Easy, Homemade Hollandaise Sauce
Few sauces beat the rich and delicious taste of hollandaise. From eggs to steamed vegetables, it has a way of transforming food into a decadent treat - but of course, anything that is made up of 90% butter would probably have a similar effect.Eggs benny with hollandaise was always a special treat in our house growing up. Every Christmas morning, and sometimes on birthdays, my mom would make it for my brother and I, and now I keep the tradition going in my family.If I knew how easy it was to make this nostalgic treat from scratch, I wouldn't have restored to using the dehydrated, "just-add-a-pound-of-butter," packages. By the way, have you looked at the ingredients on these monstrosities? Let me enlighten you...
Packaged Hollandaise Sauce Ingredients: buttermilk powder, modified cornstarch, modified milk ingredients, dextrose, palm oil shortening, salt, yeast extract, dehydrated onion, glucose solids, soy lecithin, citric acid, xanthan gum, torula yeast, natural flavor, spices, high oleic sunflower oil, calcium silicate, sodium phosphate, spice extractives.Modern Hippie Hollandaise: butter, egg yolks, lemon juice, salt.
Pretty substantial difference between the ingredients, wouldn't you say?But if it's really that simple to make, why do people resort to the package? Well, besides that fact that, as a society, we've become pretty lazy in the kitchen and are always looking for the quickest and cheapest way to feed ourselves, traditionally, hollandaise sauce is a bit of an art, and involves some skill and patience. I have had several failed attempts at making this sauce - until now! The secret... use a blender! 
A few weeks ago, my step-mom, who shares my love of cooking and delicious food, and I, decided to make a family brunch. We both had a killer craving for hollandaise...or maybe just I did and she went along with it because I'm a scary pregnant person... Nonetheless, we were on a mission to make hollandaise from scratch. I proceeded with caution as my unfortunate past experience with curdled hollandaise and wasted eggs flashed back in to my memory.After some trail and error and internet cruising, we came up with the most kick-ass, fool-proof hollandaise sauce recipe in town! A total Christmas game-changer and a recipe to past down to generations to follow :) Hope you enjoy!
How to Make Easy, Homemade Hollandaise Sauce
- 4 large egg yolks (5 small)
- 1 1/2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (skip salt if using salted butter)
- pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
- In a blender, combine egg yolks, lemon juice, and salt. Blend on a medium speed for about 40 seconds, or until the yolks have slightly lightened in color.
- In a small pot, melt the butter on low heat. Once the butter is hot, but not boiling, remove from heat.
- Turn your blender on to it's lowest setting and very slowly pour the hot butter into the egg yolk mixture, and continue to blend for about 5-10 seconds after it's fully combined.
- Taste the sauce and add more salt or lemon juice to your taste. If it's too thick add a tablespoon of warm water.