Me against the Eggs Benedict

So on Wed I invited my neighbor Karen over to have breakfast with me.  On the menu, Eggs Benedict with crab and asparagus.  I warned her that I was using her as a guinea pig for my blog so she was aware that it may not come out...at all.  So we started as we should, laying out all of our mise en place, getting the pots simmering and the toaster ready with a whole wheat English muffin waiting to be toasted.  My parsley was in my water for my poached eggs (lesson #1, take the parsley OUT of the water before you put your eggs in. Unless you are fond of funny looking eggs with branches sticking out of them), my crab legs are steaming in another pot.  When the crab was done I dropped in the asparagus.  This is also the time I started my first attempt at the Hollandaise sauce (yes, you read right, the first attempt).  So I cracked my 3 egg yolks in a bowl and mixed them and added my lemon juice with water. In another pan I had my butter melting.  It was now time to heat up the egg yolks, I poured them into a small saute and immediately got scrambled eggs.  I still added in my butter thinking if I whipped it enough that it would get creamy, yeah it didn't work.  I tried it again (lesson #2, if it didn't work look for more directions!) but this time I poured the eggs into the melted butter.  Again, not right.  So to not starve Karen, we layered the rest of the sandwich and it was delicious.  I really liked the flavors of the crab (real not any of the imitation crap) and the Canadian bacon together, then to add the egg yolk from the poached egg was so yummy.  I could have done with out the buttery scrambled eggs that were on the top. Also I put the other half of the muffin on the top and it looked funny, yeah, you only use the bottom half.

Those of you that know me know that I don't give up very easily so last night I subjected DJ to my quest to get the Hollandaise right.  Luckily for him I had my Foundations class earlier that day and got to ask my Chef what I had done wrong.  He told me to whip the eggs and cook them in my double boiler that way I can control the heat better by being able to take it off the heat if they get too thick.  It worked, well for the most part.  I still "broke" the sauce but it was WAY better than what I had the previous morning.   I think my butter was still too hot when I added it in but it was creamier like it should be. Unfortunetly, I was paying too much attention to whipping the sauce that I poached my eggs a little too long. I know, bummer.  I didn't get my velvety yolk that I love. The Hollandaise has not seen the last of me, I will be back, oh yes, I will be back.

Here are the recipes I used:
Eggs Benedict with Asparagus and Crab from

Sherri Leyendecker from food.com

• 1/4 cup parsley
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 4 eggs
• 4 slices Canadian bacon, thin slices, cooked
• 2 English muffins
• 4 whole crab claws
• steamed asparagus

Hollandaise sauce

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon hot water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• salt and pepper
Change Measurements: US | Metric

Directions:

Prep Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 30 mins

1. 1Steam asparagus till tender with 1 teaspoon of vinegar.
2. 2Steam crab till fully cooked.
3. 3Poach eggs with parsley.
4. 4Heat muffins and cut in half. Place eggs on muffin halfs. Add cooked bacon, crab and aspargus and top with hollandaise sauce.

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