The Lazy Person's Guide to Eggs Benedict

Last week was insane. You might have been able to tell since I didn't post. I had two rehearsals, three performances (two choir and one band), and since our daughter could only be home last week, we had our family Christmas on Saturday-- so all the shopping and planning and etc. But now I'm done with all that and I hope I can just enjoy the rest of the holiday season.

There are a bunch of things I've been thinking about and would like to write about eventually, but it's late in the day today, so we're going with practical advice instead: I am going to pass along my treasured recipe for Eggs Benedict Casserole. You were hoping I would, right?

Dean's family always had eggs benedict for Christmas breakfast. So I tried to continue the tradition. But after a few years of being totally stressed out on Christmas morning with toasting english muffins, poaching eggs, browning canadian bacon, making hollandaise from scratch-- I gave up. There was one year we had bagels with lox and cream cheese and all the trimmings, and I think we tried something else one year.

AND THEN!!! I discovered the Desperation Dinner recipe for Eggs Benedict Casserole. It takes about fifteen minutes to throw together the night before, it bakes in less than an hour, and you make the hollandaise in the microwave, which is almost foolproof. It is now one of our favorite meals, and MadMax requests it whenever he can convince me to do it.

So here you go, just in time for the holidays. This is a modified version of the original from this cookbook. I double the recipe and put one and a half  in a 10x15 ceramic casserole, and the remaining half in a 8x8 pan with no canadian bacon for the vegetarians (it is still not vegan, of course, since it has eggs and several dairy products). The double recipe serves 8-10 people, although around here that has always included several people with big appetites so it might go further with your crowd if you are dainty eaters.

Eggs Benedict Casserole
6 English muffins
10 oz canadian bacon
8 large eggs
2 C milk
two good-sized pinches of salt
one small pinch of pepper
a couple of shakes of powdered onion

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Cut up the english muffins and canadian bacon in bite size pieces and put them in the prepared pan. Toss to evenly distribute. Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk until the yolks and whites are combined. Add the milk and seasonings and whisk to combine. Pour this mixture evenly over the muffins and bacon. Use a wooden spoon to press the muffins down into the egg mixture so that everything is moistened. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, preheat the oven to 350. Bake the casserole, still covered with foil, for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until the muffins are just beginning to brown. During the last ten minutes, make the hollandaise. Just before serving, pour about half the Hollandaise over the casserole, and pass the rest in a gravy boat.

(There may be some standing liquid in various pockets on top of the casserole once it starts to brown--it's better not to overbake this thing, so I usually just blot it up with a paper towel.)

Microwave Hollandaise Sauce:
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon dijon mustard

Melt the butter in a smallish microwave-safe bowl. Let cool slightly. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Whisk them gently into the butter. Add the whipping cream and lemon juice and stir until combined. Microwave the mixture on high, uncovered, stopping every 20 seconds to whisk, until thickened. Stir in 1 t Dijon mustard. If you have a large mouth thermos, this can be made up to an hour ahead and held in the thermos until ready to serve.

Wisdom of the Hollandaise: every year, every single freaking year, halfway through I think this isn't going to work. But it does. Don't get impatient. Just stand there, set the microwave for 20 seconds, take it out and stir, and then do it again. And again. For about 3 or 4 minutes. At first it looks like nothing is happening. And then it actually gets thinner and you start to despair. And then finally suddenly the top of it will start to look like it's puffing up. Whisk it back down into the liquid and do it one last time. Usually it only takes one more time after the top puffs. Don't overdo it-- remember with microwave cooking, it will continue to cook for a minute or so after you stop, so as soon as it thickens up, stop. (If you keep going, the sauce will break--turn into an oily mess--and yes, I know that from experience.)

There you have it. If the hollandaise makes you nervous, do a trial run a few days before. It really does work just fine, but I admit I've gotten better with practice.

p.s. I could swear I've posted this before but after 15 minutes of searching, I couldn't find it. So for those of you who've been around for awhile, you may have already seen this.