The origin of this dish is a bit of a disputed item…
In one version A retired Wallstreet stock broker, Lemuel Benedict, suggested a version on toast as a cure for a hangover. The enterprising maître d’hôtel was impressed and kept it on the breakfast and lunch menus. In another, Commodore E.C. Benedict, yachtsman and banker was the inventor. And finally, Mrs. Le Grand Benedict, living in New York and a frequent Delmonico’s patron being tired of the usual fare asked the maitre’d for something new. Asking her what she suggested, Mrs. Benedict replied, poached eggs on toasted English muffins with a thin slice of ham, hollandaise sauce and a truffle on top.
Ingredients
- English muffins
- Smoked salmon
- Red onion or shallot
- Tomato fresh home grown if you have them
- Poached eggs
- Hollandaise
- Paprika
Easy Hollandaise recipe
Notoriously difficult, and finicky to make, Hollandaise is one of the five key sauces in French Cooking. The traditional method may produce a richer sauce but I have found an easy and almost infallible way to whip up this delicious sauce in a blender.
The basic ratio is one egg yolk to two tablespoons of butter to ¼ teaspoon of lemon juice. It can be adjusted to taste, and the yolks will absorb more than two table spoons of butter, but I find this ratio to be pleasing and easy.
Ingredients:
- Eggs
- Butter
- Lemon Juice
- Cayenne
Separate the yolks and whites; put the yolks in a blender. Melt the butter and drizzle into the egg yolks running the blender at slow speed. Once all butter is incorporated then add lemon juice as desired to gain proper consistency (Thick or Runny) put in a pinch of Cayenne. Perfect Hollandaise every time.