Slow Sunday,
and
Eggs Benedict for Brunch…..
the Cheats Way
Ahhhhh……..Sunday, and a slow Sunday at that, I love Sundays, I relish the fact that the shops are closed (in France that is ~ in the UK I know it’s almost a normal trading day, such a shame I think, and further erosion of our traditions and culture.) and there’s no post ( I mean BILLS) or commuter traffic roaring through our little village ~ roaring is a slight exaggeration by the way, but it sounds like that at 6am in the morning. And, as we ate so well last night at our friend’s house, I think we’ll skip breakfast and launch straight into brunch. With an almost endless supply of free range eggs courtesy of my Coronation Chickens, it will be egg based I think ~ plus elegant and refined ~ I am pulling all the romantic stops out today. I’ll get the nice china out and set the table with linen napkins and the best cutlery too ~ make it a special start to Slow Sunday.
Later on we are going to go for a walk on the beach; and if I have time I’ll rustle up a freshly made pie to take or some soup. I love soup for a picnic, served from an old battered flask and drunk from those ghastly plastic cups that always smell of stale coffee ~ but I wouldn’t give that old flask up for the world, it’s all part of the family picnic tradition. Yes, I fancy soup for our picnic today ~ Autumn has firmly established itself now and the mornings are cold enough that I have to throw a jacket over the top or my pyjamas or nightie, as I stagger out to liberate my hens VERY early in the morning I nobly add.
It really is our day to unwind and relax, and I guard my Sundays closely, often not accepting invitations to go out lest it upsets my lazy day, and NO, I am NOT unsociable, quite the opposite, but just knackered by the end of the week to put it bluntly! One thing I do miss when I am in France, are the Sunday papers ~ I love the British Sunday papers, with their magazines and extra supplements, there’s enough reading matter to last you until next Sunday; the French papers are just not the same……I suspect it’s my conditioned upbringing, watching my dad with an eagle eye until the coloured supplement or magazine was free for me to read…..it’s what I was brought up with, that and mum’s amazing roast dinners and even more amazing afternoon teas.
Back to this elegant and refined brunch I am making ~ I have the eggs as you know, I have some muffins too and as it happens some nice cooked ham, so Eggs Benedict is has to be, but MY way, with a cheats sauce……because slow Sunday doesn’t mean I can’t take a short-cut or three. The cheating is in the sauce ~ I make my cheats sauce with mayonnaise, cream, tarragon vinegar and herbs – just heat it gently and voila, an instant and very good Hollandaise sauce. I serve these with mesclun leaves and freshly chopped chives, which adds a touch of pizazz. So it’s off the kitchen for me now, and I also have a few last roses of Summer I can add to my posh breakfast table décor!
“I did it my way” Cheats Eggs Benedict
An easy way to rustle up a great classic and the sauce is just as good as a regular “from scratch” Hollandaise sauce, believe me! Use good quality ham and free-range or organic eggs for a fabulous and easy brunch or breakfast recipe. I like to serve mine with wild salad leaves and an extra toasted muffin.
(Serves 2)
Ingredients:
~Sauce ~
1/4 ounce butter
4 tablespoons good quality mayonnaise or home-made mayonnaise
2 tablespoons thick cream/heavy cream
1 tablespoon tarragon wine vinegar, or white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
a few sprigs of fresh parsley and chives, cleaned and finely chopped
~Eggs Benedict~
2 large free-range or organic eggs
A little vinegar
2 slices ham, good quality thick slices, not thin plastic ham slices!
3 English muffins, cut in half
butter, to spread
black pepper
Method:
First make the cheats Hollandaise sauce: Heat the butter over a low heat and then add all of the other ingredients, but not the herbs. Whisk the sauce over a low heat until it has the consistency of a good coating sauce and then add the finely chopped herbs, leaving a few to one side for the garnish later on. Keep the sauce warm over a very low heat, or cover and reheat just before serving.
Lightly toast the one muffin halves on both sides. Top each toasted muffin half with the slices of ham and set aside. (Leave the other muffins to toast later, to serve with the eggs Benedict.)
Fill a deep frying pan up to 10cm deep with water and add the vinegar. Bring the water to the boil, reduce the heat to very low so that the water is simmering very gently. Crack each egg in turn into a ramekin or a teacup, carefully slide the egg from the ramekin/teacup into the simmering water and poach each egg for 3 minutes only. Whilst the eggs are poaching, toast the remaining muffins and butter them, keep them warm if necessary.
Gently remove the poached eggs from the water using a slotted spoon. Top each muffin with a poached egg and then spoon a portion of warm Hollandaise sauce evenly over each egg. Season with freshly ground pepper and garnish with the remaining chopped herbs and serve at once, with the other toasted muffins halves, as well as a few wild salad leaves if you like.
OPTIONAL: Some people like to place the eggs Benedict under a hot grill for a minute or two at the serving stage, if you want to do this, then here is what to do; Place eggs Benedict under a hot grill and grill until the Hollandaise sauce is golden brown. Season with freshly ground pepper and serve at once as before.
An easy way to rustle up a great classic and the sauce is just as good as a regular “from scratch” Hollandaise sauce, believe me! Use good quality ham and free-range or organic eggs for a fabulous and easy brunch or breakfast recipe. I like to serve mine with wild salad leaves and an extra toasted muffin.
(Serves 2)
Ingredients:
~Sauce ~
1/4 ounce butter
4 tablespoons good quality mayonnaise or home-made mayonnaise
2 tablespoons thick cream/heavy cream
1 tablespoon tarragon wine vinegar, or white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
a few sprigs of fresh parsley and chives, cleaned and finely chopped
~Eggs Benedict~
2 large free-range or organic eggs
A little vinegar
2 slices ham, good quality thick slices, not thin plastic ham slices!
3 English muffins, cut in half
butter, to spread
black pepper
Method:
First make the cheats Hollandaise sauce: Heat the butter over a low heat and then add all of the other ingredients, but not the herbs. Whisk the sauce over a low heat until it has the consistency of a good coating sauce and then add the finely chopped herbs, leaving a few to one side for the garnish later on. Keep the sauce warm over a very low heat, or cover and reheat just before serving.
Lightly toast the one muffin halves on both sides. Top each toasted muffin half with the slices of ham and set aside. (Leave the other muffins to toast later, to serve with the eggs Benedict.)
Fill a deep frying pan up to 10cm deep with water and add the vinegar. Bring the water to the boil, reduce the heat to very low so that the water is simmering very gently. Crack each egg in turn into a ramekin or a teacup, carefully slide the egg from the ramekin/teacup into the simmering water and poach each egg for 3 minutes only. Whilst the eggs are poaching, toast the remaining muffins and butter them, keep them warm if necessary.
Gently remove the poached eggs from the water using a slotted spoon. Top each muffin with a poached egg and then spoon a portion of warm Hollandaise sauce evenly over each egg. Season with freshly ground pepper and garnish with the remaining chopped herbs and serve at once, with the other toasted muffins halves, as well as a few wild salad leaves if you like.
OPTIONAL: Some people like to place the eggs Benedict under a hot grill for a minute or two at the serving stage, if you want to do this, then here is what to do; Place eggs Benedict under a hot grill and grill until the Hollandaise sauce is golden brown. Season with freshly ground pepper and serve at once as before.
See you all later and have a wonderful Sunday whatever you are doing or not doing as the case may be.
Karen
A Trifle Rushed says
What a yummy recipe. I love the fact that Sunday's in France are soooo relaxed. Jude x
PS if you really miss the papers you could try some of the iPad apps, I've just read the Sunday Times, and highlights from the Observer on the Guardian app!
Marie says
Your eggs look lovely Karen. Sundays is now the second busiest shopping day of the week over here. I hate that. It's murder to try to go anywhere and if it's Race Day forget it! I long for the quiet Sundays of old, which meant church and a leisurely dinner relaxing with family and friends with none of the hustle and bustle! xxoo
Annie says
Yup, I fondly remember quiet everything-closed Sundays too, but with kids in college who can only work weekends I'm going to argue for keeping the shops open … without her weekend job my daughter Sally wouldn't have been able to afford her MA.
Another yummy egg dish … if only we had space for hens!
Karen S Booth says
Thanks Jude ~ good idea about the Guardian app ~ one small problem I need an ipad! It has been on my Christmas list for 2 years now but my husband seems to forget all about it ~ when I am back in the UK this October/November, I may invest in one! However, I do subscribe to Guardian on-line and get daily news headlines e-mailed to me, not quite the same but it does keep me in the loop.
Have a wonderful last few days in France.
Karen
Karen S Booth says
Marie ~ thanks! I am so with you about the constant hustle and bustle…..have a wonderful Sunday today.
Karen
Karen S Booth says
Annie ~ I DO agree, and although I hanker for the old days, as I mentioned, and I worry about falling numbers attending church etc, the reality is that my own daughter only managed to keep the wolf from the door (when she was at university) due to her weekend jobs and yes, she did work on Sunday too…..it's a hard one to call, I KNOW many families RELY on weekend working, but I just wish we had not become so entrenched in the idea of working on Sundays and also previously important holidays such as good Friday and Easter Monday…..Hannah was offered a job straight after graduating last year, what a relief, but her student debt would have been considerably higher without the benefit of her weekend jobs ~ I think my nostalgia often takes over, that, and living in France which has showed me that is another way, as they manage to cope with practically no Sunday opening here. (Just the essentials, you know, flower shops, Pâtisseries and Boulangeries!)
Good luck to Sally in her MA studies, I remember reading all about her on your blog last week, and have a wonderful Sunday whether you are working or not!
Karen
La Table De Nana says
The cheats look good.. would love to see the flask too:)
Inspired by eRecipeCards says
Love the images and love the dish…
I enjoyed the exchange of comments. You can't put the genie back in the bottle. No way to return to a time that was, and we are the worst for it. I just spent a week in very rural South Dakota, where the pace is different. NOTHING moves on Sunday morning except church services. Not even the essentials are open until after 1 PM. No grocery, pharmacy, diner, etc until everyone takes time for services, and a dinner with family. Quite a change from my big city life where Jackie and I occasionally hit the brunch offerings.
Ah well
girlichef says
Beautiful…this is my kind of Sunday meal!
mycustardpie.com says
Adore eggs Benedict and your photos make me love it more. Will definitely try your sauce if it means I eat it on a lazy Friday (Middle East weekend) morning more often.
My Shopping Genie says
Sadly my hangover on Sundays will never allow me to make this. looks scrummy though.