Spare me the indignation right now. Play coy with me if you must, but we both know perfectly well you are going to do it. It will be sitting there staring up at you grinning sheepishly, like the guy in college who would show up at 3AM under your dorm room window with the pint of Bushmills and the stack of Zeppelin albums. You'll swear you will eschew it- play that little game where we all try to maintain an outward facade of self control just long enough to save face, knowing full well that the primal instincts have already taken over and you're going to do what you’ve got to do.
Just hold that thought for a moment while I talk about my latest several obsessions that all came together recently into one beautiful meal.
I am not sure of the precise moment this past week when I decided I HAD to have a poached egg. I usually just scramble mine. And hardly attentively, I might add. I just whisk 'em up, throw them into a skillet for a second until they achieve the consistency I desire (which I admit, approaches something we might as well call "Salmonella Soufflé."). I save the energy for the hash browns I'll usually have going, or the sausage, or the iced tea, or the mocha or just making sure I have a clean plate from which to inhale everthing. The eggs are just an afterthought.
And it's not as if I am wanting for protein. I drink plenty of milk and pretty much treat bacon like a condiment. So, it wasn't a craving, per se.
But I really, really, really wanted a poached egg. On a baby green salad. Actually, I wanted multiple poached eggs on a big-ass baby green salad. With bacon. And a homemade vinaigrette. But mostly I wanted the eggs.
Poaching is a gentle and mostly uncomplicated cooking method, useful for helping foods retain moisture. It usually involves submerging food into a simmering liquid, usually water or stock, and cooking for a short time. The food stays moist and retains its "natural" flavor.
Unless your eggs are UBER fresh, though, you won't necessarily achieve the "pouched" effect, where the yolk is completely encased within the white. But it's worth shooting for. Some people recommend swirling the water to create a vortex and then allowing the swirling water to cover the tops of the yolks with white. Julia Child recommended cooking the egg within the shell for fifteen seconds, after pricking the edge of the egg with a pin. Props to Julia, of course, but this seems a bit fussy.
So here we are...
Eggs Comma Poached v1.0
1-3 VERY Fresh Eggs
1 t Salt
Shot of Vinegar (any kind)
Fill a ten-inch sauce pan with about an inch of water. Stir in the salt and vinegar and bring the water gently to a boil. Lower the heat until the water has barely stopped bubbling. The water should be about 200 degrees.
Crack the eggs into individual Pyrex bowls, ramekins, or other prep bowls.
With the edges of the vessels just touching the water, ease les oef into the pan. If you are poaching more than one, obviously, give the little guys some space.
Kill the heat and attach the lid. cook for between six and eight minutes, depending on how firm you like your eggs.
Extract with a wooden spoon and serve immediately.
I am going to skip a formal recipe for "bacon" and "salad." I put two strips into my cast iron skillet and I used a couple of handfuls of "Spring Mix," my favorite variety. I chopped up some mushrooms and some tomato. I dried the bacon on a paper towel and sliced it into little ribbons.
Which leaves us with a dressing.
I had never made a vinaigrette until a couple of days ago when I started making this one. Usually I prefer a good ranch, but I felt like the richness and the fat of the bacon and egg demanded a bold, acidic counterpoint.
This vinaigrette is, for reasons that will become glaringly obvious, best produced in the context of the above meal.
I looked around at bunch of recipes and saw very few vinaigrettes that use my favorite variety of vinegar: apple cider vinegar. To me, it's perfect for this. Forward, fruity, and just a little bit sweet. If it weren't for the honey and, uhh, "special guest," I might use something more neutral.
Honey, Mustard and...Ahem...Vinaigrette
1 1/2 t Dijon Mustard
2 T Apple Cider Vinegar (White wine Vinegar also works, as would Champagne Vinegar)
2 T Honey
1/2 C Olive Oil
1 T That Which Must Not be Named (we'll get to that)
Salt and pepper to taste.
Start by nuking the honey for about ten seconds just to soften it.
Combine the mustard and the vinegar in a bowl. Whisk thoroughly to combine.
Whisk in the honey.
Continue whisking as you drizzle in about half of the olive oil in a slow, steady stream, creating an emulsion.
Now. Stop. Look at, and smell, your skillet which up until a minute ago contained the bacon.
Good, huh? It's okay. You know you want to do it. No one is looking.
Reminisce for a juicy moment about your misspent youth, hum to yourself the opening few bars of "Black Dog" and pour about a Tablespoon of the bacon drippings into the goddamn salad dressing.
Continue whisking.
Continue pouring a little bit more of the olive oil in, sampling every once in a while just to make sure the taste and texture is what you want. Season with salt and a bit of pepper.
Now. LIGHTLY coat your salad with the dressing. Add the bacon, and the poached egg. And it should look something like this.
By the way, if you happen to have just baked a loaf of THIS, which I had, it would behoove you to have a slice.
