Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Breakfast With The Hawthornes. Eggs Hawthorne.

We're having Eggs Hawthorne for breakfast. The other day, I made Julia Child's homemade English Muffins.
Lookey ! I made nooks and crannies! Oh, these are good. Goodbye, Thomas'.
Mr. Hawthorne sliced the ham ...
... and I sauteed the pieces in butter.
Both sides. Cover and set aside.
Mr. Hawthorne wanted some apples,
so he started on those.
 Just saute in butter, and add a smidgen of sugar and cinnamon.
Cover and set aside.
I started on the spinach.
 Simply steam.
 I've never seen Eggs Benedict on a menu with spinach.
That's my twist to it, so I'm calling them Eggs Hawthorne.
Next I started on my water to poach the eggs in. Add just a little white vinegar in the water. It helps the eggs to coagulate into neat little packages. I keep the water at a bare simmer, so when I've finished my Hollandaise sauce, all I'll need to do is poach the eggs. Spinach will be done. Toasted English muffins will be done. Apples will be done. Hollandaise will be done.
For the Hollandaise, I started with two egg yolks and two teaspoons of lemon juice. You could use up to a tablespoon lemon juice per egg, if you happen to like lemon juice, like I do. I'm going easy today. Start whisking the yolks and juice over low heat. You may want to use a double boiler for this if you're not comfortable doing this over an open flame. I usually hover my pan over the flame, back and forth, being sure to never to let the eggs scramble.
You want to whisk constantly ...
... until the yolks get light-colored, thickened, and poofy.
At this point, gradually whisk in pats of cold butter, one at a time until well-incorporated.
A general rule of thumb is 1 ounce butter per yolk. Slowly add in the butter, whisking the entire time. When one pat is incorporated, add in the next. Hollandaise is done.
By the time my Hollandaise was finished,
my vinegared-water was at a simmer.
I brought it to a full boil,
then stirred the water with a wooden spoon to make a vortex.
 Drop the egg into the vortex. 2 1/2 - 3 minutes
 and you have a nice runny yolk.
Homemade English Muffin,
 layer of sauteed ham slices,
nest of spinach, lovely poached egg,
crowned with Hollandaise glory.
I've never been able to get a decent Eggs Benedict
at a restaurant.
 I've never had one worth ordering.
 Am I going to the wrong restaurants?

Here's my favorite part - the release of the yolk.
A lovely way to start the day.

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