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(This plate from Pastis restaurant in NYC.)
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First, bring a pot of water to a boil. While the water's boiling, place a few English muffins halves on a baking sheet. Lightly butter the English muffins and place them under the broiler for just a few minutes, or until the English muffins are very lightly golden.
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Next, poach the eggs. With a spoon, begin stirring the boiling water in a large, circular motion. When the tornado's really twisting, crack in an egg. Or two. Or three. The reason for the swirling is so the egg will wrap around itself as it cook, keeping it together. Cook for about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes.
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In a small saucepan, melt 1 1/2 sticks of butter until sizzling. Place the yolks into a blender. Turn the blender on low to allow the yolks to combine, then begin pouring the very hot butter in a then stream into the blender. The blender should remain on the whole time, and you should be careful to pour in the butter very slowly. Keep pouring butter until it's all gone, then immediately begin squeezing lemon juice into the blender. Add cayenne pepper.
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Place the English muffins on the plate, face up. Next, place a slice of smoked salmon on each half. Place the egg on top of the salmon and top with a generous helping of Hollandaise sauce followed by a sprinkling of black pepper
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Note: To ensure that everything is hot at the time when it's ready to serve plunge the poached eggs back into the hot water just before serving, and make the Hollandaise at the very last minute.
