1. In a medium saucepan, combine the chicken stock, butter, and sea salt to taste, and bring to a boil over high heat. Whisk in the grits and stir for 1 minute with a wooden spoon. Reduce the heat to low and cook the grits, stirring often, for 20 minutes or until they are tender.
2. Finish the grits with the cream, add more sea salt to taste, and stir well.
3. Cover to keep warm. (I use the waxed paper from a stick of butter for this, placed butter side down over the grits so they don't develop an unseemly crust.)
4. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan combine 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the garlic. Slowly cook the garlic over medium-low heat, making sure not to allow any color to develop, for about 5 minutes. Add the shallots, bell peppers, and a few pinches of sea salt. Cook for 12 minutes or until tender.
5. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, and Espelette pepper. Continue to cook for 15 more minutes or until the consistency is much like a thick soup. Finish with the sherry vinegar and sea salt to taste, and cover and set aside to keep warm. Remove the bay leaves prior to serving.
6. Place a large cast-iron sauté pan over medium-high heat. In a mixing bowl, toss the asparagus, the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, and a few pinches of sea salt. When the pan is giving off a light smoke, place the asparagus in the hot pan and cook for 2 minutes. Turn the asparagus over and cook for an additional 2 minutes. The asparagus should have good, even char marks all around and be crisp-tender. Remove from the heat.
7. Spoon the grits evenly onto 4 plates. Place a poached egg on each plate, and arrange the griddled asparagus and pipérade over the top.

JENNIFER'S POACHED EGGS

1. Room temperature eggs
2. Use a large pot that is at least 8 inches in diameter and holds 8 cups of water or more.

3. Many swear by the swirl technique. Sometimes it works for me, sometimes it doesn't. But a rapid simmer is a must. If you do get the water swirling first, make sure to tip the egg into the centre or vortex of the water.

4. 1 tbsp of vinegar helps hold the egg together. But not absolutely necessary.
5. Use a good perforated spoon to extract the eggs from the water.

METHOD

1. Bring 6-8 cups of water and the vinegar to a boil. Add 1 tbsp of sea salt.

2. Reduce the heat so that the water is now at a rapid simmer. The tiniest of bubbles.

3. While the water temp is reducing crack each egg into the small sieve held over a bowl. Let the excess egg white drip out for about 20 seconds. Transfer the sieve to the water, tilt and let the egg fall into the just short of bubbling simmering water.

4. I go 2.5-3 minutes for a soft yolk. The time is affected by the temp and the size of the egg. You'll be able to tell, by using the whites as a gauge.  If they are set and opaque, and you like a runny yolk, you're done! Obviously if you want a firmer yolk, simmer longer. Scoop out the egg with the slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

5. With the above recipe, since you are cooking 4 eggs, you may want to prepare the eggs ahead, by draining one by one in the sieve and transferring to a small bowl or teacup. Then when it is time to cook, you can transfer each egg into the water at the same time.