This post originally appeared on Catz back in January of 2014. In the six years since then, we've continued to make this recipe on a regular basis, and enjoy it! I've personally developed into a bit of an Eggs Benedict fanatic - can't help but try any and all variants I see on menus at restaurants! This is a basic, simplified, approachable way to get tasty eggs benedict on your brunch table.
Eggs Benedict. It's that meal that everyone likes to order at a breakfast establishment because it seems elegant and cultured, but with an ingredients list that is relatively simple, pronounceable, and short. Because it's colorful. It comes in pairs. It's cheerful. Its ingredients are named after countries (English muffins? Canadian bacon?). Basically, it's a friendly, approachable meal that still seems European enough to be just slightly exotic to the American palate.
Also, it tastes amazing. Poached eggs ("cheese sauce," to quote Julie & Julia) and hollandaise sauce? Yes, please. Julia Child describes "sauce hollandaise" the following way in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One: "It is probably the most famous of all sauces, and is often the most dreaded, as the egg yolks can curdle and the sauce can turn." It can turn. Terrifying. I have no idea what that means. Luckily, the advent of the electric blender means that "sauce hollandaise" is no longer dreaded (though many still seem to find it intimidating) - in fact, it's downright simple.
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