Ghee Hollandaise

So we were recently gifted some ghee from our friends at gheewell.com and were debating what to do with it beside saute, which is what ghee is excellent for. So I'm was debating doing a Dutch baby, or some caramel sauce or something like scampi and I remember I"m sitting on the last ham steak that I was gifted from a friend who raised his pork from a baby and had it cured and smoked at Taylor's Sausage. So I whipped up a hollandaise sauce, which ghee is perfect for, and roasted up that ham steak, toasted up some rye bread, and fried an egg sunny side up to top this off and away we went.

Got some Cro-Mags to go with this because we scored tickets to see the Misfits (with the surviving original line-up, including Glen), Rancid, Cro-Mags, and The Damned. So we've been listening to a lot of the old school punk from our youth.

Ghee Hollandaise
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Serves: 4 people

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp cayenne
• 8 tbs liquid(melted) ghee

This recipe is really simple. Separate four egg yolks from their whites. Add those to your blender. Juice one lemon and separate one tbsp juice to add to blender. Add more if you prefer a more tart or sour hollandaise. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne. Blend on medium high. Drizzle in melted ghee slowly until hollandaise is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Drizzle on food and thoroughly enjoy.

Some notes: we frequently alter this recipe to make it exotic or different. This time I added powdered chipotle and some yellow curry. The wife has often substituted lime for lemon and added cilantro for a Mexican twist. Do you.

Basil Hollandaise Sauce

Justin and I aren't really breakfast eaters, but sometimes one of us will crave it, and then we'll go out somewhere and over pay for eggs and toast and poor service.  This morning, I really wanted breakfast, and we almost went out for it, but in the end, I was like, "Screw that!  I'll make us some eggs Benedict!"  Topped 'em with Asiago cheese.

I've heard trained chefs scoff at hollandaise made in the blender... but we've done it the traditional way plenty of times, and we both agree that in the blender is just as tasty and super easy.  My Benedicts were definitely not traditional.  I used some pastrami that we had and decided that I wanted to use up the egg whites, so I scrambled them with a few whole eggs and basil (instead of the traditional poached eggs).  So I decided to go with some basil hollandaise too, and it was great!

No idea why I was singing this in the kitchen this morning while making these, but I had a broken record in my head with this lyric, "...it's already better than last time I ruined another girl's life..."  Lagwagon's "Dinner And A Movie".  -jen

BLENDER BASIL HOLLANDAISE SAUCE
Time: 3 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes: about 3/4 cup

• 1 stick butter (8 tablespoons)
• 4 large egg yolks
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons
• 1 small garlic clove (about 1/8 teaspoon)
• dash of Sriracha 
• 3-4 large basil leaves 
• salt and pepper to taste

In a microwave safe container that you can pour easily out of (I use my glass measuring cup because it has a pour spout), melt butter for 30 seconds, then 15 additional seconds at a time as needed, until entirely melted.

In a blender combine egg yolks, lemon zest and juice, garlic and Sriracha.  Roughly tear up basil leaves and add them.  Begin blending on lowest speed.  While blending, slowly drizzle in melted butter then blend for 5 seconds more.  Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.  (If you use salted butter, you may not need to add additional salt.)

Tip:  Wondering what to do with those egg whites?  I add 2 whole eggs to them and scramble it up with some more torn up basil, which makes enough for 2-4 folks (depending on how much you can eat at breakfast, I guess!  It makes enough to top 4 English muffin halves.)

Pastrami and basil scrambled eggs with basil hollandaise sauce on English muffins topped with Asiago cheese.