Huevos Rancheros

If you can't tell my my all of the sudden artistic pictures, Natalie was in town for a visit this weekend. One thing we have been experimenting with for the last year or so (since Nat discovered that she actually liked eggs in some format) is making variations of poached eggs. Recently, I acquired the skills of hand poaching eggs so they don't look like something that comes out of a McDonald's breakfast sandwich, as they do when they are made in a poaching pan. This recipe got 5 stars from the crew and was actually inspired by a trip to the Elite Cafe in SF (thanks Kelsey).


Ingredients:
(makes 4 plates)
6 corn tortillas
1 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese + some extra for garnish
2 cans organic black beans
1 jar red salsa (I used Trader Joe's Salsa Authentica)
4 eggs
4 T hot sauce (we used Cholula)
4 T Mexican Sour Cream- cut your normal sour cream with a splash of salt and nonfat milk, whisk until smooth and runny

Directions:
Drain beans and put on stove top in saucepan with salsa. Let cook on low until cooked through. Meanwhile, put three tortillas on a baking sheet, add cheese, top with remaining tortillas. Cook on 350 for 6 minutes. Remove from oven and cut into slices. Poach eggs (see directions below). Layer each plate with 3-4 quesadilla triangles, 1/2 c bean mixture, 1 egg, and garnish with sour cream, cheese, and hot sauce. This went great with our Bloody Mary's I posted yesterday!

How to poach an egg:
Boil enough water in a 4-6 quart pan to cover the top of an egg plus an inch. (I used my 6 qt all clad stock pot that has low sides). Once water is boiling, reduce to a simmer so it no longer bubbles. Slowly crack an egg into a serving spoon, gently lower into the water. Cook for about 4 minutes until it reaches desired doneness. Repeat with remaining eggs. Remove with a slotted spoon, salt, and serve immediately. It doesn't sound that hard, but it took me almost a year to figure out how to do this and have them look pretty. The trick is getting the water hot enough to boil before reducing it and using a pan with low enough sides to give you leverage with the spoon. Good luck!