For the home cook, it is a glorious experience to start with a recipe or an idea, make some changes, add some ingredients, and improvise your way to something unexpectedly delicious, something that at first bite promises to become a staple in your repertoire. After so many average experiments, last night a keeper was born. Karen, I will describe it in extra detail for you, separated from your beloved kitchen as you are.
Chop two slices of bacon and drop them into a skillet over medium heat. Relish the delicious smell of rendering fat. Add half a chopped onion and one minced clove of garlic, listening to the intoxicating crackle as it hits the pan. Sautee until soft and golden and oh so fragrant. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar and cook until the vapor turns from assaultive to sweet. Chop three fresh, ripe tomatoes and stir into the onion mixture. Add about a quarter cup of water, bringing the pan to a soft simmer for five minutes. Lick the delicious sauce off your spatula when no one is looking. Sprinkle in some fresh torn basil leaves and allow yourself one more taste before continuing. Crack four fresh eggs directly atop the bubbling sauce and cover the pan with a glass lid. Watch as the clear whites turn milky in the heat, mingling with the sweet red tomato juices and the golden brown bacon. After five minutes, when the whites have just been poached firm, uncover the pan and spoon the eggs and sauce into two wide bowls. Sprinkle lightly with shredded cheese, which will melt into gooey perfection. Pick up your bowl, inhale the aroma, pierce the yolk with your fork and let it run in a yellow river before taking your first satisfying bite.
The End
