Weekend Breakfast

So here's a lovely little twist on what I eat for breakfast every damn morning.

A soft boiled egg on toast.

The perfect way to soft boil an egg is to bring it up to a boil and then turn it down to 2 for 5-6 minutes depending on the size of the egg.

But this isn't what I made this morning. I had a little extra time so what I made was a polenta pancake with a poached egg.

I buttered my hands and molded some cold leftover polenta into a ball, then shmooshed it into a little pancake about 3-4 inches in diameter.

Put about 1/2 an inch of oil in the bottomn a small frying pan on medium high heat. To make sure that frying oil is the right temperature sprinkle a tiny amount of water onto the oil and if it pops and sizzles you're good to go. I learned that little trick from the book Water for Chocolate which you should read in one steamy hot summer day with a pitcher of sangria.

Okay back to the frying. While the oil is heating, bring a small pot of water to boil. There are lots of tips on poaching eggs and the general wisdom is to add a little vinegar into the water. I don't like the taste and I've never had much trouble with poached eggs sans vinegar.

Just bring the water to a rolling, happy little boil and then crack in the egg. Use Julia Child's advice and with a shallow spoon scoop some of the water from under the egg onto the top of the egg and visualize the shape of a poached egg. Okay so the "visualize" part is all me and but I find it helps. Oh and as a final note, any advice Julia Child gives in the kitchen take at face value. She is very wise.

Put the little pancake into the hot oil and try not to let it spatter all over you. I recommend cooking this dish in long sleeves and not skimpy little pjs... just sound advice and not speaking from experience... haha

When the pancake is all crispy and golden - I'm assuming you've had the wherewithal to flip the damn thing at this point - put it onto a folded piece of paper towel.

The poached egg takes less time than a soft boiled one, so leave it in the water for only 3-ish minutes. I also put the egg onto folded paper towel because I cannot STAND it when a poached egg makes the toast all soggy. Blech!!

Once it is suitably dry plop it onto your polenta pancake and salt and pepper the lot. So yummy!!!