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.

Stuffed Breakfast Chiles

Awww yeah!  I just made these bad boys a few minutes ago!  They're like reverse chile rellenos - the eggs are on the inside instead of the outside.  My fingers are still burning from the pasillas (which were spicier than expected, maybe I didn't de-vain them well enough!) - I never wear gloves when I handle chiles and then I regret it.  Wear gloves!!!  But really, these are only a little spicy, not really "hot".

I was thinking these stuffed chiles are pretty versatile.  I used green onion and bacon.  You could use jalapeños, cilantro (wish I'd had some!), sausage, chorizo, salsa.  Someone gave a shout for more vegetarian recipes - well here's one you can make vegetarian any way you want.  I love recipes like this where you can change it over and over and over again and just keep coming up with different combinations.  And... low-carb, if you're watching that kind of thing.

What goes with breakfast?  Well, naturally, I went straight to crack and dope... so Choking Victim was my only option, singing "500 Channels".  Get your skank on.  -jen

Homemade taco seasoning and Tabasco

STUFFED BREAKFAST CHILES
Prep Time:  30 minutes
Bake Time:  10-12 minutes
Difficulty:  Medium
Yields:  4 stuffed chiles

• 4 large pasilla chiles
• 1/4 pound of bacon
• 2 green onions, diced
• 6 eggs
• salt and pepper*
• dash of milk (like 1/4-1/2 teaspoon)
• few dashes of green Tabasco sauce
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• toothpicks

Wash and dry chiles.  Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray (I like to line the pan with foil for easy clean-up).  Place chiles on baking sheet and broil on one side for 4-5 minutes until charred, then flip and broil on the other side 4-5 minutes until charred. 

Immediately place charred chiles in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap or place in a large plastic zip bag and seal.  Let rest for 10-15 minutes so that the chiles sweat.  Then remove and peel off the charred skins.  Cut stem ends off chiles and slice down one side to open them up so that they lay flat.  Remove all seeds and ribs from inside of chile.  Re-spray the same baking sheet with more non-stick spray and lay chiles flayed open on baking sheet.  

While chiles are roasting, you can dice up your bacon and cook in a skillet over medium-high heat until crisp and crumbled, 10-15 minutes.  Line a plate with paper towels and place the bacon onto the paper towel to absorb the grease.  In the same skillet, saute the diced green onion for 1-2 minutes, just until tender.  Mix in with the crumbled bacon on the paper towel plate.

When chiles are done roasting, turn oven down to 350 degrees F.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt and pepper, Tabasco, and dash of milk.  (We always have some homemade "taco seasoning", and I used some of that to season my eggs, too!)  Using the same skillet again (I left a little bit of the bacon grease in it, or you can drain the grease out and use non-stick spray) over medium heat, scramble the eggs.  After 2-3 minutes of cooking, add the crumbled bacon and onion into the eggs and cook until just barely wet still.  Turn off heat.

On the open-faced chiles, add a layer of shredded cheese, then 1/4 of the egg mixture, then another layer of cheddar cheese.  Carefully fold the chile together and use a toothpick to secure it, leaving it seam-side up.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes, until cheese is melted.  Remove toothpicks and serve immediately.