A little bit of Heaven - low carb

Last year I attempted to create a little bit of heaven when I was on vacation at Whistler. I attempted eggs benedict, this was my very first attempt at poaching eggs. Needless to say the eggs were pathetic, over cooked and my dear sweet sister scrubbed a pan for a good 1/2 an hour after this attempt.

Tonight I re-attempted the Eggs Benedict (sans the bread), and after a few mishaps created Heaven!!

Here is what I did:

1. Get all ingredients out and ready, it comes togethor quickly.
   
2. Fry up the ham, then keep it warm while you make the Hollandaise Sauce.
3. Use a non-stick pan for the poaching of the eggs, this cuts back on the scrubbing that will ensue later.
   
4. Watch a video on about.com on how to create beautiful Hollandaise sauce.
   

Hollandaise Sauce Ingredients (from about.com)

To make Hollandaise sauce, you'll need:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• dash of cayenne pepper or hot pepper sauce
• 2 tablespoons hot water

Warm the Butter

Begin by warming the butter in a saucepan until it's foamy. Medium heat should be enough. It's critical the butter doesn't cook too long. If it browns, you might as well start over.

Mix the Ingredients

While the butter is melting, crack the eggs and separate the yolks. In a bowl, either beat or whisk the yolks with salt, lemon juice, and your preferred hot stuff.

Continue beating and move back to the stove. Turn to low heat and gradually add your mixture to the warmed butter.

Still stirring, pour in the water a tablespoon or so at a time. This way, the sauce doesn't become too thick. You should get about two thirds of a cup.

A nice, pale yellow color is the objective.

Customize the Hollandaise Sauce

Tinkering with this recipe is simple, as you flavor to your own taste. In fact, that's how ritzy Bernaise sauce came about, as wine, vinegar, tarragon, and shallots are cooked in a Hollandaise base.

Serve the Sauce

Although it will keep for 30 minutes, serve Hollandaise sauce as quickly as possible. Pour it atop Eggs Benedict or pool around warm meat. It's an easy way to add a little elegance and history to your main dish.

Making sure that you don't cook it too quickly or too hotly. I really babied my sauce, it turned out great, and it does start to seperate after about 30 minutes, so re-whip when your husband is a little late home!

And now for the poaching of the eggs....

I used a non-stick saucepan filled 2/3 of the way full. Add a dash of vinegar (I used red wine) and bring the water to a gentle boil.

Now... you want to keep the water between 160 and 180, for this feat I grabbed my old meat thermometer and held it into the water. When the tempretaure reached 180 I swirled the water into a gentle tornado, then I cracked the egg and (gently) dropped it in. I set my timer for 3 minutes and prayed. After 3 minutes, gently lift the egg from the water and place on a plate. If you are unsure of the doneness of your egg, gently poke it with your finger. I "sunnyside up" will have squishyness and give, medium will be firmer (with a little give) and hard will be firm. Stick with 3 minutes for sunny-side... After 6 eggs here is what I learned:

• When the egg is in the water, leave it alone. By creating a little tornado you help the water create a gentle space for the egg to set up. If you "tend it" with a spoon, you will end up with egg tidbits that will make it look like egg drop soup.
  
• Non-stick works - when I was done I washed the pan immediately in hot soapy water, and voila... no scrubbing!!

Good luck with creating your little piece of heaven.