I'm not a big fan of eggs. The idea of a hard boiled oval of white gelatinous goo. I ate eggs in other forms; scrambled, frittatas, omelettes, in cakes. But here's the thing, they were always a base for the included ingredients. I'm a way bigger fan of the potatoes and veggies in frittatas, the sausage in an egg and sausage sandwich. Eggs, on their own, were never enough for me. But alas, a new day has dawned in my culinary awareness. I went to an amazing brunch place the other day. It's called Lime and if you've ever been to the Castro in San Francisco you know exactly what I am talking about. The first time I walked in I realized that I should have kept the clothes I was wearing the night before on. The interior is a futuristic white with plastic tables and costumed waitresses grooving to the beats of the in-house DJ set up in the back.
We sashayed over to our table and immediately presented with the first of many all-you-can-drink mimosas. I know. All. You. Can. Drink. After we killed the first and second rounds we perused the menu. Eevrything looked great but the Huevos Rancheros jumped out at me. The only sticking point; two poached eggs. I had never had a poached egg before. Call me a scaredy cat and you'd be right. Something about the oozy egg yolk creeped me out. It must have been the (3) mimosas I'd drunk because by the time I ordered I forgot all about the poached dilemna, threw caution to the wind and ordered up the huevos. Ah well, I could just eat around it, right?
After we'd polished off the fresh biscuits with apricot preserves and had a (few) more mimosas, the food came. Ah well, I thought, time to dig in. I sliced open the first poached egg and watched the yolk dribble down over my scrumptious looking black beans, coating the warm tortillas folded in triangles nearby. I grabbed my fork, loaded it up with guacamole, pico and beans, smooshed some yolk and white on the end and dug in.
Fireworks exploded in my mouth. The sensation was smooth and velvety. All the disparate ingredients joined together into one bite of huevos nirvana. 3 Seconds later my plate was clean and my belly was full. Where had poached eggs been my whole life?
The next day I made a salad with red leaf lettuce, heirloom tomatoes, tabouleh, chick peas and feta, and topped the whole thing with a beautifully poached egg. Ahh, my life is complete.
To poach eggs, bring a shallow pot of water to a light simmer. Crack an egg into a shallow dish. I added a dash of white balsamic vinegar because I like the slight acidic taste. It also helps the egg retain it's shape. I gently lowered the egg into the pot, shut off the heat, covered it with the lid and let it be for 4 minutes. If you want it cooked through more, leave it in longer. Bon Apetit!
