Eggs Benedict on Popovers

I think one of the most fun things to do in the kitchen is to play around with the classics, turn them upside down a bit and make them your own. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but that is what is fun about cooking, you can laugh at the failures and you can enjoy the deliciousness of those which succeed.

This particular experiment, Eggs Benedict on Popovers succeeded wonderfully...albeit...messily! A classic Eggs Benedict consists of an English Muffin, a Poached Egg, Ham or Bacon, and all topped off with Hollandaise Sauce. My reinvention consists of a Fresh Popover, a Poached Egg, Prosciutto, and Hollandaise Sauce from a blender! I hope that you enjoy this whimsical treat as much as my family did!

I love my puppies. This is how we start each morning. 

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Ingredients for Blender Hollandaise Sauce:
3 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/8 or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper depending on how much of a kick you want, I used 1/8 teaspoon
1 tablespoon of cream
1 cup of sweet cream butter, melted
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

Ingredients for Assembly:
1 recipe of popovers
6 poached eggs
Prosciutto

Steps for Blender Hollandaise Sauce:
1. Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. You can discard the egg whites, or you can whip these up for a small amount of meringue. I honestly just tossed mine, and then thought about how I could have used them...too late! Melt your butter and gather all of your ingredients.

2. Place the 3 egg yolks, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and 1 tablespoon of cream in a blender.

3. Blend until smooth and frothy, like shaken whole milk, but with a soft yellow hue.

4. As you continue to blend, add half of the melted butter to the blended mixture in a slow and steady stream. Your sauce should begin to thicken.

5. After you have added half of the butter, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to the mixture.
6. Then finish adding the remaining butter to the sauce, blending the entire time.

7. Enjoy drizzled over your warm Eggs Benedict for a lazy weekend breakfast!

Original recipe from Epicurious 1962, for Blender Hollandaise, clearly a recipe that has stood the test of time. 

Steps for Assembling the Eggs Benedict:
1. Prepare the popovers (click for recipe link) so that they will be finished baking right after the eggs are poached and the sauce is ready. Your popovers will fall very quickly. They still taste yummy after they fall...and actually...come to think of it...you will cut them in half anyways for serving...so do not stress about timing it perfectly. Take a mental or actual picture of how beautiful the popovers are right when they come out of the oven, and then enjoy how delicious they taste after they have fallen and are covered in the yummy toppings.

2. Prepare the Hollandaise Sauce.

3. Poach 6 eggs. This was my first time to poach eggs. I was a bit nervous, I was fully prepared to do scrambled eggs as a back-up plan. However, it was really not that difficult and the result was so tasty, I will prepare my eggs this way far more often. Basically, bring a wide and shallow pot of water to almost boiling, it should be simmering but you know that at any moment it could actually boil. When the water hits this point, stir a spatula in the water to make a little eddy, and then slide the egg gently into the water. Wait patiently about 3 minutes and then gently remove the egg. I will do a post on this later with pictures.

4. Slice the Prosciutto into smaller pieces.

5. Assemble the Eggs Benedict by cutting the popovers in half, add the prosciutto slices, and then one poached egg per popover. Then drizzle the whole composition with a generous stream of Hollandaise Sauce.

It is a beautiful creation, complicated and artistic. But don't let this stop you...Enjoy this delightful play on the classic Eggs Benedict!