One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2016 was to cook more at home. And I have. I started my New Year’s Day, after a good night’s sleep, with a delicious cup of my famous Coffee Milk—an indeterminate mixture of a latte, cappuccino, and a café au lait—made with whole milk (raw when I can get it)—brewed in my vintage Krups. I use The Factory Blend coffee that is, despite current trends for greener beans, roasted to a dark, chocolaty finish. While drinking my coffee, I glided through Prune by Gabrielle Hamilton, and as I dreamt of her Pasta Kerchief, I found myself scouring the kitchen for possible breakfast egg possibilities.

In the end, I wound up with a beautiful avocado toast with a fried egg (over easy) but only after falling down the rabbit hole of internet egg delights. Follow below…

Bon Appétit has a lovely little piece by Adam Rapoport on an egg fried in olive oil—with tips by Allison Roman—their senior food editor:

http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/how-to/article/olive-oil-fried-egg

Browse the comments below the piece for lively commentary on butter vs. lard. vs. nut oil vs. bacon grease vs. olive oil. I cooked mine just like the sweet little film below but with a second-or-two over-easy and it was delicious—crispy bits and all:

http://video.bonappetit.com/watch/the-ultimate-fried-egg

In fact, I got lost in a few of the Bon Appétit films, like How to De-Stem Every Green and How to Make Crème Anglaise. There are also LOTS of other eggy ideas.

I then remembered an article I’d read in the New York Times by Amanda Hesser titled “A Marriage of Convenience,” published on Valentine’s Day in 2001. I followed her path from one southern Italian cookbook to the next—getting lost in the idea of eggs in pasta (and the debate on using cream or no cream). At the end of the article, I found myself reunited with Gabrielle Hamilton and a recipe for Pasta Kerchief with Poached Egg, French Ham, and Brown Butter—adapted from Prune.

Alas, I wasn’t prepared for making pasta on New Year’s Day (although I will be one day soon). But the idea itself made me think of Eugenie Brazier and the recipe for Symphonie D’Oeufs (Symphony of Eggs) on page 45 of La Mere Brazier: The Mother of Modern French Cooking which I had just read the week before and which led me to my kitchen—where I found one egg and a perfectly ripe avocado laying on the kitchen counter.

In the end, I cut two slices of thick toast from day-old Ciabatta bread made by my son Zach at The Factory Café (and inspired by Rob McDaniel at The Spring House). I then sliced half of my perfect avocado, sprinkled it with salt and pepper, lightly smashed it to a spreading consistency, and applied to the perfectly (medium) toasted ciabatta. On the top came the egg—fried in olive oil (over-easy)—with a final sprinkle of salt and pepper.

My resolutions are off to a great start.

Here’s to good eggs in 2016. (I plan to surround myself with them).
xoNatalie

Photos courtesy of Rinne Allen and Angie Mosier.