From the Kitchen: Eggs in Purgatory

While its name might lead you to believe this dish is a spiritual successor to Deviled Eggs, Eggs in Purgatory is my favorite “fancy” breakfast dish to make. This is one of those dishes where you can utilize a “use what you have” mentality. For example, this week I had leftover crispy garlic bread and part of a red bell pepper. While you don’t have to go out and buy
these items, I always find a fun challenge out of making recipes with whatever I have on hand. Despite its complicated appearance, Eggs in Purgatory is a simple way to use everyday items to make a delicious and filling first meal of the day.

Items needed

• mini dutch oven
• oven and stove
• small saucepan
• liquid measuring cup

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. Cut tomatoes and bell pepper into bite size pieces.
   • 
3. Put tomatoes and bell pepper in a small saucepan on medium heat.
   a. Cook for 2 minutes or until fragrant and sizzling.
4. Add ½ cup of tomato sauce into the saucepan with the tomatoes and bell pepper.
   • Add cold water into the empty measuring cup to get the remaining tomato sauce
     out.
   • Cook on low heat.
5. Add a sprinkle of salt, pepper, italian seasoning, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper
   flakes.
6. Crack one egg into the now rinsed measuring cup.
7. Transfer the tomato sauce mixture into a mini dutch oven.
   • 
8. Using a spoon, create a small well in the sauce mixture for the egg to fit into.
9. Add the egg into the dent in the sauce mixture.
   • 
10. Place the mini dutch oven in the oven for 10 minutes checking every 3-4 minutes.
    • Every oven is different so keep checking to make sure you’re not
      over/undercooking your egg.
11. Once the egg is fully covered in white and is more firm than jiggly, then it is ready to be
    served.
    • You can certainly cook the egg longer if you’re not a fan of a runny yolk, but the egg will continue to cook in the sauce mixture even when out of the oven.
    • 
12. Serve with crispy bread to dip into the mixture, or just eat straight out of the mini dutch
    oven.
    • I also made some turkey bacon and a bowl of yogurt to go with it.

Now you have a simple dish that looks and tastes fancy! Let me know if you try it!

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Introducing New Columnist Ella Yates!

I think my first love was food. Growing up, my family’s TV was always turned on to the Food Network where I was introduced to celebrity chefs, food competition shows, and a variety of foods I’d never seen in my own life. My parents embraced my love of food and allowed me to cook with them in the kitchen and eventually let me cook for my family. In sixth grade my love of Food Network competition shows came in handy as I entered a school district wide breakfast food competition. I practiced for weeks making sure my knife cuts for my homemade pico de gallo were perfect and tested my breakfast tacos with my family. So my disappointment wasn’t well hidden when I realized I would not be allowed to touch any knife or hot pans in the actual competition; instead an adult would do the “adult” tasks as I verbally instructed them. While I wasn’t able to cut or cook my meal, my recipe won 1st place in the competition. My prize, a huge gift basket filled with cooking supplies I use to this day, and a newfound confidence in my cooking abilities. 

A lot has changed since I won that competition, but one thing remains the same– I love food. I’m starting this series on the Honors Blog to not only share some of my favorite recipes, but to share the stories behind the food. I truly believe that food is a love language: you can learn about someone’s culture, childhood, likes and dislikes all from one meal. Being in college can cause a struggle of time and energy to make food, but I hope to give some easy and practical meals for college students. 

Maybe you’ll take this series as a way to reflect on your favorite cooking and food memories. Maybe you’ll be inspired to cook something new. Or maybe you’ll simply have a new meal to make. Whatever it is, I hope you enjoy learning more about the food I love to make. 

-Ella

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From the Kitchen is an ongoing series by Ella Yates in which she shares recipes and her love of cooking!