Our First Daring Cooks Challenge-Eggs Benedict Southwest Style

Everyday Southwest is proud to announce that we are new members of the Daring Kitchen.  Donna and I are big fans of the group and have watched the challenges for a long time.  We have wanted to join and felt a little left out each time the new challenge was revealed.  We weren't quite sure we could take the monthly challenges and give them our special "Southwest" spin and stay within the guidelines.  The only way to find out was to dive in head first and see if we float, or something like that.

Our very first challenge is "Poached to Perfection" or poached eggs.  The recommended recipes are eggs benedict and oeufs en meurette.  That's pretty fancy for Southwest cookin'.  We aren't known for our "nouveau, almondine, thin crust, bottled water, sauteed city food"  here.

But, what the heck?  If we are diving in head first, then let's make a big splash!

Blog-checking lines: Jenn and Jill have challenged The Daring Cooks to learn to perfect the technique of poaching an egg. They chose Eggs Benedict recipe from Alton Brown, Oeufs en Meurette from Cooking with Wine by Anne Willan, and Homemade Sundried Tomato & Pine Nut Seitan Sausages (poached) courtesy of Trudy of Veggie num num.

I decided to try to put a Southwest spin on eggs benedict and see what happened so, here goes-

Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise Sauce, Canadian Bacon and Corn Salad.

You're going to have to have all of the balls in the air at once for this recipe! I found it impossible to have everything finished at the same time and hot without prepping absolutely everything ahead of time.  I even used two skillets, one for the eggs and one for the bacon, corn and toasting the corn bread.

Trim the top off the corn bread and grill in skillet with a little butter.  Cover with foil and keep in a warm oven

Grill Canadian bacon while bringing the water for the eggs to a simmer in a different skillet.

Saute the diced Canadian bacon until brown.  Add mushrooms and continue for 3 to 4 minutes.   Add the chiles and corn.  Don't over cook the corn!  It only takes a minute or two.  Toss in vinaigrette and keep warm.

Blend the water, lemon juice, salt and chile powder together.  Add egg yolks and blend.  Drizzle in warm butter while blending.  Place bowl in a hot water bath to keep warm.

Carefully drop the eggs one at a time into simmering water.  Assemble the corn bread, Canadian bacon and corn salad while eggs are poaching.

Poach eggs until the white that covers the yolk is just translucent and the yolks are still runny.  Remove the eggs from the poaching liquid with a slotted spoon.  Allow them to drain slightly before placing them on top of the corn salad.  Season with salt and pepper.

Top with warm hollandaise sauce and garnish with a little corn salad.

Eggs Benedict Southwest Style

4  squares of corn bread about 2 and ½ inches on each side

10 slices Canadian bacon

2 ears of fresh corn or 1 to 2 cups frozen corn

½ cup diced mushrooms

1 anaheim chile, seeded and diced

Salt and pepper to taste

2 to 3 tablespoons vinaigrette

1 tablespoon water

½ lemon, juiced

salt, a big pinch

dash New Mexico style red chile powder

3 egg yolks

¾ pounds unsalted butter, melted

4 whole eggs

salt and fresh cracked pepper

Directions for Eggs Benedict Southwest Style

Cut top off square of corn bread and toast in a skillet with a little bit of the butter.  Dice 6 slices of Canadian bacon and saute until brown.  Add the mushrooms to the  pan and cook 2 more minutes.  Add corn and green chiles and warm through.  Do  not over cook the corn. It only takes a few minutes. Toss with vinaigrette.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Bring a skillet with 2 tho 3 inches of water to a simmer.  Add vinegar and a little salt.

Melt butter.

Whisk 1 tablespoon water, lemon juice, salt, New Mexico chile powder and egg yolk together.  You may use a blender or immersion blender.  Drizzle in melted butter while whisking.  Keep warm over a hot water bath.

Grill 4 slices of bacon, keep warm.

Crack 4 eggs into separate bowls or ramekins.  Drop them one at a time into the simmering water (do not let the water boil).  Poach until the white of the egg above the yolk is just set but the yolk is still runny.

Assemble

Place a heaping spoonful of corn salad on t0 the center of a plate.  Put a slice of corn bread on top of the salad.  Stack Canadian bacon and egg on top. Season with salt and pepper.  Spoon hollandaise over egg and garnish with a little corn salad.

Here are some other poached egg recipes you might like to try:

Classic Eggs Benedict- Simply Recipes

Turkish Poached Eggs with Yogurt and Spicy Sage Butter- Orangette

Asparagus with Poached Egg, Tarragon and Chives- The Kitchn

-posted by Sandy