Eggs have been a part of our everyday cuisine for centuries - even before Egyptian times! Maybe due to ease of preparation or availability or maybe even because often times eggs would be found where people where hunting birds for food. Regardless, eggs are a part of our food history and the dish, Eggs Benedict, is certainly one with a fun story describing how it came to be.
The origin of Eggs Benedict is thought to be one of two tales. Both occuring in the late 1800's at a posh New York hotel and both involve people with the last name Benedict. The first tale reports of a wealthy woman who was unable to find anything to her liking on the menu and together with the maitre d, concocted what we now know of as Eggs Benedict.
The second, more whimsical tale, reports of a hungover Wall Street-er who made his way through a breakfast buffet slapping bacon and eggs on buttered toast and topping it with Hollandaise sauce. After seeing what he had done, the maitre d substituted ham for bacon and an english muffin for toast... making what we now know of as Eggs Benedict.
Which one is true? We'll never know! (But it sure makes for a great story, doesn't it???)
