Benny with a Buddy

January is the time of year when everyone seems to be either money or waistline conscious... or a combination thereof.

In my opinion, there is very little bad about eggs benedict. English muffins are not bad as far as carbohydrates go. There is a whole string of commercials espousing the benefits of Eggs (yes, with a capital E). You do have bacon and butter in the hollandaise... but you can find many a nutritionist that will tell you that it is important to have fat in your diet as well. Sure, they aren't waiving the flag for saturated fats but, sometimes, that is the only way to go.

At the end of the day, or meal, eggs benedict are a bit of a caloric splurge but seems somewhat more justifiable when said splurge did not come along with a $40 bill for the pair of you.

Yep, I can justify just about anything...

So, here is my Benny with a Buddy... with a fruit salad (feeling quite saint-like with fruit versus homefries)..

BACON

Pop your bacon into the oven. For me, that means 350 F for about 20 minutes.. it all depends on how you like your bacon.

SIDE

While this is cooking, I made the fruit salad. Just some sectioned orange slices, an apple and blackberries.

SAUCE

On to hollandaise... Every year, for Christmas breakfast, my mom makes eggs benedict. This year, trying not to lose our minds over the hollandaise, we opted for the powdered version. It was not inedible, as we feared, but required some tweaking... more lemon, salt, pepper, etc. Usually we go for the traditional route and this seems to require the work of two people (or one slightly experienced person), as one frantically whisks while the other pours, both praying that the sauce doesn't split.

Well, a few weeks ago I attempted and am making again today, the quick whole-egg hollandaise from the Joy of Cooking.

Full recipe:

- 3 whole eggs

- 4 or 5 teaspoons of lemon juice

- 3 tablespoons of water

-=> Whip together until thoroughly blended and pale yellow.

Melt, over low heat, 6 or 7 tablespoons of butter.

-=> Add egg mixture, stirring continuously until sauce has thickened.

Before serving add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Season to taste.

I was cooking for myself so I reduced the recipe.. it seems that this formula works well:

1 egg + 2 teaspoons of lemon juice + 1 tablespoon of water + 2 tablespoons of butter

This makes enough hollandaise for two reasonable portions. If you like it saucy, you could eat the majority of this on your own. hahah.

EGGS

Poaching eggs is not my forte... though it is my favourite way to eat eggs. I inevitably end up with some egg-strings but I'm not losing sleep over it. I'll get better with practise.

CARBS

Toast your English muffins.

ASSEMBLE

Seems obvious enough... muffin + bacon + egg + sauce + side.

Assemble... then DISassemble with delightful abandon.

Yummmmm....