First try…Poached Eggs and Hollandaise…SUCCESS! (kinda)

You never know when you will be inspired. New things come around the bend at every turn, and you really have to be prepared for what you’re thrown. Now, I’ll be honest, the idea of making my own poached egg scared the crap out of me. Much less, making a Hollandaise sauce was giving me the jitters. But, what the heck, I was in my own home and inspired, and you would be the only ones that would find out if I failed miserably or not. *smiles* Well….I didn’t (kinda didn’t)!

After attending a catering event with Fresh.Local.Good food group (which you can read about that event and my experience by clicking here), I was inspired through a few conversations I had with a couple of individuals there. One…there were leftover crabcakes, and when I was offered to take home a few, I was given the suggestion of making Crabcake Benedicts in the morning (who would turn down the most wonderful crabcakes ever???). Two…I had a conversation about Alton Brown. Three…well there is no three, unless you count the fact that I LOVE Crabcake Benedicts with a Roasted Red Pepper Hollandaise!!!

What better person than Alton Brown on teaching me how to make a perfectly poached egg and a tasty Hollandaise sauce. Away I went…

I followed his instructions below for the poached egg portion of the breakfast…

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Poached Egg Tips via Alton Brown

Ingredients

• eggs

Directions

Always use fresh eggs. If you can’t see the difference between the “thick” white and the “thin” white, the yolks will probably break in the pan. Always deliver the eggs to the pan with a custard cup or large spoon. Avoid cracking directly into the pan. When using a non-stick skillet cook in no more than an inch of water. If you don’t have a non-stick pan, poach in a deep saucepan containing at least 3 inches of water. Always acidulate the poaching liquid with either vinegar or lemon juice (1 tsp per each cup of water). Bring liquid to a boil, add eggs, then remove from heat and cover. How long you ask? It depends on how many eggs. I like my yolks barely runny so I’ll cook 4 eggs for 7 to 8 minutes depending on there size. Since more eggs will absorb more heat from the water, they will take longer to cook, so for large batches always include an extra “test” egg. Always remove eggs with a slotted spoon. Poached eggs can be refrigerated in ice water for up to 8 hours, then reheated in hot water. Do not re-boil.

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Now that I had that part done…it was on to the Hollandaise. Well, sorta. Since I do use recipes as guidelines, I ended up

altering this one a bit. Where it called for lemon juice and cayenne pepper, I used a favorite hot sauce instead…Pepper Palace, Sauce Makers Reserve Hot Sauce. My super good friend, Jo, brought it back for me from Mardi Gras! It has all of the wonderful bits of a hearty hot sauce and left the Hollandaise with the most perfect flavor and aroma! I did find the Hollandaise incredibly easy to make by his instructions. It reminded me of making my homemade Banana Pudding that I made for months on end that one time, with all of the whisking over the double boiler…(I think I’m still kinda tired of Banana Pudding *smiles*).

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Alton Brown’s Hollandaise

Ingredients

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teapsoon water
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Pour 1-inch of water into a large saucepan; over medium heat, bring to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low.
2. Place egg yolks and 1 teaspoon water in a medium mixing bowl and whisk until mixture lightens in color, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sugar and whisk for another 30 seconds.
3. Place the mixture over the simmering water and whisk constantly for 3 to 5 minutes, or until there is a clear line that is drawn in the mixture when you pull your whisk through, or the mixture coats the back of a spoon.
4. Remove the bowl from over the pan and gradually add the butter, 1 piece at a time, and whisk until all of the butter is incorporated. Place the bowl back over the simmering water occasionally so that it will be warm enough the melt the butter. Add the salt, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper. Serve immediately or hold in a thermos to keep warm.

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So where is that beautifully poached egg footage like I normally have with the fork popping the yolk???? Ummmmm….I cooked mine too long. *big innocent smiles* I ended up with an almost completely hard-boiled egg, but it was still decently creamy inside. It wasn’t bad for my first attempt. However, the entire dish was phenomenal, and I even patted myself on the back for having such success after a long night and rolling right out of bed and cooking. Bravo, Jen! Bravo!

I sautéed red pepper, shallots, and jalapeno to serve the Crabcakes on, instead of a type of bread. Just made a lighter breakfast and added a tremendous punch of flavor! Once again…recipes are for your tweaking. It’s your kitchen, play in it!