Hollandaise

Hollandaise Sauce is easy.  Go slow and use your taste (correct salt, lemon and texture before you serve it at room temp).  The best butter and eggs make the best sauce.  In Buffalo free range eggs with huge yellow yolks can usually be procured at the Winter Market on Lafayette and Elmwood.  Come spring the Bidwell Market and other farmers markets are worthy sources. Backyard chickens are trendy.  Rene and Claire have two pet chickens. They get enough eggs to share with friends and family.  The fresher the eggs, the sweeter the butter, the better the product. 

This recipe is from Julia Child.
Hollandaise dresses up green veggies as well as Eggs Benedict.

Ingredients

1/2	cup	butter	melted, (you can use much less if desired)
3	large	egg yolks
1	tablespoon	water	cold
1	tablespoon	lemon juice
1	tablespoon	butter	cold, cut into pieces
1/8	teaspoon	salt

Directions

The egg yolks must be heated slowly and gradually so they will thicken into a smooth cream. It is not hard but attention is needed and it is good to have all the ingredients ready in advance.

Place the egg yolks in a saucepan and using a whisk beat for about one minute until they become thick and sticky.

Add the water, lemon juice and salt and beat for another 30 seconds.

Place the saucepan over low heat, or gently simmering water (a double boiler or baine marie). Constantly stir the mixture with the whisk as it slowly heats up. It will take one to two minutes or so to thicken, keep stirring.

If the mixture seems to be thickening too thickly or if there it seems to becoming a bit lumpy immediately place the saucepan into cold water to cool it and continue stirring. Then continue over low heat.

When the egg yolks have thickened enough you will start to see the bottom of the pot between strokes, you may also notice that the mixture forms a light cream colour on the wires of the whip.

Remove from the heat and beat in the 1 tablespoon of cold butter to cool the egg yolks and stop the cooking.

Beat the egg yolks with the wire whip and begin slowly adding the melted butter a few drops at a time (about 1/4 teaspoon at a time) until the sauce thickens into a heavy cream. Then you can add the butter more rapidly beating with the whip the entire time.

Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Serve warm.

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Hollandaise sauce is served warm and not hot. If you keep it too warm it will curdle or thin out. It can be held warm for an hour or more in a pan of lukewarm water. The more butter used the harder it is to hold for an extended period of time. If making an hour in advance use only a bit of butter and beat in softened butter just before serving.