Good morning, all, and happy Wednesday! I’ve been looking forward to this post since Kasha of The FarmGirl Cooks and I had our cooking session last week – the creativity was going, the food prep was fun, the food photography turned out awesomely, and we sated our appetites! This is a different kind of recipe-of-the-week post than I’ve had previously, since it’s not so much a recipe post as a how-to post mixed in with a photo essay showing you how to use and style the two things I’m going to teach you how to make. Read on, and I hope you enjoy 
Poaching an Egg
This ghostly image is actually a poaching egg in progress. The whole concept of poaching an egg is relatively simple – it’s the execution that gets dicey. You simmer water in a pan {preferably deep enough to cover the egg}, then you crack the egg into a measuring cup or small dish and carefully pour it into the simmering water, then you wait as the boiling water slowly cooks it through. Okay, what’s simmering as opposed to boiling? A simmer is the moment right when it’s just starting to bubble, and a boil is when the bubbles are going fast and furious. You want a simmer.
Anyway, when the whites and the outer casing of the yolk is opaque, it’s done. Sounds simple, but it’s really, really hard to tell when you’re at that perfect level of done-ness. A poached egg is “done” when it moves but just a little, and when you cut it open, it’s not straight-up running but it kind of oozes out onto your food. Like melting butter. Yum! Anyway, you don’t have to take my word for it. I was going to write up a tutorial for poaching an egg when I realized that Deb at Smitten Kitchen does it just about the same way {except she uses vinegar, I don’t}.
Seriously, don’t be afraid of a poached egg. It might have taken Josh out of the MasterChef 3 competition {don’t forget that he cooked his way back in later}, but you’re not cooking for an audience – or for Gordon Ramsay. You can try this a bunch of times in your own kitchen and screw it up fabulously until you get it right!
Hollandaise Sauce Made Easy
Lots of people are intimidated by the idea of Hollandaise sauce, but there’s a pretty easy way to make it that doesn’t involve meticulous double-broiling and other tricky tasks. To start with, melt 1/2 cup of butter {truth: you can actually make it without the butter and it’s good but it lacks that oh-my-God taste of real butter. Anyway, while the butter is melting, separate out 4 egg yolks {the whites go into our morning omelets or pancakes} and whisk those together with about a tablespoon of lemon juice. Enter your trusty blender. Pour the egg yolk mix with a dash of salt and pepper {and paprika, if you’re adventurous!} and blend it until it starts to thicken. Pour in the butter gradually and mix that in. If you let it sit for a bit {say 2 minutes}, it will thicken up nicely, but don’t let it form a skin on top. If it does, well, you know where the “mix” button is.
Traditional Eggs Benedict
This combination starts with two toasted English muffin halves. Layer on a piece of Canadian Bacon, a poached egg, and dress with Hollandaise. If you’re feeling fancy, you can add in steamed asparagus, julienned sun-dried tomatoes, sausage, crab or lobster, or a number of other different things. It’s such a versatile combination!
Vegetarian Eggs Benedict
Okay, so it’s not truly vegetarian – it’s got a damn egg in it. But there’s no bread and no meat, just egg and veggies and, of course, Hollandaise. I got the idea from my friend Jen’s gorgeous blog, Localette, where she pioneered the idea using a sauteed eggplant, mushrooms, avocado, and a beautiful butterless Hollandaise. And let me just say that every time I feel like I know what I’m doing with photography, I look at Jen’s blog and the other amazing photographers from The Inspired Plate, and, yeah. Picture Wayne’s World – “I’m not worthy!!” Check it out if you want to see professionals playing with food photography.
Anyway, Kasha and I made a version with her lovely roasted tomatoes, slices of avocado, sauteed mushrooms, a poached egg, and Hollandaise. It turned out great in the photos, and on top of that, it was delicious!
Cajun Eggs Benedict
This one was my baby. I was dreaming about this one for weeks and practicing before we got it to work. I have a long-abiding love for Cajun and Creole cuisine, as I might have mentioned, thanks to my father, and this was a great way to bring a Cajun twist to a very traditional recipe. This creation started with a bed of arugula, one of my tasty jambalaya rice cakes, a poached egg, and Hollandaise with Cajun spice {to make things simple, Cajun spice is just a combination of smoked paprika, cayenne, oregano, pepper, and salt}. Very simple. Very elegant. Very delicious.
On top of that, well, I had a friend who always said in golf, all it took was that one great swing to keep you playing the game, no matter how bad you were. These were the photos that keep me taking food photography, and this was the recipe that helped me keep believing I’m a chef. So tasty!
So this was the teaser photo I aired for this shoot…
And here’s the rest…
Hope these pictures {and recipes} inspired you, either to go seek out or to create beautiful food, and hope you’re having a wonderful week!
