Baked Eggs Benedict

Ingredients:
4 whole English Muffins, split in half
1 pkg. (8 oz.) sliced Canadian bacon
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 3/4 c. half and half
10 eggs
1/2- 3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. snipped fresh parsley
1-2 lemons
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, cut into 8 slices


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut English muffin halves into 3/4-inch pieces; arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet or a baking stone.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly toasted.  Remove from oven; place muffin pieces into a 12 inch skillet.  Dice Canadian bacon into 1/2 inch pieces; sprinkle over muffin pieces and set aside.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.  Meanwhile, in a 4 qt. mixing bowl, whisk cream cheese until smooth.  While continuously whisking, gradually add half and half; whisk until smooth.  Whisk in eggs and cayenne pepper.  Bake 18-22 minutes or until center appears nearly set when gently shaken (internal temperature should be 160 degrees); remove from the oven and let stand 5-10 minutes.  Sprinkle with parsley.

Meanwhile, for lemon butter sauce, zest lemon to measure 2 tsp. of zest.  Juice lemons to measure 1/4 c. juice.  In a 2 qt. saucepan, combine the zest and juice; cook over medium heat 2 minutes or until lemon juice reduces by half.  Reduce heat to low.  Whisk in butter slices, one at a time, whisking after each addition, until butter is melted and sauce is smooth.


To serve, cut baked eggs Benedict into wedges.  Drizzle each serving with lemon-butter sauce.