Thursday, March 7, 2013

Spicy Jamaican Benedict with Lime Hollandaise

This original creation won a $25,000.00 trip to France, back in 1997.  I'm serious.  Bays English Muffins sponsored it and spared no expense.  Still can't thank them enough for the trip of a lifetime.  I competed at a cook-off in Chicago with two professional chefs and a bunch of other "regular" cooks like myself.  I love to enter recipe contests because my brain works so far outside the box that I can't even SEE the box.  I think, "What if we rolled this up?" or "What if we went vertical?" or "What if we colored this with beet juice?" and away I go.   
I confess that my favorite eggs are scrambled.  When this contest came along, it had to be for an Eggs Benedict recipe.  I thought of a refreshing island twist, with a spicy zing, but there was just one problem: this was a cook-off and I didn't know how to poach an egg.  Bob, who likes every kind of egg known to man or chicken, came to the rescue and taught me.  Off I went, ready to do battle.  And then when we got to the test kitchens, they had all the eggs poached for us ahead of time.  Whew!
I was really intimidated by the professional chefs being there-- the people who can chop so fast their knife is a blur, and who can toss a skillet's ingredients high into the air and then catch them in the same skillet.  But... creativity won the day and voile!  Bob and I went to France!
This recipe will knock your socks off-- all the way to Provence, Lyon, and Paris.

6 Bays English Muffins
12 poached eggs
1 Cup crushed pineapple, drained
1 mango, chopped
2 tsp. prepared Jerk Seasoning spice
12 slices thinly sliced ham
1 Tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro (snip it in a cup)

1. Toast muffins and keep warm.  Poach eggs and drain.  In a small sauce pan over low heat, combine pineapple, mango and Jerk seasoning spice.
2. Make Lime Hollandaise Sauce (see below).  Place a slice of ham on each muffin, followed by a spoonful of the pineapple mixture.  Nestle a poached egg into the pineapple mixture.  Top with Lime Hollandaise Sauce.  Sprinkle with cilantro.

LIME HOLLANDAISE SAUCE
4 egg yolks
1 Cup butter, melted
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. water
2 drops red pepper sauce
salt

In a blender, mix all ingredients except butter.  Pour butter in slowly while blender runs on low speed.  Serves 6

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