Eggs Benedict... 3 Ways!!!!

Homemade Bacon Portobello Benny, Crab Cakes Benny and Hot Italian sausages grilled tomato Benny's #eggsbenedict #eggsbenny

I love eggs benedict.... Especially the hollandaise sauce! I remember it well in days when I could order it in restaurants... Without a care in the world! I miss how kind my 30 year old body was to me! Perhaps some of you can relate! Or its' another food type you know you love but can no longer eat? I feel you! and I am up for the challenge to create any meal within a dietary restriction... so if you would like to provide some inspiration for the challenge.... please subscribe to my blog and I will take recommendation/requests, for any dietary restriction and I will create you a meal and give a shout out to you at the same time if I choose your recipe request!

I had some items on hand from previous meals (hot Italian Sausage and Crab Cakes) as well as my husbands homemade bacon... The three bases for these benny's. I thought of the Crab Cake Eggs Benny from a Pin I saw from Williams Sonoma which looked amazing with their sautéed spinach, but I had more of a California "dream" about my benny. Is that a Grapefruit mimosa you were pairing with that? Now you are talking my language! #williamsonoma

Lets get started on each shall we!!! I loved the idea of presenting a trio of Benny's but I am well aware this would not be a "typical meal" So I will break them down into the individual recipes.... Just one more "trio photo" ... Sorry but they are definitely pretty and they all tasted amazing and unique from eachother!

We will start with Bacon and Portobello... shall we? I've named each of these because I'm isloating and bored lol

It's Smokin' up in here! Benny!

I have mentioned before about my husbands knack for creating bacon and sausage from scratch! It's amazing and I love that I know (exactly) what is in it and that its far heathier for my family than what I can buy in a store. If you would also like to make your own bacon that recipe and technique is available here: https://www.c2lifestyle.org/post/making-a-blt-breakfast-bagel-but-we-made-the-bacon-too

So on this date, I cooked up some slices of bacon in the oven until perfectly cooked! This image is obviously not at the perfectly cooked stage... #baconeggsbenedict #baconeggsbenny #portobellobenedict

I sliced up a Portobello mushroom and sautéed it with avocado oil and Worcestershire sauce to give it a Smokey caramelized flavour's.

I also grilled some buns in a pan with avocado oil to give them a toasted flavour. You will note I am #covid19 cooking and using what I had on hand...thus the hamburger buns... but what I should have found sooner was www.theviewfromthegreatisland.com #tvftgi and then I could have made amazing tasting English Muffins... next time! but my challenge was 3 distinct Benny's in one morning, so I had my hands full.

Then start layering the goodness together... The smokey bacon and the smokey portobello compliment one another for a rich and unique benedict.....You will just have to wait a bit if you want to see my dairy minimal hollandaise sauce and egg cooking techniques!

Completely created... this benedict is a thoughtful play on tastes with a dairy near neutral hollandaise.

The "Hot Italian" Benedict:

Yeah!!! Nope this is about sausage....yikes that's no better! I was hoping I wouldn't have to explain my sense of humour!.... I've been self - isolating !!! #italiansausagebenedict #hotitaliansausgagebennedict #sausagebenny #grilledtomatobenedict #grilledtomatobenny

I had cooked up some hot Italian Sausage for my Paella, Paella, Paella recipe at: https://www.c2lifestyle.org/post/paella-paella-paella and there was some left over ... it was begging to be in a breakfast! Ok... I got you! I felt it paired well with grilled tomatoes with pepper and avocado oil... oh and some grilled onions! But lets layer this bad boy high!

It looks delicious... no? It tasted just as good!

I'm feelin' "Crabby" but still feed me... Benny!

So I made Crab Cakes for dinner... they were awesome... if I do say so myself! The ones for dinner were thinner but I saved some bulk "crab mix" to make a decent Benny Crab cake base! It needed to be thicker, since it had to be the bun and the protein!

I first pan seared the cake and then baked it at 350 degrees to cook through.

Once cooked I thought this particular Benedict version should have a fresh California vibe to it!

Bring on the fresh avocado slices and fresh diced red onions!

We could have stopped here and made a pre-dinner appy as is... or even use hollandaise sauce over it... crab cakes are so versatile! But no! slap on an egg... we are making it breakfast today!

I poach my eggs in a pre-formed dish that I place in a covered frying pan with water in the bottom... essentially I both baste and steam my eggs to a perfect poach! I do have one other super #lifehack for poaching eggs... in a pinch I will place a cracked egg in a coffee mug 1/3 full of cold water in the microwave. I covered it with a saucer or sometimes I don't even cover it.... I microwave for 1 minute... I leave it for at leaste 30 seconds to 1 minute in the microwave before opening it and I will take a look at the egg... if you still see yolk you need to start cooking for 20 second intervals... waiting 30 seconds between cooking cycles to see where your own microwave is at! Eventually you will see what your start time should be given your microwave age and strength! I warn you though, if you are using this technique for more than one egg... change out the water each time. If I'm prepping breaky for a busy morning before work I will use this technique because I know at my house I need 1:20 in the microwave and 1 1 minute wait to finish off! This is a time saver if this is just for you...but cooking for my family... I use the poacher!

The hollandaise is my dairy free/restricted miracle... so ... it's been over a year that I have not eaten dairy... and I have been super restrictive... like nothing at all for a year... This has granted me some slight allowances! Like if a pre-mixed pack like Knor hollandaise sauce has a whey (dairy) product 5 ingredients down in the list... I will risk out the use of that pre-mix, when I combine it with the following non-dairy alternatives! Not all hollandaise pre-mixes are equal so please read the labels, for instance McCormick Gluten free hollandaise sauce has buttermilk as its first ingredient... #earthbalance #Pacificfoods #dairyalternatives

I could of course.. and should give a try to a version of the www.lowcarbyum.com hollandaise sauce which is just eggs, butter and lemon juice...and sub in Earth Balance! Keto diet was actually how I realized I was dairy intolerant... it has to do with a recotta fritter experiment that was delicious but deadly... and then my world changed! For another day! #lowcarbyum

I followed the package description and whisked until perfect!

I sprinkled the two meat versions with just pepper and the crab cake with dried Parsley and pepper! Enjoy!

The Recipes:

It's Smokin' up in here! Benny!

• Cook homemade or store bought bacon in the oven or frying pan as you prefer,

• Slice a single Portobello mushroom cap thinly and sauté in high heat oil and worcestershire sauce until tender.

• Grill the bun or English muffin on an oiled pan or under the broiler with oil until crispy;

• Poach an egg to your liking and nestle on top; and

• Coat with hollandaise sauce and serve with hash browns or fruit.

The "Hot Italian" Benedict:

• Cook sliced up hot Italian sausage with sliced red onion and grill together until warm and soft;

• pan fry raw slices of Roma tomatoes coated with a dusting of pepper and high heat oil until soft and grilled;

• Grill the bun or English muffin on an oiled pan or under the broiler with oil until crispy;

• Layer sausage and tomato and onion to the grilled bun;

• Add a poached egg to your liking and nestle on your sausage mix; and

• Coat with hollandaise sauce and serve with hash browns or fruit.

I'm feelin' "Crabby" but still feed me... Benny!

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• Layer with fresh cut avocado and diced red onion;

• Add a poached egg to your liking and nestle on your sausage mix; and

• Coat with hollandaise sauce and serve with hash browns or fruit.