My wife, was heading out the door for a meeting, and before she could say the inevitable, "I'm hungry" routine with a little whine attached I got busy. I had already been thinking I was going to be making Huevos Rancheros for breakfast. I get a hankering for Mexican food every now and then and sometimes the urge is so strong I find myself doing it before I actually even consciously think about it. So I put the pot of water with a little rice vinegar and salt on the stove to simmer for poached eggs, pulled the eggs out of the fridge and cracked a couple.

Last night when we were grocery shopping there was a sale on Avocados, and I bought three. Now everyone knows that buying avocados here in New England is a dicey proposition at best. These turned out to be perfectly ripe and had some decent flavor. I mashed two of them up and added salt and pepper, a pickled jalapeno that came from my garden this past summer, and a clove of garlic that was in the jar with the peppers. Yowzer that is good! What good is Huevos Rancheros without that wonderful mixture of avocado, called guacamole?

Sizzle Platter, Chips and Cheese

I broke out one of my handy sizzle platters lined it with corn tortilla chips, topped it with cheese, and slid it under the broiler. With the water bubbling away I gave it a good swirl and dropped in the Huevos. I kept the swirl going gently until the eggs were done. It takes about three to four minutes to get them perfect. Perfect is the condition of poached eggs where the whites are completely cooked and the yokes are heated yet still run when poked with a fork. You may like them cooked longer but for me the egg provides the perfect sauce each and every time I use them. I pulled them from the water and onto a paper towel to drain.

I ran to the broiler because I didn't want the chips and cheese to burn, grabbed the sizzle platter, yelped, got a towel, grabbed the sizzle platter and brought it round the center island in my kitchen. I moved the chips and molten cheese to a nice warm plate, spread some guacamole on the top of the chips and cheese to make a nice little nest for the eggs. I gently placed the Huevos on the guacamole and added a big spoonful of the avocado mixture, and a little bit of pureed Chipotle chili's in mole sauce on top of that to add a little splash of color and a lot of heat. Voila, it is beautiful, and Dressage girl left with a smile on her face. The perfect end to another snowy morning here in Connecticut.

To find this and more quick and easy recipes like it go to The Good Food Blog of P. H. Palumbo and you will see that there are lots of great recipes that you can use to please friends and family alike. Plus the benefit of knowing they will all regard you as a gourmet cook from this point forward. You will also be able to sign up for my email updates to get new recipe ideas as well as menu plans.

More Later,

Paul