Saturday, April 5, 2008

Eggs Benedict


Ever want the warm, yummy goodness that is eggs benedict without leaving the comfort of your own home, pj's and slippers? It IS possible, it just takes some good timing. I always say that making this dish is like a carefully coordinated dance or symphony :)

You have 4 items to bring together all at once: bread/toast, poached eggs, warmed ham/canadian bacon and the hollandaise. I generally toast the bread first as I'm heating the water for the eggs to poach. I then start the ham off in a pan to warm and finally I start the hollandaise. Make sure you have all your items mise en place before you start the sauce or it could get a little crazy! :)

I will go on the assumption that you already know how to poach, make toast and warm something in a pan. I'll focus in on the hollandaise, which is surprisingly easy.

I take my recipe from The Joy of Cooking (p.55).

Hollandaise Sauce

3 egg yolks
1 1/2 tbsp of cold water
1/2 cup hot, not clarified, butter(sometimes I sub in Smart Balance)
1-3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (depends on how tangy you like your sauce)
few shakes texas pete
salt
white pepper

Set up a double boiler or small pan with a large stainless bowl on top. Lift top part of your double boiler or makeshift double boiler and add egg yolks and water off the heat. Whisk. Put back over double boiler. Make sure the water in your double boiler is at the lowest simmer possible, so as not to curdle the eggs.

Keep whisking until egg mixture thickens (2-4 minutes), remove from heat and add butter slowly. Whisking the whole time to make sure you have full integration. Add desired amt. of lemon juice, a few shakes of Texas Pete, salt and white pepper. If the sauce becomes too thick, add more butter. Not thick enough, I leave it over the double boiler, whisking, for another minute or so once all ingredients are added.

The real challenge, I think, is getting the eggs, toast and ham all to the plate at the same time that the sauce is ready. :) Time and practice will help with this endeavor. I hope you try this recipe b/c it really is better made fresh at home!


3 comments:

That Girl said...

I have this really cute cookbook for "Newlyweds" and one of the recipes they have is for eggs benedict - they have it broken down so each "partner" is doing part of the prep work and everything is done at the same time.

Olson said...

what's texas pete? like a cayenne pepper or cajun spice?
i am a total eggs benedict fanatic, but every time we've tried it at home we can't seem to do better than perkins ;) can't wait to try this!

bellalately said...

Hey pharmernicole! :) Texas Pete is a hot sauce-- so any old favorite hot sauce will do. It doesn't really make it hot, it just adds another dimension to the flavor :)