I wanted to start the New Year off on proper footing,
and what better way
than with Eggs Benedict for breakfast?
Instead of my usual Hollandaise,
I'll be making a Cajun Hollandaise.
Instead of my usual English Muffins,
I'll be using Arnold's Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins.
I had the Food Network on this morning
and Booby Flay was making
Eggs Benedict with a Cajun Hollandaise,
hence my inspiration for the Acadian accent.
Sadly, I had no English Muffins on hand
and Mr. Hawthorne didn't want to wait
for me to make Homemade English Muffins,
so I used Arnold's Whole Wheat Sandwich Rounds
for the base.
And WALLAH !
Thanks, Aunt Sandy, for that pronunciation.
I have Rosie's Eggs Benedict Arnold.
WHOOT!
I squeezed in the juice of half a lemon.
Oh gosh.
I just realized, hours later,
that I have 4 yolks in the pan.
Should've used 2 sticks of butter,
sliced in half-tablespoons.
I didn't have all the Cajun ingredients Booby used,
so I used what I had:
onion powder
chile powder
garlic powder
Hungarian hot paprika
oregano
Cajun seasoning
Lea & Perrins
cayenne pepper flakes, homegrown
Before I started heating,
I decided to add in my new favorite spice to the Hollandaise -
the annatto paste.
Making Hollandaise is not hard or tricky.
It just demands your full attention.
If you're sketchy about doing this,
use a double boiler.
Barely simmering water
underneath your pan of eggs,
not touching.
I use a hovering pan over very low heat.
You do NOT want to end up with scrambled eggs
so this is where you need to pay attention.
Heat the eggs, whisking constantly,
until yolks get lemon-colored and thickened.
Mine aren't lemon-colored
since I have so much annatto paste in there.
I hovered my pan over very low heat,
whisking the entire time,
until my yolks thickened.
Then I whisked in 1 pat of butter at a time,
stirring until the butter was incorporated.
Keep adding small pats of butter,
one at a time,
whisking to emulsify.
All in all, for three yolks,
I used 3/4 stick of butter.
You could use more.
Probably the three yolks could take up to 1 1/2 sticks of butter,
but I'm not Pauler.
I just realized I used four yolks.
I could have emulsified two sticks of butter, easily.
I added in a few drops of that new thick Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce.
And my Cajun Hollandaise is done.
And it's quite tasty.
Lemony with a bit of heat and spice.
Nice contrasts.
Now, on to the poached eggs:
The swirling water wraps the white around the yolk
making a lovely little package.
Cook for 2 minutes.
Assemble.
Pretend that's a homemade English muffin on the bottom,
not a Benedict Arnold.
Place a slice of ham on the muffin.
Make a nest of spinach.
Put the poached packaged egg in the nest.
Spoon on Cajun Hollandaise.
I....hate.....you.
ReplyDelete:-)
Is the house next door available yet?
Heh.
ReplyDeleteLuv u!
Looks great...I had to work so had frozen waffles with peanut butter...not a great start!!! Have a great New Year
ReplyDeleteIf I bring you some white whole wheat flour, will you make whole wheat English muffins?
ReplyDeleteKathy, I have Prairie Gold Whole Wheat flour from Yoder's Amish Market in Yanceyville. Come on down!
ReplyDelete