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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