OBX

So we made it to the Outer Banks where we will be spending a week oceanfront before we trade in the luxury of four bedrooms for a four man tent.  After a rough start to our trip - one of us dropped an entire case of wine down the newly carpeted stairs in Weehawken (sorry!)-we had the perfect travel day yesterday with gorgeous skies crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel, no traffic and a new bumper sticker that seemed to keep the crazies off our tail.  We got settled in and enjoyed cocktails on the deck as dusk rolled in over the ocean.  The ingredients for last night's pasta primavera with the veggies from our farm stand stop are still waiting in the refrigerator because we got too caught up in watching the ocean to come in from the deck and cook.
We woke up to a rainy day, hungry from no dinner last night so decided to make a breakfast feast.  My friend Cindy has a hard time in the kitchen - she's texted in a panic looking for help with scrambled eggs- so I'm always trying to come up with recipes that are easy enough that even she could make them.  This is one of them.  We are also limited in ingredients and accoutrements because it's a vacation home kitchen so I made Not Quite Eggs Benedict.  While New Jersey's tomatoes might be almost done for the season, North Carolina's are still in their prime and they made the meal.

Not Quite Eggs Benedict
2 eggs per person
2 tomato slices per person
1 English Muffin per person
Blender Hollandaise (recipe below)
1/4 lb Frizzled ham per person (recipe below)

Prep:
Fill a sautee pan with water about 3" from the top
Add a palm full of salt and set on high
Crack each egg to be poached into an individual bowl and set aside
Slice a tomato

Make do with what you have Blender Hollandaise
3 egg yolks
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1/2 Cup butter melted
Combine the egg yolks and lemon juice in the blender
Slowly pour the melted butter into the blender on high
Pour sauce into a bowl and rest bowl in hot water until you are ready to pour over eggs
* Note you can kick this up a notch if you're at home and have a full pantry.  Add a couple drops of Franks red hot, or 1/2 tsp worcestershire or dijon mustard or use paprika as a garnish over the finished dish.
Frizzled Ham
1/4 lb thinly sliced deli ham per person
1/2 tsp butter per person

Start the butter melting in a frying pan over med low heat.  As the butter melts, tear the ham in to bite size pieces and add.  Stir occasionally as you are preparing the rest of breakfast.

Poached Eggs
This is the easiest method I've found for poaching eggs.You've already started the water for the eggs in step one.
When you're ready to poach (english muffins are mid toast, tomatoes are sliced, water is boiling) add the eggs one at a time.  Immediately turn off the heat and cover the pan.  Check after 3 minutes (just enough time to butter your english muffins and set up your plates).  You can tell if they are done enough by the firmness of the yolks.
Remove each egg with a slotted spoon and place on top the tomatoes and english muffins and top with the hollandaise.  Serve with the frizzled ham.