Hollandaise

“Hollandaise” was the first French word I could remember and pronounce, asparagus with hollandaise sauce being an early passion. It is a pure sauce, and I feel purist about it: lemon juice, salt, pepper, butter, and egg yolks are its proper components.

The sauce is made with five to seven yolks (depending on egg size) per pound of butter, and the question of whether to use clarified or whole butter is easy to answer, to my mind. Clarified-butter usage comes from nasty habits of rest