Eggs Benedict

One of my favorite brunch items is Eggs Benedict. I love hollandaise sauce but some times you just walk into a restaurant and you just don’t trust the chef with preparing it correctly. To fix this problem I say, make it at home. Traditional hollandaise can take a lot of work and time to prepare, but blender hollandaise takes only a minute or two to prepare. You can have the Eggs Benedict on the table in a matter of minutes.

English muffins, ham, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce come together to form the best breakfast ever!!

Eggs Benedict

• 1 English Muffin
• 2 eggs
• 2 slices of ham, Canadian bacon, bacon, tofu, crab cake, spinach … pretty much anything you can think of…
• 2 tsp white vinegar
• hollandaise sauce

Blender Hollandaise Sauce

• 1 blender
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 sticks of butter
• 2 tbs cream
• Juice of one lemon – Approx – 2 tbs
• pinch salt
• pinch cayenne pepper

When making hollandaise it is best to setup your mis before you get started.  The sauce comes together quickly so having all of the ingredients handy is a must.

To make the hollandaise sauce melt the two sticks of butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  While the butter is melting add the egg yolks and cream to the blender and mix thoroughly.

Next remove the small cap from the lid of the blender and slowly pour in half of the butter.  Take your time as you do not want to curdle the eggs.

Next add the lemon juice, salt and cayenne.  Continue to blend.

Finally add the remaining butter and blend for about 30 seconds.  Don’t worry the butter will cook the eggs. Now it is tasting time.  Taste it for salt and spice.  Adjust for your tastes.  Ta-Da.  Hollandaise sauce is ready.

Time to poach the eggs.  A lot of people are scared of poaching eggs.  It is really simple.  In a large pot or deep skillet add about 2-3 inches of water.  Next add the white vinegar.  The vinegar will help solidify the white part of the egg and prevent it from falling apart.  You can leave it out if you absolutely hate vinegar, but there is so little in the water it shouldn’t add to the flavor.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Crack the eggs one at a time into a small bowl.  Then slowly lower the bowl into the water and let the egg slide into the pan.  Set the timer for 3 minutes.

3 minutes will give you a medium hard egg that is still runny.  If you like it harder add an extra 20 seconds and if you like it runnier subtract 20 seconds.  While the eggs are cooking place the English muffin in a toaster to warm it up.

Don’t worry you are going to have a little bit of the white floating around.  But you will see that the majority will stay with the yolk.  When the time is up remove the eggs from the pan with a slotted spoon and then place them on a paper towel to drain.

Next add the ham to the water to warm it up. Time to assemble.  Place the halves of the English muffin on a plate.  Remove the ham from the water with tongs.  Make sure to let it drain.  Then place the ham on the muffin halves.  Gently place the poached eggs on the ham.  Finally cover the eggs with a drizzle of the hollandaise sauce.

This was a quick and easy breakfast.  The total time cooking was 15 minutes and 10 of that was watching the butter melt and the water boil.

Hopefully you can try out this awesome treat and have a great brunch today.