Eggs Benedict

I mentioned in my last post that I've just learned how to make a perfectly poached egg and I was dying for some Eggs Benedict, which led me on my quest to find a great hollandaise.

I've always had problems poaching eggs. I don't know what it was, but they never turned out and in the end it was just easier to fry them.

I was watching an old episode of the Martha Stewart Show where Martha and Josh Eden of Shorty's .32 made eggs benedict. They said that you need to heat up your biggest saucepan with lots of water, add some vinegar and bring it to a simmer. Then you drop your eggs into the water and when they rise to the surface they're ready. Of course, her website is determined to make a liar out of me and I can't find this particular method in the four or five different articles I found about poaching eggs, but every time I've tried it it works, so I'm sticking to it!

Once the eggs have risen to the surface and are removed to drain on a paper towel, they are strong enough to handle. You can pick them up and trim the messy ends with scissors (see, it's a Martha method!) and you don't have to worry about them falling apart. I love this method of poaching eggs. I went on a bit of a poached egg bender after discovering this and put them on top of nearly everything.

This was a Monday morning breakfast. I used bacon instead of ham because ham can feel so slimy in an eggs benedict. I much prefer to use bacon rather than risk it with ham.

What better way to start the week than a perfectly poached egg, some luxurious hollandaise and some crispy bacon on some lightly toasted Turkish bread?