National Eggs Benedict Day 2015: Easy Recipes And History Of The Breakfast Dish

By Tim Marcin @TimMarcin t.marcin@ibtimes.com on April 15 2015 12:30 PM EDT

April 16 is National Eggs Benedict Day, a great reason to cook up a savory, runny-egg breakfast. Creative Commons/Flickr, Photo By Isabelle Hurbain-Palatin (https://www.flickr.com/photos/ipalatin/)

Need an excuse to cook up a weekend brunch favorite during the week? It’s National Eggs Benedict Day on Thursday, so rejoice, stock up on eggs and get your pan ready.

In its simplest form, the rich dish is poached eggs rested on Canadian bacon, set on top of an English muffin, all of which is smothered in hollandaise sauce. The drippy egg combines with the thick sauce to create a wonderful breakfast indulgence. The concoction was invented by a hungover aristocrat named Lemuel Benedict in 1894, when he requested the dish be made for him at the old Waldorf Hotel at Fifth Avenue in New York City, according to a 2007 New York Times article. Famous maître d’hôtel, Oscar of the Waldorf, became interested in the recipe and, after testing the dish, put it on the hotel’s menu. The rest was history — delicious, savory history.

Since its invention, new recipes have added to the old dish, adding dashes of creativity and fun ingredients. Nowadays you’re bound to see some variation on the classic eggs Benedict on most breakfast menus.

With Benedict’s big day approaching, below are a few recipes to make on Thursday, April 16, a wonderful day for breakfast aficionados everywhere:

A true classic: You’ve got to crawl before you can walk, so here’s the traditional version of the dish from the Food Network. First, you poach eggs in water with a teaspoon of vinegar, then you heat up bacon and toast muffins, finally you blend some hollandaise sauce. Then you dig-in to honor Lemuel Benedict’s great invention.

Spice up your life: If you enjoy some heat, but want some freshness, then this is the recipe for you. This recipe from The Curvy Carrot (via Greatist) for a California eggs Benedict features layers of avocado and tomato and is drizzled with a creamy hollandaise that is kicked up with sriracha chili sauce.

For the health nuts: Eggs Benedict, while delicious, can be a bit of a calorie bomb with such a creamy sauce. This dish from My Recipes is a light version with a sauce that doesn’t use nearly as much butter. It also uses more egg whites than yolks and features a layer of spinach to transform the dish.

Mexican-style: It’s eggs benedict except with chunky guacamole, crispy chorizo sausage and a thick slice of tomato. What could be bad about this Homemade By You recipe?

On the go: Thursday is a weekday after all, and many will be heading off to work. This recipe from My Recipes simplifies eggs Benedict, putting the fork-and-knife classic between two slices of French bread, converting the dish into sandwich form. It also calls for fried eggs, instead of poached, simplifying the cooking process.

Overnight success: If you have to get up early for work Thursday and don’t have time to cook breakfast, this dish is for you. This eggs Benedict casserole from Foodista is set overnight in the fridge, then baked for about 50 minutes the next day—which can be down while you’re get dressed and ready. Or, for even more convenience, you can make the casserole — which calls for asparagus tips and a chive topping — the night before and simply reheat in the morning.

No matter which recipe you go with, enjoy!