Breakfast for Champs

If there's one thing that I love about New York City weekend brunches is the availability of Eggs Norwegian—a delicious take on the classic Eggs Benedict: two poached eggs over a bed of Canadian bacon and two slices of English muffins, all drizzled with creamy hollandaise sauce. The former replaces the bacon with smoked salmon. Rabbit Hole Restaurant in Brooklyn used to be a favorite destination for this, and Smorgas Chef at the Scandinavia House in midtown Manhattan serves up an excellent plate of this perfectly poached combo.

I began the weekend with my first foray into making this dish from scratch, referencing three recipes in the process:

1) English Muffins
These take a while to make (because the recipe calls for yeast and 'resting' time), so I opted for breakfast biscuits. My go-to are Ina Garten's, which I'd blogged about here, but I knew I was topping this dish with the caloric-bomb that is hollandaise, so I searched for a low-fat alternative. Ellie Krieger's Chicken and Biscuit Pot Pie Recipe on Foodnetwork.com yielded the crumby, scone-like discs that hold well enough to sop up delicious runny yolks on the plate. They also pair excellently with orange marmalade. By the way, I skipped the oil called for in the recipe, and also used regular all-purpose flour all the way.

2) Poached Eggs
This is hands-down the smartest, easiest way to poach eggs, discovered online by my husband! The following video shows you the "Sous Vide" method—unbelievable and ridiculously simple: First, brush on oil over a large square of cling wrap. Add your favorite seasonings—salt, pepper, and some herbs if you like. Next, place the plastic over a small saucer and drop an egg in. Gather the wrap around the egg and secure it with a piece of string (and now that I think about it, you can even knot the little parcel on top if you have enough room). Drop the egg in simmering water and cook for exactly three minutes. Surprisingly, the plastic wrap doesn't melt and instead, yields the perfect texture and consistency: firm whites encasing soupy yolks. Yum!

3) Hollandaise Sauce
Ahh... The pièce de résistance. Truth be told, it's highly probable that one of the reasons I even got out of bed on Saturday morning to build brunch from scratch is the thought of finally whipping up my first batch of this rich, decadent concoction/emulsion consisting of nothing but egg yolks, melted butter, lemon juice, and a dash of salt and cayenne pepper. It's no wonder that many have been known to approach the subject with trepidation—for one, there's a risk of the eggs scrambling before they become silken; for another, there is the issue of consuming pure yellow cholesterol. That said, everything in moderation makes life pleasant. And, if you set a glass bowl over simmering water—yes, the same one you just used to poach eggs—and whisk happily, while setting the bowl over the counter when things get too hot, you'll top off a great brunch with one of the most decadent sauces known to man. For this, I referenced Tyler Florence's recipe, also on Foodnetwork.com.

Perfectly drizzled with fresh, creamy hollandaise. Mmm...

Other notes:

- The smoked salmon is from Trader Joe's. The only other place that sells it for a reasonable dollar amount is Ikea.
- A biscuit slice slathered with orange marmalade provides a tangy-sweet contrast to the salty-creamy eggs.
- Restos usually add on a side of greens or some form of vegetable. You'll need it, to help justify the hollandaise :)

Building blocks of breakfast goodness.