This recipe was sent to us by Diane, NYC.
“This Seducer’s Breakfast was served to me the morning after by my very first lover—he was quite a bit older and taught me a thing or two. Since then I have served it to a few lovers of my own!”
Most important is the serve the eggs with mimosas using very good champagne and fresh squeezed orange juice. For the Eggs Benedict the real trick is to get everything ready at the same time. Start by making the Hollandaise Sauce. You will need:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 beaten egg yolks
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of water
salt and white pepper
paprika
Cut the butter into thirds and bring it to room temperature. In the top broiler (or just a pan or bowl sitting on top of a saucepan of boiling water) combine egg yolks, lemon juice and water. Add a piece of butter.
Cook, stirring rapidly with a whisk until butter melts and sauce begins to thicken. Add the remaining butter a piece at a time, stirring constantly until melted. Continue to cook and stir for 2 – 3 minutes until sauce thickens. Immediately remove from heat. If sauce is too thick or curdles, immediately whisk in 1-2 tablespoons of hot water. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Now for the rest–The Eggs. You will need:
4 eggs
2 English muffins, toasted
4 slices of Canadian Bacon, cooked to your liking
You can poach the eggs in an egg poacher, or if you don’t have one you can use a pan of simmering water. Carefully slide the cracked eggs into the water (I use a cup). Simmer the eggs uncovered for 3-5 minutes cooking until egg whites are completely set and yolks are not too hard.
Remove eggs with a slotted spoon and place them on toasted English muffin halves which have been covered with 1-2 slices of Canadian Bacon which has been broiled or warmed in a frying pan for a couple of minutes. You can get the toasting + broiling done while the eggs are poaching but you have to keep moving! Top each egg with that delicious Hollandaise Sauce and a dusting of paprika, pop the cork and you’ll soon be ready for the next round!
For your creative morning pleasures, I found these variations on Eggs Benedict on wikipedia:
Seafood Benedict – replace the Canadian bacon with crab and/or shrimp, lobster or baby scallops
Eggs Florentine – replace the Canadian bacon with Spinach
Eggs Sardou – replace the Canadian bacon with anchovy fillets and replace the English muffin with artichoke bottoms. Top the hollandaise sauce with chopped ham and a truffle slice. Created by Antoine’s Restaurant in New Orleans so you know this is going to be wonderful!
Country Benedict – replace the English muffin, Canadian bacon and hollandaise sauce with a biscuit, sausage pattie and country gravy. The poached eggs can be replaced with fried eggs.
Irish Benedict – replace the Canadian bacon with corned beef hash or Irish bacon.
Salmon Benedict – replace the Canadian bacon with salmon. Also known as Eggs Montreal, Eggs Royal or Eggs Royale.
Eggs Chesapeake – replace Canadian bacon with Crabcake
Veggie Benedict – replace Canadian bacon with avocado and tomato
Eggs Benedict Arnold – replaces the English muffin with a biscuit and the hollandaise sauce with country gravy, also cooks the eggs longer so the yolk is fully cooked.
