Sunday, February 6, 2011

Making Margot’s Favorite Breakfast – Eggs Benedict


Margot goes nuts for Eggs Benedict. I have never seen her pass on ordering it when it shows up on a restaurant menu. Me, I had never had it before today. I’ve never been a huge fan of cooked eggs with yolks intact so I could pass this over without thinking about it.

I figured making it for the first time would also be a great opportunity to try it for the first time. I decided to use the regular bacon we had rather than Canadian Bacon, knowing full well that the dish would come out a bit different than the classic. Margot approved so I went ahead.

Hollandaise sauce can be tricky to make primarily because you must be careful not to scramble the eggs during the cooking. Similar to the lemon curd I made recently and the many applications of melted chocolate, the use of a double boiler (or similar apparatus) is required. The recipe I used for the Hollandaise came from Tyler Florence and The Food Network.

I didn’t find the process to make the sauce too much of a challenge and Margot confirmed that it tasted correct and had the desired texture. I’ll say I got lucky the first time out!

The poached eggs were pulled off using a cheat, a microwave egg poacher. Margot bought the little contraption to for her to make poached eggs without any hassle. It worked well and I hope nobody will think less of me for not doing to work to poach the eggs.

The assembly of the final dish included a light English Muffin covered gently with Smart Balance, several pieces of bacon, the poached eggs and a healthy portion of Hollandaise sauce. I used Marjoram for a garnish. I added a little salt and pepper to mine and dug in.

The Hollandaise sauce definitely expressed the lemon flavor and acid, something Margot said she really likes. I can imagine the difference with the Canadian Bacon and Margot suggested it holds up against the sauce a bit better than the traditional bacon. I can’t say I am as enamorate of this dish as Margot, but I can see how it can be just the thing to make for a satisfying breakfast.

Cheers!

Jason

4 comments:

Mardi Michels said...

Margot is one lucky lady! We didn't get to Benny today - too preoccupied with first tastes of our bacon - but will definitely use some of our charcutepalooza bacon to whip up some eggs Benny soon! You've inspired me!

Unknown said...

My husband can not pass this up either, I love it too but only with crab meat!

Cakewalker said...

Holy yolks! This is one dreamy looking dish you have here... I love the crispy bacon peering out from underneath the poached egg.

Jason Phelps said...

Margot agreed she was lucky and that she wasn't going to "order" it all the time on the weekends.

Jason