Hollandaise is a heart attack waiting to happen

Seriously. But it's oh-so-good.

No, I'm not pulling a Julie and cooking my way through Julia Child's ever famous bible of cooking. Mostly because the book itself is freaking intimidating. I mean, there are seven pages-- SEVEN-- dedicated to hollandaise. If a sauce that literally has three ingredients in it takes 7 pages, there's no freakin' way that I can make anything more complicated.

I cheated, though. Julia says that if you're making hollandaise for the first time, you should really whip it by hand. But then the very next page there's a recipe for making it in the blender that "even a child could make." So, even though it was my first time, I used the blender. Intimidated by the prospect of the eggs curdling or the butter separating, I copped out-- and out came the blender.

It was easy enough for a child to make. I over-salted it... and it was probably a bit more thick than it should have been (product of over-whipping of the yolks). And the sheer amount of butter in it-- astounding. An entire stick... relative to the 3 egg yolks and tbsp of lemon juice... this is definitely not something that should be on the daily menu. But as a treat? Yes please.

Julia Child's Hollandaise

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 4 oz of butter
• 1/4 tsp salt
• pinch of pepper

Cut butter into tabs and melt on med-low heat until foaming. Place egg yolks, lemon, salt and pepper in blender and blend on high for 2 seconds. Drizzle melted butter slowly into blender while blending on high (be careful of splashing-- I solved this by putting a funnel in the top of the blender and pouring the butter into the blender). Be careful not to pour too much in because the eggs will curdle). Once incorporated, serve immediately. If not serving right away, place in tepid water bath (eg put in glass measuring cup and place measuring cup in water bath) to keep it warm, but not so it cooks). You can also stir in additional salt / pepper to taste.

I thought this could use a little bit more lemon-- so I may try that the next time. Super easy (despite the multiple page description)... and deliciously delectable. And easy thing to add to the menu (for eggs Benedict, as a sauce of veggies like asparagus, or a number of other things, I can imagine!). After all as Julia says, you can never have too much butter.