So, I know I’ve been keeping everyone in suspense. Dilemma of the week: what on earth is Celia going to do with pickled grapes? Well, aside from noshing on them straight from the jar (in front of an open fridge, of course) I did this:

Yes, that’s right: I made Pickled Grapes Benedict. How did this come about, you ask? Well, the Shaker cook book from which I got the grape recipe mentioned that they’re amazing with pork. I was in a hurry this morning, but my local bodega (New Yorkers call corner groceries “bodegas”) had some Canadian bacon, and my mind started heading brunch-ward. I was also thinking that the brining liquid from the grapes reminded me a little of the Italian grape must condiment saba. When I started poking around for saba-based recipes, I came across this one at Epicurious for Saba Sabayon. Sabayon, I thought, could be substituted for Holandaise. And thus “Pickled Grapes Benedict” were born.

To actually make this dish, I took Gina DePalma’s Zabaione recipe from the Babbo site, omitted the sugar, and halved the liquid (and, of course, used brining juice instead of wine). Toasted up an English muffin, fried up some bacon, dolloped on the zabaione and grapes, and…Voila!

I must say, this dish looks a little crazy, but it was absolutely amazing: the grapes are tangy, cinnamon-clove spiced, and a little sweet. The zabaione cuts their acidity nicely, and then it all bumps up against the bacon. Delicious! Though next time I want to put it on homemade biscuits.

This day is just going uphill, because I have something happy to post: the lovely Elyse at The Cultural Dish was kind enough to give me my first Stylish Blogger award!

Totally made my day! I gather the thing to do is give 7 facts and pass on the love, so here goes.

1. I once applied to grad school for costume design.
2. I probably would be a cat person, but I’m deathly allergic.
3. I can no longer sleep well when I go home to Providence/Boston because I miss the sound of New York traffic.
4. During my college archaeology major days I spent a summer digging in Pompeii.
5. While digging in Pompeii I saw Kim Catrall and she was faaaabulous: I actually noticed her dress before I realized who she was.
6. I’m part Welsh. Sadly I did not get the family red hair.
7. The fastest way to get me ticked off is to sing Simon & Garfunkel to me. Guess what song…

Now, here are some great blogs to check out:
Kate at Diethood
Pink Apron Baker
Lillian at Sweets By Sillianah
Alix et al. at The Vintage Cookbook Trials
Dagny at Whisked Away
Wilde in the Kitchen