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Hollandaise Sauce
by Jes Mostek
serves: 4
  This recipe may seem complicated, and I was intimidated by this sauce for years, but once you make it once, you'll reallize how incredibly quick and easy it is to look like a gourmet cook!

Follow the instructions I set down below and you'll make a perfect Hollandaise sauce the first time and you'll be an expert in no time!
Ingredients:
  1/2 c.   unsalted butter
  3   egg yolks, beaten
  1 1/2 T.   lemon juice
    salt & pepper
    water
Directions:
  In a small to medium-sized sauce pan, melt the butter over low heat, whisking occasionally to keep it homogenous. As soon as all the butter is melted, but before it starts to boil, remove the pan from the burner.

Whisking rapidly, add about half of the melted butter to the egg yolks. Pour the egg and butter mixture back into the pan with the remaining melted butter and stir vigorously to ensure that the eggs don't cook and that everything is well combined.

While the pan is still away from the burner, add the lemon juice, continuing to stir constantly. Return the pan to the stove and turn the burner on to medium-low heat. Add the salt and fresh ground pepper.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly (although you no longer have to whisk rapidly) until the mixture thickens and the first bubbles appear to indicate that the mixture has reached its boiling point. (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat immediately as you don't want the mixture to reach a full boil, or it may curdle. The thickening of the sauce is caused by the egg yolks being cooked.

If your Hollandaise sauce does curdle, this can be reversed by simply putting your mixture in the blender for a few seconds.

If your Hollandaise sauce is too thick to suit your tastes, simply add some more lemon juice or water, 1/2 tsp. at a time until your sauce reaches your desired consistency.

Also, if you don't like so much pucker-power in your Hollandaise sauce, you may substitute some of the lemon juice for water.