One less egg to fry...no more!

For the last three and a half years, nearly four actually, my husband has worked weekends. First, he had the night shift so while he was technically home all day Saturday and Sunday, he was usually sleeping so he could leave at night for work. Then he got switched to day shift, but his days off were still in the middle of the week.

I know couples deal with crazy schedules and time apart all the time, so I'm not saying our experience was any worse than any other or asking for any sympathy here (tiny violins), but it was seriously frustrating to have conflicting days off.

I felt like we never got real quality time together! The only time we saw each other was in the evening after one of us had worked all day. Mostly at that point in the day, you just want to eat, read or watch a little tv, relax and then go to sleep so you can get ready to do it all over again. We never got to take a weekend away together - without someone taking days off of work. We never got to just spend the day lounging around the house. And mostly we really missed waking up together and having breakfast on Sunday morning.

I literally had one less egg to fry every weekend, as the old Burt Bacharach song goes. But not anymore! This past weekend marked the start of a new era - both of us finally have weekends off. And we kicked it off with a bangin' breakfast - complete with enough eggs for two. We even figured out how to work one of our favorite wedding presents - an espresso/coffeemaker machine - with very successful results.


So here's to sleeping late, weekend getaways, long days, late nights, quality time and the first of many Sunday breakfasts...together. :)

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict with Field Greens Salad
2 english muffins, toasted
1 4 oz. package of smoked salmon
4 eggs
For the Hollandaise Sauce: (adapted from Betty Crocker's Cookbook - I basically used more lemon juice, it only calls for 1 tablespoon. But I like lemony hollandaise)
4 egg yolks
2 tablespoons water
juice of half a lemon
1 stick of butter, cut into chunks
salt and pepper to taste

To poach your eggs:
Grease a high-sided, large skillet with cooking spray and then fill it halfway with water. Set on top of a medium to high flame and allow the water to come to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, turn the water down to a low simmer and start dropping in your eggs one by one, giving each one a good amount of room. To drop your eggs in, crack each one in a cup first and then hold close to the water and lower your eggs in. Allow them to cook until the white has set and the yolk is still soft. Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon. To assembly your eggs benedict, first place a piece of salmon on an English muffin, then slide a poached egg on top and then pour Hollandaise Sauce on top of that.

For the Hollandaise Sauce:
Prepare your double boiler, or place a heat-proof bowl over top of a saucepan of boiling water but make sure the bowl is not touching the water. In the bowl, whisk together your four egg yolks, water and lemon juice until smooth. Once whisked, you can add your butter one tablespoon at a time, whisking it in until it has completely melted. As the mixture becomes warmer you can add your butter more quickly. Once you've added all the butter season with salt and pepper and pour over your eggs.

I served this with a simple salad of field greens dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper. It was perfect!


Note: I made the sauce first before my eggs were done. I found that when I let the Hollandaise sit while I cooked the eggs, it stiffened up a bit. To reconstitute it all I did was whisk in a little water back over the double boiler and it returned to it's silky, creamy consistency.

Good to the last drop of yolk!! Don't you just love a good breakfast?