Recipe: Perfect Eggs Benedict

My sister was sweet enough to write up a little recipe for the most amazing Eggs Benedict you'll ever have. We always talk about how we really want to order it when we go out, but it just doesn't stack up to what we can make at home, minus the crazy price tag. So, here is Ashley sharing her simple and amazingly delicious Eggs Benedict:

My husband isn’t much of a breakfast guy, so he doesn’t generally mind missing out on our weekday morning breakfasts. I love breakfast, though, and make everything from pancakes to french toast to green smoothies for my kids during the week. Every once in a while, Jen and our Mom will come over and we’ll make the one breakfast dish my husband always wishes he had been home for - eggs benedict.

It all started a few months ago with a simple question: Why is it so hard to poach an egg? None of us had done it with any success, so we finally decided to consult the wisest sage of our day. You tube to the rescue!

After a few videos we found one that stood above the rest. No burning your hands with boiling water, or swirling the pot until you’re dizzy. The secret? Barely simmering water (there should be bubbles on the bottom of your saute pan with 1 or 2 coming to the surface every few seconds) and a few tablespoons of vinegar.

To perfectly poach an egg, bring about 2 inches of water to a gentle simmer as described above. Add a few tablespoons of vinegar and then gently crack your egg right into the pan. The vinegar should help the egg stay together and if it seems to spread everywhere, just try again with a bit more vinegar. Too much will cause your egg to fall apart, so be careful! Because we like to make several servings at once, I’ll usually cook 4 eggs at a time in my pan. Just be sure to keep them spread apart so that you can remove them separately.

After a few minutes (about 2 ½), remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and set aside. Leave your water on, though, because we’ll use it to re-heat them in a bit. It takes a few tries to get the timing just right, but eventually you’ll learn what an underdone egg looks like versus one that’s overcooked.

Now without a doubt, the best part of our eggs benedict is the hollandaise. Don’t skimp on the hollandaise! You’ve worked so hard to perfectly poach these eggs, it would be terrible to ruin them with hollandaise you made from the packet of powder they sell in the grocery store. No thank you. But I’ve got three kids and by the time the eggs are done poaching, they’re hungry! And so am I! So I needed a solution that would be easier than full blown cooked hollandaise but taste way better than the powder stuff. This time, Joy of Cooking saved the day!

The best thing about a blender hollandaise recipe is that you get to use the blender. I’m kidding. I like the blender, but the best thing about this is that it takes almost no time at all. Here we go. Are you ready?

Heat 1 stick of butter over medium heat until it bubbles.

While the butter is melting, add the following to your blender: 3 egg yolks, about 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice (or the kind in a fake plastic lemon, since that’s what I had on hand!) some ground red pepper (or cayenne) and ½ teaspoon of salt.

Remove the bubbling butter from the heat, and turn on the blender to just combine the ingredients. Now while the blender keeps running, slowly pour the melted butter straight into the blender. It should take about 30 seconds to add all the butter if you’re going slow enough. Now your sauce is done! If it seems thick, you can add a few drops of water and blend for a few more seconds.

Now you can gently return your eggs back to the poaching water for about 30 seconds or so to warm them up. Place two halves of a toasted english muffin on your plate, top each slice with some canadian bacon if you like, then add a poached egg on top of that. Pour as much hollandaise as your heart desires over both halves and top with a sprinkle of paprika, or old bay if you’re so lucky.

If I can make this recipe with 3 toddlers and a crawling infant at my feet while my sister takes photos of me (I’m not comfortable in front of the camera and end up making faces I’d never make otherwise) you can definitely make it. Enjoy! 
~Ashley

Thanks Ashley! You are the cutest and the best. I still don't know how you manage to do all you do with a great big smile on your face. Love!

Horace & Mae Photography

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