Brennan's Eggs Hussarde

~ Bringing a little Nawlins to the Farm on Easter ~  www.brennansneworleans.com

Saveur magazine had a special issue this month about New Orleans cuisine and places to eat while visiting NOLA.  Brennan's restaurant in the French Quarter has been around since the 40's and is famous for their multicourse breakfasts.  We decided to kick Easter morning breakfast up a notch with their twist on the traditional Eggs Benedict, called "Eggs Hussarde".  This edition includes the typical ingredients for Eggs Benedict, but incorporates a rich red wine sauce with mushrooms and onions, and is served with broiled Parmesan tomatoes.  Cook and prep time took about 45 minutes with four cooks in the kitchen, so it's not fast food, but well worth the effort in the end!

Ingredients for wine sauce:

3 T. butter

1 clove garlic

1 scallion

1/4 yellow onion

1/4 c. chopped bacon

1/4 c. minced mushrooms

1 T. flour

3/4 c. beef stock

1/4 c. dry red wine

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp dried thyme

2 T. finely chopped parsley

S & P to taste  

Cooking directions:

Heat butter in sauce pan over medium-high heat.  Add garlic, scallions, and pinions; cook until soft about 2-3 minutes.  Add bacon and mushrooms; cook about 4 minutes.  Add flour; cook, stirring for about 1 minute.  Add stock, wine, Worcestershire, and thyme and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and cook down until slightly thick.  Stir in 2 T. parsley and season with salt and pepper as needed.

What sauce looks like when thickened

Broiled Parmesan tomatoes:

Slice beefsteak tomatoes about a 1/4 inch thick and place on baking sheet.  Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.  Heat oven to broil and broil tomatoes until cheese is slightly browned, about 2-3 minutes.

Tomatoes before broiling

Assembly:

Ladle red wind sauce onto a toasted English muffin half.  Add a slice of canadian bacon and then the poached egg.  Top with a smooth homemade hollandaise sauce and serve with broiled tomato on the side.

Mangia!

*It's always nice when the cooks can rest and someone else does the dishes!