Barney's Version

Barney Panofsky is a Jewish Canadian tv producer who loves to drink, watch hockey and be married–3 times??

This movie was really great, despite its almost unbelievable love story–I mean, really, who would willingly marry this guy? Jam packed with a great story line and fantastic acting, this movie sucked me right in and I found myself completely invested in all of the characters, even the pitifully vexing Barney Panofsky.

We give this movie the prize for: 

BEST FATHERLY ADVICE: "In the beginning it's all briskets and blow jobs, ain't life grand, yada yada, but then real life happens"— Izzy Panofsky (Dustin Hoffman)

Movie Rating: 

Plot: 3.33 stars

Cinematography: 3.33 stars

Acting: 4.16 stars

Average: 3.5+ stars

movie stills found here

Eggs Benedict with Kale, Roasted Tomatoes, and Canadian Bacon
(modified from this recipe)

Ingredients:
4 English Muffins
8 large eggs
8 slices Canadian Bacon
1 bunch of Kale, washed and dried
4 tomatoes
Hollandaise Sauce (recipe follows): 3 egg yolks, 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter, salt and pepper
Chives

Directions:
Slice the tomatoes vertically and place them open side down on a oiled baking sheet. Roast in the oven until desired doneness. Set aside.
Cut stems from kale and coarsely chop. Blanche in a large pot of boiling, salted water for 2 minutes. Drain and place in an ice water bath to stop the cooking process. Once cooled, drain and saute over medium heat with olive oil, salt and pepper until warmed through. Set aside.

Make the hollandaise sauce:
Place the butter in a small, heavy bottom pan, and set it over low-medium heat to melt. Once melted, let it gently bubble for about ten minute to evaporate any residual water and to consolidate the milk solids. Pour through a cheesecloth lined sieve into a measuring cup, once all the butter has passed through, carefully press on the cloth with the back of a spoon to extract all of the butter fat. OK so I must confess i skipped all of this and nuked the darn butter in the microwave to to lack of space on my tiny stovetop and lack of a cheesecloth. This may be why my sauce did not turn out so good so I wrote in the actual directions if you are so inclined to try it.
In the container of a blender, combine the egg yolks, mustard, and lemon juice. Cover, and blend on low for 15 seconds.
Set the blender on medium speed and pour the hot butter into the egg yolk mixture in a thin stream. It should thicken almost immediately, switch to high speed for about 5 seconds and then turn off the machine.

Poach your eggs. We used these poachpods which make the process so easy! Bring water to a boil, oil the inside of the poach pods, set them adrift on the water like little boats. Crack one egg into each and cook 3–5 minutes to desired doneness.

Split and toast your english muffins, place them on your plate. Top each muffin half with a pile of kale and some roasted tomato. Top with a poached egg, hollandaise sauce and chopped chives. Eat!

We also made this sauce to top our dessert of maple walnut ice cream.

INGREDIENTS
6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 quart vanilla ice cream (we went with a maple walnut)
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts (we skipped as they were in our ice cream)


DIRECTIONS
Simmer maple syrup and salt in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes (do not stir). Add 1/2 cup ice cream and whisk until smooth, about one minute. Spoon sauce over ice cream and serve!

Dinner Rating: 

Movie Relevance: 3.66 stars

Taste: 4.416 stars

Average: 4 stars

Special thanks to our special guest and judge–Jessica! Thanks so much for bringing the Canadian beer! You are welcome any time ;)