A Trio of Eggs Benedict

WOOHOO!

Hot Brown Benedict on the left

Corn Beef Hash Benedict on the right

We had a marvelous leisurely morning noshing on a trio of eggs Benedict.  The preparation was far simpler this morning after a bit of "investment cooking" yesterday.  Not to beat a dead horse, and considering that my Derby pick made a valiant effort and still lost, investment cooking is a terrific way to have a lovely meal without resorting to prepackaged mixes.

Investment recipes:

Kicked Up Mornay sauce:

Heat 1 1/2 tbsp. of unsalted butter and 1 1/2 tbsp. of olive oil over low heat in a large saucepan.  Whisk in 3 tbsp. of flour and cook a few minutes.  In a small sauce pan, heat 1 cup of 1 % milk  (see note) with one half of a small peeled onion, a bay leaf, and a half dozen of whole black peppercorns, over gentle heat, do not scald. Strain hot milk into a quart measuring cup (discard solids) and add one teaspoon (or cube) of chicken base and stir to mix.  Off the heat, stir the seasoned hot milk into the butter/oil/flour mixture.  Back over low heat, cook slowly whisking all the time until thickened.  Add 1 tsp of worchestershire sauce, 1 tbsp of dijon mustard, a generous scraping of nutmeg and one cup of shredded parmesan cheese.  Stir well, reserve.

Note: for each tablespoon for flour and equal tablespoon of fat (bacon grease, oil, butter, schmaltz) and an adjusted liquid measure of liquid of choice will determine the the thickness of the creamy base.  For a souffle base, I use only 3/4 cup of liquid to basic flour/butter mix to make a very thick base.  For a sauce base, I use 1 1/2 cups liquid to flour/butter mix to make a sauce for the cheese sauces to drape sandwiches, macaroni, eggs bennie, roasted veggies.  For a cream soup base, I would use 2 1/2 cups of milk and/or liquid stock to create the creamy soup.

Base Recipe:

Blender Hollandaise

4 egg yolks

2 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice

!/2 tsp of salt

generous pinch of white pepper

1 cup of melted butter

Melt butter until foaming (not browned), add in a slow stream to egg yolks, lemon juice and seasoning in a blender cup base. Blend until foamy and thickened. Reserve in a thermos.

Egg poaching:

In a deep skillet of simmering water, add 1 tbsp. of white vinegar to the three inches of simmering water.  Break in whole eggs and cook until just below a solid yolk setting.  don't poach more than four eggs to control doneness.  Whites firm and yolks runny is the goal.  Use a slotted spoon to remove eggs from poaching liquid, drain well, before topping toasted English muffin.

Now it is all a matter of assembly:

Eggs Benedict

One English muffin, split and toasted

4 slices of Canadian Bacon, pan fried in a touch of butter

2 poached eggs, well drained

1/2 cup of hollandaise sauce

Split and toast muffin.  Top with two pieces of Canadian bacon.  Gently position poached eggs and ladle hot hollandaise over eggs.  Serve.

Hot Brown Benedict

One English muffin, split and toasted

2 thick slices of roasted deli turkey, heated gently

2 slices of fresh tomato

2 slices of precooked bacon

1/2 cup of "investment" mornay, slowly heated with a bit of  extra minced turkey and bacon with a 1/4 cup of sharp grated cheese stirred in to emphasize the "Hot Brown" aspect of the eggs Derby style.

Split and toast muffin.  Top with thick tomato slices, season with salt and pepper.  Top with turkey slices.  Position eggs gently on top.  Ladle hot seasoned mornay over eggs.  Add a criss-cross of bacon slices.  Serve.

Corned Beef Benedict

One English muffin, split and toasted

1 can of Corn beef hash heated

2 poached eggs

1/2 cup of hollandaise

Split and toast muffin.  Top with poached eggs.  Top with hollandaise mixed with the heated crumbled hash.

New Mexican Creamed Corn with red peppers and chipotle

Canned creamed corn is insipid and flavorless at best. Lightly grilling the corn on the cob before scraping the kernels into a cast iron skillet foaming with browned butter will add a lovely smoky flavor to a wonderful side dish.  In addition, the inclusion of red peppers, a chopped chipotle will increase the flavor factor ten-fold.  This is a lovely addition to your dinner table in celebration of fresh corn season, a Cinco de Mayo party or a Tabasco Fiasco Fiesta, as we fondly recall a party from our youth.  Don't ask.

Ingredients:
8 medium ears of corn, husks and silks removed
3 tablespoons of butter
1/2 of a large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into small dice
1 large shallot, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 chipotle chile, in adobo sauce minced
1 cup of heavy cream
salt and fresh ground black pepper
1/2 of a lime squeezed.  About one tablespoon of lime juice
1 tablespoon of minced cilantro
If you do not like cilantro, please sub some flat leaf Italian parsley
2 tablespoon of cotija cheese, crumbled

Optional addition:  3 slices of thick cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
Of course, keep it vegetarian without the addition of bacon

Grill the corn over low/medium heat until the kernels are just lightly toasted.  Our goal is not to overbrown and cook the corn, it will be cooked more later in a cast iron skillet.  Lightly does it.

Cool.
Cut each ear of corn in crosswise to ease in cutting the corn off the cob.
Use a sharp knife to shave the corn off the cob.  Use a coffee cup sauce to hold the fatter end of the corn cob and slice down, carefully.  Use the back of a butter knife to milk the cob and reserve the juices from the cob in the saucer.
Heat butter (or if you are feeling very wicked, use rendered bacon grease) in cast iron skillet until foaming and a very light toasty brown.  Add sweet red pepper dice and shallot and cook for a few minutes. Add the garlic and chipotle and cook a minute more.  Finally add the scraped toasted corn kernels and reserved corn milk.   Add the heavy cream and cook until is thickens over low to medium heat.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Very little salt will be needed, actually, since cojita cheese can be quite salty, as well the heat from the chipotle will be sufficient for most.  Off the heat, stir in the lime juice and put in serving bowl.  Top with cotija.  If you are being wicked, add the bacon crumbles.  Enjoy.

Hint:  Freeze the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in an ice cube tray and once frozen, pop out and bag in a freezer bag.  When you need to use just a bit of chipotle pepper in a recipe, take a rock hard chipotle and grate it over the dish on a microplane.

Chipotle peppers in adobo
Fresh Corn