Béarnaise Sauce
Béarnaise is a tarragon-scented sauce of egg yolk and butter, closely related to hollandaise. Its character comes from the reduction: tarragon vinegar, sherry vinegar or white wine, shallot and herbs boiled down to a single spoonful of sharp glaze. Use fresh tarragon, since dried will not give the same flavor. The only tricky part is heat, and a bowl you can just barely touch is a useful guide.
Instructions
Put both vinegars, the shallot, the chopped tarragon and the parsley in a small saucepan. Simmer until the liquid has reduced to about 1 tablespoon, leaving a concentrated, flavorful glaze.
Strain the glaze into a heatproof bowl, discarding the solids, and let it cool.
Add the egg yolks to the cooled glaze. Whisk with a balloon whisk until the mixture is thick enough to fall from the whisk in a ribbon.
Set the bowl over a pan of hot water and keep whisking. The bowl should be hot enough that you can still touch it, so lift it away from the heat if you cannot hold it.
Add the warm melted butter gradually, whisking constantly. Stop when all the butter is in and the sauce has thickened.
Season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste, then serve while it is still warm.
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