Smoked Salmon Benedict

On Sunday morning, Johnny and I went to our friend's house to make brunch.  It was more of a lunch/dinner because we didn't really finish eating until 2 or 3pm.  We have never made eggs benedict before, so we tried to put a little twist to it (an inspiration from Murrietta's on Whyte Ave. where we went for brunch last week) by using smoked salmon.  It turned out better than expected (poaching eggs is much easier than I thought!) and here's a picture of our masterpiece:

Sorry for the poor quality of the picture, once again it was taken with my iPhone.  If you want to try this recipe for yourself, here it is:

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

Ingredients:

Eggs Benedict:

1 tsp vinegar

4 eggs

4 English muffins or wedges focaccia or croissants

8 oz smoked salmon

Hollandaise Sauce:

4 egg yolks (on top of the 4 eggs above)

1/3 cup butter, melted

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

pinch cayenne pepper

2 tbsp chopped fresh dill

Directions:

Eggs Benedict:

(1) Pour enough boiling water into skillet to come 3 inches up side; return to boil.

(2) Add vinegar; reduce heat to gentle simmer.

(3) Break each egg into small dish; gently slip into simmering water.

(4) Cook until desired doneness:

                1 minute and 30 seconds - runny yolk, soft whites

                2 minutes and 30 seconds - slightly cooked yolk, 
                well cooked white

                4-5 minutes - well cooked yolk and hard white

(5) Remove with slotted spoon and drain well, patting bottom of spoon with towel to dry egg.

(6) Meanwhile, cut english muffins horizontally in half and toast; place 2 halves, cut side up, on each plate.

(7) Top each with smoked salmon, poached egg and 2 tbsp Hollandaise Sauce.

Hollandaise Sauce:

(1) In heatproof bowl over saucepan of simmering water, whisk egg yolks until thick enough to coat back of spoon, about 4 minutes.

(2) Remove from heat.

(3) Whisk in butter, 2 tbsp at a time; until thickened.

(4) Whisk in lemon juice, salt, cayenne, and dill.

(5) Keep warm over hot water.

Overall?  It was a good recipe and the eggs benedict part was delicious, but Johnny had to make a few tweaks to the Hollandaise sauce to make it perfect.  We made five benedicts, so we added two extra yolks and lots more lemon to the sauce.  Without these additions, the sauce tasted like pure butter, so it's a good idea to use less butter from the beginning unless you're willing to add more of the other ingredients.  Otherwise, this recipe was awesome!

Recipe from:  http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/Main/Eggs-Dairy/recipe.html?dishid=4193

Wasabi Crusted Fish Fillets

Johnny and I decided to make dinner last night and the cod turned out much better than expected.  It was flakey and tender and the panko was nice and crispy (it could have been slightly crispier, so we will probably leave it in the oven for a bit longer next time).  We just made a simple pasta with portobello mushroom marinara sauce on top as a side dish.


Here's a (very blurry) iPhone picture of our dish:

Thinking of making this yourself?  Here's the recipe:

Wasabi Crusted Fish Fillets

Ingredients:

1 lb (0.5 kg) cod or halibut fillets

1/2 cup (125 mL) mayonnaise

1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) wasabi paste

1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt

1 cup (250 mL) panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)

1/2 tsp (2 mL) paprika

Directions:

(1) Pat fillets dry with paper towels.  Combine mayonnaise, wasabi paste and salt; spread on both sides of fillets.

(2) Combine panko and paprika in a pie plate

(3) Working with one piece at a time, dip fillets into panko mixture, pressing lightly so that panko mixture adheres; turn to coat both sides.

(4) Place fillets in a single layer on a greased rimmed baking sheet.

(5) Bake, uncovered, at 450 degrees Fahrenheit  (230 degrees celsius) for 10-12 minutes per inch (2.5 cm) of thickness or until fish flakes easily with a fork.  Serves 4.

Overall?  Great success and we both loved it!  Johnny enjoys wasabi more and said he would put more next time, but I was happy with the amount that was in the recipe.  You might want to play around with the measurements to see which you like best.  We cut the recipe in half since there was only the two of us (so naturally, all the ingredients we used were also cut in half).  We found Japanese Panko crumbs at Save-on-Foods in the spice/baking aisle.  They should sell it at Superstore as well.  Hope you give this a try!!

Recipe from:  http://www.atcoblueflamekitchen.com/