Puff Pastry

So today I really wanted to make Bacon and Egg pie and luckily, between my house and my parents'...we had all the ingredients! lol...However, I wasn't going to buy the pastry, so I decided to try making it from scratch.  This is the only recipe that I've tried, so there may be better, but I was REALLY happy with how it turned out!

You can find the original recipe here.

• 5 cups of bread flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons of salt
• 2 cups of water (you may use less, but I didn't)
• 2 cups of unsalted butter at room temperature (about 480g)

1. Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer that is fitted with a dough hook. Gradually stir in water until the dough holds together enough to clean the sides of the bowl. You may not need the full amount of water. Shape into a flat ball, and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes. (I don't have a stand mixer so my normal mixing bowl and fork/wooden spoon had to do).
2. Place the butter between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound into a flat disc using a rolling pin or other heavy object. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes. (I didn't realize the butter had to be room temperature and because I didn't want to wait, I just sliced the butter about 1/2 an inch thick, lay the blocks side by side and rolled them together once they had the plastic wrap on top...it also wasn't a flat disc, more like a flat rectangle).
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Place the disc of chilled butter in the center and fold the two ends over it so that it is completely encased in dough. Roll out the dough again, taking care not to let the butter break through the dough, to about 1/2 inch thickness. Fold into thirds. This is the first ''turn''. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll out into a rectangle again. Fold into thirds. By this time the butter is starting to warm up. Place the dough on a baking sheet and mark it with two pokes from your finger (two turns). Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
4. Repeat this rolling, folding and turning two more times, then refrigerate until firm. Repeat two more times for a total of 6 ''turns''. Wrap and refrigerate. The dough is now ready to roll out and use in any recipe calling for puff pastry. Roll the dough out as thin as 1/4 inch to make pastries. Bake in a preheated oven of at least 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) to get the maximum puff from your pastry.

Sorry, no picture...I couldn't be bothered trying to work my fail-phone lol.  But it looked awesome and was really good! :)

Eggs Benedict

So I've never actually had Eggs Benedict before so I'm not exactly sure whats good and whats really good...but this sauce that my sister made was yummy and definitely a keeper!

Eggs Benedict is simple, its just an English muffin (or I just made the Southern Biscuits that I've posted on here), bacon, a poached egg and the Hollandaise sauce on top! Easy Peasey! We also added veges we had in the fridge, it was super yummy!

So here's the recipefor the Hollandaise sauce we used. You can find the original recipe here.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3 egg yolks
• Salt
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Juice of 1 lemon

Directions

1. Melt the butter over very low heat (or in the microwave). Skim the fat off the surface and set aside to cool slightly. (I'm pretty sure that skimming the fat isn't that important??)
2. Put the egg yolks in a heat-proof metal bowl and whisk until fully beaten.
3. Place the bowl so it fits over a small pot filled with about 1-inch of water.
4. Turn the burner to medium-low and whisk until the water is lightly simmering and the eggs are lightened in color, doubled in volume, and thick (do not allow the water to boil, and be careful not to scramble the yolks).
5. Lower the heat. While still whisking the yolks, add a few drops of the melted butter.
6. Once fully incorporated, continue adding the butter in a very, very slow stream while constantly whisking.
7. If you notice that the sauce begins to look grainy and slightly curdled, that is an indication that it is about to break. Immediately stop what you are doing and add a splash of cool water. Whisk vigorously until completely smooth. Resume adding butter.
8. Once the butter is fully incorporated, add a dash of salt and cayenne and whisk in 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.
9. Taste and add more salt, cayenne, and/or lemon juice (up to 8 teaspoons) as desired.
10. Remove from the heat and set aside while preparing the eggs. Whisk occasionally to prevent a skin from forming. Use within 1 hour.

This is what it looked like for us:

So I've never poached eggs before (and my sister made these ones)...but both she and Chu gave me some useful notes to help when I do:

1) Add some vinegar to the water, and

2) Swirl the water around then drop the egg in the middle of the pot/pan.  This will help to keep the edges look neat.