Eggs Benedict

Good Morning! During my time managing a bed and breakfast in Paso Robles I was introduced to this amazing creation called Eggs Benedict. Now as a foodie one would think that I had tried this mouth watering recipe before. However I had never had it! I quickly became obsessed with eating this and trying all kinds of different variations.A traditional Eggs Benedict is very simple, it consists of an english muffin (slightly toasted), canadian bacon, a poached egg and hollandaise sauce. You can add everything from sauteed spinach and mushrooms (Opolo style as I like to call it) to real bacon or tomatoes and fresh basil. The picture below has just steamed spinach as an addition. Feel free to try new variations and let us know what your favorite is! Recipe: Makes two servings 2 English Muffins slightly toasted 4 Poached eggs 4 Slices of Canadian Bacon grilled 2 Handfuls of fresh spinach 1 Cup sliced mushrooms 4 Eggs yolks 1 Pinch of salt 1 Pinch of Cayenne pepper (to taste a little goes a long way, it can get spicey) 1/2 Lemon juiced (again to taste the more lemon the more tart your sauce) 3 TBS Butter melted 2 TBS+/- of boiling water 1. Begin by poaching your eggs, I have an egg poacher that I use and enjoy because the eggs come out in a perfect circle to fit on your english muffin. 2. While your eggs are cooking, grill your canadian bacon, saute your spinach and mushrooms and get a double boiler going. 3. For your double boiler you are going to want to use a metal mixing bowl on top of the water to create your sauce. Before placing the bowl on top of the boiling water you will want to mix the yolk, the lemon juice,butter, salt and pepper and whisk it together. 4. Place your english muffins in the toaster. 5. Place metal mixing bowl on top of the boiling water and whisk constantly. If you stop the yolks will cook and you will end up with scrambles instead of sauce. Whisk until the sauce begins to thicken. As soon as it starts to thicken add a TBS of the boiling water and whisk together, add one more TBS of the boiling water until it becomes a sauce and the consistency that you desire. The more water the runnier your sauce will be. 6. Place your english muffins side by side, then top with canadian bacon, spinach and mushrooms, place your egg one on each one, and then top with your sauce. Sprinkle with a tiny bit of the cayenne pepper and serve!