mmmh… die muss ich demnächst mal machen… am besten gleich mit frischen Englischen Muffins

Eggs Benedict Printable Recipe

If you’ve never tried it, you must. If you’ve always considered it the kind of dish only Thurston Howell the Third-types eat, think again. If you’re scared of it…you’ve got some serious issues.

I kid! Eggs Benedict, folks. Eggs Benedict, folks. It’s so disgustingly delicious, it’s almost disgusting. You toast an English muffin, top it with a slice of Canadian Bacon, then a poached egg, then—and this is the key ingredient—you top it with creamy, sinful, decadent, soul-inspiring homemade Hollandaise Sauce. Have you ever tasted Hollandaise Sauce, and I’m not talkin’ the stuff in the paper packet? It’s dreamy. It’s a triumph. And it’s made with a lot of butter.

There are two components to Eggs Benedict that some might consider challenging. First: poaching the eggs. There’s no great skill involved, just a cool little trick I’ll show you. And second: making the Hollandaise Sauce. While making it by way of a whisk is a little on the tough side, I’ll show you a nifty Blender Hollandaise that’ll make your spirit soar. And your tummy jiggle. And your hips spread. And your hiney droop to the floor.

Sounds fun, doesn’t it? So c’mon–let’s jiggle our tummies together!

The Cast of Characters: Eggs, Butter, Lemon Juice, Cayenne Pepper, Canadian Bacon, and English Muffins.

First, bring a pot of water to a boil.

While the water’s boiling, place a few English muffin halves and an equal number of Canadian Bacon slices on a cookie sheet. Lightly butter the English muffins and place them under the broiler for just a few minutes, or until the English muffins are very lightly golden. Be careful not to dry out the Canadian Bacon.

Now, with a spoon, begin stirring the boiling water in a large, circular motion.
Think F5 tornado.

When the tornado’s really twisting, crack in an egg. Or two. Or three.

It’s difficult to see because of the motion, but what’s happening is, the egg is wrapping around itself as it cooks, keeping it together.

This is what it looks like a minute into cooking. At this point, it’s still very, very runny.

This is about 2 1/2 minutes into cooking. I usually take it out at this point, keeping in mind I’ll plunge it back into the hot water right before serving.

Remove the egg (or eggs) to a plate.

Congratulations! You just poached an egg. Or two.

Now, if the above process intimidates you (or if you’re frightened of tornadoes), you can also use one of these. Put a tiny bit of butter in each section first.

Then crack in the eggs…

And cover to cook. There’s hot water boiling under the eggs. And I don’t know what that smudge is on my hand; I think it has something to do with my tripod, but really, anything is possible.

It only takes three or four minutes for the eggs to be ready.

Though this way is certainly easier, to me the eggs wind up looking annoyingly perfect. I’d only recommend this method of poaching eggs for those of you who keep your toothpaste in a neat, perfectly-rolled tube.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I just don’t understand it. But that’s outside the scope of this website.

Now it’s time to make the Hollandaise. In a small saucepan, melt 2 sticks of butter until sizzling. But don’t let it burn!

Separate three eggs…

And place the yolks into a blender.

Now, pay attention, darlings! Turn the blender on low to allow the yolks to combine, then begin pouring the very hot butter in a thin stream into the blender. The blender should remain on the whole time, and your should be careful to pour in the butter very slowly.

Keep pouring butter until it’s all gone, then immediately begin squeezing lemon juice into the blender. You should use the juice of one lemon. And check the blender to make sure the sauce is still liquidy and moving easily through the blades. If it’s not, add a little more juice and give it a stir, then blend again.

I like to add a generous shake of cayenne pepper. It takes a lot before the sauce gets too spicy, so don’t be too shy with this stuff.

You’ll notice the sauce is quite thick. But when I turned the blender back on to mix in the cayenne, it moved along just fine. Remember, if it’s too thick to blend, just squeeze a little more juice in there and give it a stir. But please remember to remove the spoon before you turn the blender back on. Please?

Now, find your favorite plate. This is mine; it’s the china my godmother gave me.

First, place the English muffins on the plate, face up.

Next, place a slice of Canadian Bacon on each half. Vegetarian variation: you can omit the Canadian Bacon altogether, OR you can wilt fresh spinach and place it on the muffins for Eggs Florentine, which is divine in its own right.

Now come the poached eggs! Note: if you have time, plunge the eggs into hot water for about a minute before serving so they’ll be nice and warm.

And now. And NOW. Time for the Hollandaise. Ugh, people. Just…ugh. Begin spooning the decadent, sinful sauce all over the top of the eggs. It should be pretty thick, usually too thick for pouring straight from the blender.

Oh, lawsie MERCY, this is good. Don’t be shy, either. Really spoon it on thick. You won’t be sorry. Until you weigh yourself tomorrow. So just don’t weigh yourself tomorrow.

Yes, I’m adding more. Wanna make something of it? I happen to LOVE Hollandaise sauce. See the tiny flecks of cayenne? Mmmmm.

There’s nothing better than cutting into the first bite of Eggs Benedict. See how important it is not to overcook the yolks? Look how beautiful the two yellows are together.

Hello, Luscious. Oh, man. My salivary glands are squirting across the room right now. Anyone else?

Now, one of the challenges to making Eggs Benedict is timing everything so that the ultimate dish is sufficiently warm. This can get pretty tricky. The most important thing is for both the eggs and the Hollandaise to be hot, so be sure to a) plunge the poached eggs back into the hot water just before serving, and b) make the Hollandaise at the very last minute. Another thing I like to do is heat the plates in the oven for a little while before serving; just be sure to warn your guests.

Alternately, you can spoon up/serve up the Eggs Benedict, then stick the entire plate into a warm oven for a minute or two. That should warm everything up a bit without further cooking the yolks. Don’t be scared—you can do it!

Oh, and if someone could please illuminate me as to the differences between Canadian Bacon and ham, I’d be eternally grateful.