Sunday, May 16, 2010

Eggs Benedict and Potatoes O'Brien



So I've never poached an egg in my life, nor have I ever cooked anything in a double boiler besides chocolate. Thus, this breakfast was a rad learning experience for me, and I was very pleased with the results. From this experience, I will say this:

Rule # 2324 - about cooking/baking - always make sure you have enough ingredients in case of FAIL.

Rule # 1145 - you will not always have the exact tools required in some recipes--learn to be creative, or refine your google searches on acceptable substitutes. Then make a note of said tool(s), and get it; chances are, you may use it again.


::gathering my raw materials::

Note: the original recipe was pulled from foodnetwork.com, which yielded 6 servings. Um, yeah, no. I made enough for just one person, so I'll list the amounts that I used. You can get the original recipe from the hyperlink.

Ingredients: potatoes o'brien

3-4 oz diced green peppers
2 oz diced onions
3 oz cubed potatoes
1 tsp cooking oil
(note: yes, yes...most potatoes o'brien call for diced pimentos, but I had none on hand, so green peppers were fine)


Directions:

In a small skillet, heat the cooking oil. Add potatoes and sautee for about 5 minutes. Add remaining veggies and sautee until potatoes and veggies are fully cooked.


Put in an oven safe container, put your oven on warm, and leave in there 'til the rest of the dish is ready. Moving on...

Ingredients for eggs benedict:
2 tbsp distilled vinegar
2 large eggs
1 tbsp cooking oil
2 slices Canadian bacon (I used smoked ham)
1 plain English muffin, split
Hollandaise sauce:
1/3 stick melted butter
1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp cold water
1 tsp strained freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more as needed
dash of salt
Freshly ground pepper


Directions:


I first browned my ham slices, to get that out of the way; once nicely browned, stick in the same oven friendly dish as your potatoes, and let them stay warm.


The Hollandaise sauce:

Melt your butter in a pan or the microwave; honestly, it doesn't really matter, so long as you skim the milky solids/foam from the top. Set aside.

In a medium heatproof bowl, combine the egg yolks and the cold water. Whisk until the yolks are light and frothy.


Place the bowl over the saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly and vigorously until the yolks are thickened and light, about 3 to 4 minutes. (If the eggs begin to scramble, or the mixture is cooking very quickly or gets too hot, remove the bowl from the heat and whisk to cool). Remove the eggs from the heat and whisk for 30 seconds to cool slightly.


Remove the saucepan from the heat and set the bowl over the hot water. Slowly drizzle the butter into the eggs while whisking constantly. Whisk in the lemon juice, salt, and pepper, to taste. (If the sauce is very thick, add a few drops of warm water to adjust the consistency so it is creamy and light.)


Note: you really DO wanna keep whisking this bad boy, as you're adding ingredients; I was sad to not get more pix of the process, but all my whisking was worth it. I used a few drops of the hot water from the double boiler to thin it out, and the consistancy was very nice. Put the bowl back on the hot pan, and leave on the stove so it stays warm while you finish up.

Poaching your eggs:


This is where you want to make sure you have enough eggs--especially, if you've never done this before, like me. But here's the method:

Pour enough water into a medium saucepan to reach a depth of about 2 inches, and add the vinegar. Bring your saucepan to a medium simmer. Crack an egg into a cup and carefully slide it into the hot poaching liquid. Quickly repeat with both. Poach the eggs, turning them occasionally with a spoon, until the whites are firm, or to the desired degree of doneness, about 3 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the eggs and transfer to a kitchen towel. Lightly dab the eggs with the towel to remove any excess water.

Nice in theory, eh? Here's my first attempts:




I thanked the cooking deities for allowing me to remember to buy a dozen eggs yesterday; bound and determined to get it right, I tried it again. Better = )




I did not have a slotted spoon. I used a regular cooking spoon, but made a mental note to purchase a slotted one.

Assembly:

Toast an english muffin, and arrange on a plate, open faced. Remove your potatoes and ham slices from the oven. Arrange a slice of ham on each side of the english muffin. Place a poached egg on each side, and drizzle your hollandaise on top. Garnish with more pepper, if desired. Serve with your potatoes.

So what's a girl to do, when she doesn't have parsley or chives as a garnish, as well? A spring of cilantro, of course! =)


This took a little longer, with the trial and error...but definitely a nice breakfast, worth the effort.

1 comment:

  1. Time savers for next time....
    - After you chop up your potatoes, throw them in a bowl, toss em with a bit of oil and microwave them bad boys until they are tender....THEN throw them in the pan to crisp them up...

    - For the hollandaise, once you've cooked your egg yellows in the double boiler, throw them into a blender (or use the immersion blender, if you have enough liquid, lol!), pop off the top of the blender lid, set it to low and then slowly pour your butter, lemon etc... into it....It beats whipping it I'm sure!

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