Once of the books I got was Acid Trip, which is all about vinegar.
I adore tart foods, so a book about vinegar is right up my alley. I mean, I've even made my own vinegar from wine. There's a jar of it in the pantry right now.
When I first got this book, I bookmarked a whole bunch of recipes to try:
- Fried Egg with a Spoonful of Vinegar
- Beurre Noisette Dressing
- Brown Butter Balsamic Mushrooms with Hazeluts and Sage
- Seasonal Tomatoes with Raspberry Vinegar
- Vinegar Pie
Out of that list, I've made a few similar dishes, and wanted to revisit them. In particular, the egg with vinegar was calling to me. I'd made a similar dish, but used red wine vinegar. The flavor was lovely, but the look was ... not great.
The recipe in this book calls for white wine vinegar, which makes a whole lot more sense in terms of presentation. So I just had to do it. Breakfast for dinner just happens to be one of my favorite things ever.
If this sound a little weird, it's really not. The acid helps to cut the richness of the egg yolk, and adds another dimension of flavor. I love eating tomatoes with eggs, but never thought about why - it's that hit of acid. In this case, you can add that acid without needing to have fresh tomatoes on hand.
Yum!
I think the vinegar pie is next on my list. How about you?
Fried Egg with a Spoonful of Vinegar
Adapted from Acid Trip by Michael Harlan Turkell
1 tablespoon butter
1 egg
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Chopped herbs
Fry an egg they way you like it, with ample butter. (They suggested cooking on medium-high until the edges are a little brown. I opted for a more gently-cooked basted egg, instead.)
Place the egg on a warm plate and season with salt and pepper.
While the pan is still hot, add the white wine vinegar and allow to reduce by half.
Spoon the reduced vinegar over the egg and garnish with chopped herbs. (They suggested parsley or tarragon, but the only fresh herbs I had on hand were cilantro and chives. I opted for chives.)
Serve immediately. I suggest some toast on the side. Yum.
This post is sponsored by ABRAMS Books, as part of the ABRAMS Dinner Party. Look for more posts with the hashtags #AcidTrip and #VinegarCookbook.