Big Surf’s Poached Egg and Zhug with Spinach and Artichoke on Toast

I’m strong to the finich ’cause I eats me spinach—Popeye

When Daphne responded to George Costanza’s query about her eggs with “Eggs are eggs”, I cringed at this particular Seinfeldism. I, for one, value the importance of this often, taken for granted, ovate protein source. As stated in previous writings (that sounds so pretentious doesn’t it?), I love eggs and I am always trying to elevate the taste of them.

If I say the egg is my “muse”, does that mean I have to be artistic? No one has ever accused me of this. It is safe to say I will never cut off my ear if I break a yolk.

This past Friday morning, there was a smidgeon of something resembling a creative spark deep within me that was crying to see the light of the range hood. So the dish above was created.

I’m sure some of you will turn your nose up at this, but it really was a tasteful breakfast dish. If you can get past some of the biases that imprison your morning food choices, you may find this worthy of an occasional alternate start to your day.

This started with some delicious sourdough bread my blue-eyed darlin’ baked. It makes for a delicious toast canvas for my masterpiece. I spread some zhug (https://eat-with-big-surf.blog/2023/11/18/zhug-zhoug-sahawiq-schug-skug-mabooj/) on the toast. I sauteed some spinach with some store-bought marinated, grilled artichoke halves. I topped with a poached egg, salt and pepper.

Now Mrs. Big Surf and I loved the dish, though the missus felt like I used too much zhug and it overpowered her taste buds. I was surprised by this and when I verbalized my surprise, she said, “Your eyeballs are sweating”.

So the moral here is to know your audience. Based on a small sample size, the zhug can be a bit overwhelming to German and Irish palates, so go easy on this Yemeni originated condiment.

Show a little restraint like Van Gogh. He only cut off part of his ear.

Jaques Pépin’s Eggs Jeanette

You can’t escape the taste of the food you had as a child. In times of stress, what do you dream about as a child? Your mother’s clam chowder. It’s security, comfort. It brings you home—Jacques Pépin

I have a kindred connection with Jacques Pépin. He loves eggs. I love eggs. So who better to search on YouTube this Saturday morning than Jacques himself?

I found an old PBS clip of “American Masters at Home” and he was cooking a dish that he ate as a child prepared by his mére (mother). This is my clumsy attempt to duplicate that dish for Mrs. Big Surf and myself on this rainy Indiana morning.

Now I can eat eggs cooked almost anyway with almost anything. The blue-eyed darlin’ not so much. In fact it was presented to me earlier this year that she doesn’t always like the way I have prepared some breakfast eggs, but she ate them and didn’t complain because…you know…I fixed breakfast for her and she didn’t have to.

There is a question asked of Julia Roberts’ character in “Runaway Bride”, “How do you like your eggs?”. Now after some thirty-six plus years of marriage, Mrs. Big Surf finally let me know. And you can see how each new egg dish is prepared with a little gun-shyness.

THIS MORNING WAS A SUCCESS!!

We both enjoyed this dish. The tastes were there even if the techniques were a bit clunky. The big questions in preparing this dish the first time, and maybe some of you can answer this question. Is there a difference in times of boiling a small egg vs. a large egg? We didn’t cover this in high school or college physics. The thermodynamic properties of the egg may be different than copper.

Also peeling an egg always is an adventure for me. My advice is to watch this video and not listen to my kitchen consternations.

This dish has garlic, fresh parsley, eggs, milk, water, olive oil, dijon mustard, salt and pepper, and a little red wine vinegar.

Listen to Jacques Pépin’s tribute to his mother, Jeanette…he’s such a good egg.

Turkish-Style Poached Eggs with Brown Butter Garlic Chips

Today’s egg is better than tomorrow’s hen—Turkish proverb

Sometimes I come across a dish that I just have to savor. And savor can be eating slowly, but that is never going to happen. So in this case savor is writing about it as soon as I can and keeping its memory alive amongst my hordes of readers.

This Turkish-Style egg dish is one of those meals I couldn’t get enough of. This isn’t your grandma’s or your ma’s Saturday breakfast meal to eat in a rush to begin your day. (Though it could be). My history of breakfast foods did not include these assorted tastes for my morning start-the-day. Yogurt, garlic, chili pepper, and smoked paprika give this dish a wonderful savory taste. But no worries for all you breakfast purists, there are still eggs and bites of toast and salt and butter.

This recipe came from Bon Appetite. I did not have any fresh herbs for garnish as there is a wind-chill of two degrees today and a run to the store was not an option, otherwise the recipe was followed to the letter and was so very good.

So for all of you who wonder what the Turks eat for breakfast, one more mystery solved. You’re welcome.

The Yoi Mañana

My whole life, I have been trying to cook an egg in the right way.—Jose Andres

It’s exciting to be present at the birth of something new, to experience an artist in the presence of painting a masterpiece, to be the first to hear a song written by a virtuoso musician, to experience the birth of your children…or to eat a brand new dish. My apologies to my kids for comparing the excitement of their entry into the world with an egg dish.

I am letting you, my scant horde of readers, in on one of those birthing experiences today.

I created this dish this morning, as I am always trying different ways to eat eggs for breakfast. This is a Japanese omelette called “tamagoyaki”. These are made in a rectangular pan. Actually it is half of a tamagoyaki, split with the lovely wife.

Most of my extemporaneous creations in the kitchen don’t turn out so great, however this one was quite good. The tamagoyaki was made with some cheddar cheese and prosciutto, served on a bed of spinach leaves, topped with fresh guacamole, and drizzled with Maggi Hot and Sweet sauce. Let’s see, we have Japan, Mexico, Italy, India, and a tomato from Morehead, KY. So a truly international dish.

To save you the time it takes to look up the name of the dish, it means “Good Morning” in Japanese and Spanish.

Surely something in here is part of the Mediterranean Diet.