Bearnaise Sauce

Bearnaise sauce is absolutely delicous, and like Molten Chocolate Lava Cake, it should come with a health advisory notice. So just be aware.

To make Bearnaise sauce, you need the following ingredients:

• 1/2 c. chopped green onion
• 4 T white vinegar
• 4 T white wine
• 1 (heaping) t. dried tarragon
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 stick butter
• 2 t. lemon juice
• 1/4 c. half and half (or cream)

And here is how to make it:

In a small saucepan, heat onion, vinegar, wine and tarragon. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Continue to boil it about 2 minutes until it is reduced. In the meantime...

Separate the egg yolks from the whites (find something else to do with the whites), and beat them well.

Put butter in a 2 c. glass pyrex measure and microwave 45 seconds, or until melted.

Combine yolks, lemon juice, and 1/2 and 1/2. Combine this mixture with the butter. You may have to temper the mixture if the butter is too hot. Don't pour egg yolks into hot butter - they will scramble and ruin this sauce. Tempering them means add a little bit of hot butter to the other mixture, and stir it vigorously. Then, you add a little more, and you keep adding a little bit at a time until it is all incorporated.

Microwave the final mixed mixture for 1 minute, stirring every 15 seconds with a fork.

Pour the reduced onion-tarragon-vinegar-wine mixture through a strainer, into the butter-cream-egg-lemon juice mixture.

Stir, and serve immediately with steaks! I have to confess that I've never actually made this; I've just watched Jamie! He's the expert when it comes to bearnaise :)