Sauce Bearnaise, no double boiler Recipe

combine first 6 ingredients in heavy bottomed saucepan and cook over medium heat until reduced to 1/3 cup (about 10 minutes) Strain, discarding vegetables and spices (press with a wooden spoon through a fine sieve to extract all the liquid) and return to saucepan beat egg yolks in a small bowl with a whisk until slightly thick and lemon colored. add 1/4 of the liquid to the yolks, whisking as you do. This will ‘temper’ the eggs gradually whisk the egg mixture into the sauce pan with the remaining liquid and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk until sauce is very thick. Remove from heat. whisk in melted butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Add lemon juice and salt to taste. Finish with a dash of cayenne To reheat, place saucepan over low heat and whisk constantly until sauce is warm.