Holy ****ing Hollandaise: My First Crack at Eggs Benny

It's official... I'm a butter troll. Between the puff pastry, the hollandaise, the butter-seared shrimp, and all the butter I snitched while cooking, I think I probably consumed about a half-cup of the good stuff morning.

Photography by Chris Young

But holy ****... was it ever worth it. My boyfriend is somewhat of an Eggs Benny connoisseur, and without fail, will order that whenever we dine out for breakfast. He's actually got a top 5 list going of his favorite Eggs Bennys in the city. I can't recall the entire list, but some of his favorites are Locus's Corn Bread and Vegetarian Chili Benny (he's a vegetarian), and Twisted Fork's Brioche and Salmon Benny (okay, he's a pescatarian) . I think The Reef's Jerk Salmon Benny with Citrus Hollandaise was up there too, if I remember correctly. So, I had pretty high standards to meet when I set about creating this dish, but I must've done something right, because I made it into the top 5!

What went wrong:

1. ****ed up the hollandaise. It was beautiful until I put it over the double-boiler to keep it warm. The egg cooked, and the sauce separated and became ugly. Although still delicious, I knew the speckly hollandaise wouldn't make the top 5 cut.

Tip: Make the Hollandaise LAST, so its warm when you serve it.

Pictured above: The good Hollandaise. Mmmm. (I took this one. Only this one.)

2. Too much hollandaise. The boyfriend disagrees, but next time, I will be skipping that extra layer of hollandaise between the shrimp and the eggs.

3. Puff pastry was a bit overcooked.

Tip: Time it so the puff pastry is ready at the same time the eggs are done poaching so it can be assembled while everything is still hot. Cook it til it's just golden brown, but not crunchy!

Shrimp and Avocado Eggs Benny on Puff Pastry with Sauteed Spinach

Serves 2

1 Square Puff Pastry, thawed

1 Recipe Hollandaise Sauce (If you use free-range eggs, your yolks will be darker, giving your hollandaise a richer color. Do it.)

1 Cup Peeled Shrimp

1 tbsp Butter

1 Clove of Garlic

1 Avocado

1 Cup Spinach, Packed

4 Free-Range Eggs

Directions:

Divide the Puff Pastry in 2, and roll them out to fit into your baking vessels (I've used boats here, but you can use large custard cups or bowls if you like). Bake until golden brown, at 350 degrees. Meanwhile, Sautee the shrimp, 1 Tbsp of the butter and garlic, and set aside. Use the same pan to sautee the spinach with the remaining Tbsp of butter, and set aside. Get some water boiling, and poach your eggs. If you've never done it before this video is extremely helpful. Transfer the poached eggs into warm water, to keep them warm. Make the hollandaise sauce! It helps to have assistance for this part, so one person can do the hollandaise while the other assembles the rest of the benny. To assemble: Slice the avocado, and spread along the top of the puff pastry. Lay the shrimp on top of the avocado, and 2 poached eggs on top of each serving. Top it all off with Hollandaise, and the sauteed spinach.

Ta-Daaa!

I have to say, this is one of the most awesome things I have ever created. It could easily be improved, but for a first attempt at Eggs Benny, I can't complain. What I love about this dish is the potential to get creative with all the different components: the base, the toppings and the hollandaise. I can safely say this is not the last time I will be making Eggs Benny.

Omnomnom.