I am a "house husband." I am a retired school teacher (from the University of Maryland after 25 years). I am looking for ways to occupy my days in meaningful ways while my wife continues to function as the "industry leader of the year" in the food service industry (I shall chronicle her accomplishments in later blogs.)
This is my first blog. And I have chosen to write about a new pursuit that I have undertaken to continue to learn and to develop. I am learning how to cook.
I have no pretensions nor ambitions to be a professional chef nor am I a gastronome in any real sense, but I do enjoy good food. In addition one of my greatest pleasures is to serve my hard working wife breakfast en boudoir on the weekends.
A favorite first meal for her is eggs Benedict. Of course the daunting aspect of preparing this dish is the sauce, sauce Hollandaise. Not too many cooks are comfortable ( or even competent) in the preparation of this accompaniment, but it is worth the effort to master the technique and I hope this entry will be helpful to those who would like to be able to "do the dish."
The sauce Hollandaise is widely admired, indeed even revered, in the world of the gourmand. The American poet Ogden Nashe immortalized the dish in the following lines:
I sing the praise of Hollandaise
A sauce supreme in many ways,
Not only is it a treat to us
When ladled on asparagus
And I would shudder to depict
A world without eggs Benedict.
- Ogden Nashe
(Etymological note: The French term sauce Hollandaise literally translates sauce of Holland. So we have the Dutch
to thank for the original recipe.)
I shall now provide my readers with my recipe for "Perfect Eggs Benedict a la Edouard."
Ingredients:
Thomas' Original English Muffins
Bob Evans Canadian Bacon
Four large brown eggs
One large lemon
Three tablespoons butter
Protocol: single serving
Separate the yolk (the nutritive material of the ovum consisting of protein and fat; especially the yellow, usually spheroidal mass of the egg, surrounded by the albumen or white of the egg) from two eggs and set aside. There are various ways to do this.I break the egg at the middle by gently tapping it against a cup edge or I sometimes use a knife edge and cut the egg; it works. If you are successful in separating the egg into approximate halves the egg whites will spill out from the shells.But not completely. You must try to get as much of the egg white as possible separated from the yolk. This can be accomplished by employing the action one uses when playing with a "Slinky" toy. Simply alternate pouring the yolk from one shell half to the other and the white will gradually be totally eliminated.
Poach or saute (gently fry)two eggs.
Set aside in oven on low warm setting.
Saute four rounds of Canadian bacon. Don't overcook. Place in warm oven.
Toast a split Thomas' English muffin. Place in oven.
Prepare the Hollandaise sauce. Over a very low heat
put two tablespoons of butter. Whip the egg yolks and add to the butter sauce. Stir constantly. Squeeze in the juice of the lemon. Continue to stir. Do not over cook.
The most common error made in the cooking of the sauce is too high heat, resulting in a lemony mess of quasi-scrambled eggs (yuk), causing many accomplished cooks to moan, "Alas and woe is we!" If the sauce is successful the resultant mixture appears as a rich beautiful golden substance ready to be ladled over the muffin topped by four rounds of the Canadian bacon and finally smothered with generous gifts of Dutch sauce.
For those with more adventurous ambitions, one might substitute for bird eggs reptile eggs. Yum, yum, snake or alligator eggs Benedict. I have even heard a rumor that a certain gourmand club down under in Australia was able to locate several eggs of the duck-billed platypus, the only mammal that lays eggs. Far out! As a liquid accompaniment I recommend a nice mimosa (champagne and orange juice) or a glass of good French wine.
A final historical note. Some historians allege that the dish was invented by Commodore E.C. Benedict (1834 - 1920) an American banker and yachtsman.
So long for a while. That's all the blog for a while.I hope to return, eftsoons.
