Eggs Benedict

Hollandaise sauce:

Make clarified butter by melting the butter in a saucepan over low heat. When it turns liquid, take it off the stove and skim off the top. Set aside to cool.

Put the white wine, peppercorns and bay leaf in a saucepan and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Sieve mixture into a stainless steel bowl. Discard the peppercorns and bay leaf.

Boil another saucepan of water, about half to 3/4 full. The water must be gently simmering, not violently boiling. Low heat is key to a successful hollandaise sauce.

Add 3 egg yolks to the stainless steel bowl with the wine and put bowl over the saucepan of barely simmering water, and whisk. Use a balloon whisk for this. Don’t give up and don’t stop whisking.

If the eggs look like they are going to turn solid or overcook, take the bowl off the heat, and continue whisking, then put it back over the saucepan.

When the mixture starts to thicken and leaves trails as you whisk, take it off the stove and set it on the counter with a towel underneath to stabilize the bowl. Add clarified butter to the sauce mixture in a slow steady stream as you continue to whisk. When all the butter has been safely whisked in, add the lemon juice.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

This sauce will be able to keep safely for two hours before serving
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Poached eggs:

Boil a saucepan or pot of water about 3/4 full. Again, the water should be barely simmering, not boiling hot.

Add distilled vinegar and a pinch of salt.

Poach the eggs, one at a time. Crack the egg into a bowl and tip it slowly into the simmering water. Once the egg white turns opaque, scoop it up, strain it and pat it dry gently with paper towel.

Serve the eggs on toasted muffins with the Hollandaise sauce poured over. For heartiness, fry up some bacon and have some salad and honey tomatoes on the side.