Soft Boiled Egg with Toast

This little dish always reminds me of Paris.  Whenever I eat it, I daydream that I'm back at Café de Flore, sitting at a small table, reading the paper and sipping champagne.  I order oeuf á la coque and it arrives hot with baguette and a tub of French butter.  While I may not get back to France as often as I would like, whenever I'm craving the cafes of Paris I make this for myself.  No real recipe, just gently drop a room temperature egg into a pot of rapidly boiling water and cook for exactly 4 minutes.  Meanwhile, toast a piece of crusty bread, slather it with butter and slice it into strips.  Transfer the egg to an egg cup, crack open the top with a spoon or knife, sprinkle the golden yolk with flaked sea salt and the rest is up to you.  I prefer to dunk my toast but a more presentable approach may be to spoon the soft egg over the bread.  However you eat it, it is pure bliss.  It may sound simple, but this is one of my favorite breakfasts.  And it always transports me back to Paris, to that table in Café de Flore.

Hot, buttered toast dunked into warm yolk.

Such a simple dish but to me, it is perfect.

All gone.  C'est la vie.