[Urbane Guerrilla]

Swiped from BrianR's post in "Hollandaise."

I was trained to make all sauces at the Jax Culinary Institute, so this one is a whiz, but it is hard for a beginner to make.

To begin with, the ingredients should be at room temp, as suggested above. start your double-boiler. Whisk in cool water (out of the tap is fine) and egg yolks and a few drops of lemon juice. The lemon juice is important to add flavor!

heat over the boiler (be gentle, this sauce is delicate) until thickened. Then add the butter (clarified, not melted) s l o w l y!
only a few drops at a time until the sauce thickens well. You should be able to drop in the last Tablespoonful at the end but be gentle. If you do too fast, you will break the sauce.

If the sauce gets TOO thick, add in a few drops of HOT water at a time until it is back to where you want it. The sauce will keep for an hour or so, if you keep it warm. You should have turned off the double-boiler earlier. You can hold the sauce over that as long as it doesn't get too hot, warm is the key.

Have the muffins prepared ahead of time and do the eggs at the same time you're building the sauce. quickly heat the ham (I use Canadian Bacon on mine) and build the dish, spread a bit of sauce over the top of the eggs, and garnish with a tiny pinch of parsley or a small slice of lemon.