This Week: Eggs

I see more of my kitchen nowadays than I did back when I was employed. Back then it was a lot, so you can imagine.

I am in my kitchen more often than any other room in my apartment. I was elated to see this month's Real Simple's "What Do You Love Most About Your Kitchen" segment.

For me, it's the coziness and the fact that it's all mine. It's really small, so it can barely handle two people at a time. I like it like that. I dislike other people in my kitchen. Don't cook for me in my kitchen. And for goodness sakes, let me get you that glass of something to drink. You're a guest!

I'm just very particular. There are certain cutting boards for meat and others for vegetables. Only the silicon plated utensils can be used with the calphalon pots. The metal utensils are for the other pots and pans. That red roaster...is just that, a roaster. The drinking glasses with roosters on them are for juice. The others are for everything else.
Maybe I'm just compulsive??

The other week I shared that I tried several of my own self made recipes to create my very own vanilla cupcakes. We ran out of those $20 Cupcake groceries and are too lazy and budget conscious to go out and buy more.

So, this week, I am looking to create my very own Eggs Benedict recipe.

I love me an eggs benedict.

I haven't created my own, just yet and have been using other people's recipes to gather tastes and techniques.
I came across this on Smitten Kitchen. Not Eggs Benedict, per se, but the pictures were calling out for me to taste.
I made it yesterday and did not care one bit for lettuce based pesto...unh unh. And I had to get over my tomato issue and 4 tomatoes later, I was semi-cured.
So I re-did it.

Pesto and Egg-Stuffed Tomatoes
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Set oven to 400 degrees.

extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup store bought pesto
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/8 teaspoon black pepper
hollandaise sauce (created by whisking egg yolk, warm milk, and lemon juice)
2 large tomatoes (about 3 inches in diameter)
2 large eggs at room temperature

Cut the tomato top and dig out tomato, so that just the shell is left. Slice a bit off the bottom of the tomato so it sits upright on your baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Gauge your salt by how salty your pesto is. Spoon garlic in. Spoon pesto in. Crack an egg into tomato. Repeat with other tomato. Drizzle baking sheet with olive oil. Place tomatoes on baking sheet. Drizzle top of tomatoes with olive oil. (I LOVE olive oil)
Bake about 15 minutes until egg sets.
Remove from oven, put on plate, and top with hollandaise sauce. *Optional: sprinkle with more pepper.

It is so yummy.

I'm thinking of going farther and toasting some sort of bread and then when the tomatoes come out the oven, serving ontop of toast. Maybe english muffin?!?
Oooh and ham between the bread and the tomato...

That'll be Saturday's adventure in the kitchen.