Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise

Here is a restaurant trick to make poached eggs in advance. Simply poach your eggs just until the whites are barely set and place directly into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. When you're ready to use the eggs, warm them though in a simmering pot of water for about a minute and they’re ready to serve. Eggs can be poached and chilled up to 2 days before serving.

For the benedict: Fill a medium bowl halfway with warm water. Fill a 4 quart saucepan halfway with water, stir in white vinegar and bring to a gentle simmer. Break each egg into a small dish. Slide one egg into saucepan and immediately push the white around the yolk with a slotted spoon to form an oval shape. Poach egg for 2 minutes for runny yolks, or 3 to 4 minutes for firm yolks. Immediately transfer poached egg to bowl with warm water. Repeat with remaining eggs. (Multiple eggs can be poached at the same time, however for more perfect eggs, poaching 1 to 2 eggs at a time is recommended.) To serve, lift eggs from the warm water with a slotted spoon, one egg at a time and dab the back of the spoon onto a double layer of paper towels to drain off the excess water, trim any rough edges, if desired.

To prepare Hollandaise sauce: Melt the butter in a small saucepan until very hot. Combine the egg yolks, lemon juice and cayenne in the base of a blender. Blend the egg yolk mixture until it lightens in color, about 30 seconds. With the blender running, slowly pour in the hot butter until the sauce is creamy. If the sauce is too thick, thin with a little water or additional lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt.

To assemble benedict: Split the English muffins and divide between 4 plates, top each English muffin with 2 slices smoked salmon and then a poached egg, spoon hollandaise over each egg and garnish with minced chives. Serve immediately.