Friday, October 05, 2007

Eggs Benedict and Hollandaise Sauce

Since we are all fighting a cold, I thought it would be good therapy for me to make a sit-down breakfast for the family. They enjoy Eggs Benedict, and love dipping their potatoes into the pool of 'yellow sauce' as they call it. Used this recipe for hollandaise sauce and it worked very well.

3 egg yolks (to combine the fat-based and water-based liquids, and because of that, we can enjoy things like cakes, mayo and Cesar dressing.)
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs water
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
a pinch of white pepper
1 1/2 to 2 sticks (6–8 ounces) melted butter

Put the egg yolks in the pan and beat them with a wire whisk for a minute or two until they are slightly thickened.

Beat in the lemon juice, water, salt, and pepper until they are well combined.

Place the pan over low heat and stir the mixture with the wire whisk until it becomes smooth, creamy, and thicker. You’ve now created the initial emulsion.

During cooking, the pan from the heat occasionally to keep the mixture from cooking too quickly.Turn off heat and remove pan from heat. Begin adding the melted butter by no more than a quarter teaspoon at a time, quickly beating in each addition before you add the next. Make sure you scrape the mixture from the sides and bottom of the pan. When the sauce is as thick as heavy cream, you may beat in the butter by half tablespoons. It takes about 5 minutes to create the final emulsion.

Serve at once—or keep the sauce warm by setting it over a pan of lukewarm water. Hollandaise is served warm, not hot. Recipe adapted from http://www.exploratorium.edu

For the cholesterol conscious friends of mine, I have yet to find a tasty, suitable replacement to the egg yolks in hollandaise sauce, but will let you know as soon as I find a great recipe.

Eggs Benedict recipe for 4 pax.

8 ounces 1/4-inch-thick slices Black Forest ham

4 English muffins, split, toasted

8 large eggs

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or chopped fresh Italian parsley

Using 3 1/4-inch biscuit cutter or clean 6-ounce tuna can as template, cut ham slices into rounds.

Preheat oven to 300F.

Fill large skillet with enough water to reach depth of 2 inches. Add white wine vinegar and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to water. Bring to simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low. Spread 3 tablespoons butter and some Dijon mustard over split sides of English muffins.

Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ham rounds and cook just until beginning to brown, about 1 minute per side. Place ham atop prepared English muffins. Arrange English muffins on baking sheet.

Keep warm in oven while preparing eggs.

Crack eggs into skillet of simmering water. Cook until whites are set and yolks are still runny, about 3 minutes for medium-set yolks. Using slotted spoon, transfer eggs to plate.

Stir hollandaise sauce (recipe given earlier)

Place 1 egg atop ham on each prepared muffin half.

Spoon warm sauce over eggs, sprinkle with basil or parsley, and serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit

6 comments:

Cris said...

Love it, and the final result is so beautiful... a perfect breakfast treat!

Big Boys Oven said...

Oh what a lovely dish.... will definitely make this dish soon. Hope you are recovering well.

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Cris,
Thanks! It was pretty easy too. :)

Hi Big Boys Oven,
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it. :)

Cynthia said...

Glad to hear that you are all on the mend. That chicken soup of yours... my, my that's bound to make one feel better in an instant!

Little Corner of Mine said...

Hollandaise sauce, heard about this from Food Network, but still have no idea what it is. LOL!

Love your Benedict, I will have my version coming up soon since I just bought the Canadian bacon and English muffin. ;)

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hey C,
Hollandaise sauce is a buttery egg sauce that is a little tangy. Can't wait to see your version. :)