apartmentpants: huevos.

my favorite meal to eat out is breakfast, hands down. when i lived in lincoln park and when my boyfriend lived in wrigleyville, i spent my saturday and sunday mornings at Ann Sather, Orange, Sarks in the Park, Kanela, France's Deli, Waffles, and Angelina's, or i'd grab 2 clayboys to bring home from Chicago Bagel Authority. since we've (regrettably) relocated to the north suburbs, there are seemingly less unique options for brunch. walking down broadway or fullerton or clark, even with the bitter lake wind blowing in my face, i always quickly found a brunch place to duck into. perhaps i'm just not being adventurous enough, but with the frigid cold chicago has been dished out recently, combined with the fact that i can no longer just walk 1-2 blocks and stumble into Orange, even my desire to explore our new neighborhood for brunch options has been squelched. i have scoped out at least one local place i'd like to try in the near future, but recently, taking into account all of the above, i've taken to our own kitchen to whip up something tasty and spicy for breakfast.

i adore Kit of The Kittchen and when i saw her recipe for Eggs in Mexican Purgatory, i knew i had to try my hand at it. i'll occasionally need to indulge my sweet tooth at brunch (read: the apple pancake at Walker Brothers), but i generally enjoy unconventional, salty dishes (such as the breakfast corn dogs at frances' deli). i digress.

this recipe was perfect. i was initially a little intimidated because i've never poached eggs before, but it was so easy. i used mild chunky salsa and poached four eggs in it. below is my take. the recipe was easy for an egg-poaching novice like me. trust me. if i can do it, you can too. bonus: it made for excellent leftovers on toast!

note: this is simply how i prepared the recipe. it might not take you as long as it took me. i also neglected to add the olive oil initially (blame it on watching scandal while i cooked). i stirred it into the salsa. when i scooped the eggs out, some of the salsa stuck to the bottom of the skillet. it did make it easier to separate the eggs from each other without breaking the yolks since the salsa congealed a little bit, but i would recommend following Kit's steps of adding the oil before putting the salsa in.

total time: 15-20 minutes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium sized 16 oz. jar of salsa (i used a mild chunky tomato but the next time i do this, i'd like to use a mango salsa)

4 eggs

i didn't add toppings, but i think it would be delicious with sliced avocado, sour cream, grated spicy cheese, maybe chunks of turkey?

step 1:

heat the oil in a small or medium sized skillet. i would rotate the pan to ensure the whole bottom and sides get an even coating. add salsa and heat till it its bubbling. stir every minute or two so the salsa doesn't burn or stick to the sides.

step 2:

break an egg into a small bowl to ensure no parts of the shell make it into the salsa. i did use a spoon to make an egg-sized indentation in the salsa. carefully add the egg to the salsa, ensuring the yolk does not break.

step 3:

cook the eggs in the boiling salsa. do not stir the salsa during this time. i reduced the heat to medium and it took the eggs 10-12 minutes to reach the consistency i wanted: runny yolks with a firm egg white. i served the eggs over leftover heated up spanish rice and tomatoes. it was so good and breaking the yolks to mix with the salsa? yum. my mouth is watering as i type this.

next time i make this, i'll probably opt for a runnier yolk, and thus a shorter poaching time on the eggs. either way, the dish was still easy, inexpensive, and a success.

now that i'm an egg-poaching master, i'll be making Kit's Poached Egg Salad... maybe over baby kale?