The Bendeguz

So ... the other day my husband was craving Eggs Benedict. But it was already way past breakfast time and we didn't have any of the ingredients anyway so we just left it.  Then our friends invited us to come have pizza for dinner.  We never turn down pizza with Craig & Jodie ... this was no exception !  Rory threw out the idea of making an Eggs Benedict Pizza.  Craig was up to the challenge and the rest my friends, is history !  Mouth watering, record breaking, best pizza eva history !

So, how do you make it ?

You'll need your favorite pizza dough recipe. This one had a nice thick crust.

Roll out your dough.  Top with "funky lime" garlic and the oil you cooked it in.  (funky lime garlic ... heat olive oil in a small frying pan. Add freshly minced garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, til light brown ... DON'T BURN IT !! Burned garlic is bitter and yucky !)

Top with mozzarella cheese and sliced bacon.  Cook the pizza til cheese/crust are golden.

While pizza is cooking, make hollandaise sauce and poach a couple eggs. (recipe here)

Once pizza is cooked, drizzle hollandaise sauce on top, top with baby spinach leaves and poached eggs.

Try not to make groaning noises when you eat this ... (but don't be surprised to find that is an effort in futility !) 

It's Thyme for Eggs Benedict !!

Today I learned how to make eggs benedict !

I love learning something new ... especially when it has to do with cooking ... and even better when a real person is teaching me how to do it !! Today ... my teacher was our friend Craig. You may remember him introducing me to my first poached egg a couple of weeks ago. Actually, I've since been told by my Mom that I have in fact had poached eggs before ... when I was a kid. I do not remember ... she did not do them with hollandaise sauce though ... not more than once anyway. Mom ... you may like to give it another go using this recipe ... and maybe with Jilly who reckons she's never had a poached egg either ... and so I'm deducing she's never had eggs benedict either.

Now ... I didn't make these today. I just watched. Except for a little tiny bit of stirring once the hollandaise sauce was cooked ... I'm a good helper ! :) I'm totally going from memory here ... we might have a chance of me getting the recipe down right because it was earlier today and I was paying close attention ... let's see how I go.

For the sauce ...
butter
egg yolks
lemon juice
fresh thyme
salt and pepper
water
cream, optional

For the eggs ...

water
vinegar
eggs

For serving ...

bread, toasted
butter, spread on toast
ham
And now how to cook it ...

Fill a fry pan with water and put it on to boil. You don't want a rolling boil ... just a gentle bubbling boil ... it looked to me just a little above a simmer. When it's ready to go, add the vinegar. As you pour it in, you'll see it spread along the bottom of the fry pan ... when it gets to the edges, stop pouring.

As the same time, you should be melting your butter. He used equal parts butter and egg yolks. Sorry, if you want measurements ! I don't have 'em ... But, I think it was about 5 yolks and then butter that looked to be about the same amount ... Got that ?? Good !

You want to melt your butter in a bowl ... over a pot of hot water. Not too hot though because you're going to be adding the egg yolks and you don't want them to scramble. I imagine this just takes doing a few times to know when it's right ... When your butter is melted, slowly add the egg yolks and stir constantly. If they are starting to scramble, take it off the heat. This didn't happen today so I don't know what you'd do with it then ... change your breakfast plans ?

Keep stirring while the sauce thickens. Add a few squirts of lemon juice. Keep stirring. When it's thickish you can take it off the heat. But keep stirring (this is where I started being 'helpful') because it will keep cooking til the bowl cools down. Add your thyme and salt and pepper. And a bit of cream if you like.

You should have already started poaching your eggs by now. I'm not sure on the timing ... I'm actually posting this recipe so I'll know where to find it when I finally MAKE these myself ! But ... aim to have the sauce and the eggs finished at the same time. To poach the eggs ... you've already added the vinegar now you need to add the eggs. Crack the egg and slowly let it start to fall in the pan, don't let the whole thing go in just yet, you want that first bit to start cooking a little bit, then gently let the rest of it fall in. Cook to your desired doneness. Rory likes his yolks a bit runnier than I do but I'm getting more adventurous as far as runny yolk is concerned.

To eat ... toast. butter. ham. egg. sauce. fork. mouth. yum.