Rosemary Dijon Potatoes with (perfectly) Poached Eggs

Ahhhhh, blizzards. And the good fortune to head to the store the day before with the intention of buying half n' half. As you know, all I really need to survive the storm is half n' half for my coffee. And I had coffee. And a bottle of Woodford (mmmmmm). And a couple bottles of wine. And dry pasta and canned tomatoes. I was set. I didn't need a thing. Except half n' half for my coffee. And I'd be able to ride the storm out no problem...

$200 later I had a 37-course menu planned for Snowpocalypse that might be one of the more ambitious multi-day cooking extravaganzas I've contemplated.

Ground lamb and homemade kielbasa are thawing now. You'll like what I have in mind.

That ham steak and those short ribs won't last long either.

But I woke up this morning without a breakfast plan.

Walked into the kitchen and saw the little taters sitting there just lookin' precious. So I took a knife to 'em and sauted with onion, fresh rosemary, and garlic...in bacon drippings of course.

Since I knew poached eggs were going to be a part of the meal, I went ahead and started the water on to simmer. This is a ridiculously long process on an electric stove. Gave me time to contemplate the 'taters. And the Dijon I had purchased for Snowpocalype (intended to pair solely with that kielbasa, but I'm a multi-use kinda guy).

And you know I did get that half n' half after all. So there was that to pour into the mix and deglaze. That's right! I deglazed with half n' half. You got a problem with that?

If you do have a problem please click here to provide your comments to the management team and we will be sure to reply in an appropriate and timely manner.

I'll leave you with one final point and then on to the recipe...Pay close attention to this next photo. It is what your poached eggs should look like. Always. I've written about this elsewhere, but wanted to make sure you were aware that poaching eggs is serious business.

When you poach, you want a simmer. Just a simmer. Pour in a dash, like maybe a teaspoon and a half for a 4qt stockpot full of water to help the whites set quickly when you put egg to water. Crack the egg into a ramekin, bowl, or some other container. Tilt the container and pour the eggs slowly out into the simmering water/pour some of the water into the container. Slide the egg out slowly. Good simmer? Three minute max to a perfectly soft-poached egg. It really should jiggle when you remove it.

Now on to the sauce.

Rosemary Dijon Potatoes

1 cup diced small yellow wax potatoes
1/2 cup diced red onion
3 cloves minced garlic
2 T fresh chopped rosemary (reserve a pinch for garnish)
Grease from 2 strips bacon, cooked and removed
4 T Dijon mustard
1/3 cup half n' half (or heavy cream, milk, whatever, you could use chicken stock or water here really, the mustard will give most of the body the sauce needs)
Salt n' pepper to taste

1. Get your bacon started while you dice and mince and prep. When it's cooked remove the bacon and pour off all but about 2 T of the grease.
2. Add the onion and potatoes and saute on medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes, adding salt to sweat the onions. Add in the garlic and rosemary and toss through. Continue sauteing until the potatoes begin to crisp around the edges and cook through.
3. Add in the Dijon and stir through, then pour in half the liquid and deglaze the pan. Stir in the rest of the liquid as you remove the pan from the heat.
4. Plate it. Garnish it with fresh rosemary. Eat it.

I ate the bacon as I was cooking. You could crumble it back into the potatoes if you like.