Sunny Side Up

Last night, I took some of my cuts of meat out of the freezer to prepare for the next few days of meals. I was a little disappointed when I came home tonight to find that none of them had defrosted enough. I really don't like defrosting meat in the microwave because it tends to start cooking as it defrosts, and then it doesn't cook evenly. Instead, I looked to my trusty Breakfast for Dinner option. This time around, I opted for Sunny-Side-Up Eggs on Mustard-Creamed Spinach with Crispy Crumbs. This recipe is from Bon Appetit and while the recipe says it serves 2, it only calls for 2 eggs. I doubled that portion since one fried egg and some spinach is probably not the most substantial dinner - and I set to work!

Mise en place

What we have here:

1/2 cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs

5 teaspoons Dijon mustard, divided

2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 9-ounce package of fresh spinach leaves

3 tablespoons half-and-half

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

4 large eggs

thyme sprigs

Just like yesterday, I had to go with the dried thyme instead of fresh - I really have NO idea where my thyme went! So the first step here is to preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. While you are waiting for the oven to heat, mix 2 teaspoons of the mustard, 2 teaspoons of the oil and the mustard seeds with the breadcrumbs in a bowl. They will get kinda lumpy and stuck together, at which point, transfer them to a baking sheet. I used a pyrex dish instead because my baking sheets are being bogarted by some seedlings that my husband has started and laid out to get sun in front of our large window. We'll have veggies this summer, but right now, I have no baking sheets. You want to bake this for 6-8 minutes in the oven.

Meanwhile, fill a large, deep skillet with water enough to cover the bottom, and pour in your spinach. Toss the spinach over high heat, for about 2 minutes, or until it all wilts down. It looks like you've got a lot of spinach until you get some heat on it!

See?

Once the spinach is all wilted, you want to transfer it to a sieve set over a bowl, and press out most of the water. Transfer the spinach to a saucepan, and pour in the half-and-half, 3 teaspoons of the mustard, and the thyme. Stir this over medium heat until it thickens and then season it with some black pepper. The recipe says 3 minutes, but it didn't take that long for me...

Once that was done, I put some of my fresh Italian Parmesan Herb bread in the toaster, while I fried my eggs. Heat the remaining oil in the skillet you used for the spinach (wiped down, of course) and once the oil is warm, crack your eggs right into the pot. Fry them until the whites are sturdy and white but the yolk shakes a little...unless of course you don't like runny eggs - you can cover your pan for a minute or two to get the heat through the top of the whites (and the yolks if you want). The steam cooks them evenly without having to flip the egg and risk breaking that yummy yolk!

Still needs a minute or two!

Well, that was easy and quick, huh? I plated the spinach and topped it with 2 of the fried eggs. I then sprinkled the breadcrumb concoction on top and served with a side of Parmesan Herb toast!

My yolk broke!

It all paired together nicely and it made for a comforting Tuesday night dinner. I still haven't caught up with that hour of sleep we lost this weekend I think, because I'm exhausted! Thank goodness for quick meals! :)