Breakfast :: Poached Eggs, Crispy Prosciutto & Cheddar Polenta

For valentine's day, I wanted to surprise A. with breakfast!  One of A.'s breakfast favorites:  poached eggs.  Well, this is a bit of a problem, considering I am the world's worst egg poacher, ever.  No, I'm not exaggerating.  I've tried.  Every couple of months I try to convince myself that it can't be that hard, so I try again.  I bring water to a soft simmer, I add vinegar, crack an egg into a ramekin, and then slowly pour it into the water.  I cross my fingers... but then, a few seconds later, there it is:  a pot of mudied egg white water.   Oh well.  Until I found this little invention:  silicone egg poachers.  Perfectly poached eggs every time!  

I woke up craving something sweet and salty....and we had beautiful San Danielle prosciutto in the fridge.  Let's face it, you can never go wrong with prosciutto!  So for breakfast:  poached eggs, a top a honey sweet, cheddar polenta, with crispy prosciutto. The polenta is sweet and cheesy, and goes perfectly with the salty prosciutto, all topped with a delicious poached egg, with a soft yolk.  It was delicious!  I'll definitely be making this again (often!), and not just for breakfast. 

Oh and don't worry about having too much polenta, spread the leftovers in a greased baking dish (small size, I used a 4x4) and place in the fridge.  Let it harden for a couple of hours and then cute into triangles (more pics in this post).  It'll be a perfect to-go breakfast the next day, or a side for dinner.

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day and are enjoying President's Day! 

POACHED EGGS w/CRISPY PROSCIUTTO & CHEDDAR POLENTA

Eggs (1 per person)

Sliced prosciutto (2 slices per person)

Cheddar Polenta (recipe below, about 1/2 cup per person)

Preheat the oven to 500F.  On a parchment lined cookie sheet lay the slices of prosciutto and cook in the oven until crispy (about 3-5 minutes).  

Cook the polenta, and poach the eggs.  If you are using an egg poacher, simply bring a large saucepan with water to a boil.  Butter each egg dish and add the cracked egg.  Place in the water, floating, and cover the pot.  Cook for 5-8 minutes and scoop out of the dish and serve.

(Or follow these egg poaching instructions)

To assemble, serve about 1/2 cup of cheddar polenta on each dish.  Top with the crispy polenta slices, don't worry if they break.  Layer the poach egg on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Cheddar Polenta

2 cups of water

1 cup of milk

1 cup dry polenta

sprinkle of salt

teaspoon of honey

1/3 cup cheddar

tablespoon of butter

In a medium saucepan, bring the water and milk to a boil with a sprinkle of salt.  Add the polenta in a steady stream mixing will you pour to prevent lumps.  Lower the heat and continue to mix the polenta until it has a smooth texture.  Add the cheddar and honey, and taste for salt.  When it is fully combined, remove from heat and serve immediately.