Eggs Benedict

Breakfast is underrated.  Any nutritionist will tell you it's the most important meal of the day, but all too often it's ignored or confined to a boring bowl of cereal.  Tragic, I tell ya, and I'm just as culpable!  I skip it many times during the week and I'm slapping myself on the wrist.  It's time to take the power back, people, and I've got just the thing...eggs benedict!

I know it sounds intimidating, but it's actually quite fun to make yourself.  I just did a quick search for eggs benedict on several breakfast/brunch menus at Atlanta restaurants...this dish runs anywhere from $10 up to $22...DANG.  You're gonna kick yourself for paying that much once you realize how easy, inexpensive, and satisfying it is to make in your very own home.

You've probably got the vast majority of the ingredients sitting around anyway: eggs, bacon, Dijon mustard, butter, lemon juice...maybe you don't have English muffins, but you should go pick some up.  They're cheap and readily available, I promise. 

We should make the bacon first, since it will take the longest.  If you're cooking for one to three folks, fry up some bacon in a skillet to your desired level of crispness.  If you're cooking for more than 3 folks, may I suggest cooking your bacon on a sheet pan in the oven?  It will take about 20 minutes at 400 degrees, but you can fit a heck of a lot more bacon on a sheet pan than you can in a skillet, just sayin'.  Do what you love!

I was cooking for 5 on this particular day, so the oven was the way to go.

Half the pan of bacon...the other half does not appear in this film.

Now that the bacon's ready, we'll need to make our hollandaise sauce.  It's the key to pulling this whole dish together!  In a blender, add 3 egg yolks, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a squirt of Tabasco, a sprinkle of salt, and a dash of pepper.  While it's blending, melt a stick of butter and slowly drizzle it into the egg mixture.  It should look something like this:   

Pour the sauce into a metal bowl and place it over a pot of simmering water, ensuring the bottom of the bowl is not actually touching the water.  Also, make sure the water is not fully boiling or the eggs might scramble. Continue to whisk the mixture until warmed through.  Remove it from the heat and set aside.

This next part (egg poaching) can be a smidge tricky, but I'll walk you through it.  Fill a large, deep skillet not quite half full with water and a tablespoon of vinegar.  Bring the water just to a simmer.  VERY GENTLY crack two eggs into the water...drop them in slowly so your yolk does not break.  They're going to cook in the water bath until the yolk is set and the white is no longer runny.  DO NOT STIR...just leave them where they are.  Keep a close eye on them and jiggle them ever so slightly to check on their level of doneness.  As you can see below, you'll loose some of the white in the water.  No worries, mate.  There will still be plenty left for you to consume.



 Kinda, sorta like soft-boiled eggs, just without the shell

Once the eggs are ready (not too jiggly and/or runny), spoon them out of the water on to a paper towel to dry off a bit.  Rinse and repeat (not literally...it's just an expression for "do the same thing over again") depending on how many folks you're feeding.  Now for the fun part...assembly!!  Toast an English muffin and lay a strip or two of bacon on each half.  Gently spoon your poached egg on top of the bacon and drizzle the whole thing with your hollandaise sauce.  For garnish, add a sprinkle of parsley and a dash of paprika.  Prepare to be amazed... 

Ta-daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!

Now, isn't that just lovely?!  And it tastes even better than it looks.  Now you too can serve up a $20 brunch item at home and look good doing it.  Another great thing about eggs benedict is that it's infinitely customizable.  I've had this dish with a fried green tomato or crab cake instead of the English muffin.  I've also had this basic bacon/egg/sauce recipe topped with additional fun things like sautéed mushrooms or sundried tomatoes.  Let your imagination run on this one, folks, and happy breakfasting!

Try it.  You'll like it.

-Sam