Breakfast Poutine

How many of you love brunch? I love going out to a great place for brunch or breakfast. One of my greatest disappointments though is when I risk getting the eggs Benedict. I am as you may not know, an eggs Benedict connoisseur. I have tried many many versions and have had many many different sauces. So when I go to a restaurant I like to try the eggs Benedict, but the problem is, sometimes I can tell when they use packaged sauce... not like premade, but powdered... When I see it coming I just know, then I get sad and just eat in saddness. 

I am not really a pancake girl, I don't mind waffles, I am more of a eggs and substance kind of girl. When I went to Banff for a girls getaway a few years ago, we went to a restaurant named Tooloulou's. It was a Louisiana style restaurant and they had an amazing breakfast/brunch selection. I ordered the breakfast poutine and it was everything I imagined!

I wanted to try making my own at home, so I sought out on a plan and executed it last night... it turned out more amazing then I thought. So naturally I made it again this morning just so I could take pretty pictures... or just to eat it again. 

Are you ready for this? You can begin your heavy breathing and drooling now... I won't judge!

Breakfast Poutine

Ingredients

4 cups of the Little Potato Company Dynamic Duo potatoes, or small new potatoes or baking potatoes, cut in half
8 slices of thick cut bacon
8 large eggs
1 - 16 ounce/ 453 gram log of fresh mozzarella, the squishy kind
1/4 cup of fresh chives, diced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 teaspoons of seasoning salt
salt and pepper

Hollandaise Sauce

1 cup of salted butter, melted
6 egg yolks
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of water
a dash of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons of fresh chives, diced up

Directions:

Preheat oven to 420F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the bacon on the sheet. Bake until your desired crispiness. I like mine crunchy, but it is better for the bacon to be a bit soft so the fork can grab it. When done cooking drain the fat from the bacon, cut into pieces and set aside.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl toss the potato halves with the olive oil to evenly coat them. Then lay them on the baking sheet. Sprinkle the seasoning salt onto the potatoes and bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are crispy on the outside and still soft in the middle.

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the Holladaise sauce. Add the egg yolks, water and lemon juice into a glass bowl (I use a clear pyrex bowls) or a double boiler. Whisk together, then slowly pour the melted butter into the egg yolks while whisking. Add the cayenne pepper and the fresh chives. Fill a small pot that the glass bowl can fit on over top, without touching the water. Bring the water to a boil and place the glass bowl on top. Have the heat on a medium heat, and continue to whisk the sauce. Once the sauce turns a paler yellow and has thickened slightly, remove immediately. You do not want to over cook the sauce or it will split and curdle.

5 minutes before the potatoes are done poach your eggs. If you do not know how to poach an egg BBC explains how to do it beautifully. I like mine more of a middle cook, so I cook them for about 5 minutes.

Cut the fresh mozzarella into very tiny pieces, about 1/8 of an inch thick. Once potatoes are cooked place four deep plates or bowls on the counter. Add equal portions of the potatoes to the bowls, place the mozzarella pieces all in the potatoes (I even like to place some underneath the hot potatoes to help melt the cheese). Place the bacon pieces on top, then gently place the poached eggs on the top. Pour the warm Hollandaise over the dish, sprinkle with the fresh chives. 

Serve right away.

Breakfast Poutine

Let me tell you the secret to a really good poutine... are you ready for this? It is the cheese, you need to ensure that the cheese will be able to melt and be gooey all over the potatoes. There is nothing more horrifying to get a poutine and have your cheese not melted or your gravy cold. I know I am really sounding Canadian now, which I am. You want to make sure the potatoes are super hot when they hit the cheese, or when the cheese hits them. Then while you wait for all the other ingredients it just gets super soft and stringy and gooey. That cheese pull in the one picture, that is what life is all about. 

Now that I have given you a great brunch dish for your weekend, go and make it! Tag me in your pictures because I can't wait to see the pure joy and satisfaction on your faces when you indulge in this bad boy. 

Happy Weekend!
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