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By Root 653 0

a long way toward determining the final texture of the eggs. The desired action isn’t so much stirring as it is scraping. As the egg cooks on the surface of the bowl, scrape it away so that a fresh coating of the egg mixture can come into contact with the metal. These sheets of cooked egg form lumps known as “curd.” Continuous scraping will result in a very fine curd while less frequent scraping produces larger curd. The choice is entirely yours, and you should play around with your technique a bit until you find one that suits your taste. As soon as there is no liquid left in the bowl, pull it from the heat, and move the eggs onto a plate. The eggs may not look done, but they’ll continue to cook and will be just right by the time you take your first bite.

Yield: 1 serving (see Note)

Note: I consider 3 eggs a single serving. To increase, double the recipe for each additional diner.

Software :

½ tablespoon butter

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon heavy cream

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Hardware :

Heavy sauce pan

Heavy metal bowl large enough to

fit into the saucepan, with a

couple inches of lip to spare

Mixing bowl

Whisk

Plastic spatula

DOUBLE BOILERS

I think that America’s general disdain for double boilers comes from the fact that many pot manufacturers insist on making them despite the fact that they are useless, silly uni-taskers that can’t even do the one job that they’re meant to do.

Figure A. Just look at this silly thing. You can’t get a whisk, spoon, or spatula into the corner. The entire side is in contact with the bottom pot. Remember conduction? Heat’s going to move right up the side of the bottom pan into this vessel. Worst of all, this vessel has no other use that I can find except take up space and collect dust. Silly, I tell ya.

Figure B. Ah, logic. A metal mixing bowl is whisk and spatula friendly. Contact with the bottom pan is minimal, and the edge of the bowl extends well beyond that of the pan. This may not seem like a big deal, but that span gives heat a place to dissipate and it prevents steam from condensing and rolling down into the food, which is especially important when dealing with chocolate, which will seize into a gnarly mass at the mere mention of water.

Poached Eggs

Once they invented cooking, the French set out to name everything involved—and poaching is no exception. Poach comes from the French poche for “pouch” or “pocket” and refers to the shape of an egg cooked in barely simmering water. I suppose it’s right that the method be named for the dish, because there is nothing as sublime as a properly poached egg.

Many cooks prefer a deep-water method that allows the egg to form more of a…well, pouch. I prefer this shallow-pan method because it produces a more horizontal—and therefore more plate-able—oeuf. My favorite way to serve poached eggs is on top of a salad of bitter greens. Poached eggs can also be cooked ahead of time. Simply move the cooked eggs straight from the pan to a bowl of ice water and hold them there for up to 8 hours. Bring them back to heat in a quick (no more than 1 minute) bath in simmering water.

Application : Poaching

Break the eggs into small custard or tea cups.

Pour enough water into a 10-inch non-stick sauce pan or sauté pan to come halfway up the side of the pan. Bring to a boil over high heat.

When bubbles start to beak the water’s surface, stir in the salt and the vinegar.

Slide the eggs gently into the pan by holding the cups as close to the surface of the water as possible. Arrange them at twelve, three, six, and nine o’clock.

As soon as the whites start to turn opaque, remove the pan from the heat and cover with the lid. Set your timer for 3 minutes. When the timer goes off, gently lift the eggs with a slotted spoon from the water onto a plate, and serve.

Three minutes produces eggs the way I like them, but everyone is different. Experiment a bit with your timing.

Yield: 2 servings

Note: The older the eggs, the more “thin” albumen there’s going to be. This is the part of the egg that