Hollandaise sauce

Ingredients:

½ cup unsalted butter, skimmed
3 egg yolks
1 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 tbsp water
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste

Instructions:

1.In a small saucepan, melt your butter.

2.Use a spoon to skim excess milk solids from the top of the butter.

3.Set melted butter aside.

4.In a small saucepan, bring about one inch of water to a simmer on the stove. Reduce heat to low.

5.Freshly squeeze half a lemon until you have 1 to 2 tbsp of juice.

6.In a glass or stainless steel mixing bowl, add lemon juice and water to your egg yolks and whisk until the mixture turns a pale yellow color, about 30 seconds.

7.Place your bowl over the simmering water, ensuring that the water does not touch the bottom.

8.Whisk the egg mixture constantly until it begins to thicken, about two minutes.

9.Do NOT stop whisking the mixture once it's cover the heat as your egg yolks will scramble.

10.Once the mixture has begun to thicken and is sticking to your whisk, add the melted butter.

11.Continue to whisk constantly until your sauce has reached your desired thickness, usually about one minute.

12.Carefully remove bowl from heat.

13.Season with salt, pepper and a sprinkle of cayenne. Enjoy!!

Notes:
14.If your sauce begins to thicken, whisk in a little warm water until it returns to the right consistency.

15.Hollandaise sauce does not keep well so it should be served within an hour of making it. Discard any unused portions.

16.To minimize the risk of food-borne illness, use pasteurized eggs.