Eggs Benedict with Crispy Prosciutto

I love the smell of fresh Autumn air pushing through my window early on a Saturday morning. I roll over and look at my wife and realize that life is pretty fantastic. I'm blessed with so many things and the only way to I can show my appreciation and love for this woman is by whipping up something in the kitchen that tells her taste buds just how I really feel.

The pattern is there and before we know it we slip into a trance of rituals and routines. I wake up and brew a pot of coffee and get to work on an omelette or eggs or french toast and home fries.  Depending on the season I may add in some fresh cut fruit with a splash of lime juice and pinch of sugar or add vanilla to my ricotta cakes for a new infusion of flavour. No matter what, the routine doesn't change all that much. It merely varies.

Today was different. I wanted a new way to tell her just how I feel and what better way than making a classic French dish. After all, France is the motherland of romance. A dish that is so decadent it eats like dessert. It eats that way because of the sauce. Eggs Benedict, as all foodies know, is all about the hollandaise sauce.

Hollandaise is one of the five foundation sauces in the French repertoire. It's basic yet so good that it fits with so many dishes, however none better than Eggs Benedict. It's a simple emulsion of egg yolks and butter, seasoned with lemon juice, salt and cayenne pepper. The sauce is rich, buttery and tangy. It transforms eggs from an ordinary state to a classic level.

The classic Eggs Benedict is a combination of poached eggs, either runny or stiff, peameal bacon, English muffins and hollandaise sauce. I prefer a different version. I like my English muffins toasted and browned, crispy prosciutto, poached eggs with runny yolks and a creamy hollandaise sauce that finishes the dish. I also like putting together Eggs Benedict with Crispy Prosciutto and Herb Roasted Potatoes. Potatoes roasted with garlic, oil and parsley and rosemary. Crunchy and soft and loaded with that herb flavour goodness.

I hadn't made Eggs Bendedict in quite some time but I'll be adding it to my repertoire now. It's rich and delicious and, most of all, it make my wife happy. That's what it's all about. Sitting down at the table with family and enjoying life together.

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