Making Homemade Eggs Benedict

It's a lot of fun to recreate your favorite restaurant dishes at home. That way, you can customize them with your favorite toppings without having to ask the chef's permission. Today, we're looking at our favorite brunch dish, Eggs Benedict- a classic combination of Poached Eggs, Ham and Hollandaise perched atop an English Muffin. For the non-ham eaters out there, it's fine to omit it or replace it with anything from Smoked Salmon to Spinach to Lobster. We've also seen a great recipe for making Artichokes Benedict as an appetizer for parties.

Making Eggs Benedict involves creating only two components: perfectly poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce. The Ham or Canadian Bacon can be cooked in a frying pan and English Muffins need a couple minutes in the toaster. Of course, if you're feeling ambitious you can scratch-bake English Muffins using the recipe we provided below.

Poached Eggs: The key is to add a little vinegar to a pot of almost-boiling water. The vinegar helps hold the eggs together during the cooking. Also, to keep the eggs together in the water, we gently lower them into the water after first cracking them one-by-one into a small bowl or ceramic ramekin. If the entire process of poaching seems too daunting, there are plenty of cookware solutions, including this one for the microwave.

Hollandaise: making a great Hollandaise involves gently layering ingredients. First, boil lemon juice and vinegar in a small saucepan and then remove from the heat. While that's cooling, add butter to the saucepan and allow it to melt. In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks with salt and pepper. Then, add the cooled lemon juice and vinegar mixture and continue stirring. Once the butter starts to foam, remove it from the heat and whisk it into the bowl with the egg yolks, lemon juice and vinegar. Voilà!

To help you create the best Eggs Benedict dish ever, we fired up the FoodPair search engine and found a handful of great recipes from across the Web.

Classic Eggs Benedict
This classic eggs benedict brings it all together.
Ingredients: egg, butter, vinegar, English muffins, Hollandaise

Hollandaise Sauce
Making Holandaise is easier than you think- it only takes 10 minutes!
Ingredients: egg, butter, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, white wine vinegar

Easy Poached Eggs
With a little practice, you'll be poaching eggs like a pro!
Ingredients: egg, vinegar

English Muffins
Now you can bake English Muffins at home.
Ingredients: butter, salt, water, bread flour, instant yeast, semolina

Home Fries
Pair your Benedict with classic home fries.
Ingredients: onion, salt, black pepper, canola oil, Russet potato


Let's get cooking!

Any other favorite ingredients or dishes you'd like us to highlight? Post them in the comments section or on our Facebook page! And while you're at it, "Like" us on Facebook to get helpful updates in your news feed.

Celebrating Bastille Day with French Classics

July 14th is Bastille Day, the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille prison which marked the beginning of the French Revolution.

To celebrate Bastille Day and all the French contributions from the chateau to democracy to the souffle, we've assembled a classic French menu that everyone will enjoy. Home cooks should practice French dishes because many form the basis of the best dishes we've ever eaten.

To help you find the best French dishes, we fired up the FoodPair search engine and found a handful of great recipes from across the Web.

Celery Root Bisque with Thyme Croutons
Celebrate with this great version of French bisque.
Ingredients: shallot, butter, celery, thyme, whipping cream, chicken broth, Russet potato


Mustard-Roasted Chicken (with Warm Frisée Salad)
There's nothing like a juicy roasted chicken.
Ingredients: garlic, olive oil, chicken, rosemary, thyme, sage, Dijon mustard, Italian parsley

Garlic Truffle Fries
Classic French frites are enhanced by garlic and truffle oil.
Ingredients: garlic, truffle oil, parsley, Russet potato, cooking oil, truffle salt

Green Beans with Bacon and Shallots
Haricots Vert are fantastic with shallots & bacon.
Ingredients: bacon, green bean, shallot, butter

Dark Chocolate & Lime Souffles
Make shave ice at home and top it with great Hawaiian ingredients!
Ingredients: egg, sugar, salt, whipping cream, semi-sweet chocolate, lime juice, bittersweet chocolate, lime peel


Now it's time to cook and eat!

Any other favorite ingredients or dishes you'd like us to highlight? Post them in the comments section or on our Facebook page! And while you're at it, "Like" us on Facebook to get helpful updates in your news feed.

The Best of Hawaii

Sure, we love to travel, but we love eating even more! When visiting friends in Honolulu, FoodPair discovered a delicious cuisine that's equal parts native Hawaiian and Asian-fusion with the soul of a surfer.

One of the common misconceptions of Hawaiian food is that it's built around SPAM. While we saw plenty of SPAM in Hawaii (including some decent looking SPAM Sushi) we're here to report that there's so much more to Hawaiian cuisine than ham in a can. From the ocean, Hawaii features great fresh seafood including Ahi Tuna, Mahi Mahi, Ono and Opah. From the farm, there are delicious tropical fruits including Pineapple, Guava and Lilikoi (aka Passion Fruit). Then, there are uniquely Hawaiian dishes like Shave Ice, the Puka Dog and the Plate Lunch. Oh, and don't forget about 100% Kona Coffee!

For those not yet familiar with Hawaiian food, Shave Ice is like a Snow Cone, but the ice is shaved off a block instead of being crushed. The result is a fine, snow-like ice which gets topped off with syrups featuring tropical fruit flavors. Puka Dogs are Hawaiian Hot Dogs stuffed into a small loaf of bread through a "puka" (Hawaiian for "hole") and topped with flavored garlic mayo and tropical relish. The Plate Lunch is a Hawaiian staple and favorite post-surfing meal consisting of two scoops of white rice and one scoop of macaroni salad topped with a flavorful meat dish like Teriyaki Beef, Shoyu (Japanese for "soy sauce") Chicken or Kalua Pork. We're not sure why, but that macaroni salad is magical!

To help you find the best Hawaiian dishes, we fired up the FoodPair search engine and found a handful of great recipes from across the Web.

Seared Ahi Tuna
On the mainland we eat seared tuna, in Hawaii they make "poke".
Ingredients: garlic, scallion, ginger, soy sauce, lime juice, dark sesame oil, ahi tuna


Grilled Mahi Mahi with Avocado-Melon Salsa
It's time to try your hand at Mahi Mahi with tropical salsa.
Ingredients: avocado, cilantro, olive oil, red onion, mahi mahi, lime juice, cantaloupe, jerk seasoning, lime peel

Guava-Stuffed Chicken with Caramelized Mango
This is a great dish pairing chicken with tropical mango & guava.
Ingredients: garlic, mango, olive oil, spinach, butter, lemon juice, parsley, thyme, guava, cream cheese, white wine, chicken broth, chicken breast

Mom's Macaroni Salad
Every Plate Lunch starts with white rice and delicious macaroni salad.
Ingredients: scallion, parsley, paprika, salt, black pepper, mayonnaise, red bell peppers, hard boiled egg, macaroni

Shaved Ice with Coconut and Tropical Fruit
Make shave ice at home and top it with great Hawaiian ingredients!
Ingredients: mango, pineapple, papaya, water, coconut milk, tapioca, ice, coconut flakes, palm sugar


Now it's time to cook and eat!

Any other favorite ingredients or dishes you'd like us to highlight? Post them in the comments section or on our Facebook page! And while you're at it, "Like" us on Facebook to get helpful updates in your news feed.

A Lesson from MasterChef

On Fox's MasterChef, the latest in a long line of reality cooking shows, home cooks compete for cash and glory. During a recent episode, contestants who lost a cafeteria lunch challenge had to endure a "Pressure Test" by making Ravioli with Spinach & Ricotta Filling from scratch in an hour. (We know they would've loved to sneak a peek at this Ravioli recipe)

Even the most accomplished home cooks struggle to make pasta from scratch, so the FoodPair Team got together to find the best tips and recipes for making delicious fresh pasta in the comfort of your own home.

First off, what do you need? To make one pound of fresh pasta, you'll need 2 cups of Unbleached Flour, 3 Large Eggs and a 1/4 teaspoon of Salt. And that's it!

Once all your ingredients are assembled, we like to shape the flour into a mountain and then collapse the top to make a volcano. Crack the eggs into the top of your flour volcano and using a fork, gently mix the eggs into the flour until they're fully incorporated. Next you'll need to knead the dough for several minutes until it feels smooth to the touch. A quick tip: if the dough seems too dry, add a little more egg; if it's too wet and sticky, rub your hands with extra flour.

Next, form the dough into a ball and let it rest for 15 minutes while you daydream about the rolling hills of Tuscany. After that, you're ready to flatten the dough and run it through a pasta machine (or flatten it with a rolling pin). Keep flattening the dough until it's 1/16th of an inch thick, or just translucent.

Finally, cut the pasta into any shape you like and let it dry for a couple hours. Since you've just made fresh pasta, you only need to cook it in boiling water for a couple minutes until it's ready. Your batch of fresh pasta will keep for up to one week if you don't want to eat it all at once.

Don't give up! But, just in case you can't make fresh pasta tonight, just whip up a batch of Raw Vegetable "Pasta" with Tomatoes and Herbs.

With your fresh pasta, you can make any dish you like from Linguini to Ravioli to Penne, so fire up the FoodPair search engine and check out all the great pasta dishes we've collected from across the Web.

Chicken Pasta with Thyme-Mint Cream Sauce
Here's a great pasta recipe with chicken.
Ingredients: honey, olive oil, chicken, mint, thyme, sherry vinegar, lemon zest, salt, chicken stock, black pepper, whipping cream, white wine, linguine

Mom's Pasta Primavera
We love this dish because it's packed with fresh veggies.
Ingredients: eggplant, olive oil, Parmesan, zucchini, red onion, cherry tomato, green bell pepper, carrot, pasta, garlic salt, Italian spices, marinara sauce

Penne with Fresh Greens
This is a beautiful dish with hearty leaves of kale.
Ingredients: garlic, olive oil, red onion, thyme, red bell pepper, bay leaf, kale, vegetable stock, penne


Now it's time to cook and eat!

Any other favorite ingredients or dishes you'd like us to highlight? Post them in the comments section or on our Facebook page! And while you're at it, "Like" us on Facebook to get helpful updates in your news feed.

Healthy Options for Celebrating Summer

We love the arrival of summer because it means many of our favorite fruits and veggies are coming into season! We've been waiting all year for those delicious heirloom tomatoes, sweet corn and squash plus blueberries, strawberries and peaches.

While we love a good backyard BBQ as much as the next person, we thought it would be great to feature light & fresh recipes using healthier ingredients. Feel free to have them any day of the week, or alongside a great burger or hot dog.

To help you find the best homemade crepe dishes, we fired up the FoodPair search engine and found a handful of great recipes from across the Web.

White Peach Summer Bellini
Make this drink with fresh peaches or canned nectar.
Ingredients: lemon juice, peach, Prosecco, simple syrup



Summer's Best Blueberry Sauce
Make this seasonal blueberry sauce for topping breakfasts or desserts.
Ingredients: lemon juice, sugar, blueberry, jelly, water, cornstarch

Vietnamese Summer Rolls with Cashew Butter Dipping Sauce
These are fun to make and great for a healthy summer snack.
Ingredients: mango, shrimp, mint, carrot, sugar, red bell pepper, lemongrass, bibb lettuce, black pepper, vermicelli, fish sauce, spring roll wrappers

Summer Squash Salad
Try this fresh salad featuring squash and zucchini.
Ingredients: olive oil, mint, zucchini, lemon juice, pine nut, black pepper, sea salt, yellow summer squash, Grana Padano

Simple Summer Spaghetti
This light pasta dish features seasonal tomatoes and fresh herbs.
Ingredients: basil, garlic, olive oil, cherry tomato, marjoram, red wine vinegar, black olive, black pepper, sea salt, spaghetti


Now it's time to cook and eat!

Any other favorite ingredients or dishes you'd like us to highlight? Post them in the comments section or on our Facebook page! And while you're at it, "Like" us on Facebook to get helpful updates in your news feed.

Let them eat Crepes!

This week, we have France on the brain. Even though Bastille Day is still a month away, some friends of ours went to France anyway and had a fantastic time exploring Paris, sipping their way through Burgundy and eating their way through Michelin-starred restaurants.

While they were away, San Francisco lost its best creperie when Ti Couz, an anchor of the 16th Street Corridor in the Mission District closed. As we scramble to find an acceptable replacement for our monthly fix of buckwheat crepes and cold cider we plan to cook up a whole mess of crepes and nail down our form. As Jean Girard (played by Sacha Baron Cohen) explained in Talladega Nights, crepes "are the really thin pancakes. It's just a French word for them."

While crepes may sound difficult to pronounce and cook, the recipes and techniques are quite simple. For the batter all you need is flour, egg, milk and a pinch of salt. Then, add butter to a hot pan for cooking. The best part is that you can fill crepes with your favorite sweet or savory ingredients.

To help you find the best homemade crepe dishes, we fired up the FoodPair search engine and found a handful of great recipes from across the Web.

Lemon and Sugar Crepes
These are deceptively simple to make and clearly delicious to eat.
Ingredients: lemon, egg, salt, all-purpose flour, vegetable oil, milk, superfine sugar


Strawberry and Orange Crepes
Fresh fruit crepes are the perfect beginning or end to any day.
Ingredients: honey, egg, butter, orange, ricotta cheese, strawberry, sugar, lemon zest, salt, all-purpose flour, milk

Crispy Crepes with Apple, Brie and Prosciutto
Moving along, we found a lunch crepe with Prosciutto & Brie.
Ingredients: prosciutto, olive oil, egg, butter, Brie, watercress, black pepper, all-purpose flour, milk, Granny Smith apple, apple butter

Spinach and Mushroom Crepes
These delicious savory crepes are baked with a tangy bechamel.
Ingredients: tomato, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, egg, spinach, butter, mustard, mushrooms, nutmeg, salt, black pepper, all-purpose flour, milk, bechamel sauce, sharp Cheddar cheese

Grand Marnier Crepe Cake
Finish it off with this creative Crepe Cake.
Ingredients: egg, butter, heavy cream, salt, all-purpose flour, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, milk, orange zest, Grand Marnier


Now it's time to cook (cuire) and eat (manger)!

Any other favorite ingredients or dishes you'd like us to highlight? Post them in the comments section or on our Facebook page! And while you're at it, "Like" us on Facebook to get helpful updates in your news feed.

June is National Iced Tea Month!

According to our Food Celebration Calendars, it's June, aka National Iced Tea Month! While we sometimes wilt under extreme heat & humidity, a tall frosty glass of Iced Tea always refreshes and revitalizes us.

Back in the day, we only knew about the classic iced tea- chilled and sweetened Black Tea like Lipton's. Today we reach for any number of iced tea concoctions including ones with teas ranging from Green to Hibiscus. We've also seen some inventive tea cocktails like a Green Tea Margarita and a Cucumber & Green Tea Martini.

To help you find the most refreshing Iced Tea drinks, we fired up the FoodPair search engine and found a handful of great recipes from across the Web.

Apple Ginger Mint Iced Tea
This one sounds and looks delicious!
Ingredients: honey, mint, apple, ginger, water, apple cider, ice, green tea


Green Tea Margarita
For the adults, here's an iced tea cocktail.
Ingredients: lemon, lemon juice, sugar, tequila, Cointreau, green tea

Sun Tea
Extremely simple, yet incredibly refreshing.
Ingredients: black tea, water, sugar (optional)

Lemon Verbena Mint Herb Tea
We love pairing mint with lemon.
Ingredients: mint, water, lemon verbena

Homemade Chai Tea
Make your own chai, shake with ice and strain.
Ingredients: cinnamon stick, cardamom, clove, ginger, water, milk, peppercorns, black tea, dark brown sugar


Let's get cooking and chilling!

Any other favorite ingredients or dishes you'd like us to highlight? Post them in the comments section or on our Facebook page! And while you're at it, "Like" us on Facebook to get helpful updates in your news feed.