Eggs Florentine

I learned a new skill over the weekend - how to poach an egg.  Poaching an egg is no easy task; it is  incredibly fussy.  Of course that means I did not bother to practice awhile and get my technique down before taking on a recipe that required me to poach six eggs.  "Who practices?" She asks while she rolls her eyes at herself knowing full well that smart people practice.  Nope, you will be witnessing my first ever poaching attempt.  I warn you now, they were tasty but a few look pretty darn ugly. On the bright side, I officially knocked out two more of Maria Luisa's recipes and none of the yolks broke prematurely.

However, no Italian Cookbook Challenge posting would be complete without some sort of complaint.  Don't roll your eyes at me, you know you find my unnecessary anger hilarious.  There are 420 recipes in The Italian Cookbook.  I'm fine with that because I wholeheartedly believe that not only are there 420 Italian recipes worthy of being in a cookbook, there are likely a half dozen other recipes not included for every one that makes it in.  Therefore, I find it more than a little annoying that she gave space to a recipe entitled "Spinach in Butter."  Why?  Why must "Spinach in Butter" take up page space in this book?  Why couldn't she just include "saute spinach in butter" as part of the directions for all the recipes that required buttered spinach?  I love spinach, but this recipe does not deserve the two inches of real estate it took up on a 7 1/2 inch page. [Yes, I measured.]  That being said, you will still find the recipe below.  At this point, it would be plain unfair to not include it after ranting about it.

Spinach in Butter

Spinaci al Burro

[Disclaimer first...I am only giving you the Spinach in Butter recipe first because it is required as part of the first sentence in the Eggs Florentine directions.  These recipes are listed in order of necessity not importance.]

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs spinach

6 Tbsp butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Fill a large sauce pot with about an inch or two of water and add some salt.  Bring to a boil and then add the spinach.  Cover and cook for about 10 minutes.  Drain well.  Melt butter in a large saute pan and add cooked spinach.  Sprinkle on some salt and pepper.  Stirring occasionally, cook for about 5 minutes.  You want some of the excessive moisture to evaporate off.

Eggs Florentine

Uova alla Fiorentina

Ingredients:

6 lightly poached eggs

1 recipe Spinach in Butter

1/2 recipe Mornay Sauce

3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese - grated

pepper to taste

Directions:

Take the previously prepared spinach and place in a 9 x 9 baking dish.  Level the top with the back of a spoon and place the poached eggs on top.  I poached my eggs for 3 minutes each in simmering water.

Pour the Mornay Sauce on top and sprinkle with cheese.  At no point in these directions does she ever mention the "pepper to taste" ingredient.  I'm going to tell you to add some pepper here or maybe add it prior to the addition of the cheese and sauce.  You could also wait and crack some pepper on top after it's baked...whatever rocks you culinary world.

Bake for 15 minutes in an oven preheated to 350F.

I was a little worried that baking the eggs would cook the yolk completely, but they were still wonderfully runny when I finally pierced them with my fork.  While the poaching process was a little stressful, it was worth it in the end.  The next time I make breakfast for friends they might just find themselves feasting on this recipe.