Brunch with the Benedicts

 

I must confess, I don’t understand the North American fascination with going out to Sunday brunch. In fact, I don’t understand this meal’s purpose at all; if you rise too late for breakfast, but feel peckish, have a light snack that will sustain you for the hour or so before lunch; at the worst, you’ll have trimmed a few calories from your day.

My morning disposition, although congenial, is reclusive, favoring quiet and a light repast enjoyed wearing pyjamas. Putting on decent clothing and slapping on the war paint to attend a noisy restaurant whose brunch menu offers me Eggs Benedict, (the inspiration for that culinary triumph, the Egg McMuffin), waffles, pancakes, and joy, more eggs, holds zero charm.

 Similarly, when staying in a hotel my favourite phrases are ‘complimentary continental breakfast’ and ‘room service’, after which I am up for anything, usually a really good late lunch followed by a late, light supper. However, this regime is almost impossible to pursue here on Sundays during tourist season when every good restaurant, no matter the brilliance and diversity of their regular menu, reverts to serving Sunday Brunch, featuring the ubiquitous Eggs Benedict.

The first crime I blame on Mr. Guy Beringer, an Englishman fond of hunting and late Saturday night revelry, who invented ‘brunch’ as an excuse for him and his cronies to lie-  in on Sunday mornings nursing their hangovers. He even defended the practice in his 1895 article, “Brunch: A Plea”, published in Hunting Weekly, which declared that brunch is cheerful, sociable and inciting, promoting conversation and goodwill; everything I wish to avoid before noon.

For the second crime, the invention of Eggs Benedict, we have two unrelated prime suspects; Lemuel Benedict and LeGrand Benedict, both wealthy New Yorkers and 1890’s Wall Street Robber Barons. The former suspect, whom we’ll call ‘Lem’, was a flamboyant character fond of drink, showgirls and brunch, all sure signs of a bad character. Late one morning in 1894, our hung-over suspect was brunching at the Waldorf Hotel, when he devised a cure, ordered off-menu, of two poached eggs on toast, bacon and a side of Hollandaise sauce. This rich dish did the trick, and the maitre’d, Oscar, put it on the menu, where it became very popular.

However, stronger evidence implicates Mr. and Mrs. LeGrand Benedict, denizens of New York’s first and most famous restaurant, Delmonico’s, renowned for creating ‘Steak Delmonico’. Apparently, the rich even become bored with excellence, as the Benedicts were that day when they ordered, off-menu, two poached eggs, covered with Hollandaise sauce over Canadian bacon on English muffins.

The evidence pointing to their guilt is the time of their order which predates Lem’s, as Delmonico’s chef, Charles Ranhofer, published his cookbook, The Epicurean, in 1894 which includes a recipe for Eggs a la Benedick (sic), giving Delmonico’s the superior claim for this dubious achievement, and the Benedicts a guilty verdict for a culinary crime in the first degree. Well, what else could you expect from a family named ‘Benedict’ but crime, and perhaps good speech, Benedict being Latin for well-spoken; big deal, so they had good diction.

The esteemed culinary establishments of that fascinating era are gone; Delmonico’s, the Waldorf Hotel, and their patron Robber Barons, mere ephemera. But, their legacy endures especially in the U.S. on April 18^th, in the celebration of National Eggs Benedict Day, an occasion I’ll be sure to spend on our side of the border.

So that, in an eggshell, is the sordid history of brunch and Eggs Benedict, and whether you love it or hate it, try my version of poached eggs and  luscious crab or lobster on crispy potato Rosti drizzled with a simple tarragon-mascarpone sauce. I’m having it for Sunday lunch, but you may serve it for brunch, if you must. Bon Appetit!

                                                  ‘Crabby’ Eggs Benedict

                                                           (serves four)

Ingredients: (eggs)

• 6 eggs
• 6 tbsps. 35% cream
• 6 ozs. Grated Swiss cheese
•  250 g. of canned crab or lobster, well rinsed and drained
• 1 tbsp. chopped: chives and cilantro or dill
• 1 ½  tsp. Tabasco sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste

Mascarpone sauce:

• 1/3 cup Gewurztraminer
• 6 tbsps. Mascarpone
• 3 sprigs tarragon, leaves finely chopped
• Zest of ½ lemon, finely grated
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Rosti:

•  3 medium baking potatoes
• 1 egg
• ¼ tsp. baking powder
• 1 tbsp. flour
• ½  bunch chives roughly chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp. oil

Garnish:

• 12 asparagus spears, blanched
• ½ tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 ½ tbsps. extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 8 ozs. smoked salmon slices

Method:

Potatoes – can be made a day ahead

• Peel and grate potatoes. Place in paper towel to squeeze out excess moisture
• In a bowl combine dry ingredients, add potatoes and chives, toss to coat
• Add about half the beaten egg and season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat
• Drop mixture by spoonfuls to form Rosti, press down to flatten
• Fry on each side until brown and crisp, adding more oil if needed
• Rosti can be reheated on a baking sheet in a 365 oven for 5mins.

Eggs:

• Generously butter eight -  ½ cup ramekins or custard cups
• Preheat oven to 365
• Lightly beat eggs, and combine rest of ingredients well
• distribute egg mixture evenly among ramekins, place them on a heavy baking pan, fill with water ¼ up sides of ramekins
• bake until centers are firm, approx. 25 mins.

Sauce:

• in a saucepan, simmer wine for 5 mins., whisk-in mascarpone, stir well, add lemon juice and zest, season with salt and pepper
• sauce should be rich and smooth, if too thin add more mascarpone, dilute with wine if too thick

To serve: run a knife around the edge of each ramekin to loosen, invert on Rosti, drizzle with sauce. Whisk together lemon juice and oil, add salt and pepper, pour over asparagus spears to coat, and separate spears into four bundles of three spears each, roll-up in smoked salmon slices, serve with eggs.

A chilled gewürztraminer is an excellent choice to complement this dish.