by Douglas Abrams

Make no mistake, this is not a blog post for rushed weekdays. This is a blog post for lazy Saturday mornings and sleep-in Sunday afternoons. This recipe isn’t fast, but it’s delicious and easy. After a long week at school, there’s really nothing better than kicking back and cooking the perfect breakfast, with the volume turned up.

One dish I came up with last weekend that I really loved was toast with a sunny side up egg along with a tomato and basil salad. I started with the egg. To make sure that it cooked perfectly, I cracked the egg into a bowl and let it sit out at room temperature until it was no longer cold. I don’t know exactly how it works, but I know that when I do it the egg cooks up softer and creamier.

Over medium heat, I fried the egg, for about three to four minutes, in a tablespoon of olive oil. After the bottom of the egg and most of the egg white was cooked, I dribbled about two tablespoons of cold water into the pan and quickly covered the egg with the lid of a pot.

The addition of water creates steam, which helps to cook the egg from the top as well as from the bottom to ensure a velvety texture.  After a couple more minutes, the egg will be done. A couple of signs that your egg is cooked right: it should be golden brown on the bottom, you should still be able to see the vibrant orange of the yolk, and the yolk should still be runny. I finished the egg with a little salt and pepper, and then put it on a plate.

Next, in the same pan, I added another drop of olive oil and started toasting my bread. I used white bread because that’s what I had lying around, but you can use any bread. Toast the bread in the pan for two minutes on each side, or until it is golden brown on both sides, crunchy on the outside and pillowy on the inside.

The final part of this dish was the tomato and basil salad, the perfect contrast to the rich egg. I started by dicing one small plum tomato into half-inch chunks. Then, I poured over a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. I finished the salad with a pinch of salt.

The most important part of this breakfast—or any special dish—is the presentation. When it’s the weekend, I think it’s completely worth it to take the time to plate your food in a beautiful way—it turns any meal into something special.

Waking up on Saturday morning after a long week, my favorite thing to do is cook a really elegant and fancy breakfast. After all, everyone deserves something special after a long week at school.