Best, Simplest way to enjoy a fried egg?

[joonjoon]

Hey 'hounders,

I just made myself one plain, fried over-easy egg and enjoyed the crap out of it. I then realized something: I never seem to just eat an egg by itself any more. It's always with something - in an omelette, or a sandwich, skillet. Eating this long egg reminded me how fantastic an egg is all by itself. I then started wondering, if I could have this egg with just one or two other things, what would it be?

Any ideas on the simplest yet most delicious way to enjoy a fried egg? (Sunny side up or over easy)

[lynnlato]

I had this this morning and it was so good that I cannot wait to have it tomorrow morning. Here goes:

A fried egg served over a piece of toasted & buttered zucchini & sweet potato bread. Oh ma gawd!

[huiray]

Just one egg? You need TWO! or THREE!!

[LovinYankeeBarbecue]

This isn't simple, but it's tasty. You need homemade head cheese, which is abundant in our fridge right now.

Start with a couple pancakes, French toast slices, or whatever else the wife/kiddos ate this morning. Heat them gently and spread with homemade mayo. Top with a thick slice of head cheese. Drizzle with maple syrup (real) and hot sauce (I use Tapatio). Top with two or three fried eggs, yolk runny. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Mmm. It's an orgy of sweet, spicy, rich, and slippery. Then you have the dynamic of the cold head cheese with the hot eggs. Make it on regular toast for a crunchier version. You won't need an early lunch.

[acgold7]

My 15-year-old son has been discovering the joys of making and eating fried eggs and their partner in crime, hollandaise. So we recently have explored the various benedicts and decided our best was after a big crab boil dinner; breakfast the next day was crab benedicts.

But the favorite so far has been chicken fried steak, topped with white gravy, covered with four fried eggs. For each of us. I was so proud.

[lynnlato]

My arteries just screamed!

But it does sound mighty tasty. ;-)

[huiray]

Ehh, you only live once.

[calliope_nh]

I miss a fried egg on a buttered hard roll with salt and pepper. I haven't had a hard roll since moving to New Hampshire from New Jersey more than 25 years ago.

[The Professor]

Sadly, it's lately gotten very difficult to find decent hard rolls here in NJ, largely because of the demise of so many of the local, ethnic bakeries--especially the eastern European ones--that once flourished here. So the rolls you loved are missed here in NJ too. The supermarket bakery hard rolls are a joke.

[eclecticsynergy]

Yep. it's only the small old school bakeries that can make a decent hard roll. Full semolina makes the difference. Don't even need to taste 'em to know when they're right- you can tell just by the smell. Heavenly.

I didn't rediscover semolina 'till I was an adult- had only had the crummy mass market ones. Then one day I got a Kaiser roll from a little bakery run by Europeans. I took a bite and in an instant was transported back in time to when I was a little boy visiting my Grandma in the old country, where she got her rolls fresh from the bakery every morning and spread them with real cultured sweet butter. They called those rolls "Semel" (this was in Austria) and it was only much later that I made the association and realized it was because they were made from semolina.

It's amazing how a taste or smell can conjure a memory in such a visceral way; one gets a full gestalt of sights, sounds, smells, and emotions, the way living that time really felt to us... It's so much more complete, really quite different from the memory one gets from looking at a picture. To this day if I smell one of those balsam pillows suddenly I'm ten again, spending summer in the mountains.

[Klary]

I never seem to able to fry just 1 egg.

[huiray]

Heh. Neither can I.

[joonjoon]

I think frying and consuming 1 egg adds to the enjoyment factor. I think you savor it more when you know you don't have a second yolk coming. :)

[huiray]

Well, you said you "made myself one plain, fried over-easy egg and enjoyed the crap out of it." Your words.

So...in response to your titled question: "Best, Simplest way to enjoy a fried egg?" -
Just Eat It. :-)

[RedTop]

Cold. Intact yolk. On Wonder Bread with a Chocolate Milk chaser. That's the way my Mom prepped our breakfast meal if we were going to Communion before the start of our school day. Milk provided by the good Nuns at Annunciation.

[Whats_For_Dinner]

Breakfast this morning: Really good fresh egg, sunny side up, fried in the fat rendered from some shaved guanciale... good toast, S&P, egg, crispy guanciale. MMMM.

[cookkevin]

A bowl of rice, sausage gravy on that, with a SSU egg on top.

[joonjoon]

It's not "simple" but add a hamburger patty to that and you have one of my favorite egg dishes ever - Loco Moco!

[dlew308]

sautéed garlic, sea salt, pepper, and fresh herbs on top of fried egg, simple but yummy

[Novelli]

I really enjoy a perfect fried egg over a spicy tamale. They way the yolk sauces the cakey masa is wonderful.

[roxlet]

Best fried eggs ever -- over easy on top of left over stuffing and turkey gravy. Even better when the stuffing has some sausage in it.

[Naguere]

Sunny side up, white processed bread spread with margarine

[Krislady]

My favorite fried egg is close - but I undoubtedly make a much bigger production out of it.

I toast 2 slices of toast (and butter - no margarine) - one slice is left whole, and the other is sliced in quarters (like fingers, not squares), eggs cooked over very, very easy (yolk runny, white just barely firm - I'd rather have a soft white than a hard yolk) - then I take the spatula and cut away most of the egg white and eventually give it to whichever pet is annoying me less at the moment (whiny cat or underfoot dog), then the mostly yolk goes on the plate with the whole slice of toast. Then I take the toast "fingers" and jab at it, dipping them in the yolk. Once I've finished the sliced-up piece of toast, the toast "base" gets cut in half, and I kind of fold whatever eggy bits are left into each half and pick them up and eat them.

And no, I never, ever eat fried eggs in public. :-)

[c oliver]

That's a riot :) Do you not LIKE the whites? Or do you just love the kitty/puppy more?

[Krislady]

LOL - no, I don't like the whites- they're there solely to hold the yolk in. ;-)

I just don't understand people who like egg white omelets - blech.

[c oliver]

Wow, your sunnyside up would be just about my fried hard.

[louuuuu]

My veggie ranchero

soft boiled egg over steamed spinach sprinkled with garlic powder topped with a dollup of Newman's mango salsa. alternative base can be asparagus -- but not el dente because the texture not soft enuf for the eggs.

[somervilleoldtimer]

My daughter and I fight over how much to fry the egg. She says mine is "raw" (cooked white and runny yolk); I say she cooks the Bejesus out of the eggs.
One of our favorite fast dinners is pasta and eggs. Cook and drain spaghetti or linguini and put a bit of olive oil it to keep it slippery for a few minutes. Warm olive oil in a skillet and add as many eggs as you want, two per person. Put a lid on top to cook the top of the eggs if you don't feel adept at flipping them without breaking the yolk (and no real harm if you do.) Put on salt and lots of pepper, dish some pasta onto a plate and top it with the eggs. Really delicious, simple and basic. If you have basil or parsley, by all means add that, or sliced tomatoes, or pesto, or whatever. But the basis is oil, pasta, eggs, salt and pepper and you can't go wrong.

[MrsJTW]

I always liked them over hard, but I would say with some wheat toast and hashbrowns. When my mom was still around I was experimenting learning how to poach eggs and we came up with poached eggs topped with parmesan and herbs (parsley, basil, thyme, dill or any combination) with the addition of salt and pepper of course. She loved them!

[eight_inch_pestle]

Sunny-side up in good butter or a nice olive oil, cooked fairly slowly and partially covered so the whites are tender and a richly golden yolk tiptoes the difference between molten and tacky. Spooning a little of the warmed fat over the yolk helps tighten the yellow just so.

Good fat and good salt could constitute your "one or two other things," but if you wanna give me some leeway, you could scent the butter or oil with a fresh herb like rosemary, bay, tarragon, thyme---shit, most anything---and inhale with toasted multigrain. Folks look at me funny, but I steer clear of buttering toast if my eggs are cooked in enough fat. Talk about overkill.

That said: if you wanted to get naughty you could slice a bread of your choice into inch-wide slivers and saute in salted and herbed butter, dipping the resulting crouton sticks in that sticky yolk like they used to do with soft-boiled or poached eggs in cups.

Great topic by the way. Thanks.

[alkapal]

you have deftly demonstrated why your pestle is eight inches!

[brianv78]

http://www.chow.com/recipes/28614-egg...

[iheartcooking]

Easily the best way- and I cabt believe I didn't see it unless I scrolled past- is eggs-in-a-basket! Fried in butter the center of a slice of bread. Nothing is more delicious!

[porker]

cb1 mentioned this about 30 posts up, but called it a One Eyed Willy, raising more than one eyebrow!

[MrsJTW]

Oh yes! Eggs in a basket! Also heard them called birds in a nest. WE always called them Moonstruck eggs because of the movie! =) I think Olympia Dukakis was making them with roasted red pepper slices. Looks so good! My dad made them for us as kids, minus the peppers after we saw that movie. Once he used rye bread. That was really good, too!

[yfunk3]

Favorite quick, cheap, easy dinner or lunch: fried egg, over easy (still runny, of course!) over white jasmine rice with a splash of soy sauce. Better if the edges are crispy, which means frying it in oil and never butter! I often add a fried egg to lots of meals served over rice (curries and the like). Good stuff, and the creamy egg yolk tastes good with anything! heh heh.

Also am a big fan of pairing the runny yolks of an over-easy egg (I always eat the egg white part first and save the yolk for last!) and shredded hashed browns. With some ketchup, of course! Breakfast perfection...

[curej]

My absolute favorite: Take a 12 inch flour tortilla and spread about half a cup of crisp-fried corn beef hash spread on middle third. Lay an "over medium" fried egg (seasoned with fresh ground pepper) on top. Roll up. Squeeze gently to get the yolk soaking into the hash. This is hard to beat. Got the "eggs over easy with flour tortillas" idea from Lyle Lovett ("Nobody Knows Me"), but added the corn beef hash on my own ;).

[alkapal]

mr. alka would love that hash & egg roll-up! me, too, esp. with some sriracha and really crispy hash "edges."

[rjbh20]

Sunny side up on top of ginger fried rice garnished with crispy garlic & ginger, a la Spice Market. A great way to use leftover rice, preferably jasmine

[rjbh20]

The above, with tempura shrimp

[thatswhatshemade]

Absolutely any leftover Mexican (Tex-mex or authentic) food benefits from a nice fried egg the next day. Enchilada, taco, tamale....mmmmm

[MGZ]

While perhaps not what our friend joonjoon had in mind when initiating this thread, but you sure can't beat a nice sunny side up fried egg sitting atop a grilled piece of filet mignon for an fine example of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts.

[relizabeth]

Fry egg in oil, tilt pan and spoon hot oil on egg. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, minced garlic and chili. When egg is done to taste, pour a few teaspoons of soy sauce and vinegar in pan. Put egg on matrix of choice and drizzle sauce over.

[alkapal]

How about this Thai fried egg? http://migrationology.com/wp-content/...

"""49. Pad Ga Pow Moo Kai Dow* (Stir Fried Chicken with Basil and a Fried Egg) - stir fried chicken or pork with Thai basil, chilies, and a fried egg on the side, served over a bed of rice"""

~~~~~~~~
Warning: looking at this terrific weblog site will make your mouth water! You WILL get a craving....

[mamachef]

OMG that looks so good.......got home late last night, and my Mr. had fried up some leftover paella into patties, then topped them w/ fried eggs. Ummy.

[mariacarmen]

that egg looks amazing!

[alkapal]

i know! how did they cook it like that? it looks simply perfect. the yolk is gooey, the white is cooked, and in softly folded waves. beautiful. i bet that it would be like biting into some ethereal snuggly blanket of deliciousness.

i've never seen (or cooked) an egg like that.

[porker]

It does look very good. My guess is that the egg is dropped in a hot wok with oil, kinda deep-fried. Sort of poaching, but in oil instead of water.
There's a chinese resto in Montreal that specializes in salt&pepper pork chops. They have a special with two chops, rice, and baby bok choy with an egg floating on top like the picture. The waiters use the term "all dressed?" when asking western diners if they want the egg or not.

[alkapal]

porker, by jove, you've got it.

also, i looked again at my picture, and i think there are two eggs. anyhow... i want it, them, everything.

[lynnlato]

One of my most favorite things. I will fry it in bacon fat (which I keep in the fridge) and eat my egg over a waffle or pancake buttered and drizzled with syrup - egg on top of all that. Break that yolk, salt it and let ooze and mix with the butter and syrup. Food porn at it's best!

[CathyR]

Sunny-side up, with a slice or two of Taylor ham (NOT pork roll! Genuine "Taylor" brand pork roll only), on a crusty Kaiser roll. MMMMMmmmmmmmmm. Best brekkie sammich EVER!

[chef chicklet]

To this day my favorite egg, was a couple of farm fresh eggs that day, over easy. Bright orange rich thick yolks, organic, and so huge! Just with a perfect wheat toast to systematically dunk corner to corner into the peppered, lightly salted molten yolk. Thinking about it makes me want them more than anything!

[mdzehnder]

I've done innumerable combinations, but if you're looking for simple I would say sunny side up over a bed of lightly poached greens--arugula and watercress are my favorite. Perhaps with a touch of garlic in the greens, or a bit of balsamic. Another delicious thing to do is two sunny side up eggs over a bed of polenta mixed with crumbled bacon. I usually go with poached eggs for this particular recipe, but either works.

[rworange]

Being in Gautemala, how can I forget ...

A bowl of black beans in their rich pot liquor with a little garlic to enhance the flavor. The beans perfectly cooked, the liquor not too soupy or thick. Two fried eggs on top. Eat with a spoon to get every bit. Break the yolk and let the golden wonderfullness ooze into the black mysterious depths of the beans. Maybe a quick splash of hot sauce. Mop up any goodness the spoon misses with soft, warm, yeasty French rolls. Breakfast this morning.

[Andy Poodle]

youre the only other one that mentioned garlic, yeah! Im gonna try that with the black beans, sounds delicious.

[Rizza]

I want to make this...do you just add the garlic to the beans and water when they're cooking?

[rworange]

Well, I don't do the cooking. But from the smelling, it seems like the garlic is first fried. I think then the beans and water are added and cooked.

Here's a recipe from the NY Times that may work. I think I've seen onions on the counter, so there might be some chopped onions in it too.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/health/nutrition/09recipehealth.html?_r=1&ref=blackbeans

The article states

"Any successful dish made with black beans begins with a great pot of beans, sufficiently seasoned and slowly simmered with lots of onion and garlic until the beans are soft pillows suspended in a thick, inky, savory broth. "

Mmmm ... I'm hungry just looking at it.

They don't soak beans here though, and you don't need to let them sit after cooking in the fridge overnight. I cook beans often in the US. I've long abandoned soaking them. They are delicious right off the stove.

Not quite beans in a bowl topped with egg ... but gussied up a bit with some guacamole, fried plantains and cheese on the side. Nice photo
http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/459432

[itaunas]

One big advantage of seasoning the beans after cooking is that you only season what you are going to eat now, the rest can be stored or frozen (seasonings and fat can be expensive), used in a soup, refried, etc. Its also easier to taste for seasonings. In a lot of traditions its thought that salting the beans before cooking makes them tough, although some recent research suggests that it could be better to salt first but try telling that to a Latina grandmother.

The way I make beans is I cook the beans with just water and bay leaf in a pressure cooker. If I have access to a wood stove and pre-soaked beans, I would certainly take advantage of that but the pressure cooker with no soak is in most cases easy. Some people who have trouble digesting beans might do better soaking and throwing away the water, but you lose some nutrients that way.

When the beans are tender, fry garlic in oil or fry bacon bits/other pork in a saucepan, I personally like marjoram (manjerona in Brazil) with beans. Ladel the quantity desired of beans into the saucepan, salt (pepper if you want) to taste, and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes to pick up the flavor.

If you are making the beans for a crowd, one think you can do is separate a small amount of the cooking water, add sufficient hot peppers (I have peppers in oil which I smash up and add), garlic, green pepper, cilantro (depending on what you are adding and have in the fridge, you may fry them a bit first). Those who like spicy food mix it into their beans, those that don't have them regular.

[Rizza]

Thank you! I started researching on my own as well. It sounds delicious! Can't wait to cook 'em up!

[Andy Poodle]

When I make myself an egg (or two) I just sprinkle on some paprika or garlic salt with black pepper. Simple, delicious.

[Rizza]

on top of fried rice with ginger. yum!

[musingegret]

I toasted up a sliced triangle of cornbread this morning, placed my over-easy egg and topped with homemade salsa.

[Lorry13]

2 runny fried eggs over white rice is heaven!! Just add some salt and nothing else is needed. brings great memories of a great comfort food from my childhood =)

[gnomatic]

Overeasy egg, runny yolk , over white rice with a dash of soy sauce! Yum!

I also like over easy egg, on a piece toasted white bread. no butter needed.

[Popkin]

My husband really enjoys an egg fried in a bit of butter and bacon fat (heh, a rare treat to fry in those fats) over a piece of sourdough toast. Maybe a slice of cheese, maybe not.

[cb1]

my favorite way....A One Eyed Willy. Piece of white bread buttered on both sides, hole cut in center. Start toasting the bread in a pan...and then crack the egg in the middle. Let it set for a minute or so, flip...let that side get toasty......S&P, and a couple of dashes of Texas Petes....also know as an egg in the hole

[ZenSojourner]

OMG - a one eyed willy is something entirely different where I come from. LOL!

[cb1]

LOL Zen! I know, not what we used to use the term One Eyed Willy for growing up! Not sure where we picked that up for the egg in the hole, think it was the guys from Two Dudes One Pan fame, or maybe watching the Goonies to many times. Either way, you can't argue the greatness of a One Eyed Willy!

[Andy Poodle]

I've done this a bunch of times, lol! Never heard anyone refer to it as a "one-eyed willy" hahahaha

[eclecticsynergy]

Also heard it called toad-in-the-hole. Everybody knows what the One-Eyed Willy is, ahem...
the pirate captain from The Goonies. Yeah, that's it!

Here's a good pirate breakfast.

[HillJ]

Impressive job on the "teeth"

[HillJ]

Just enjoyed a bowl of fresh steamed brown rice, perfectly fried egg over top with a sprinkling of nutmeg and a grind of black pepper with my mango smoothie. Heaven.

[The Professor]

Before I fry the egg(s) I pan grill a slice or two of bread in film of clarified butter or noisette (a particular favorite with this is Russian Rye) . The bread goes onto a plate, then I fry the egg(s) in some c-butter, over easy, with a plenty runny yolk, and plop the result onto the grilled bread.
Simple as pie, and probably my favorite way with fried eggs.

[Tedmom]

Fried over easy with a piece of provolone melted over the egg after it is turned. Then placed an a 1/2 a toasted english muffin spread with a mixture of mayo and pesto and a tomato slice. Sometimes I'll add some bacon.

[LindaWhit]

Haven't read any other posts in the thread, but I've been eating it this way for more than 20 years: two over-easy lightly salted/peppered eggs, one of each placed on each half a toasted and buttered English muffin but with the whites cut off first (and eaten separately before you get to the good stuff!) and then the over-easy yolk cut up on top of the English muffin so the deep yellow runny goodness seeps into the nooks and crannies but it also runs onto your fingers and down your chin when you pick it up and bite into the heaven that is eggs on toasted English muffins.

:::::Deep breath::::::: And with bacon on the side. ;-)

[mariacarmen]

i think we all need a cigarette after that!

[CDouglas]

Brown a corn tortilla in a skillet with a little oil. Flip and sprinkle with grated Colby/jack. Crack egg directly on top of tortilla and season with pepper. Cover skillet and cook egg until yolk is set to your liking. Slide onto plate and spoon on your favorite salsa.

Or try sliding your fried egg onto a pile of heated Heinz Baked Beans that have been sprinkled with cheddar cheese.

[kellysnoms]

Yes! Had I not read through all the comments, I would have posted something extremely similar (corn tortilla, sprinkle of cheese), only I would add a dash of Sriracha. It's my favorite breakfast, especially when you make the tortilla from scratch, which will only add about a minute to the total prep time.

[bon oeuf]

An egg fried in olive oil and crushed red pepper flakes is delicious atop a slice of grainy toast. We have it for supper sometimes.

[wolfe]

First I would check the origin of the egg on the box. If it's not on the recall list I would still cook it very hard with no runny anything at least for the next few weeks.

[MGZ]

That's sad.

[dingey]

Heat up some leftover creamy grits, put a spoonful of those on the plate, slice a fresh tomato over the top, sprinkle it with a good pinch of salt and pepper, put those sunny sides on top, and dig in. This has been the go-to weekend breakfast at our house all summer. MMMMM! if you have some parmesan, a bit of that and some fresh herbs on top just take it to another level.

[itaunas]

Its sometimes looked down on as country food, but an egg, rice, beans, and "farinha" mandioca flour is a great Brazilian way for a simple egg based dinner. Even more common than steak "bife à cavalo" (bistec a caballo in Spanish). In Brazil you can buy fresh farm-made "farinha" at the farmers or central markets and just add it fresh, while the imported stuff in the US is not as good -- there I might suggest making a quick farofa, butter, some onion, and shredded carrot -- melt the butter, saute the onion and carrot, then add farinha until soaks up the butter but is still wet, just let the color turn a bit and serve it.

I love Portuguese rolls for eating an egg sandwich nicely seasoned with no meat. And while my favorite but not simple way is the egg accompanying an Ulster Fry, but if you have some soda bread handy (the normal stuff, not the raisin "irish bread") that is as satisfying. And a portuguese steak with beef, gravy, and fried potatoes is awesome. Eggs also go very well with fish, which outside of fish cakes and maybe hashes.

[meatnveg]

Fried Egg w/ soft yolk
+
Plain Chapati or Pita
+
Black Pepper

Roll it all up and thank me later :)

[condie]

Good farm eggs laid by free range chickens are wonderful any way you cook them. For 'simple' fried eggs I like to lightly saute some finely chopped onion and perhaps some bell pepper in the skillet. Then I gently break the eggs over the veggies to cook to our liking.

[greenstate]

Oats, egg, parmesan and salt and pepper is also one of my favorites, mostly a winter breakfast.
My other most delicious way to eat a fried egg is on a piece of toasted sourdough with butter, orange marmalade and shaved parmesan. The sweet, the salty, the creamy and the crunchy are heavenly together,

[lauraloo76]

Over a bowl of steel cut oats, with salt, pepper, and a little parmesan. My breakfast at least once every weekend.

[lynnlato]

I keep wanting to click "like"... guess I spend too much time on Facebook too. :)

[mariacarmen]

ahahaha so funny! i do that too!

[blacvulture]

Fried with no yolk, sprinkle some pepper on top. I like to drink a small glass of chocolate milk with this. No toast for me.

[c oliver]

Why no yolk?

[blacvulture]

I do not like the flavor nor the texture.

[joonjoon]

Isn't the whole point of eating an egg the yolk?

[ospreycove]

It is all about the yolk, in my book!!!!

[ZenSojourner]

I second that! The only thing the whites are good for is making meringue! Although I read that you can make meringue from whole eggs. Even if you can, I can't imagine it tasting "right" if you're used to a whites-only meringue.

[blacvulture]

To some, but not for me. I enjoy the white part of the egg. The flavor and the texture. Fried,scrambled, and boiled.

[ZenSojourner]

If only we could get together . . . all the whites for you, and all the yolks for me!

[GraydonCarter]

I've had an eggwhite omlette, and it was, you know, healthy.

I've never had an egg yoke omlette. How about a couple of fried yokes?

[alkapal]

yolks.

[GraydonCarter]

As an experiment, and only for scientific purposes, I had fried yolks for breakfast this morning (I'll use the egg whites tomorrow morning in an egg white omlette). I broke the yolks and although I left most of them behind, some of the whites also mixed in as a long white streak.

It wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Probably shouldn't have broken the yolks, just heated them through at a lower temperature.

[alkapal]

my lebanese friend would make an egg white omelet with lots of cut up zucchini. it was pretty tasty (and i'm not normally choosing an egg white omelet. ;-).

egg yolks alone are ok, but, i like the combo, too.

hey, graydon, if you like feta cheese, next time you make fried eggs, cut a thin sliver of good feta and plop it on the yolk to get soft as the egg cooks. quite tasty --- especially if you put the cooked eggs (yellow still runny) with feta onto some crispy mesclun lettuce, and drizzle some evoo and maybe a little lemon and za'atar.

[ZenSojourner]

Ah, but did you fry them in BACON grease? That would be the only true test!

[GraydonCarter]

My chef/wife does not want me to eat runny eggs anymore, especially given the most recent salmonella scare. If I have to eat hard, dry eggs, I guess it would have to be deviled.

[Caroline1]

Introduce your chef/wife to Davidson's pasteurized-in-the-shell eggs. You can safely have a raw egg in your beer with those, let alone a sunny side upper!

[LindaWhit]

Buy locally raised eggs. I think there's a lot less chance of salmonella.

[TorontoJo]

Fried in butter with a sprinkling of soy sauce. Maybe on a piece of toast.

[DonShirer]

With corned beef hash and maybe Boston baked beans, or else as huevos rancheros.

[Foodielicious]

Farm/local egg, basted in bacon fat (perhaps poached in bacon fat, is more like it), sprinkled with coarse salt, and served atop a thick slice of grilled ciabata. Excuse me.... I need to alone with my egg for a while....

[lynnlato]

You're speaking my language, friend. ;-)

[annabana]

Heat about a tablespoon of good evoo in a small skillet. Add a clove of minced garlic and some sliced roasted red peppers (jarred is fine) and a bit of chili flakes (sometimes I add a few capers.) Fry gently for a couple of minutes and move to the side of the skillet. Crack two eggs into the pan, cover and gently fry until the white is set, leaving the yolk nice and runny. Add a little salt and serve (with any oil in the pan) over lightly toasted chiabatta or good rustic bread. A little grated parm is also great with this. With a glass of red wine and it's a feast.

[tim irvine]

IMHO best simple way...over easy with a few splashes of Cholula and a pinch of salt, hash browns, white toast, and a lot of coffee. Best not simple way, over easy on a stacked enchilada with Hatch chile sauce and blue corn tortillas.

[alkapal]

second on the rec for cholula. great flavor.

[woodleyparkhound]

I just finished eating a fried egg (with runny yolk) served over rice, sprinkled with furikake - delicious!

[junescook]

I'm thinking you probably did not just misspell fruitcake there that you sprinkled over your egg???

[goodhealthgourmet]

ha! i'll go ahead and answer for WPH. furikake is a Japanese rice seasoning. it usually contains sesame seeds (white and/or black) & seaweed, plus sugar and/or dried fish and MSG depending on the particular blend. it's terrific on a lot of dishes beyond rice. the egg pairing is delicious, and i often sprinkle some in stir-fries or on sauteed vegetables.

ETA, before anyone familiar with my posts wonders how in the world i can eat furikake, there *are* gluten-free, MSG-free varieties. not easy to find, but i manage :)

[fadista]

I do the same! Sometimes over rice, even better over quinoa.

[Uncle Bob]

Two..over easy..With Grits, Country Ham, Biscuits, and Red Eye Gravy......

Coddled or boiled in a pot of Gumbo...

Seasoned with Cajun/Creole Seasoning with a few dashes of Hot Sauce/Tabasco.

With Grits, Biscuits, Bacon, and lots of fresh sliced tomato.....

[alkapal]

i'm with you uncle bob! i can't believe nobody mentioned grits until you!

i also like country sausage with those grits and eggs.

~~~~~~
uncle bob, i had an uncle with a mustache like yours ;-).

[Lisbet]

With HASH BROWNS, of course! "Sunny-side" up and buttered Italian bread toast for dipping into soft yolks. Yummmmm !!

[Essbee]

Lisbet, you're bringing back such memories! When I was MUCH younger, after spending the night at the bar, we'd go to this little diner and I always got eggs (over easy) and Italian toast. Oh so good.

[al b. darned]

An over easy egg or two, either on top of freshly made hash browns or on a mound of roast beef hash.

[rworange]

This photo from a Chow recipe for an egg topping a steak hash looked so good
http://www.chow.com/recipes/28025-ste...

In this case, the hash is cooked first, an indention made and the egg added. The pan is covered and cook until the egg sets. Don't know if that qualifies as a fried egg, but a frying pan is involved.

[scubadoo97]

most simple is straight up but a fried egg can be paired with so many things and enhance the deliciousness. Over greens or good bread the creamy yolk creates an instant sauce. All you need with no more than salt and maybe pepper.

One of our favorite quick tasty breakfast meals with a fried egg is to make a broken lightly fried egg and roll it up in a tortilla along with some grated panela, blanco or any other interesting cheese, a little green like arugula and slices of Hass avocados. The flavors meld so well. The avocado really guilds the lily in making it really smooth and creamy.

[rworange]

In Mexico City the little restaurants where workers eat, serve plain rice topped with a fried egg. Add a little salsa fresco ... simple greatness.

I started topping a number of carbs with fried egg for a little protein such as mashed potatoes or beans

[porker]

Day old, left over spaghetti, tossed in a meat sauce. Heat a teflon pan and dump in some of that, flip when slightly charred.
Repeat.
Repeat.
OK, now you have that great fried flavour, crack an egg or two over the top, cover, set on low and soft-bake.
YUM. (add chili flakes or black pepper or salt (or all 3) to your hearts content)

[gimlis1mum]

When my son was in preschool last spring, I'd make this for myself since I had a little time alone: egg cooked over-easy (fried in a little sesame oil), on top of a bowl of hot rice with some cabbage kimchee or that spicy radish side-dish, and topped with the crispy, slightly sweet seaweed with toasted sesame seeds. Heaven.

[Birmingham]

Toasted, buttered sourdough, 2 slices of tomato just the tiniest bit heated in the same pan as the egg, then topped with a nice over easy egg, generously salted and peppered. Sometimes one crispy slice of bacon when I'm feeling the need...

[Scott D]

Sprinkled with a few grains of either white truffle sea salt or black smoked sea salt.

[ospreycove]

Whwn you make a simple Margarita pizza, crack an egg on it when it is about 70% done!!!! The egg sets and comes out a perfect sunny side up.........................

[GraydonCarter]

Has anyone seen a fried egg on top of a steak? I imagine they fry the egg first, but it gives the appearance that as soon as the steak gets flipped the egg gets cracked over the top and the heat from the steak fries the egg.

[mariacarmen]

definitely fried separately. bolivians and peruvians (maybe other latinos too) tend to do a lot of this. it's called a "montado" - mounted. on breaded fried steak too. often served with rice and fried potatoes, and mix all together!! Egg on rice is so good!!

[bushwickgirl]

Yes, the egg is fried separately, and placed on the steak when done. I like the egg on a steak dish topping a pan sautéed or grilled ribeye, with a garliky lemony butter poured over.

That egg on rice is pretty popular in many South and Central American countries. I had Colombian friends that ate it as a sort of poor person's supper, but it's actually good even if you're rich.

[mariacarmen]

A side salad of diced cukes, tomatoes, shallots in a really lemony dressing goes great with that "poor person's supper" when the juices from the salad meld with the eggy rice - heaven! like throwing in minced jalapeno in there too.

[alkapal]

i'm really hungry now!

[Andy Poodle]

I thought the thread was about the SIMPLEST way to enjoy a fried egg?

Butter, egg, salt, pepper, hot sauce. done. simple. NEXT! LMAO

If you got some leftover steak from the night before just throw it in and be done with it. Simple. Simple. Simple.

[alkapal]

""" I then started wondering, if I could have this egg with just one or two other things, what would it be?"""

a "salad" is a "thing." a steak is a "thing." that meets the OP's request for one or two "things." ;-).

[joonjoon]

Steak & eggs is a true miracle of life!

[RGC1982]

+1

Now THAT will really clog your arteries -- but maybe not as fast a bacon.

[The Professor]

actually, the bacon is probably a healthier choice.

[mamachef]

And in Panama, they serve these great, crispy golden-brown steak fries in a "boat", topped with an over-easy egg, for breakfast on the fly. soooooooooooo good.

[mamachef]

I love a large egg, over-easy sauteed in unsalted butter, over sauteed spinach with some really good sourdough toast on the side. Kosher salt; fresh pepper. Oh yeah.

[scubadoo97]

I've done the same over kale and it's many varieties, collads or other greens.

[pikawicca]

I just had one (over easy) on top of a bowl of left-over mac and cheese. Mighty fine.

[EWSflash]

Oh- you're my hero for the day with that one

[greygarious]

I like a pinch of Old Bay seasoning rather than salt and pepper, but only on a very good quality egg. Supermarket eggs have little flavor of their own and are overwhelmed by Old Bay. Mom always put Accent on fried eggs (and most everything else) and I keep meaning to try it on supermarket eggs, with black pepper, to see if it boosts their flavor.

[HugzArbiter]

I agree. I have a small flock of hens (of various breeds), and fresh eggs are just so amazingly delicious!! You can tell the difference just by looking @ the yolks. Store bought are a very pale yellow, while my eggs have a deep orange color.

I LOVE Old Bay sprinkled on my eggs! I've been eating them that way for years.

[JungMann]

If I want to make a meal of fried eggs I might do arroz a la cubana, but mostly I just top them with chopped scallions and chilies and a drizzle of oyster sauce.
http://steamykitchen.com/257-fried-eg...

[bushwickgirl]

Do you make a version of picadillo? Do you use amarillos for the banana?

[JungMann]

Yes, I make picadillo for arroz a la cubana, usually including raisins so it is a little sweeter. I personally skip the banana, but I would use a saba cooking banana if I were cooking for family.

[bushwickgirl]

Do you see sabas in the city? Seems to me I have in markets here, but never used them. I'll keep an eye out for them.

[JungMann]

I think I've seen the little cooking bananas around, but I haven't cooked them in years. I get an allergic reaction, so I exclude them from my line of view when I'm shopping.

[joonjoon]

JungMann - I just made myself a "poor man's" version of this dish - basically what you made minus the scallions and chillies, plus a tiny bit of MSG. Man, who knew oyster sauce and eggs went SO WELL together? Wonderful. Thank you!

[EmmaFrances]

Thick slice of buttered whole grain toast, a few stalks of roasted asparagus, over easy egg, & a few shavings of Parmesan.

[weezycom]

I like a steam-basted fried egg -- basic fry but put a lid on the skillet until it gets that nice creamy film over top and the bottom has some crispness. Add S&P. Served with crisp bacon or whole-grain toast dipped in the runny yolk until you've run out of "dip" and then gobble up the rest of it.

[CocoaNut]

The following link is all about fried egg sandwiches, but there are some great variations!!

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/5964...

I've just also rediscovered (from my MS heritage) creamy cooked grits! Use Quick cook grits (not instant), add 1/2 again as much water and cook them *at least* 10 minutes as opposed to 5, add a big chunk of butter and cover to hold before serving - the butter will help them remain moist and creamy until plated. A MUST is to add double-the-called-for-amount-of-salt to the water *prior* to adding the grits and be certain to stir as you pour the dry grits into hard boiling water to keep them from lumping.

Once complete - plate a generous serving in the center of a plate. Top with one or 2 over-easy or "up" eggs. Pepper generously and sprinkle with hot sauce as you like. Side with crispy bacon, toast and juice of choice, and hot coffee. You're set! even for the confirmed grits haters!

[junescook]

I like my fried egg either over rye toast or over a good creamy cheesy polenta, with smoked cheese is nice.

[bushwickgirl]

Now you're talking.

[Caroline1]

Course-grate 1 potato (size determined by how loud your tummy is growling), place in bowl with a sprinkling of salt. Allow to sweat a few minutes, then dump into paper towel and wring all liquid possible from it. Sprinkle a teaspoon of AP flour over it and toss to coat evenly. Heat skillet to medium heat, then coat with butter or olive oil (or a mix of both) and spread potato evenly in the form of a not-too-thick cake. Cover with lid and allow to brown. Remove lid, turn and allow to brown. Remove to warm plate and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and freshly ground black Tellecherry pepper.

Melt some butter in same pan. Add one egg and cook gently until white is set. If you absolutely must, you can do over easy. When white is set, center egg on potato cake. Serve yourself and enjoy. The yolk melting into the potato is a treat to the tastebuds. I occasionally like mine with a small dollop of A-1 Steak Sauce on the side for sliding a bite through. If you're into this sourt of thing, a buttered English muffin with Dundee marmalade is a fantastic side. With coffee. I have a large mug of freshly brewed espresso with mine. Thick crema.

Good eating!

[c oliver]

That sounds even better than sourdough toast. Plus I appreciate the tip of the flour.

[Caroline1]

It helps the potato brown and crisp plus helps hold the patty together, AND you don't taste it at all.

[mariacarmen]

The BF made me this egg over hash browns-ish dish, onto which i dolloped green habanero sauce. and dipped my buttered whole wheat into the buttery, yummy yolk. Also made "sandwich" of a bit of the egg, potatoes and toast. fried eggs are SO GOOD.

[milkyway4679]

I was just looking for something quick and easy to make for breakfast, and boy did this fit the bill. I had honestly never made sunny side up eggs before, so I overcooked the yolk a bit, but even so, this was delicious!! :)

[EWSflash]

Boy, that sounds good.

[kris9]

When I studied abroad in Spain my host mother used to make a dish that was Rice topped with her homemade tomato sauce topped with a fried egg. I usually don't like fried eggs, but I still dream about that dish.

[Pata_Negra]

Maggi sauce and good paprika powder, eaten with toasted grainy/dark bread.

or:

Maggi sauce, grind lots of pepper over the fried eggs. mop it up with baguette.

[porker]

Love that Maggi!

[bushwickgirl]

Gently fried in butter, over easy, judiciously salted and peppered, rye toast and a cup of black tea. Nice way to start or end the day.

[jhfinxy]

i agree with butter and salt. i think the most important thing with any egg dish is seasoning it well. and definitely toast, to soak up the creamy yolk!!

www.briehappy.blogpost.com

[roxlet]

I'm with you all the way -- except for the tea!

[MGZ]

An egg “up” over a toasted slice of yesterday’s bread is certainly a stab at simple greatness. Several weeks ago, I had one atop a bed of sautéed ramps and that was mighty fine as well. Then again, warmed chanterelles provide a wonderful platform too. I’ll even submit that most leafy greens – kale, spinach, chard -- make respectable foundations for a gently fried egg. The simpler the preparation, though, the more important it is that the egg not be overcooked, for it is the molten fat of the yolk that provides the lipid lusciousness that makes it all work so well.

[MGZ]

Oh, almost forgot - over slices of fresh, ripe tomato. Or, roasted Hatch chiles (I just got my shipping noticifation!).

[Mame16th]

I second this, both of these, really. This summer I've been going out to pull some fresh lettuce, tearing it up and putting it on the plate, then adding slices of garden tomato & a little homemade seasoned salt. Top with the egg (over easy for me) & have it with some wheat toast, butter optional. The egg yolk makes a sort of dressing for the veggies. I'm going to be very sad when winter comes.

[MGZ]

"The egg yolk makes a sort of dressing for the veggies."

Exactly. Think Caesar salad or aoli.

[joonjoon]

Man this is making me drool...will definitely try this!

[joonjoon]

Thanks MGZ - Eggs over kale has become one of my all time favorite ways to enjoy eggs. So luscious. I'd love to try them over ramps too, that sounds like a magical combo.

[scubadoo97]

We did that a lot when we were members of a CSA. We had oodles of greens in our pick up. One of my favorites was red kale or Russian kale. A fried egg with a nice runny yolk was just the foil to the wilted greens. The stems were always sliced thin and served with the greens.

[MGZ]

I'm glad you've found something to enjoy, my friend. I've got a new one, borne out of the great heirloom tomato season I'm experiencing right now - though it is a bit of a deviation from my "simple man makes simple things with simple foods" ethic. A thick slice (say 3/8 inch or so) of a just shy of ripe heirloom gets the three step flour-egg-bread crumb coating and is pan fried crispy. A fried or poached egg with a soft yolk is placed on top. Salt and pepper is all it needs, but I am not adverse to some finely ground chile in the bread crumbs.

[joonjoon]

Oh man...melted gooey yolk over crispy fried tomato slice...f yeah.. I will have to try that too!

[ZenSojourner]

Can't oblige you as far as runny-ness (I HATE runny eggs, hard fried only for me), but even if you like your eggs runny, the best way in my book is to first cook bacon, then fry your egg (however you like it) in the bacon grease, with salt and pepper liberally sprinkled on. Home fries made in the bacon grease (liberally seasoned with pepper and salt again) served along with the bacon and the eggs is also yum.

Cholesterol-wise it's possibly horribly bad for you, but since about 1/3rd of people have high cholesterol, and only about 1/3rd of the people who have problems with high cholesterol can change their cholesterol significantly by changing their diet, I'll take my chances. That's a little worse than a 10% of the population and I already know I'm not in that group, LOL!

[tastesgoodwhatisit]

I like fried eggs with mustard.

[jdoyle2254]

It cant be that bad for you! I've been using bacon and its drippings as seasoning all my life and I fee

[ZenSojourner]

QUICK! GET A PLUNGER! That's the sound of arteries suddenly clogging up! LOL!

[Veggo]

Don't get upset, he's alive. That sound was someone stealing his laptop before he could complete the sentence.

[ZenSojourner]

LOL!

[jaykayen]

I like toast, a whole-grain with a touch of sweetness. (A boiled egg gets rice.)

I also like a spinach or asparagus salad.