Perfect sunny side up eggs (v.2)

Eggs: they can be one of the most basic foods to prepare, yet one that can be impressively beautiful and incredibly delicious if prepared correctly. This is one of many methods of making the sunny side up egg. 

First things first, you need your materials. A good cook needs his tools to be ready, and his station to be clean and organized. Here are your tools in order of use:

~ non-stick pan

~ eggs

~ glass lid that fits non stick pan

~ teaspoon of water

~ soft spatula/flipper

~ plate

~ seasoning

Put your non-stick pan over med.-low heat. immediately crack in your eggs.

Wait until you can see a solid white layer completely covering the bottom of the egg, while the top is still transparent. Cover with a GLASS lid, and reduce to low heat.

*glass is important so you can see if the egg is beginning to bubble*

If you see a bubble forming, take off the lid for a few seconds and lance it with a cake tester or knife, then wait a few seconds. Once the top of the egg is clear only on the very inner white are, add a teaspoon of water to the pan, but do not let it touch the eggs. Here is a (very professional) rough layout of the pan. Orange means eggs, blue means water.

Cover with glass lid again, but make sure you tilt the lid so the water drips back into the puddle it started in once it vaporizes. Always watch for bubbles. If they form, remove the lid and lance them with a cake tester. Below is a properly tilted lid:

Once the inner white has reached its desired consistency, use a soft spatula to remove the egg from the pan. Be very gentle.

Plate your eggs gingerly, making sure the yolk doesnt rupture. Season with salt, pepper, and whatever else you put on your eggs.

Serve to guests or family, if it came out right it will surely impress them.

Have fun cooking, and enjoy your delicious, perfect eggs, sunny side up!

Chicken Standollini with sliced mozzarella

Standollini is a beautiful (looking and tasting) dish consisting of peppers, onions, mushrooms, and a meat, that is fun to make and is great practice in chopping, flipping, searing, braising, and plating. Its one of my favourite dishes to make, and is almost a complete meal. You can add a little homemade pasta (link below) if you want ;)

Start off by sauteing some onions and garlic in olive oil. The proportions are up to you as far as the veggies go, but I used 2/3 of an onion and 2 cloves of garlic. Add lots of salt and some olive oil.

next, start braising, shallow frying, or searing your chicken. Deglaze the pan with red wine after you finish for some beautiful "sauce" to pour over your plated chicken. I tenderized some chicken breast tenderloins, seasoned with salt and pepper, then braised them. 

Now, check on your onions. When they are starting to turn from translucent to golden brown, add your peppers (I used one green and one orange, colours don't matter though) and mushrooms (any single one of the veggies is optional, but I like to leave the mushrooms out) and sweat them out a little, just until they start to look really glossy and are pliable or tender.

Once the peppers are tender, add a little red wine or balsamic vinegar (I prefer both) to taste. Add a little salt as well, then scoop into a dish, or onto your plate.

When the chicken is done cooking, lay it on its nice bed of veggies. 

We served ours with a little sliced mozzarella drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with oregano.

Have fun cooking, and enjoy eating your homemade chicken standollini. 

Homemade pasta: http://theramsayscook.blogspot.com/2014/11/homemade-pasta-tagliatelle-farfallini.html