Sunday, January 20, 2008

Etta's Eggs Bennie with Dungeness Crabmeat and Chipotle Hollandaise

Hello? Yummy surprise!!! I just got my Tom Douglas e-newsletter and he included a recipe for this benny that I had one Sunday for brunch at Etta's in Seattle.

You know, I had seen Tom Douglas in a fleeting moment cruising over Iron Chef America. I remember seeing this chef prepare and talk about things in a way that just, I dunno, reverberated. I never did get to figure out who he was at the time cause I didn't get to see the whole episode. Then one day when we were looking for a good brunch place before hitting Pike Place Market in Seattle, we stumbled upon Etta's. Then I saw his face on a cookbook they were selling at the restaurant on all that is crab cakes and I thought "Oh my god! It's him!!!!" Best brunch ever. Baked goods were amazing, too. I would love to check out his other restaurants, but in the meantime will enjoy:

Etta's Eggs Bennie with Dungeness Crabmeat and Chipotle Hollandaise
For a luxurious winter brunch, try this customer favorite from Etta’s menu. The blender hollandaise is a breeze and you can make it as hot and spicy as you like. If your Valentine’s date turns into a sleepover (lucky you!), this is a great, sexy breakfast for the morning after. For 2 servings, make the full amount of hollandaise (because that works best in the blender) and cut the rest of the ingredients in half.

Serves 4
For the chipotle hollandaise:1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)2 egg yolks2 tablespoons very hot water2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice1 teaspoon seeded and minced canned chipotle en adobo, or to tastekosher salt.

For the rest of the eggs bennie:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter4 ounces spinach leaves, washed, dried, and stems trimmed (about 8 cups loosely packed leaves)6 ounces fresh crabmeat, picked over for bits of shell4 English muffins, split and toasted8 eggs, poached

To make the hollandaise, place the 1 cup of butter in a saucepan and melt it over medium heat. Put the yolks in a blender and blend for a few seconds. Slowly add the hot water to the yolks and blend a few seconds more. In a thin steady stream, gradually add the hot butter to the blender, blending until the sauce is emulsified. (You can pour the melted butter from the saucepan into a Pyrex measuring cup to make it easier to add it to the blender. But be sure to add the butter to the blender container while it is still hot.) Add the lime juice and chipotle, and season to taste with salt. Keep the hollandaise warm, over a pan of hot water or in a thermos.

Put the 2 tablespoons butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the spinach leaves and cook gently a few minutes just until they begin to wilt. Push the spinach to one side of the pan and add the crab. Heat the crab very gently for a moment, then remove the pan from the heat.
Put the split, toasted English muffins on 4 warm plates. Top each muffin half with some of the spinach, then with the warm crabmeat. Then top each muffin half with a poached egg. Ladle hollandaise over each egg and serve immediately.

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