In A Pinch

It’s finally 5pm.  Another rough week at work. Trying to get home. Tractor trailer overturned on I-287 at exit 41. One lane opened. Man, that 10 acre farm in northern New York looks awfully good.

Two and a half hours later, Bella, my 8 year old German Shepherd is really happy to see me! I am too Bella. The stress of the week totally subsides. And I’m hungry. But Bella wants to play, not to mention run outside and take care of her business. Dinner? One thing at a time.

By now it’s close to 8pm. What the heck am I going to eat? I open the fridge and peer inside, for a while, like something already cooked is going to materialize. Maybe If I stare long enough. Left over Marinara sauce. I just had pasta last night.  Eggs, Italian bread…….Got it!

Once again, for a group of people that are not big on breakfast, this egg dish is one of my favorites. But who says we have to  eat this for breakfast?

This is a great dish to make for a quick supper.  And tonight, it’s perfect. I usually make it when I have extra tomato sauce in the fridge. The common name for this dish is “eggs in purgatory”.  But this one has a little twist. The top of the eggs are sprinkled with a Romano Cheese and bread crumb mixture. Wow! That’s good! Many people  don’t realize how good fried eggs and tomato sauce taste. At one time or another we all put ketchup on our fried egg sandwich. Well, this blows that away.

There are many variations of this. Some people bake the eggs in the tomato sauce and add toasted bread to the bottom of the pan.

We keep it simple. And tonight is one of those simple nights. It’s always good to add some red pepper flakes to the finished dish. Once in a while I sprinkle on some Tobasco sauce. The added vinegar gives it a nice touch.

• 3/4 cups plain bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup grated Romano Cheese
• 1 – 1/2 cups tomato sauce
• olive oil
• 8 large eggs
• Salt and black pepper

Combine the bread crumbs and cheese in a bowl.

Heat the tomato sauce in a saucepan and keep at a very low simmer, stirring often.

In a 12-inch nonstick frying pan, heat enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Break the eggs, side by side, into the pan. Sprinkle with salt and the bread crumb mixture. Cook over low heat until the eggs are set. Separate the eggs with the end of a spatula and gently turn over, one by one. Cook only 1 minutes for a soft yolk, longer for a harder one.

Invert the eggs onto a plate. Spoon the tomato sauce over the eggs and serve at once. Sprinkle with a little grated romano cheese on top and black pepper. These are great with fried potatoes and crisp Italian bread.