Hard-cooked egg sauce -- a substitute for hollandaise.

Slightly less rich and definitely less nerve-racking to produce, a hollandaise cousin which relies on hard-cooked eggs — Among sauces, hollandaise is a favorite which shares some serious flaws with spoiled women -- too rich, too temperamental. Addressing those here -- an easy egg sauce, definitely not your usual hollandaise:

Hard-Cooked Egg Sauce

2 eggs

2 tablespoons butter

¼ to ½ cup homemade chicken stock

salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons fresh or sour cream

1 teaspoon lemon juice, or to taste

Place eggs in small pot, with enough cold water to cover. Bring just to a boil over high heat. When water boils, cover, turn off heat, and let sit for 10 minutes, for a slightly creamy yolk, or for 15 minutes, for a more traditional, dryer yolk. *

After your chosen time has passed, cool, peel and chop the eggs.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When foam begins to subside and to melted butter turns a bit brown, add the chopped eggs and a little salt and freshly ground pepper, along with about ¼ cup stock. Add cream or a little more stock and bring sauce to a boil, stirring, until thoroughly blended and slightly thick; taste and adjust seasoning.

Yield: 2 servings.

* Essentially the same method we prefer for deviled eggs and other dishes using hard-cooked eggs.

If you are watching your butter intake, an excellent substitute for Hollandaise is Avgolemono Sauce, made with egg yolks and a good chicken stock.

Double click here for Mock Hollandaise, an even more simple, quick substitute for traditional hollandaise sauce, using sour cream and mayonnaise, if you have those ingredients on hand and no time or no patience for creating the real thing.

You can find this and related recipe(s) by tapping here on the Home Cookin' index.

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