First Attempt at Making Eggs Benedict

So, today, I made my very first Eggs Benedict, woohoo!

I have been dying to try making this American breakfast since yesterday. I don't know what came up to me, but there was this sudden urge to make this dish. I surfed the website for its' recipe and watched some how-to videos on YouTube to ease the curiosity. And, then, I stumbled upon a particular video of Gordon Ramsay, a British chef famous for his deadly remarks in Master Chef and Hell's Kitchen, making Eggs Benedict under five minutes. I became more obsessed to make the dish. 

The ingredients used to make Eggs Benedict is not that complicated, as well as the process to make it. First, you need to make the Hollandaise Sauce - a mixture of egg yolk, vinegar, salt, pepper, and melted butter - then you will have to poach your egg with a water and vinegar mixture, which when nicely poached will then be placed on top of your choice of ham, or smoked beef, and English muffin. Pretty simple, right? "Meh, if Ramsay could do it, then I can do it," I said to myself. In the end, I ended up consuming approximately two hours to make a five minute dish. 

I almost screw up my Hollandaise Sauce. My egg mixture didn't get enough heat from the pan with boiling water underneath, so it didn't thicken up. Thank God, Mom came to the rescue, resulting in a thick and creamy soft yellow sauce. The consistency of my sauce was similar to Chef Ramsay's and I was happy with it. 

As for the taste, I squeezed to much lime juice into the mixture, which ended up making the sauce dominated with a sour taste. And, on the one hand, I was supposed to use lemon instead of lime, but, because I didn't have any lemon, a lime would have to do. I also didn't have enough butter, so I just used the remaining leftover that I found in the fridge. 

When I was done making the Hollandaise Sauce, I was hoping for a slight acidic and sour mixture - with a hint of saltiness and peppery effect - but what I got was a very sour and eggy sauce. Not sure if I hit the right flavor, for I have never taste a Hollandaise Sauce before in my life. 

Pouching the eggs was my favorite thing to do when making Eggs Benedict. The thing is, we have to pouch our egg inside a water and vinegar mixture. The vinegar helps the egg white to stay intact, instead of tearing apart like they do when they are pouched with regular water. 

I did exactly like Chef Ramsay did in the video: crack the egg and put it inside a cup, stir the boiling water before you put in the egg, and pour the egg in using the cup to prevent it from running around inside the pan. The trick was very helpful. My egg stayed on the center of the pan and the egg white started to enveloped the egg yolk without tearing apart allover the place. 

I pouched two eggs, one was around 3 minutes, while the other was cooked two minutes longer. I was more satisfied with my second egg because when the egg white is nicely cooked, the egg yolk was gooey and runny. 

Since I didn't have any English muffins at home, I used a regular bread loafs instead. I shaped the loafs with the mouth of a glass, resulting in a round shape bread that looks similar to an English muffin. I toasted the bread, just so that I would get the crispiness on the edges. I also used smoked beef instead of ham because, well, it was the only layered meat available in my fridge. 

When all the ingredients are cook and prepared, it was time to decorate the plate. Simply put your toast on a plate, then top it when smoked beef, pouched egg, and Hollandaise Sauce. Add a wee bit of pepper to lighten up the party and voila! your very own Eggs Benedict. 

What do you think of my presentation? Ain't too shabby, right?

Again, making Eggs Benedict is very simple and not the slightest bit complicated. As long as you follow the recipe and instruction on how to make it, then you will not stumbled upon obstacles like I did. Remember, there is no wrong way to make Eggs Benedict, yet "If you must fail, fail spectacularly!"