Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

If you told me (and please don't tell me this, this is for purposes of demonstration only) that I could only have one thing and one thing only for breakfast from now on, I wouldn't even have to think twice.  Because for me, at the very top of the breakfast happiness list is Eggs Benedict.  I love Eggs Benedict madly.  And because Eggs Benedict is not something you can eat on any sort of regular basis and still fit into your Levi's, when I do have them I like to make it An Event.  Sometimes this means just going out to our favorite breakfast place and ordering up a plate of Eggs Benedict...but sometimes it means making them at home, and sometimes with a little spin on them.

For example...how about a little smoked salmon?  Now, traditional Eggs Benedict is made with Canadian bacon, and you know how I feel about bacon.  So for me, it's got to be REALLY good for me to part with the bacon part of Eggs Benedict.

This is REALLY good.

And not only that, this version does away with another part of the traditional eggs benedict...the hollandaise sauce.  The hollandaise sauce is what gets you in trouble with your Levis, so while I'm definitely still eating the bacon-and-hollandaise version now and then, it's fabulous to have a lighter version in your back pocket that is still oh, so good.  Don't get me wrong...there's still plenty of decadence left in the lemon chive butter sauce...but as far as I'm concerned, this is Eggs Benedict Health Food.  It comes from my friends at Stonewall Kitchen...I do adore their cookbook.  Almost as much as Eggs Benedict, baby.

So the next time you are in an Eggs Benedict kind of mood, give this one a try.  (For me, that will be sometime in the next five minutes or so.)

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict,  adapted from STONEWALL KITCHEN FAVORITES

1 tablespoon olive oil
12 ounces washed baby spinach
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 stick butter
2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped chives
2 whole English muffins
4 large eggs
1/4 pound sliced smoked salmon
Dill for garnish (optional)

1. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add olive oil, then spinach.  Season with salt and pepper and cook the spinach, stirring with tongs, until it has completely wilted - about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat.  Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest and juice and chives.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

3. Separate and toast the English muffins.

4. Poach the eggs (you can also soft boil them if you are not an egg-poaching type of person).  While the eggs are cooking, place a quarter of the spinach on each muffin half, and place some salmon on the spinach.  Top each portion with an egg.  Divide the butter sauce by drizzling over each serving and garnish with chives or dill.  Serve immediately.

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