Here's the Pitch

Other than always having my eyeglasses with me, my next most important accoutrement is a notepad and pencil; mostly because I’m forever forgetting important things, and secondly to jot down “grand” ideas.”

There’s a notepad handy in every room of my house, in all my purses, coat pockets, and car glove compartments.

Quite a lot of these columns have been written with a premise I have jotted down one of my trusty notepads. I think you know the ones.

The problem is that when I jot down an idea, I do it quickly and with the barest minimum of words. When I reread the note, I haven’t a clue what I meant to say, such as when I found a note that said fish lic.

Here some other notes I’ve found; if you have any idea what I was talking about, please let me know:
hooverphonics
Tom Paine – not now
2 trees & a bird
a fungi at a wedding – mushgroom
termites eat through wood 2 x faster when listening to rock music

It’s not entirely during waking hours that I do all my note-taking. I sometimes wake in the middle of a dream with a grand idea. I’ll even tell myself in the dream, “wake up and jot this down; it’s a terrific idea.”

I always listen to myself, and did so just the other night. While in the midst of a dream, I had a grand idea for a sitcom. I followed my advice, woke up, and wrote it down quickly. I was going to email the idea to my daughter in California, because who else would appreciate the idea for a sitcom in the middle of the night but someone in California; but I didn’t. I waited until morning, mostly because I forgot about the grand idea and only saw it on the notepad lying by the computer when I went to check email.

The idea came back to me and I quickly emailed my daughter the sitcom pitch. Here’s what I found on my notepad:
high rent cost
NYC
2 couples (1 w/baby) share a 1-bedroom apartment
1 couple works nights
1 couple works days
briefly their time in the apartment overlaps
hilarious

It’s been days since I emailed the pitch and haven’t received a reply. I can only assume that the email just didn’t go through. That darn server!

California Breakfast Croissants with Good Mornay Sauce
1 teaspoon vinegar
4 eggs
2 croissants, halved and lightly toasted
4 slices tomato
1/2 avocado, sliced
8 slices of cooked bacon
Mornay Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons flour
1- 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Make Mornay sauce: Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir until bubbly. Gradually stir in milk. Cook, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking until thickened. Stir in cheeses, mustard, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and continue stirring until cheese melts. Keep warm as you cook the eggs.

Fill deep skillet with about 1-2 inches of water. Add vinegar; bring to a simmer. (Adding vinegar to the water helps keep the egg whites intact while poaching.)

Break 1 egg into shallow cup or sauce. Gently slide the egg into the simmering water. Repeat with remaining eggs. Cook eggs 3-4 minutes or until set. Carefully remove eggs with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.

Place croissant half on each plate. Layer tomato slice, avocado slice, and poached egg on croissant. Drizzle with Mornay sauce and top with 2 slices of cooked bacon. Garnish with chives if you like. Serves 4.