Hollandaise Sauce

Hollandaise sauce sounds fancy. And difficult. And time consuming. And fussy.But it's totally not any of those things!

It's fun. It's simple. It's quick. And it's forgiving.

Really! Just do it my way...

Melt some butter.

Whisk an egg yolk, lemon juice, water, and some spices together in a bowl over simmering water for a few minutes.Remove that bowl from the heat and whisk in the butter.

Done!

Amazingly, this Hollandaise Sauce can even sit around waiting for you to use it for a little while.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you how long it can sit around...

Folks, in the interest of food science, in the interest of this blog, and in order to serve you... you, dear readers... I tried to see how long this Hollandaise Sauce could sit around, waiting to be used.

But I kept sticking my fingers in it.

I tried to see how long it would take for this sauce to separate... but I could not do it. I shamelessly stuck my finger in the bowl and licked it every time I passed by that bowl. Eventually the sauce was completely gone.

I can only tell you that the sauce stayed deliciously smooth and saucy for one hour and twenty three minutes... because that's how long it took me to lick the bowl completely clean.

It reminded me of that old Tootsie Roll commercial... remember that one? How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
Try this Hollandaise Sauce... I know you'll like it!HOMEGROWN COUNTRYGIRL HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon water
a pinch of a hot spice, like cayenne pepper, or chipolte powder or "hot" spice
a pinch of salt (if you're using unsalted butter)
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Use a double boiler or place a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Put yolk, lemon juice, and water in bowl. Whisk. Keep whisking over simmering water for 2-3 minutes, until mixture begins to get lighter and thicken slightly. This part, whisking and simmering for a few minutes until it gets lighter and thickens a bit, seems to be an important step in the stability of the sauce... whisk until dribbling sauce leaves a bit of a ribbony mark on top of the rest of the sauce. (This is like "trace" to any of you soapmakers out there.) At this time remove bowl from the double boiler water. Gradually whisk in melted butter, just a few drops at a time, similar to making mayonnaise. When mixture begins to emulsify you can whisk in the rest of the melted butter. Double or triple recipe as needed.

If sauce sits for a while before you use it the sauce may thicken to a less pourable consistency. If this happens, just whisk in a teaspoon or so of warm water... it makes the sauce pourable without changing the taste or consistency of the sauce.