easy gourmet brunch – the social house’s farmstead eggs benedict

February 19, 2010 by ksolo
Filed under featured, recipes for food, restaurant reviews

When I first reviewed The Social House in 2008, I couldn’t say enough good things about the place. The homey, retro decor and the menu - featuring standard breakfast and brunch classics with a little somethin’ extra – quickly catapulted Lorenzo Wyche’s newest venture to the top of my ‘favorite places for breakfast in Atlanta’ list. Since the restaurant’s opening, however, the long waits and occasionally inconsistent food have made it lose some of its lustre for me. But there’s one favorite from The Social House that I still regularly crave for weekend brunch.

The Farmstead – one of 5 variations of eggs benny on the restaurant’s menu – includes leeks, mushrooms, gouda, and country ham along with the requisite English muffin and poached eggs. For my at-home version, I replaced the country ham with turkey bacon, though if you’re a vegetarian, you could skip the meat altogether and it’d still be very flavorful dish. The smokiness of the gouda and the aromatic butteriness of the leeks will make you forget everything you thought you knew about traditional eggs benedict. But the best thing about this dish? It can go from fridge to plate in about 15 minutes.

DO try this one at home.

Ingredients (for 2 servings):
1 leek
6 to 7 slices turkey bacon
2 english muffins, sliced in half
3-4 slices smoked gouda cheese
mushrooms (preferably crimini, aka baby portabella)
4 eggs
1 Tbsp olive oil
apple cider vinegar (optional)

Preparation:
Prep the leeks by cutting off and discarding the root end and the leafy tops. Cut the remaining section down the middle and rinse well, making sure to remove any grit or dirt between the layers of the leek. Slice the leek crosswise. Stack bacon slices and chop into pieces. Chop the mushrooms.

Put a pot of water on to boil for the eggs. If you have it, add a dash or two of apple cider vinegar to the water. The vinegar helps the egg whites hold together better – which makes for a prettier poached egg. When water comes to a low boil, add eggs one at a time. I like my eggs poached medium well, so I let them go for about 6 minutes at a simmer (not a full boil!). In the meantime, place the English muffin halves in the oven on low broil to toast.

In medium or large skillet, heat olive oil and add cut bacon. Sautee bacon for 3-4 minutes, until lightly browned at the edges. Add the leeks and saute until slightly softened. Add mushrooms and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Transfer toasted English muffin halves to serving plate, and top each half with a slice of smoked gouda. Pile bacon-leek-mushroom mixture on top. Add another slice of gouda to the mound, and finish each stack with a poached egg. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on each egg, if you like.