GET READY FOR MOTHER’S DAY
Success, n. The one unpardonable sin against one’s fellows.
~Ambrose Bierce (1842 – 1914?) The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)
Mothers Day is on Sunday, so if you want to make a splash honoring the Mother of Your Children or your own Mom, a nice Hollandaise sauce is a good way to do it. Nothing says, “I Love you” like rolling up your sleeves and whipping up a celebratory meal graced with the effort of attempting a flawless sauce. A sublime addition to brunch or dinner, you can’t argue with this marriage of egg yolk and butter, tinged with lemon.
Hollandaise is a delicate sauce. Many fear it. But it is not as difficult as you might think. There are a few secrets, however, to making a good one. I won’t say “fool proof,” but pretty close if you’re up to a minor culinary adventure. Here’s the rundown:
- You must have a double boiler. Egg yolks cook very quickly and, when cooked too quickly, become scrambled eggs. To avoid scrambling the eggs in your Hollandaise, they have got to be cooked gently and slowly. A double boiler is the only way to insure that they will be cooked slowly and gently enough.
- It seems to be impossible to make a good Hollandaise with less than two egg yolks. I don’t know why, but I’ve never had a good outcome with making a lesser amount. It could be that the small quantity of a single yolk in the pot allows it to heat up just too quickly for its own good.
- Get out your whisk and prepare for five minutes of vigorous whisking. In order for the eggs to cook evenly, they must be beaten continuously. Keeping the eggs from resting on the surface of the hottest part of the pot – the bottom – insures that it cooks slowly enough. In order for the butter to be fully incorporated into the egg yolk, they must be beaten continuously. Begin to see where this is going?
Seethat nothing is overheated. Overheating causes textural failure, whether from the separation of the oil from the milky solids of the butter, or the scrambling of the egg.  This includes making sure that the level of water in the bottom pot does not touch the bottom of the top pot, where the eggs are. If the water boils against the top pot, it will heat the egg too quickly.
Heat half a stick of butter in the top of the double boiler and, when just melted put into a small dish for addition later. Whisk the egg yolk and lemon together in the top pot and begin cooking over the boiling water, whisking continuously. In less than two minutes, it will be thick and hot. Remove the top pot, continue whisking to cool down, then while still whisking, add the melted butter gradually. Don’t rush this part; it will take a few minutes. Return to the heat and whisk in the remaining solid butter. The finished sauce will be warm, rather than hot. If heated until hot, it will begin to separating.
Hollandaise sauce, topping off Eggs Benedict (coming up later this week) at brunch or ladled over farm fresh broccoli or a fish fillet for dinner is an unimpeachable way to make an understated, elegant presentation honoring an important person.
