda.

It's a refrigerator rolled up, and it's very versatile.

And today I'm going to use it as a homemade orange roll.

Oh my goodness, I can hardly wait.

That sounds divine.

It's one of our family favorites.

And, it's an old recipe that started in, when I first ate this, roll.

It was in Cullman, Alabama, which is very Bama, my home state.

So, as a young bride, we went to this little restaurant, and they serve these homemade orange, orange rolls as an accompaniment to the meal.

What a great family.

I mean, a family component of, you know, a regular recipe, but the meaning it can have in people's lives.

All right, let's get started.

Okay.

Well, the first thing I want to tell you is this recipe will be on the website.

So I had your writer dough, and it's like I said, multifunctional.

Okay.

Can be rolled out is just a dinner roll.

That's right.

We roll them out in little bites.

Us silver dollar rolls.

Okay.

I'm roll.

Okay.

Well, what do we do first?

Yeah.

Well, first thing we need to do is to start with get our yeast ready.

Okay.

I have our because I know that takes them.

It does.

We need to bloom the yeast.

And so the temperature.

Let's see what the temp is between 110 and 115.

Okay.

We are there.

Okay.

Right.

And careful about this step because if we don't get this right, your dough may not, rise like you want it to.

So this is two tablespoons of yeast or two packages and then a little bit of sugar just to get feed that yeast just a little stick and get all of that good stuff work.

And we're going to let this sit here and boom out while we're, mixing our step number two is what I like.

And so to get, the next step, we're going to melt a half a cup of Crisco.

Okay.

And you know what that does to any recipe when you do it?

A shortening of that type, it truly makes it so moist.

And just absolutely delightful.

I like this mayo because the shortening is melted for me.

That's right, that's right.

I mixed getting it mixed in with your flour like you would.

And now we're going to add our water.

Okay.

I think that's one cup of water.

And then it's three fourths cup of sugar.

So we'll get that stirred in really good.

And then we'll add the salt to the rest.

We got to have a little salt is so pretty basic.

It's just the cup of Crisco I'm sorry.

Half cup of Crisco.

Half a cup of butter, the cup of water and three fourths cup sugar and our salt.

So we're melting all that together.

And our while our yeast blooms, we get this melted.

We'll start getting that mixture ready and see what happens next.

Okay, miss greatest.

So we've made our beautiful dough.

We stuck it in the refrigerator overnight.

She got big and pretty.

Now, what's the next step?

The next step is my fun part.

I enjoy the technical experience, and we'll say our dough has risen and use whatever amount you know that you think would be appropriate for how many rolls you want to make.

Oh, actually.

So you're even going to tear it?

I'm going to tear that out and get something very manageable.

So, we want a rectangle here.

And this is going to make about 6 or 8 rolls.

Okay.

That'll fill up my little but your home recipe that you made about how many rolls with that.

Yes.

Whole recipe makes about 48 small rolls, but, so you've got enough to make a big batch of rolls of rolls, I would say.

The cinnamon or orange rolls, they probably make a, about three does and I would say excellent.

So, this is what's fun to make.

And you just use that rolling can and you can have a little thick, plump roll or say, I like this thinner roll.

So now we have that all the size.

It'll full tangle I have my butter softened here in the microwave.

Boop boop boop.

I have a little spill.

You're fine.

We're good with that.

Would you like a brush?

I think we're good.

Okay, look at that.

Just pour all your butter on.

I mean, that is.

So I was watching some demonstrations about cinnamon and orange rolls.

Yes.

And, they had mixed the zest in with the butter and sugar, but this is the way I've just done it through the years.

So let me show you my my way of doing.

Well, this way is always a good way.

Okay.

And now we want to sprinkle it with sugar.

So just a good sprinkling.

Maybe not make it simpler.

I mean, this is.

And in cinnamon rolls I use the same butter on the bread okay.

But I use brown sugar.

Oh okay.

If you're making cinnamon rolls you can use them.

You just sprinkle the cinnamon in there.

Heavy cinnamon right.

And then my orange zest goes directly into the rolls.

And this is what makes these so yummy so delicious.

So that is going to be next.

And that's right I really like the orange flavor.

So I did take maybe a little hint of our family is allowed to be.

And I'll give you a little hint at that.

You may already know, but you don't want to get into the pith because it gets a little bitter deadness, a little sour on that edge of that beautiful orange.

When you get down too far, you'll be disappointed with the outcome.

I have a fun story about learning that lesson I had to make.

Oh, I don't know, 8 or 10 key lime pie.

Oh, my goodness.

And, we got all those pies made.

And with it, that doesn't taste very good.

And then you realize, realized.

Right.

I want you to teach me how to roll this.

Okay.

Very easy.

So just start at the end, okay.

And just over, over over here in that fun and easy.

Oh, so you and I look at her just go, okay.

And these are nice baked in a muffin pan.

You can, get that, you know, put them in a little muffin pan, but we're going to use a.

And I do about a finger width.

I just sort of measure with this thing with your knuckle and then go through there.

It is amazing.

I can't wait to get these in the paint.

And we're going to get these rising.

They'll need to rise about an hour and a half, and then we're going to bake them off here.

And there's the most beautiful beautiful glaze.

Come on.

I can't wait for you to.

Yeah okay.

Look at that.

You always turn them the pretty sad.

Yes.

And see all that orange in there?

The smell is delightful.

And here's the thing.

I mean, they don't have to be perfect.

Dough is so very forgiving.

And you can tell their shapes are individual.

Each and every one of them.

Look at that beautiful orange.

Cannot wait to get these into the pan.

I'm going to go get your pan ready since then the glaze is coming up.

Oh, delightful.

Okay, now that we have those beautiful orange rolls in the oven, we're going to share with your recipe.

Now that is so incredibly simple.

And it's going to be the best side dish with our eggs Benedict.

So Grada, What have we got?

Well, this is a simple recipe, Melinda, but so yummy.

Right?

This is, pantry staple items.

Peaches, just sliced peaches.

That's about a can of sliced peaches and a can of, chopped pineapple or pears, which is our next ingredient right there.

And then, of course, we need to sweeten that a little bit.

So we've got brown sugar brown sugar.

If we got that's about three fourths cup.

And this seems a little unusual but it's a curried fruit.

So we're going to put fresh I mean just curry in this.

And finally to add some color we're putting in a can of pot cherries.

So what do we have in our dish.

This is a half cup butter that we melted.

And it will bake in the casserole dish for 30 to 45 minutes.

And.

Bring.

Oh my grater.

These smell incredible.

There is nothing like a yeasted dough in that beautiful orange essence.

So they've come out of the oven cooked about.

What, 15, 20 minutes?

Right?

We, bake them on a little bit higher temperature, about 375.

So they'll have a nice golden brown color.

My favorite part.

So now they need the glaze made.

The best part of the roll is the glaze I agree.

And what I'm using is about two cups of powdered sugar.

Okay.

And then I, juiced a couple of oranges, and I'm just going to play with this.

Amanda, I'll let you whisk, okay?

Because you're looking for consistency that will stick on your roll.

Right.

Like and not paste is what somebody told me one time.

So, and if you get a little too much, we can always add more powdered sugar.

But we want that whisk in really, really well really smooth and dry.

I'll add a little more if you think.

I think we might have just a little more.

Let's do that up.

That might be too much, but that's okay.

That's the thing about working in the kitchen.

We'll make a nice get as it comes and I'm gonna pull on muscle.

There you go.

We need that because again you kind of want it to be thick.

Almost like an ice thing that sauces any kind of liquid glaze.

And actually, I think you've nailed it.

I think that's it.

It needs to sort of puddle up on top without going to look at that.

That's the consistency you're looking for, right?

Then just drizzle it right across the top.

And Melinda, while I'm doing that I need you to, get ready to do this, okay?

Yeah.

I like the good orange zest.

I'm gonna pull this towards us.

It's very hot still.

And that's the other kind of key thing is you want to make sure you get this glaze on.

Oh, oh.

While they're still warm.

So I'm going to help with a little potholder right here.

And I have been known to add just a little drop of orange extract.

Okay.

Some of the orange or orange flavor right.

Grated.

This is beautiful.

So, I'm going in for a taste.

Yes.

We need to try this.

Try and hold it.

It's cooled off a little bit so we can get our hands around it.

Now look at that.

How beautiful.

All that beautiful glaze.

We want that corner right.

Tell me what you think.

Yeah.

Let's see what you think.

Melinda.

You you're the pro here.

Taste orange.

It's like an orange explosion.

Good.

Yeah.

They are delicious.

And I think you'll enjoy preparing these for your family.

That is a will enjoy them recipe with me on the website.

You're going to want this one.

That's okay.

Thank you for sharing.

So where did the recipe for Eggs Benedict even come from?

That's a good question.

I, I kind of thought it was anywhere but the good old USA.

And this is one of the quintessential vintage American recipe.

How about that in that something actually was, establish shot at Delmonico's in New York.

A couple came in, Mr. and Mrs. Benedict in order to components ala carte about their 1890s.

All right.

Tip number one.

Get farm fresh eggs.

Tip number two, take your egg and crack it into a little strainer.

Sometimes there is more liquid, in than egg than you really have to have in there.

This also cuts down on your flesh bees, you know, that kind of swirl around.

Obviously you're going to have some.

But if you just leave that egg in there and let some of that kind of drain down, what you end up with is the beautiful whites and the beautiful yolks without some of that extra, that doesn't necessarily make it.

So you're going to do that, let it sit for a minute, kind of swirl it around just a little bit.

You can say it's almost done.

Take a little cup and pour it in.

And that set us up for six hours.

Good.

So Melinda, do we prepare all the eggs ahead of time before you start to drop them in the.

Well, it is just easier because once that water's ready, you really want to take advantage of it.

We're going to put these all at these and we're going to dump them all in.

So we're going to finish up with these two eggs.

So tip one farm fresh.

Tip two give it a little strainer.

Tip three you tell me what are we going to make this water better.

We have learned through this process is that if you add just a tablespoon or so of white vinegar to your just gently boiling water, just where you can barely see the bubbles coming out.

Yes.

Have it that, it sort of solidifies that egg, pulls it all together.

And it cooks for about two minutes until desired.

Done this, I would suggest maybe a little undercooked.

I agree, I agree, especially we're going to hold on.

That's exactly right.

All right.

And always reheat them and cook them just a little bit more.

That's right.

One more I think that vinegar was my inside.

Yes absolutely.

Absolutely.

These are beautiful golden eggs.

Not truly are yolks.

The yolks, excuse me, are so much richer.

Okay, Melinda, this water looks about ready to me.

I'm seeing some bubbles coming up off the bottom.

I think we need it just a little bit hotter.

Okay.

Is sure eggs to go in, because as we add more, it's going to cool that water down.

That's right.

A lot of people talk about a swirl.

And to drop the egg in the vortex.

Yes, but if you're doing multiple sometimes all that does is pull those with these more.

So I kind of like to do this and just go to the edge and keep her intact.

Do you see what that does exactly?

If that water was swirling, you know what's going to happen?

Exactly.

Because it's.

All right.

Gridded.

So see how tight some of those eggs stay.

I really feel like at least for me the swirl makes it harder.

So I just like to drop and go you know you kind of want to leave them in there 2 to 3 minutes.

You want all those whites to be completely cooked right in that yolk.

Warm and creamy.

You really have to eyeball it at this.

That's right.

And there's nothing wrong with ever poaching a little bit.

It's still a great beautiful egg but under poaching.

Has that white in there.

And so we don't want to do that.

But what we're going to do after we get these eggs about ready dinner, I only got about 30s and many more.

We're going to put them in our bowl and hot water.

And this is what will hold them until we get our Benedict bar ready.

That's right.

We got some tricks for you.

This is so fun for you to do with your family during the holidays.

Melinda.

This recipe is on the WCTE website.

Yes, for this simple hollandaise sauce.

And it truly is.

And you go with it.

Yes.

Demystified hollandaise sauce for me, but I have doubled the recipe from what's on our website.

This is one cup of melted butter and I want that hot because we're adding it to our egg yolks.

That's right.

So in here I have six egg yolks.

And again let's talk about farm fresh eggs.

Look at that color.

The color of these eggs is phenomenal.

And it's going to make our hollandaise beautiful.

Right.

To that.

We're going to add two teaspoons of Dijon mustard.

We're just going to put it down in our little container.

This would be what you call a blender hollandaise.

We're going to add two tablespoons.

That's right of lemon juice fresh lemon juice.

It's so much that you just got to do it your ways.

That right in there use your hands to catch all the seeds.

This is what really makes hollandaise.

Hollandaise exactly.

Now fresh lemon juice right.

Some people like to make it more savory.

I like mine a little more savory, but this lemon juice is really what brightens it all.

And then comes the magic.

That's right.

All right, we're going to get this lemon juice in there.

And I have this butter fairly hot.

We want to cook the egg yolk a little bit as we're blending the first.

And I'm going to use an immersion blender.

You can use your regular blender from the house.

But this is just easy.

It's quick I can control the power a little more.

We need a deep container a deep container because there's as you can see, there's not a whole lot in there.

So we're going to put our immersion blender in and get all of this started.

All right.

Grada .

What do you think?

I think we're starting I think we're ready.

Okay.

Now you pour, you blend all this.

Okay, here we go.

Oh, Grada, I'm starving.

I think it's time to eat.

Melinda, this has been so much fun.

So here's how you can absolutely throw your family with easy eggs Benedict.

We're going to talk about some of the variations.

Let's start with what is the regular, which is Canadian bacon.

And we have that nice and warm absolutely with your eggs.

That's your typical.

But what we'd also like to share is a lot of people like asparagus or spinach, fresh steamed asparagus.

If you're in Ireland they're using corned beef.

As for meat, if you're in DC they're using crab cakes.

Oh yum.

As the meat if you are in New Orleans.

And of course Nola has a way of doing it their own way.

It is spinach was slow, steamed artichokes, and Saad dates.

Wow.

Artisanal sardines.

That's right.

In the South, we like to add tomato and bacon, southern staples that we have for breakfast almost every chance we get.

To really kind of jazz it up we are going to you ready for this Egg Royale.

And that's with Sam.

Oh and this is my favorite.

That is your favorite is the salmon.

We also have take a little fresh avocado is beautiful on there.

You know like if you were doing avocado toast.

And last but not least which works well with a bunch of these we've decided to throw in a little prosciutto.

So as we are here, you can see you have the opportunity to build your entire sandwich, have a beautiful orange roll, some grapefruit.

You've gotten to do it together.

And they're recipes that are near and dear to our heart and our family traditions as well.

And I have learned how to poach eggs now Melinda, I think I won't be afraid to tackle them.

Don't be intimidated by it.

And sometimes they just don't simply turn out and crack another egg.

That's right, it is the easy hollandaise that is trained.

We're going to pour this up.

We'll do that right now.

So I've put it in this travel mug to keep it warm.

I am simply going to pour.

That is beautiful.

Look at this beautiful soft beautiful color.

And and an easy recipe.

I think anyone can tackle that just for simple ingredients.

And you've got a nice soft.

So make it your own add your family favorites.

You might like sausage, you might like a biscuit as the base as opposed to an English muffin.

There's a million ways you can do it, and we encourage you to do so.

I think you and I are gonna fix up.

I think we're going to have breakfast./Lunch right.

Okay, Melinda, I'm ready to dig in.

It is the moment where it is, and I'm starting with this toasty English muffin.

And what are your choice?

My choice is salmon.

I just that is my very favorite.

So I'll start with salmon and I think I'll add asparagus also.

I think that's delightful.

And I can't go wrong with spinach right.

So I can have some of everything.

That's right.

You can do a little bit on there.

Okay.

And now I'm, adding vegetables to my diet, so that'll be a good way to do that.

Okay.

Now I'm ready for the egg.

Goodness.

willing.

I highly recommend you use a slotted spoon so you can take that wispy off.

And then we're going to very gently.

Is that not gorgeous?

It looks so good.

Oh, that's so all right.

Let me move him to the middle there okay.

And now the hollandaise.

Hollandaise.

It looks like the holidays on that red plate doesn't it.

And yum yum.

All right.

And then one one finger one last.

Oh we have something else.

Well smoked paprika.

What do you think?

Beautiful .

All right.

I want to daste.

That's a fork in a knife.

That's good to go.

Look at that egg.

So the cooks get to eat first, right?

Okay.

Oh, this egg is perfect, Oh my Good.ness.!

Thank you.

Beautiful.

.

Who do I have to thank for this?

Hey, you and I both... well know there's some men out there.

And.

Patsy.

Dolly.

Loretta.

You know, they all have names.

But it really does make a difference.

I again, I encourage you all to be as farm fresh as you can, when you can.

And that egg held perfectly didn't end in the water.

And it's warm.

And I love the way that the travel mag.

Oh, yeah.

That was a good tip.

The hollandaise stay warm.

But you guys always test.

Oh my goodness.

Oh that's so good.

So that hollandaise sauce did we nailed it.

We did.

And so easy to prepare.

So Grada, I thoroughly enjoyed the eggs Benedict.

And now I'm ready I've got a little sweet okay.

You need it.

You need a sweet roll.

Look at this fruit.

Nice fall colors, don't you think?

Melinda.

That would go good with ham and turkey, you know.

That's right.

This should be very tasty.

Yes.

And this will last through the whole holiday weekend, won't it?

Maybe I'm just gonna say maybe it's in my house.

It probably wouldn't all right.

This looks delightful.

Cannot wait.

Can't wait for you to try that fruit.

Okay.

I want your opinion about that.

So, like a spiced fruit, isn't it.

Yeah.

And that curry powder is the kick.

Yeah.

You need that.

We hope you've enjoyed these incredible recipes that we hopefully we took some of the intimidation out for the holidays.

Things that are true to and dear to our family.

We hope your holiday season is beautiful and bright and filled with great home cooking.

Thanks for spending the day.

Oh it's been fun.

Melinda, thank you for inviting today.

Thank you.

[♪♪] This program is sponsored by Middle Tennessee Federal Credit Union.

To sponsor local programing like this, visit WCTE.org /donate to become a member or contact Tiffany McDonald at tmcdonald@wcte.org for sponsorship opportunities.

This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.