I don't need no stinkin' brunch place

The dearth of breakfast / brunch places in England has been one of my biggest complaints. While I'm not a big breakfast eater during the week, I used to love weekend breakfasts-- whether it was picking up a turkey sausage and egg bagel at Einstein's (I know, New Yorkers-- not a REAL bagel, but cut me some slack for living in Chicago for a while) or a full-fledged brunch with friend, I loved me some brunch. Sweet and savory, fresh orange juice, good friends... it was a staple, from the time I graduated Vassar and lived in New York (Jane Tavern, anyone?) to my standing Sunday brunch date with Amar my last year in Chicago so he could give me the latest download on his dating fiascoes... errr... successes. I also loved to host brunch... baked french toast, fritattas, salads and fruit... it was one of my favorite hosting activities. It never occurred to me that this could be a U.S. phenomenon.

Lo and behold, I move to the UK and guess what? No brunch. In fact, hardly any breakfast. Sure-- there's the famous "English Breakfast"-- an overwhelming meat on a plate extravaganza... bacon, sausage, black pudding, eggs over easy (it's the only way they do them), and the puzzling inclusion of baked beans, chopped tomatoes and a mushroom (or a few if they're smaller). But that's about it for the breakfast option. It seems that English don't do breakfast out. No mulling over a menu with lots of options of how you want your eggs done; no omelets with a million different fillings; turkey bacon or sausage patties instead of links. Forget about egg whites or fruit or, God forbid pancakes or waffles. You see, the English don't do sweet and savory.

We've managed to find a couple of places that do breakfast-- but mostly it's just a take on the English breakfast. A local place-- called Benedicts, strangely enough, promotes their breakfast big time, but there's only about 5 things on the menu, one being, Eggs Benedict, of course. But what I'd do for a pancake or waffle or french toast option... I'd even settle for a muffin or fresh baked bread for those lovely preserves they make from scratch. But no can do. Full English, Eggs Benedict or omelet of the day... which always has some odd combination of something with cheese. And for me, cheese does not an omelet make.

With a significant lack of brunch places, this morning I decided to bring brunch to the Benedict-Newton abode. Our small place doesn't allow for the groups that used to gather when I lived in Chicago, so it was brunch for two. I've never been one for Eggs Benedict, mostly because it was one of the school-yard taunts that used to be thrown at me (along with Benedict Arnold... Mikie likes it...). But also because I hate runny eggs. I've never been a yolk fan full stop (English-ism) and in fact, used to my make my sister eat the yolks of my hard boiled eggs. That is, until a few years ago when I encountered the poached egg. It was in a French restaurant-- and for lunch, not brunch, where a lovely salad with pancetta and a french mustard dressing had the most delicately poached egg on top... and when you cut into the thick, rich yolk drizzled onto the salad, making the dressing even better. I was hooked. I still don't like runny eggs-- sunny-side up, soft boiled, or any other way. But give me a poached egg, and I'm pretty happy. Since Eggs Benedict is sometimes on menus as an alternative to the heavy Full English, I'd taken to ordering that to avoid the heart-attack waiting to happen on a plate (ummm... not that the butter sauce and bacon is much better for you... ah well).

Until this morning, I'd never attempted a poached egg at home. It seemed daunting and something that only really experienced chefs could do (read Julie / Julia anyone? Didn't she go through like 2 dozen eggs before getting one right? And Miss Julia herself has a whole section dedicated to the oeuf.). Well, thanks (again) to trusty Martha my first attempt didn't go too badly. They weren't the prettiest, but three out of the four had the perfect runny to cooked ratio (the 4th was overdone so no runny goodness at all). I'd say not too shabby for my first try. Next time I'll try the hollandaise from scratch too.

Martha's (fool proof) Poached Egg

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil
• Add 1 tbsp vinegar and reduce heat to simmer
• Crack egg into a small teacup (I used an espresso cup)
• Gently submerge cup into water (the egg will sink to the bottom of the pot)
• Gently fold whites over egg yolk using a regular spoon
• Continue folding whites for 2-3 minutes
• When the egg is ready, it will float a bit (slightly)
• Remove egg with slotted spoon and repeat

Martha says to put the egg on a towel to drain while you're doing the rest of the eggs. I couldn't figure out how you could do so without it sticking; So since we were having Eggs Benedict, I had toasted the English muffins, made the bacon and was keeping it warm in the oven while I did the eggs. So when I removed the cooked egg from the pot, I placed them immediately on the muffin... but if anyone else has any tips, let me know!