March 26th – “Oscar Wilde said the only way to get rid of temptation was to yield to it, and right now, the stars fully second that motion.”

Eggs Benedict on potato cakes is my favorite weekend breakfast dish. We’ve been eating them for a few years now at a local brunch place.

I decided to recreate this meal at home today. It’s raining, so there’s no jogging . Yesterday, I went for an 8.5 mile jog (the farthest I’ve gone in 10 years), so it was a good time to make a fancy breakfast. This recipe has a bunch of steps and does take longer than my usual 15 minutes.  I was so eager to eat my breakfast that I forgot the avocado on top! If you’re willing to put in a little more effort, it’s worth the time.

Eggs Benedict with Potato Cakes

4 poached eggs

4 slices of tomato

1/3 bunch cooked spinach

hollandaise sauce *instructions below

1 avocado

4 potato cakes *instructions below

Directions:

1. Make poached eggs:
   1. bring a pot of water and 2 tablespoons of vinegar to boil.
   2. Crack egg into bowl, then drop the egg into the water.
   3. Take out after 3 minutes with a slotted spoon and dry on towel.
2. While the egg is drying, layer plate with potato cake, tomato and spinach.
3. Add poached eggs, hollandaise sauce, and top with avocado slices.

It might look a little sloppy like my first attempt  below (where I even burned the potato cakes), but who cares?!

Potato Cakes

2 large potatoes, shredded

¼ diced yellow onion (optional)

2 egg whites (optional, I uses this because it was leftover from the hollandaise sauce)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Peel potatoes, then grate them. Let set for 10 minutes. Then rinse to get all the starch and brownness out. Put them on a towel and pat dry.
2. Throw the potatoes into the bowl and mix with the rest of the ingredients.
3. Heat a large skillet and put large spoonfuls of the mix on the pan (about the size of an English muffin). I made 6 cakes with mine. Brown on one side, then flip to brown other side. It takes about 10-15 minutes to fully cook the potatoes.

 

Hollandaise Sauce

2 egg yolks

½ tablespoon lemon

¼ cup butter, melted

Salt to tastes

1. Put egg yolks and lemon into blender and mix for about 2 minutes
2. Microwave butter until it is fully melted and hot. Make sure the butter is hot so it can cook the egg yolks.
3. Continue blending eggs yolks and slowly add melted butter. Add salt.