The original recipe topped two toasted English muffin halves with round-cut slices of ham, poached eggs; and Hollandaise sauce. Over the years, the more conveniently-shaped Canadian bacon replaced the trimmed ham.

The ham substitutions continued, gaining momentum among creative chefs in modern times. Why not create your own reinvention of Eggs Benedict for Mother’s Day or other special occasion? Select your options from these categories of ingredients:

English Muffin Substitute

Classic Eggs Benedict. Photo courtesy American Egg Board.

Note: You need a type of bread that will soak up the egg yolk. Pita, for example, doesn’t work here. Steer clear of regular pancakes and waffles. They take what should be an elegant dish to McGriddles territory.

Ham/Bacon Substitute

 
What about everyday bacon strips? Eggs Benedict should be a special dish. By all means, serve poached eggs with bacon—just not on an English muffin with Hollandaise sauce.

Similarly, fried eggs, sausage and gravy should remain their fine casual selves, and not be adapted into a Benedict-style variation.

 
Consider how you can flavor a basic béchamel to match the ham substitute. For example, add dill to the sauce for lobster, horseradish and lemon zest for crab cakes.
 
Garnish

The term, a combination of breakfast and lunch, was coined in the U.K. in 1895 to describe “a Sunday meal for Saturday-night carousers.” This first reference in print was an article in Hunter’s Weekly (source).

Brunch eliminated the need to rise early for breakfast. Instead of the conventional post-church early Sunday dinner, the new meal, served around noon, started with a course of toast, marmalade, tea. coffee and other breakfast foods before moving on to some heartier fare.

And the rest is delicious history.

Typically, if you get any garnish with a scoop of sorbet, it’s a mint leaf, berry, lemon peel curl or other variation of the fruit used to make the sorbet.

But how about preserves? We were inspired by this photo from Vivoli, a gelateria in Florence, Italy, of pineapple sorbet with pineapple preserves. Yum!

So for Mother’s Day, we’re loading a large lazy susan with different sorbet toppings (see the list below) so guests can choose their own. We’re adding enough toppings to create a super sorbet sundae.
 
 
BENEFITS OF SORBET OVER ICE CREAM

Compared to ice cream, sorbet it is naturally fat free, lactose free and has fewer calories. Because it’s generally made of fruit, it has fruit’s vitamins, minerals and antioxidants—although it does add sugar to them.

Another benefit: Even after the biggest, heaviest meal, there’s room for a few spoons of sweet sorbet. And although it‘s not science, we find that it helps to settle a stuffed tummy.

Lemon sorbet crowned with a dab of pineapple preserves (photo © Vivoli.it).

You can buy the sorbet (we’re purchasing lemon, mango and raspberry for Mother’s Day). But it’s easy to make. The recipe couldn’t be simpler: one part sugar, two parts water, four parts puréed fruit. You can add a tablespoon of lemon juice, lime juice or liqueur for extra flavor, or replace some of the water with juice or tea.

After you get the hang of it, add herbs or spices. Lemon-basil and mango-chile are terrific; cilantro, mint and rosemary pair beautifully with fruits.

If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can place the mix in a flat pan in the freezer and scrap the forming crystals with a fork: That’s granita! (Check out the different types of frozen desserts in our Ice Cream Glossary.)

1. MAKE simple syrup by combining the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves. If you want to infuse herbs or spices, add them at this stage (lightly crush the leaves in your hands to release the oils). Allow the mixture to cool; remove any herbs/spices† and set the pan aside.

2. PREPARE the fruit. Small berries don’t need to be cut, but large strawberries and other fruits should be diced into small cubes, place it in a blender or food processor along with the simple syrup and lemon or lime juice to taste (about 1/8 of a cup for every cup of fruit), and purée until smooth.

3. PROCESS in your ice cream maker or turn into a granita.
 

OTHER SORBET GARNISHES & TOPPINGS

 
Or go back to basics with plain berries and/or fresh mint leaves.
 
 

FIND MORE OF OUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM & SORBET RECIPES.
 
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*Instead of fruit, flavors such as chocolate, coffee and hibiscus are popular.

*You can leave inclusions such as red chili pepper flakes or pink peppercorns.
  

There are two basic styles of salsa: raw salsa (salsa cruda or salsa fresca, which includes pico de gallo) and cooked salsa. All shelf-stable salsas in a jar are cooked to pasteurize the ingredients.

 
BASIC SALSA INGREDIENTS

Salsa is great with far more than Tex-Mex foods. Here, grapefruit salsa tops a baked potato. Photo courtesy TexaSweet.

GET READY TO DICE
Some people make salsa in a food processor to save time, but it produces a purée style. We prefer hand-chopping for a chunky salsa. It has a better mouthfeel and looks more appealing.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

BASIC SALSA FRESCA RECIPE

Ingredients

1. MIX all ingredients thoroughly.

2. REFRIGERATE overnight or for several hours to let flavors blend.

TRY THESE SALSA RECIPES

THE HISTORY OF SALSA

*Here’s why the tomato is a fruit.
  

The Margarita just happens to be the most famous tequila cocktail.

But beyond the top three (including the Bloody Maria and the Tequila Sunrise) are many others.

The recipe below is for a fruity tequila cocktail created by Milagro Tequila.

Called Carpe Dia (Sieze The Day), it uses lower glycemic agave nectar as the sweetener.

Unlike the orange and lime flavored Margarita, this drink has blackberry, lime and sage flavors (sage is delicious in cocktails).

The añejo (aged) tequila provides complex flavors, which vary by distiller but can include brown spices, dried fruits, olives, nuts and toffee, among others.

So carpe dia with this yummy recipe!
 
 
CARPE DIEM BLACKBERRY TEQUILA COCKTAIL RECIPE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MUDDLE berries and sage in a shaker glass. Add the other ingredients and shake vigorously with ice.

2. STRAIN into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice.

3. GARNISH with a blackberry and a sprig of sage.
 
 
FIND MORE OF OUR FAVORITE COCKTAIL RECIPES.

[2] Fresh blackberries (photo © Olha Afanasieva | Dreamstime).

[1] The perfect cookie for Cinco de Mayo (photos #1 and #2 © Wisconsin Cheese).

[2] Make some as gifts (photo © Bruna Branco | Unsplash).

[3] Whole and ground cinnamon (photo © American Heritage Chocolate).

[4] Add your favorite coffee liqueur—which you can also drink with the cookies (photo © Kahlúa).

[5] Here’s a hack: Buy vanilla or cinnamon cookies and a jar of dulce de leche (photo © Cookie Panache [now closed]).

This recipe, courtesy of Wisconsin Cheese, makes two dozen of them.

Another name for the cookies is noche bueno, meaning good night in Spanish—which it certainly will be when you sit down with these cookies and coffee or milk.

If you don’t have the time or inclination to bake, check out the hack in photo #5.
 
 
RECIPE: DULCE DE LECHE COOKIES

Ingredients For 24 Cookies

 
Optional Garnishes

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F with oven racks in upper and lower third positions.

2. SIFT or whisk together flour, cocoa, chili powder, cinnamon and salt in a bowl until combined. Set aside.

3. COMBINE butter and sugar in a bowl. Using an electric mixer or wooden spoon, beat until light and fluffy.

4. ADD egg yolks, coffee liqueur (or coffee) and vanilla, beating well, scraping down the sides after each addition. Mix in the cooled chocolate.

5. REDUCE speed to low, add dry ingredients 1/2 cup at a time, and mix until combined well.

6. DROP batter by rounded teaspoons 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. If desired, sprinkle with ground almonds.

7. BAKE, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until cookies are puffed up and dry looking around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to racks to cool.

8. CONTINUE with the remaining dough, making sure to let the baking sheets cool between batches.

9. FILL the cookie sandwiches: Spread 1/2 teaspoon of dulce de leche on the flat side of a cookie, top with a second cookie to form a sandwich. Fill remaining cookies in the same manner.

10. DUST with additional cocoa powder and a sprinkle of cinnamon, ground almonds and/or chili powder.
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF COOKIES

> THE HISTORY OF COOKIES
 
 
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*For the best chocolate flavor, look for bittersweet chocolate with a minimum of 60 percent cocoa solids.

†Dulce de leche is available near the canned milk at Latin markets and many supermarkets. Here’s how to make your own dulce de leche from condensed milk.