Eggs Benedict

I'm a huge fan of Eggs Benny, and I used to eat it almost every weekend. I'm less indulgent now, and save it for special occasions. A brunch at the cottage with my dad was such an occasion. This was the last morning at the cottage before heading into the Soo to start the intensive wedding preparations, so we decided to embark on this adventure. Now, neither of us had ever attempted to make Eggs Benedict, much less even poach an egg. This resulted in numerous phone calls to my mom, and numerous eggs undercooked before we got it right. Dad was in charge of the eggs, and I did the Hollandaise Sauce. Together we made a great meal, although the kitchen was a huge mess!!! I think we ended up going through a dozen eggs by the end of.

Hollandaise Sauce (from Canadian Living)

- 4 egg yolks

- 1/4 cup water

- 1/4 tsp pepper

- 1/4 cup butter, softened

- 2 tsp lemon juice

In small heavy saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, water and pepper; cook, whisking, over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes or until pale and thick enough to coat back of spoon. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter and lemon juice.

I decided to use a double boiler, because I really didn't want to end up scrambling the eggs... it ended up taking a little bit longer, but it still worked.

Toast your english muffins. We used peameal bacon, so good, so cook that as well. Top english muffins with peameal, then poached eggs, then hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle with fresh chives.

Poaching eggs: I'm not going to pretend I know how to do this. We were using an egg poacher, and we both decided afterwards that it's probably better to just poach them in water. I am still going to be figuring out how to poach eggs, and will let you know what I come up with.

It was a fantastic meal, but all in all, for the trouble and the mess, I think I'll save Eggs Benedict for restaurants, and keep pancakes for brunch!

Thanks for the great kitchen experience Dad!

Reebs