daily meal

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Eggs Benedict with Mimosa's

Eggs benedict is one of my most favorite comfort foods to eat for breakfast... or sometimes even for lunch or dinner! There are many different "twists" and variations to making eggs benedict, and as much as love using salmon or spinach, I always end up resorting back to the original recipe.   The recipe below for eggs benedict is simple, easy, and provides for a very filling breakfast!
Eggs Benedict
Ingredients:
-4 eggs
-4 English muffin halves
-4 slices of ham
-White vinegar


Hollandaise Sauce:
-4 egg yolks
-1 tablespoon lemon juice
-1/2 cup butter melted (1 stick)
-Salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste


Directions:
Fill a pot with water and let it come to a boil.


While waiting for water to boil, prepare your hollandaise sauce.  In a blender, mix the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper until the mixture thickens a little.  Leaving the blender on, slowly pour in the melted butter a little at a time.  Continue blending until the mixture thickens and set aside.


Meanwhile, toast the 4 English muffin halves, and in an oiled skillet, heat up and brown the 4 ham slices.  Once the ham slices are cooked to your liking, place one slice each on top of the English muffin halves.


By now the water in your pot should be boiling.  Turn to low heat and add a little vinegar (this helps to keep the eggs together).  Crack 4 eggs into a cup and then slowly, and carefully add the eggs to the water and vinegar.  I recommend doing this because if you just crack open the eggs straight into the pot of water, they will plop in and you could burn yourself, which is why I crack them in a separate cup first.


Cook eggs for at least a few minutes (or more depending on how cooked you prefer them).  You may need to use a spoon to keep the egg whites close to the yolk.  Once done, using a slotted spoon, remove the eggs and place each one on top of the ham and English muffin halves.  Finish by pouring the hollandaise sauce over the top of the eggs.  Depending on how long the sauce has been sitting, it may need another stir before pouring in order to loosen it up a bit.


Depending on your mood, if you have any leftover champagne from New Years that you need to use up, you can whip up a couple of mimosa's to go with your breakfast.
Mimosa Recipe
Ingredients:
-Champagne
-Orange Juice
-Grenadine


Directions:
Take a champagne glass and fill it just about halfway with orange juice.  Fill the rest of the glass with champagne.  To add a little color, pour in a few drops (or more) of grenadine to create that sunset look.  Drink up and enjoy!


~
If you are not in the mood to cook, there a few places nearby that serve wonderful eggs benedict dishes among many other breakfast items:


The Early Bird Cafe - Plaistow, NH: Although there is always a wait, they move extremely fast and provide amazingly delicious food.  Out of all the years that I have been going to the early bird cafe, I have never been disappointed.  The service is great, fast, and the food is reasonable priced.


The Village Square - Bradford, MA: A very small, quaint, place, the village square serves great eggs benedict with an extremely tasty hollandaise sauce.  Aside from sometimes being a little slower than the early bird, the overall experience is just as great.


Stonehenge Inn, Tyngsboro, MA: Be forewarned, I would normally never recommend this place.  It is extremely overpriced and the service is painfully slow.  There food was also nothing to write home about; however, they surprisingly have one great item on their menu - Eggs Benedict.  If you are willing to spend the time and money, this inn has one of the best eggs benedict dishes I have ever had.  The hollandaise sauce was superb.  I was extremely shocked because overall, I am not a fan of this place and do not plan on going back, but, if you do live nearby and are an eggs benedict fanatic, then I will recommend this place for that dish and only that dish.  The other two restaurants will always be a personal favorite though.


Happy eating!



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