Skip to main content

Hollandaise: Attempt #1

It was a quiet Father's Day Sunday after a busy week and I was craving eggs benny. I decided it was a perfect opportunity to attempt my first pass on making good Hollandaise sauce. I walked to the market and picked up eggs, english muffins, ham and potatoes and it wasn't until I was partway home and read a Facebook comment from my friend that I realised I had forgotten the butter. Doh!

“First hollandaise attempt?? It’s easy…All you need is butter. Lots and lots of butter”


So finally after nearly two hours of prep I was ready. I decided to start with an easy recipe[1] and chose Julia Child’s classic take on this saucy staple (recipe follows).

The ingredients. Please note the packaged hollandaise sauce.
It was purchased as a back-up incase I totally destroyed the one I was making.

Wisking water and lemon juice into the eggs.
I used my Grandma's double boiler for this and put the pot on the simmer element.
Starting to thicken over the bath just the the directions said it would!
Thicker still. Any more and I'd have scrambled eggs.

Pouring in the 8oz of butter.
Adding salt, pepper and cayenne

eggs benedict
Eggs Benny!


The sauce was good. Not great, but not bad for a first try. I'd like to play around with flavours and consistancy next.


Ingredients

·  3 egg yolks
·  1 tablespoon water
·  1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, if needed (or more)
·  6 -8 ounces very soft unsalted butter
·  1 dash cayenne pepper
·  salt, to taste
·  fresh ground white pepper, to taste


Directions


  1. Whisk the yolks, water, and lemon juice in the saucepan for a few moments, until thick and pale (this prepares them for what is to come).
  2. Set the pan over moderately low heat and continue to whisk at reasonable speed, reaching all over the bottom and insides of the pan, where the eggs tend to overcook.
  3. To moderate the heat, frequently move the pan off the burner for a few seconds, and then back on. (If, by chance, the eggs seem to be cooking too fast, set the pan in the bowl of cold water to cool the bottom, then continue).
  4. As they cook, the eggs will become frothy and increase in volume, and then thicken. When you can see the pan bottom through the streaks of the whisk and the eggs are thick and smooth, remove from the heat.
  5. By spoonfuls, add the soft butter, whisking constantly to incorporate each addition. As the emulsion forms, you may add the butter in slightly larger amounts, always whisking until fully absorbed. Continue incorporating butter until the sauce has thickened to the consistency you want.
  6. Season lightly with salt, pepper, and a dash of cayenne pepper, whisking in well. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding droplets of lemon juice if needed. Serve lukewarm.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sing Karaoke Sober

I think this one was the scariest task I had on my list. Why? Well, I sound like a drowning chipmunk when I sing and since I am well aware of this fact, have only done Karaoke in a group and lubricated with adult beverages.This list item required me to have not one drop of anything alcoholic prior to singing.Instead I downed that other drug: caffeine. I decided to tackle this one on a night and in a location where the least amount of people would 1) know who I was 2) ever see me again  and 3) were actually good singers themselves. Enter South Jetty Lounge in Hammond, Oregon. Population approx 23. I had to choose a song I could rock from a performance standpoint so no one would really care that my voice was flat and in the wrong key. (Yes, I can hear how bad I am thanks to years of piano and ear training <sigh> sadly, not much I can do about it). Unfortunately, the KJ didn't have any Hole (aka Courtney Love aka Kurt Cobian's widow) because her voice is about as bad as
2 comments
Read more

To Kill a Mockingbird

Add caption I found To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee a novel that appears very forward thinking and modern considering when it was written and where it takes place. I loved Atticus, Calpurnia and Miss Maudie but felt others (like Dill and Uncle Jack) were left hanging. I know Scout is young, but I was irritated by her several times throughout the story. Was it what I was expecting? Well, in a way yes. I had a faint idea it was about race relations. However, I did not know it took place during the Depression , nor that it was from the POV of a young girl. Although some of the racism is difficult to read about, because it was written in 1960 and when takes place in the mid-1930s, it needs to be in the story. Atticus' view on life, fairness and equality make the book a must read. I can't believe it took me this long. Nearly everyone who knew it was on my list was 1) shocked I hadn't read it and 2) more than happy to let me know it was one of their favourite book
Post a Comment
Read more

Put $100 on Red

This one was a bit scary to complete. $100 is no small amount and the possibility of losing it is, well, 50/50. I headed to Las Vegas this past weekend for my friend's bachelourette weekend and decided it was as good a time as any to check this item off the List. I went to the ATM and withdrew a crisp Ben Franklin, stuck it in my purse and waited for inspiration to hit. Inspiration came at around 4:30 a.m. at Bill's Gambling Hall . Fueled by a couple dirty martini's I scanned the floor looking for a "lucky" table. Now, I know random is random and really the odds on the wheel are even, but this did not stop me from choosing the table where the last six spins were red, red, black, black, black, red. After three black in a row followed by a red, I figured the odds were good. Even if, in truth, the odds were the same. I walked up as people were placing bets, drew out my C-spot, put in on the table and told the croupier, "$100 on red." Did I mention I
1 comment
Read more