The raison d'être for this blog is to cook and bake recipes that have some relevance to Forest Park, maybe learning a little history along the way. The Historical Society has been very generous in opening up their archives (really, just a perk of membership) but have also encouraged digging into the Review archives, which is the basis for today's recipe.
This receipt for Royal Eggs with Mushroom Sauce comes not from a crafty housewife or an area restaurant but from the recipe book of... musician Zez Confrey. Obviously.
Questlove has his chicken, and Zez has his 'shrooms. Apparently, Zez's particular flavor of bachelorhood included playing line cooks for his musician friends during "midnight meals". Zez was just that kind of guy.
Zez was also the kind of guy who named songs after kittens.
And Zez is also the kinda guy who keeps mushroom bouillon on hand.
What this has to do with Forest Park I have no idea (do you? If so, do tell). Whatever the reason, it was included in the January 1, 1926 edition of the Forest Park Review, which goes to show that newspapers were always creative when they needed to find content.
I made this for Monday night dinner in what turned out to be a stressful scene due to toddler teething. I think Zez would have handled things better. Perhaps because he would've been a bit sauced himself. This meal screams post-drinking repast and was pretty durn simple to put together. Good for parents. Good for drunken musicians.
This was a nice change of pace from other egg preparations we tend towards that are more acidic. It was comforting and rich but not overboard on calories. We had this atop toasted homemade white bread the texture of velvet courtesy of my mother-in-law. If I made it again I'd be looking to pair it with a bright and acidic salad or perhaps some hot sauce. I could also see this paired with biscuits or a sourdough bread.
Royal Eggs with Mushroom Sauce
4 Eggs
Salt & Pepper
1 lbs mushrooms, approximately (we used a mix of button and shiitake)
1 sliced pimiento I forgot this!!!, but what is pimiento, anyway?
4 T butter (total)
4 slices toast
1 ½ cup evaporated milk
1 ½ cup mushroom stock (I used chicken)
1 T flour
Saute the mushrooms in 2 Tablespoons butter until browned. In a separate pan, melt 2 Tablespoons butter and add 1 Tablespoon flour. Whisk until the flour is cooked, which will mean a slightly tan color. Add the evaporated milk and whisk to combine. Add the stock and whisk again, continuously stirring as it thickens. When it looks like a thin sort of gravy, add pepper and taste for salt. Adjust as needed. Add the sauce to the mushrooms (or the other way around) to combine. Taste it all together for seasoning.
Make toast. Top with eggs fried, preferably over easy. Pour mushroom sauce over all. Top with chopped parsley.
Make toast. Top with eggs fried, preferably over easy. Pour mushroom sauce over all. Top with chopped parsley.
A pimiento is a red pepper that looks kind of like a red bell pepper, but it's squattier and spicier. Maybe that would alleviate the need for hot sauce next time. :)
ReplyDeleteI think you're spot on about the missing ingredient probably providing the kick we were missing. It was solid. And a novel preparation for creamy mushroom sauce for me.
DeleteThis sounds tasty! Michelle - what is it with you forgetting the all mighty pimiento? Didn't you forget that when you made the pimiento cheese?
ReplyDeleteI never made pimiento cheese Gina! I made something sad that doesn't exist called green olive cheese which I ate anyway. I have never made pimiento cheese and don't know what a stand alone pimiento tastes like, nor if what we think of a pimiento was what Zez knew as a pimiento.
ReplyDelete