Hollandaise sauce is one of the most amazing creations in the world of sauces. I can eat good Hollandaise by the spoonful. Of course, Hollandaise is not the most healthy of culinary delights. But, as I’ve said before, a healthy lifestyle includes indulgences. Completely cutting certain foods and dishes out of your diet can backfire. If I told myself I could never have cheese again I would think of nothing but cheese day in and day out. Instead of cutting cheese out, I cut back. Instead of eating cheese at every meal (yes, I used to do that), I think of cheese as more of a treat. I use it as a garnish rather than revolve my meals around it. Same goes for Hollandaise. No one should be eating Hollandaise sauce on a regular basis, but every once in a while drizzled over a steak or eggs, it’s a fabulous treat.

Hollandaise on its own is amazing. But I’m always striving for improvement. How do you make Hollandaise sauce better you might ask? You kick it up. Minced garlic and peppers give it a little something unexpected.

INGREDIENTS (adapted from Martha Stewart):

3 large egg yolks, room temperature

4 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 sticks (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon spicy pepper, minced (you can use Jalapeno, Serrano, Poblano, depending on how much spice you can handle)

Coarse salt

DIRECTIONS:

Saute garlic and peppers for two minutes or until softened and fragrant. Keep warm.

Whisk yolks in a large heatproof glass bowl until they begin to turn pale, about 1 minute. Whisk in 4 1/2  teaspoons warm water.

Set bowl over a pan of barely simmering water; heat yolk mixture, whisking vigorously constantly, until thickened. This can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes depending on your arm strength. It’s a great arm workout and so worth it I promise!!

Remove bowl from pan. Whisk in lemon juice. Whisking constantly, add one tablespoon softened butter, one drop at a time at first. The recipe called for 12 tablespoons of butter but I cut back because it’s really not necessary to have that much butter. Eight tablespoons are plenty!

Whisk until thickened. Season with salt and stir in garlic and peppers.

Finally, pour over just about anything! I especially recommend it with my Spanish-Style Eggs Benedict which was the inspiration for this kicked up Hollandaise.

OR you can use it to top off these super yummy potatoes.  Fry up some ham and potato rounds, add grated cheese and Hollandaise and you’ve got southwest-style home fries!

 

Note:  If not serving immediately, pour hot water from pan into a separate (cool) pan; set bowl on top. Keep sauce warm, whisking occasionally, up to 30 minutes. During that 30 minutes, you can make the Eggs Benedict. If sauce becomes too thick, whisk in warm water, 1 teaspoon at a time, to thin.