Poached Eggs Plus!

     Week before last, I bought a couple of clever egg poachers made of silicone rubber at Agrarian.  (Like this, though better via the "Stuff you need" link at Tam's)

     They work like nobody's business when it comes to poaching eggs -- and even better at one of my favorite tricks: take thin slice of ham, salami or the like and line the poaching cup with it (sometimes you have to make some radial cuts in the meat), then break an egg into it.  This morning I tried it with some paper-thin Jamon Serrano, Spanish "mountain-cured ham," which is a rare and wonderful treat.  I put a little Colby Jack on the eggs in the last couple of minutes and the combination was remarkably tasty.

     The result looks fancy, too, despite being about as close to zero-effort as cooking gets.  The eggs pop right out of the poachers; a quick swipe of paper towel and the poachers are ready for the dishwasher.

      Relatedly: sliced brioche looks like bread but is tricky to toast.  It's so rich it tends to burn.  Worth the effort, though.  This is the stuff Marie Antoinette was talking about when she said, of peasants rioting over the lack of bread, "...then let them eat cake."  Pretty sure they would'a if they could, Queenie.