Hollandaise Sauce

My Megan Monday posts went by the wayside the past couped of weeks. Maybe it was my lazy attitude at the end of the semester or maybe I was harboring some internal fear of making hollandaise sauce, something I've never done.
When I posted all the delicious food I ate in Portland, I asked Megan to pick one item from the pics she would like me to recreate. She chose eggs benedict. I was super excited, as I had never made it, and rarely find good enough reasons to make recipes that call for egg yolks and butter. But hey, when I see opportunity, I jump on it like the Barefoot Contessa jumps on gay guys. Okay, she doesn't really jump on them, but seriously, she is friends with every gay guy in the Hamptons. They flock to her.

Today is just hollandaise sauce. Since I've never made Eggs Benny, and neither has Megan, I wanted to take this step by step. Next week, I will make poached eggs, and probably put the whole thing together after that.
This post is 100% unhealthy, but when I assemble the E.B., I will have a couple ways to make the whole meal a little better, well at least that's the justification you can give yourself when you're chowing down.

Hollandaise sauce has very few ingredients. Make sure they are quality because you'll be able to taste everything.


2 egg YOLKS, 1/4 t of lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar if you're the idiot who forgot to buy a lemon), cayenne/tabasco/or red pepper flakeds, a pinch of salt, good unsalted butter

This is a half size recipe. It will probably feed 2-3 servings of Eggs Benny.

Why did I put YOLKS in caps? Well, when I started making this I threw in 2 eggs. I whisked the heck out of them and realized, um, I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to use the whites. Be a better person than I am.


Step 1: In a metal bowl, crack egg YOLKS in the bowl. (Put the egg whites in the fridge and save them for breakfast!)
Pictured: my trusty whisk. I love him. We go way back. He will be your bff, so make sure to treat him well.
Also pictured: my thumb. Megs, that's the nail polish I plan to wear for your wed. Unless you tell me to get a life and pick something else.
Step 2: Add 1/4 t of lemon juice


Step 3: Whisk the CRAP out of this mixture. You want the eggs to get a bit paler, a little thicker and double in size. This took me a good 4-5 minutes. This is an excellent exercise to get you one toned arm for your wedding. I have no ideas for your left arm. Sorry.


Step 4: Place a medium size pot of about 2 inches of water on the stove. Keep on medium- you want it really hot, but not really boiling.


Step 5: Melt 5 tablespoons butter in the microwave.
Step 6: Die of a heart attack.


Step 7: Place your metal bowl over the pot- this is like a make shift double broiler. If you are super cool and fancy, you could also use a real double broiler.


Step 8: Whisk, whisk, whisk those eggs! You don't want those suckers to scramble.
Step 9: Drizzle in the melted butter- slowly. Also, you probably want to put the butter in a seperate bowl than you microwaved it in- my bowl was so hot, I almost burnt my digits. This also proved comical while trying to photograph the process.
Step 10: Whisk, whisk whisk, until thick and twice the size.


Step 11: Remove from heat and add salt and hot pepper. Taste and decide if you need more seasoning, or if you would like to eat the entire bowl and die a slow death.
Step 12: Store in fridge, or keep warm until ready to serve over Eggs Benedict.

Hollandaise sauce is versatile. You can make it in a blender, or serve it over asparagus