Poached Eggs Made Easy...

If there is one thing that I absolutely love for Sunday brunch, it's Eggs Florentine- similar to Eggs Benedict, sans the ham, with tomato and spinach instead. I went to bed feeling ambitious last night and decided to try making poached eggs myself. I was a bit nervous, especially when I learned I only had two eggs left so didn't have enough for a "do-over" if I needed it (and my hungry hubby was patiently waiting with a fork in his hand), but it was much easier than I anticipated! One thing I learned- don't cook over a gas stove while wearing an oversized terry robe...the arm just may catch fire. So my tally of fires started in the kitchen is now 5, but don't worry, after a crazy fire dance in the kitchen to put it out I wasn't burned, and my robe will live. Ready to poach an egg? Here's how I did it:

Bring about 4" of water to a simmer. You want that barely-there simmer that comes right before a boil, but you don't want it actually start boiling. Once it gets there turn the temperature down. I have a gas stove and even on low it tries to start boiling, so I took the pot off the burner before adding the egg, and then put it back on the burner.

While the water is getting hot add a splash of vinegar. This helps the egg whites set.

One of the biggest mistakes in poaching an egg is cracking the egg directly into the water. Instead, crack the egg in a small bowl or ramekin and then pour the egg right at water level.

Your egg will try to spread out all willy nilly, don't worry! Just take a spatula and push the egg whites together. After at least 30 seconds run your spatula around the whole egg to make sure it's not stuck anywhere. I like to nudge mine to move it just a bit.

Pretty egg in progress! Cook for 3-4 minutes, not a second more. I didn't take pictures when I pulled it out, I just didn't have the hands- sorry! Just take a slotted spoon and gently scoop out the egg, then place it on a paper towel to let it drain.