I Finally Made Eggs Benedict And Didn't Completely Screw It Up!

Our favorite brunch spot for Eggs Benedict closed a couple weeks ago, so I thought I'd try my hand at it. At first I just made poached eggs with some english muffins. The next time I tried it out I added the canadian bacon and hollandaise sauce, but he sauce didn't turn out quite right.
I had the heat up a little too high and accidentally cooked the yolks, oops. Sooo, I tried again today and it was a success!
























It is a bit time consuming, but hopefully after making it a couple more times, the process will become a little smoother.

Some of the utensils you'll need are a big pot to make the poached eggs, a little frying pan to heat up the bacon, a stainless steel bowl and a saucepan to simmer some water for the sauce, a couple ramekins for egg poaching and a whisk.

The ingredients you'll need are pretty simplistic (makes 8 little benedicts):
4 egg yolks
8 eggs
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon
1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)
pinch cayenne
pinch salt
8 slices of canadian bacon
4 english muffins
1/4 c. white vinegar (poaches the egg faster so it doesn't spread in the water)

I started out by making the hollandaise sauce. First melt the butter in the microwave, then start the sauce by separating the egg yolk, over a bowl crack the egg in half and go back and forth with the yolk until the egg whites have fallen off the yolk into the bowl and add the yolks to the stainless steel bowl.










Whisk the egg yolks and lemon juice together until fluffy then move over to the saucepan with simmering water (not boiling). Whisk in the stainless steel bowl vigorously over the simmering saucepan and slowly add melted butter until nice and frothy. Remove from heat and whisk in salt and cayenne pepper. When the sauce is it done, you can keep it warm for a half an hour and even then if it starts to thicken, just whisk in a couple drops of warm water.












Now for the rest of the eggs benedict. Poaching eggs is waaay easier than I thought it was going to be. Get your big pot boiling, add 1/4 c. white wine., not crazy boiling, just a good amount of bubbles. Put an egg in each ramekin and slowly slide into the water. I wouldn't cook more than two at a time. After about a minute and a half, if they need to be reshaped, use a slotted spoon to shape it back together, cook another 2-3 minutes depending on how runny you like your yolk, four minutes if you like it hard. Start toasting the english muffins, and heating up the bacon now, so everything comes together at the same time. Set eggs on a towl as they come out, cause they will be really wet when they come out.

Get ready for plating; muffin, bacon, egg and then topped with hollandaise sauce. Next time I think I'll try adding some chipotle peppers to the sauce!

Southwestern Spicy Chicken Stew

Last night we made a nice n' healthy stew, with a little kick. It's super easy, pretty much just throw a bunch of stuff in a pot and garnish. This is easy to alter too if you don't like something in it, it's not a big deal to omit some of the ingredients, or add something (maybe some green chilis? I've done that before too) you can pretty much adjust to your liking.

This makes a pretty good amount of stew. Two people could probably eat for dinner and lunch the next day.
















2 chicken breasts - grilled & shredded
1 yellow onion - chopped
1 zucchini - cubed
1 red bell pepper - roasted under the broiler, deseeded and skinned
3 c. chicken stock
1-2 garlic cloves - minced
1 cup grilled (preferred) or canned corn
28 oz. can of diced tomatoes (drained)
1 small can of tomato paste
1 adobo chili (find in the mexican food isle) - chopped up
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
salt to taste
bay leaf
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 grilled chicken brests
cubed or shredded cheese
tortilla chips
Cilanto - minced


In a large pot add the chopped onions and minced garlic to some olive oil and sweat them for about five minutes. Add 2 cups of chicken stock, zucchini, corn, tomatoes and paste, roasted bell pepper, adobo chili, salt, pepper, bay leaf and cinnamon. Add more chicken stock if needed. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer for 20 minutes.

Put a dry rub on the chicken and grill it while the pot is stewing. Cube the chicken add to the stew and serve! Add some cheese, cilantro and tortilla chips on top. You could also garnish with sour cream or chopped up red onions.

Starting The New Year With Soups And Salads

Chris and I are feeling a little overfed from the holidays, so we've decided to start the new year with lots of fruits and vegetables. Tonight I started with a basic spinach salad and a super easy to whip up balsamic dressing, simple but really good.

Mandarin Orange and Chicken Spinach Salad




















Dressing:
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
1/2 c. olive oil
1 clove of garlic - minced
pinch of oregano
pinch of salt
pinch of fresh ground pepper
(this makes more than what is needed for the salad, so stick it in the fridge for later)

Find a glass jar, put in all the ingredients, screw on the lid and shake.

Salad:
1 chicken breast
5 oz. baby spinach
1/3 red onion - chopped
1/3 c. slivered almonds
3 oz. canned mandarin orange slices

Put a nice little rub on the chicken, grill it, let it cool a bit then cut it up into little cubes. Wash the spinach and take off the stems. Chop up the onion. Toast the almonds, I did it in a small pan on the stove with some olive oil spray. Toss the ingredients with desired amount of dressing and place on plates then top with the oranges.