'Egg-cellent' Hillcrest brunch Smart Eggs Series

Krysta Anderson, Gleaner Writer

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and in honouring this, Fromage has teamed up with The Gleaner Company and Café Blue to host the third instalment of the Smart Eggs Brunch series.

This week, the winner of the Gleaner's Smart Eggs Facebook competition was treated to an eight-member brunch at the prestigious culinary haven on Hillcrest Avenue.

Alex Hillary, a physical therapy major at the University of the West Indies, decided to enter the competition on The Gleaner's Facebook page after seeing the post on his timeline.

Three rounds and 20 competitors later, Hillary emerged the victor. "The answers were a little challenging to find. I did a lot of extensive research and it paid off," he noted. Consumed by shock and elation, he let everyone know of his great feat.

Last Sunday, Hillary and his guests sat down to the sound of lovely music and the smell of fresh coffee which already filled the warm air. Fromage, the host of the series, lived up to their name in providing a quaint and wholesome outdoor dining experience. His seven guest accompaniment included his mother, two of his fellow competitors who are actually his friends and classmates, his longtime friend, neighbour and aunt.

Among the delectable brunch menu was the smoked salmon frittata, eggs Benedict and chocolate pancakes, with the option of maple smoked bacon or chorizo sausage on the side, as well as a choice of cold or hot beverage, Pomegranite Mimosas and coffee, respectively. Hillary made mention that the Café Blue's coffee was good, and Pomegranite Mimosa is nice and sweet. He was looking forward to trying the eggs Benedict, something he had never tried before, and he also wanted to have maple smoked bacon because he is a big fan of bacon. Both surpassed his expectations.

How to prepare your own eggs Benedict dish at home:

INGREDIENTS

4 pieces of ham

2 tbsp chopped parsley, for garnish

4 eggs

2 tsp white or rice vinegar

2 English muffins

Butter

Blended Hollandaise

10 tbsp unsalted butter

3 egg yolks

1 tbsp lemon juice

¹/² tsp salt

Dash of cayenne or tabasco

METHOD

1 Start with the bacon. Heat a large skillet on medium-low heat. Add the slices of ham. Slowly fry, turning occasionally, until it is browned on both sides. Remove from heat and set aside.

2 While the ham is cooking, bring a large saucepan two-thirds filled with water to a boil, then add the vinegar. Bring the water to a boil again, then lower the heat to a bare simmer.

3 Make the blender hollandaise. To make blender hollandaise, melt the butter. Put egg yolks, lemon juice and salt in a blender, blend on medium to medium-high speed for 20-30 seconds, until eggs lighten in color. Turn blender down to lowest setting, slowly dribble in the hot melted butter, while continuing to blend. Taste for salt and acidity and add more salt or lemon juice to taste.Transfer it to a container you can use for pouring and set it on a warm - but not hot - place on or near the stovetop.

4 Working one egg at a time, crack an egg into a small bowl and slip it into the barely simmering water. Once it begins to solidify, you can slip in another egg, until you have all four cooking. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let sit for 4 minutes. (Remember which egg went in first, you'll want to take it out first.) Remove the eggs by lifting out with a slotted spoon.

5 As soon as all the eggs are in the poaching water, begin toasting your English muffins. If you can't get all the muffins toasted by the time the eggs are ready, gently remove the eggs from the poaching water and set in a bowl.

6 To assemble the eggs Benedict, butter one side of an English muffin. Top each side with a slice of ham. You can trim the bacon to fit the muffin if you like. Put a poached egg on top of the bacon, then pour some hollandaise over it. Sprinkle some parsley over it all and serve at once.

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com