How To Do Food: Eggs.
(Image from cutestfood.com)
Breakfast eggs get two difficulty corns.
This isn't really a recipe, this is just methods for preparing eggs. I know that most people already know how to make eggs, but it's so easy and fun and this morning I just wanted a reason to make one of every kind of breakfast egg I know (except toad in a hole, that deliciousness is reserved for bbq breakfast), so I did.
But first, here's some awesome facts about eggs...
Fab egg fact one: double-yolked eggs are produced by younger hens whose egg production cycles are not yet synchronized.
Fab egg fact two: eggs are good for your eyes, because they contain lutein which helps prevents age-related cataracts and muscular degeneration.
Fab egg fact three: when a hen lays an egg, the egg shell is soft. It is contact with the air which makes the eggs harden almost instantly.
Now that we are sufficiently schooled, on with the eggs!
On the top row we have an omelet, a poached egg, and a baked egg. On the bottom row we have one scrambled egg, one boiled egg, and one fried egg. I think these are the best variations of breakfast egg you can have. Instead of giving ingredients and tools I'm just going to do methods for each egg, some are straight forward and some are not.
Omelette is a word of French origin which first appeared during the mid-16th century. According to legend, while traveling through the south of France, Napoleon Bonaparte an his army decided to rest for the night near the town of Bessières. Apparently a local innkeeper prepared an omelette for him, and Nap's was so thrilled by what he had just eaten that he ordered all the eggs in the village to be collected and made into omelettes for his army the next day. Omelettes have many variations with fillings like cheese, mushroom, spinach, onion and more. I like mine with cheese and salt and pepper and they're dead easy to make. All you do is crack two eggs (per person) in a bowl, whisk them well and make sure there's lots of bubbles in the mix (which will make them light and fluffy). Heat a non-stick pan, add butter enough to coat the pan (and a little drizzle of oil so the butter doesn't burn) and pour in the egg mix. After a minute or so put any fillings you want on half of the omelette and let it cook for half a minute more. Then, take a spatula and flip the side without the ingredients over the side with the ingredients and leave for another minutes or so, then flip the whole thing over so it cooks on the other side for a few minutes further; then put it on a plate. Easy. If you find the egg isn't cooked to your liking then put it back in the pan on a low heat and fry it for a minute on either side, and continue to do so until you're happy with the consistency of the omelette.
Poached eggs are slightly more complex. First of all you need fresh eggs, you need gently simmering water, and you need a tool that you can fish the egg out with that is a big-ish spoon with holes or spaces for the water to drain. You can also put some vinegar in the water, that will stop the egg going everywhere and will make the egg whiter; it will also make the egg taste a little vinegary but that's not such a bad thing if you use a nice vinegar.
There's all this talk of making a vortex out of the water so the egg stays in the middle and perfectly shaped but that's just nonsense to me. Just add three tablespoons of vinegar to five or six cups of water, let it simmer, gently put your eggs in and push it around so it doesn't stick to the bottom. Give it a few minutes until the translucent bit has gone all the white, and a white film has covered the yolk. If you like your yolks like moist chalk then give it about five minutes minutes, if you like really runny yolk take it out at about the two minute mark and let it sit for a few minutes. The egg is so delicate it will cook in it's own residual heat. Salt and cracked pepper, yum.
Baked eggs are a fab way to try something new. You can add things like ligurian olive oil, a dash of cream, tomato sauce, butter, or even nothing; all you need is egg, ramekin, baking dish, warm oven and water.
Here's mine with a dash of cream, and I really mean just a dash - you don't need much. You put the egg in the ramekin, the ramekin in the hot-water bath and then pop it in the oven. You HAVE to put it in the water bath, I don't know the science behind it but it makes the world of difference. How long it takes to bake is really up in the air because different ovens work faster/slower than others, and it also depends on how you like your egg. Give it at-least five minutes in an 180c/350f oven and then check it, and then keep checking every two minutes. Every one minute even...
Scrambled eggs are boys eggs. They aren't delicate, you don't have to worry about piercing the yolk, you just break three eggs whisk them up put them in a pan (with melted butter in) and cook them till they're not runny anymore while pushing them around and mixing them about. Serve with salt and pepper along side fried bacon and mushrooms and you're the world best boyf.
Boiled eggs are quite the art, I must say. An art that I cheat at because for something like six bucks from The General Trader I got this cheaters gadget for cheaters.
It's a red egg that cooks along with the other eggs in the simmering water. You can tell how cooked the real eggs are, because the red plastic egg starts turning purple from the outside in marking how the eggs are cooked. It's really cool and works perfectly. For those of us who don't have this fab tool (if you're a boy just get one so you can add to your impressive breakfast repertoire), four minutes give you a super runny egg, five minutes gives you a reasonably runny egg, six minutes and you're entering chalky yolk stage, any more than that and you'd better want to be using that egg for curried egg sandwiches because that egg is cooked through my friend. Serve the yolky egg with buttery toast soldiers, and the toast is better when it's a bit cold so it doesn't collapse in the egg.
Last but certainly not least, the fried egg. I have to admit something to you all, fried eggs are my favourite, when they're soft yolked and dripping all over a bowl of migoreng noodles with left over dumplings; heaven. The best way to start your day. As for the actual frying you start with a warm and buttered non stick pan as usual, and I would suggest getting a small frying pan just for eggs because it makes the whole process much easier. There is a bit of a debate about weather the eggs should be flipped, I like mine sunny side over though most restaurants will serve it to you sunny side up; but the choice is yours just make sure you're specific about how you like your eggs done when eating out. To play it safe at home (this ones for you, boyfriends who are being nice in the morning) I would flip it after a few minutes and give it a few moments on the other side, even if the heat is off, just to cook off the rest of the egg-whites; and serve on migoreng and dumplings toast. A tip for frying eggs, don't cook the eggs with the fire of a thousand suns, cook them on medium and be patient; they will taste better if you do.
Alfred Hitchcock was quoted to have said, “I'm frightened of eggs, worse than frightened, they revolt me. That white round thing without any holes have you ever seen anything more revolting than an egg yolk breaking and spilling its yellow liquid? Blood is jolly, red. But egg yolk is yellow, revolting. I've never tasted it." Oh Alfy, honey, you've never lived!