Sunday Brunch At The Hawthornes.

I like Sunday mornings.

I usually take my time

and make something for breakfast a little different

than the usual toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon
or omelet or French toast
or sausage biscuits with gravy.

Sunday mornings are laid back, relaxed, and  EASY.

Whenever I'm cooking, this is the basic scenario.

As one of my friends, Mary,  commented,

Beau is on the lookout for "floors d'oeuvres."

Hee!

And NextdoorneighborZippy,
 calls them "whore's ovaries."

Notice I have five burners going.

 In the back left, I have garbanzo beans going

for the hummus I'll be making today.

Back middle is my Hollandaise sauce.

Front left is the ham.  

Front middle is the water for the asparagus

I just picked in the garden.

Front right is the water for the eggs I'm going to poach.

Doesn't get any fresher than this.

Picked about 10 minutes ago.

Sautéed ham is ready.

I dropped the asparagus into boiling water.

Maybe 60-90 seconds and then ...

... immediately drained and plunged into ice water

to stop the cooking and set the bright green color.

And plate.

Ham, poached eggs, asparagus.

For poached eggs,

bring water to a boil.

Add a little vinegar to the water.

The vinegar helps the egg proteins to coagulate,

allowing the whites to firm faster

and not disperse in the water.

After bringing the water to a boil,

I reduced it to a simmer,

then I stirred the water briskly to make a vortex.

Dropped the egg in the vortex 

and cooked for 2 minutes 15 seconds.

I like a runny yolk.

For the Hollandaise,

I put two yolks in my sauce pan

along with the juice of 1/2 lemon.

Whisking constantly,

I hovered the pan over the heat.

You could use a double boiler to have more control

and not scramble your yolks.

When the yolks just start to thicken,

add in a pat of cold butter,

whisking until the butter is incorporated.

Keep incorporating a pat of butter, one at a time,

whisking constantly,

and hovering above the heat.

I used about 6 TB butter.

You want a deliciously smooth sauce.

Drizzle the Hollandaise over top.

If you like,

give it some cayenne lovin'.

Please make this for Sunday brunch.

You'll have a happy day!

Ahhhhhhhh.