CHAPTER ELEVENon the griddle surface and on the spatula you’ll be using
to remove the eggs from the griddle. You will need to have
one plate or paper plate for each egg you plan to cook.
Pour 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil onto each plate and set
them aside. Break one egg into a small bowl. Remove any
discolorations or shell fragments. Gently pour the egg
onto the griddle. If you want to position the yolk in the
center of the white, you can gently nudge it into that posi-
tion using the edge of the glass bowl if you work quickly,
before the egg starts to cook. Hold the bowl against the
side of the yolk for a few seconds until it starts to fi rm up
on the bottom. I recommend cooking only one or two eggs
at a time because you will need to watch them closely to
determine when they are ready. As soon as the entire white
of the egg becomes opaque, the egg needs to be removed
from the griddle. Use the preoiled spatula to lift each egg
onto one of the oiled plates. Gently sprinkle about 2
tablespoons of additional vegetable oil on top of the eggs.
To further protect the cooked eggs, invert a paper plate
over each plate holding the heroes and set aside.Building the Hero Huevos Rancheros Plate
I began the build of the hero plate with a nest of refried
beans. Th e beans were removed from a can and placed
into a large bowl. With a large spoon I removed a
spoonful of refried beans and plopped it onto the
griddle. With the back of the spoon, I fl attened the bean
mound but was careful to let the edges form naturally
as I applied pressure to the center of the mound. Pushing
the bean mounds down with the back of a spoon forces
some of the whole beans to the outer edges. Th ese whole
beans along the edges create visual interest. Enough
bean mounds were placed on the griddle to create an
outline of beans on the hero plate. Once the outline was
formed, since the beans in the center of the plate would
not be viewed by the camera, I fi lled in the center area
with beans from the bowl.