Perfectly Poached Eggs

 
I love poached eggs on toast! For me, it's a special treat on the weekend.

Long ago, when my husband and I were married but hadn't started a family yet, we would spend an occasional weekend in Chicago at the old Mayfair Hotel and have brunch at the wonderful 'Ciel Bleu' restaurant at the top of the hotel overlooking the Magnificent Mile of Chicago's Lake Michigan coast. If you were lucky enough to secure a window table, the view truly was 'magnificent'. Sadly, the restaurant closed in 1993.

We usually ordered the Eggs Benedict and they were the most beautifully poached eggs I had ever seen. I asked if the chef would share the secret to those fluffy poached eggs.

I was told to bring a saucepan of water to a boil and add one teaspoon of vinegar. This helps keep the egg white from spreading out too much. Then, stir the water in the pot with a wooden spoon until a spinning vortex is made in the water and then, quickly add the egg so the spinning water makes the white surround the yolk in a spiral. Have the eggs already broken into a small cup or saucer waiting to drop into the water.

Allow the eggs to cook for 4-6 minutes, depending on how you like the yolk cooked and then remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate and serve on toast. So simple but so delicious and you don't need Canadian Bacon and Hollandaise Sauce to make this a wonderful breakfast.