Hollandaise

One of the many advantages of raising chickens for eggs is having fresh eggs to make Hollandaise, Bearnaise and other egg based sauces. I taught myself to make Hollandaise sauce when I moved into my first real apartment and had my first real job. It's not difficult but unlike making cookies or cakes, it is as much technique as it is following a recipe. French cooking has always set itself apart from other cuisines mostly because their cooks developed techniques or skills or arts - what ever you want to call them - that allow them to take a basic technique and by substituting various like ingredients have at hand a plethora of different foods.

Hollandaise is a very good example of the beauty of French cooking technique. Once you learn to make good Hollandaise sauce, you can then make a variety of interesting egg based sauces to add flavor and interest to your meals. For more on that see Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", volune 1.

So here is my recipe and technique for Hollandaise Sauce - which I think is good on everything but corn flakes!

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 to 8 tablespoons cold butter
pinch of black pepper
pinch of salt
pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
a few grates of nutmeg (optional)

I use a small Corning Ware pan, but any small, heavy bottomed, straight sided skillet or pan will do.
The trick is to keep the heat low enough to melt the butter and cook the eggs without scrambling them.

Begin by whisking the eggs and lemon juice together in the pan. Slice a stick of cold butter into tablespoon sized slices. Set the pan over low heat (you can use a simmering double boiler if you like). Add a slice of butter to the pan and whisk it around until it is melted. At this point, I stick my finger in the pan all the way to the bottom to feel if the pan is hot enough. Be careful, but you should be on such a low heat that the pan feels very warm but not burning. If the butter isn't melting, turn the heat up a little bit.

Continue whisking the butter into the egg mixtures one slice at a time until you have used 6 slices. If the sauce is beginning to thicken, cook and whisk a minute or so longer and you are finished. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne and nutmeg.

If the sauce is still thin add the rest of the butter one slice at a time.  The sauce is accomplished by the eggs absorbing the butter. Some yolks may be bigger than others and will take more butter. If you have used the entire stick and the sauce is still thin, turn up the heat a little more and continue whisking. The sauce should begin to thicken in a minute or so. When the sauce has thickened to the consistency you like, season and serve.

You can keep left over sauce in the refrigerator for about 36 hours. Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate immediately. To use the sauce, set it in a small pan over low heat and add a teaspoon or so of very hot water. Whisk well until sauce returns to desired consistency. I always save some back from an evening meal to have for Eggs Benedict the next morning. Heaven!

Now that you have learned to make Hollandaise, try Bearnaise next. For Bearnaise substitute tarragon vinegar or white wine vinegar and dried tarragon for the lemon juice. Boil a tablespoon of minced shallot in a half cup tarragon vinegar until the mixture is reduced by two tablespoons. Cool, then add egg yolks and proceed as with Hollandaise. Omit the cayenne and nutmeg. This is wonderful with beef. In fact, this is a must with any cut of beef from burgers to prime rib.

Mousseline or Chantilly sauce is Hollandaise with a 1/2 cup whipped cream folded into the prepared Hollandaise just before serving. It's very good on mild fish, souffles and asparagus.

Don't get discouraged with the whole process. You have to develop a "touch" to make this well but its worth it.