Lazy Sundays

(This post was originally intended for Sunday, but I got distracted with the lamp project.)

Sundays have always been my favorite day of the week.  When I was a child Sundays were filled with Sunday School and church, a late brunch, and an entire day of watching football with the family.  Although, not much has changed about my Sundays, I appreciate them much more than I did as a child.  Sundays are the one day of the week I allow myself to unwind and recharge.  Don't get me wrong, they're usually filled with reading and outlining, but at a much slower pace.  I sleep in.  I lounge on my patio with a cup (or 3) of coffee.  I snuggle with my dog.  And most importantly, I take the time to eat and enjoy breakfast/brunch.  Recently, I decided lazy Sunday was the perfect time to tackle poaching an egg, great idea.

Lazy Sunday Poached Eggs

Poached eggs often get a bad wrap.  I've read countless blogs, commentaries, and comments about the difficulty of poaching an egg.  The concept never seemed hard to me- you slide an egg into a pot of simmering water.  Fortunately, the reality of poaching an egg isn't much more difficult.  To poach an egg, bring a fairly large size pot of water to a simmer.  Do not let the water boil.  If it's too hot the egg will cook too quickly and it'll take on an unpleasant rubbery texture.  Add about a tablespoon (I never bother measuring) of either salt or vinegar to the water to help bind the egg together.  I always use vinegar.  Crack the egg into a small vessel so that it's easier to slide into the water.  When the water is at a swimmer swirl it with a slotted spoon to make a small whirlpool in the pot.  (And you thought cooking was boring.)  Gently slide the egg from the small vessel into the swirling water.  This swirling water will help the egg wrap around itself so that there aren't weird looking strings hanging from the egg.  Turn off theheat and let your egg slowly cook until it's slightly buoyant, approximately 5-10 minutes.  Using the slotted spoon, remove the egg from the water and let it drain on a paper towel for a couple minutes.  If you do have any strings cut them off before serving, although this is purely for aesthetic purposes.

Assembly- Layer a fresh biscuit with sliced steak, pulled pork, or anything else that sounds tasty.  Place the poached egg on top of this.  Sprinkle with sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, and sweet paprika.  When ready to eat, pierce the egg yolk and watch the magic...

I may be drooling.

All in all, this terrific Sunday brunch took me about 10 minutes to make and less than that to eat.  

Not a bad way to recharge for the week ahead.