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Friday, January 15, 2010

Perfectly Simple Perfect Eggs

Attention!
Who here does not know how to make scrambled eggs? Hands up.


No hands.
You all think you know how to make scrambled eggs? Good.


So did I: crack fresh eggs into a schissel, ter-klop them until they are ter-klopped, incorporate a bit of water or (if you insist) milk, dump them into a nonstick pan sprayed with Pam, and keep 'em moving until they look like, well, scrambled eggs. Done. And they are good.

But -- scrambled eggs can be sublime.
For Foodie Friday, it's Perfectly Simple Perfect Scrambled Eggs.
(Links at end of post.)

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A few years after we got married, I picked up a little book on cooking breakfast foods; I can't remember the author, and now can't find the book, but I clearly remember how he scrambled eggs for his family, and how I've done so ever since.


You still crack the fresh eggs into a schissel, like so:


But you do not ter-klop them!
No whisking, no fork flying thru the yolks and whites, no tablespoon of water or (heaven forbid) milk.
You leave them in their virgin state, intact and glowing with youthful eggy charm.


Plunk a bissel of butter into a preheated nonstick pan, and let the butter melt.


Swirl it around the pan, and then . . . plop! In go the eggs.


Looks like we're making fried eggs, no?

Ha! Fooled you!
We're gonna scramble these babies.
You and your magic wand will accomplish the secret maneuver that makes these scrambled
eggs rise above all others, to lord it over their lowly whisked-and-beaten brethren,
to become the Valedictorians of their class.

Take a little old round-headed plastic or wooden spoon -- everyone's got at least one of these -- and put it to work. I have an ancient old blue plastic spoon I use for this. It is so old, it never looks entirely clean even when it is. I will show you a picture of it at the end of the post from decades ago.

Anyway, back to business . . . .
With your magic wand, puncture the middle of each yolk,


and begin to swirl the soft egg yolk and whites around the pan.
Keep 'em moving, but be gentle. . . after all, it is their first time.


Put a little more effort into those parts of the whites that are stubborn;
you know the parts I mean. You don't want big globs of albumin on your plate. Ick.


A blurry action shot!
It is hard to cook with your left hand whilst snapping pics with your right.
I do not multi-task well.

You want the whites and the yolks to almost become one with each other,
but as you swirl those eggs, be careful to leave little bits of yolk intact,
little strands of whites pure and unsullied, and do not overcook them.


They need to look moist and glistening;
you want them to glow, like debutantes at the cotillion --


and there they are!


On an old restaurant plate, ready to fulfill their destiny.

S & P if you must, but with the very faint touch of butter,
and with the soft and delicate flavorings of the eggs themselves --
and you will taste those yolks in there -- you should try before you season.


Mmm... that looks good. I wish my cold would go away so I could taste something.

Glossary:
Schissel -- Yiddish word for bowl you beat things up in
Ter-klop -- my husband's family's term for whisking or beating foods ... in a schissel
Bissel -- a little bit of something, also Yiddish, from the German ein bisschen.

Class dismissed. Have a wonderful weekend! Live it up -- make eggs for breakfast. -- Cass


As promised, a picture of my old blue plastic spoon, in my old kitchen,
with my old kids, back when they were still new and cute.

That's Annie on the left, Alida on the right with the blue spoon -- remember being allowed to lick the spoon?

Click on the Foodie Friday logo, or on the highlighted words,
to visit Michael's Designs by Gollum blog and all the fun Foodie Friday posts!

30 comments:

  1. These eggs look great. I eat eggs daily so I will use this. Thanks, Doylene

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  2. That just how I like my scrambled eggs - unadulterated goodness.

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  3. Thats exactly the way I make my scrambled eyes, put when they are on the pan I stir in some milk and Salt and Pepper. Served with toast and a lovely big mug of tea :)

    All things nice...

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  4. Thanks to you and your post, I will never look at an ordinary egg the same way again. You have lifted the lowly egg to new heights..and you had me smiling all the way through. Thanks for brightening my day with a smile..

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  5. Bubbala I am now craving toast with a schmeer of marmalade to go with my eggs. I feel a grepse coming on having eaten too much.
    You really are a berryer aren't you?

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  6. Cass..
    I'm hungry..
    will you PLEASE pass the eggs?
    oh yes, grits with them would be nice also..
    Juice, marmalade and wheat toast..
    and a big, tall glass of MILK!
    yummy!
    yes, I know..
    in my dreams!!!
    warm hugs, laughing smiles..
    Loui♥

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  7. .....oh, such a tease....and I have not had breakfast yet! I think I will make some for lunch!

    Your method looks great and so much prettier with the contrast of yellow and white.

    Beautiful photos!

    Love your kids!!!!

    xx
    becky

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  8. Just when you think you know everything...you find out you don't. Wow, these look tasty.

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  9. I have always been one of those people that likes things really really cooked...turning brown kind of cooked. And that includes eggs. I cook them 'til there are some slightly brown crunchy bits on them. I don't like steak that is red in the middle either. :-) And when I was pregnant my kids were nearly two weeks past due date. LOL!!

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  10. Well this was a really good cooking lesson! We only allow ourselves eggs on Sunday morning, so I'll be trying this over the weekend. Nancy
    PS: I enjoyed your writing style tremdously. Love the wit and wisdom mix!

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  11. Yep, I saw Martha do a segment on scrambled eggs once:)

    Love the photos of the kids!
    Leann

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  12. Tasty. I make my biscuit , sausage , egg and cheese sandwichs this way.

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  13. I have cooked mine like that without mixing them first (only when I was to lazy to mess up a bowl)LOL...But I have never taken the time to be gentle with them. I will have to try that one. Yours look really good.

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  14. Your eggs look delicious, Cass. I hope you are having a great Foodie Friday.

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  15. An interesting way to scramble eggs -- I'll have to try it next time we have them. So many scrambled eggs out are so dry! Yuck! Those look really good!

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  16. Thanks for setting me straight on scrambling eggs. Enjoyed the lesson.
    Love & blessings from NC!

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  17. Interesting technique. I'll have to try this the next time I make eggs.

    Have agreat weekend.

    Melinda

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  18. Due to cholesterol issues, I rarely eat whole eggs, but when I do I beat them up before putting them in the skillet, and gotta have a little S&P. Oh - and they have to be COOKED! :-)
    Have a great weekend.
    Glenda

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  19. Those eggs look so good!!! Lil Tony is our morning Chef here!
    Isn't that the best...licking the spoon!!!

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  20. Hi Cass....at first glance I thought you made your eggs like I make for the Boss...he insists on me adding whipped cream cheese in it's final stage of cooking...but me I prefer your way....pure virgin eggs...Oh except for a big plop of butter and a splash of salt....kosher salt ofcourse.

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  21. one of the high lights of my day is reading your blog. :) hope that damned cold goes away soon, when we meet (and we will) we will make some of those great eggs. Got a little teary eyed with the yiddish thrown in there.

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  22. What a great method, I'll try it for brunch tomorrow. Many thanks for sharing.

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  23. Having never learned to cook eggs the way most people do-whisking before cooking-I always made my eggs by putting them in the skillet whole then whacking them with the spatula until they look like yours with one exception-gooey eggs creep me out so I hard scramble mine til they aren't gooey. Just a personal preference.

    I STILL lick the spoon! :)

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  24. Tried the egg process this morning, awesome, could'nt believe the difference!

    And the pennies worked miracles on the tulips.. thanks so much for these little tips!

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  25. Two things I love to do with scrambled eggs is 1) add cottage cheese about 1/4 cup...really yummy in the mix or 2) add some cheese cheese chunks if you are feeling more decadant.

    Nancy

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  26. Yummy looking eggs Cass! Perfection. Scrambled eggs just nay be one of my all time favorite foods.

    Thank you for your kind words about my new healthy life! I'm feeling fabulous these days. Yay!

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  27. We've just come home from a Danish 60th birthday party, and scrambled eggs were featured as one course, with smoked salmon. They were delicious! I'll try your version and let you know how it goes.

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  28. This is a keeper, Eggs 101. Your wit is as joyful and fun as the recipe. I'm going to try this fabulous method tomorrow morning.

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  29. Delicious looking eggs and i so enjoyed your tutorial! How fun.

    I think we all have a favorite kitchen utensil we will never part with.

    Karen

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  30. Intirely entertaining, as if I were watching a cooking show with a wondeful hostess/cook with sharp wit and creativity!
    Well done, Cass!
    LOVe the house of Cass!

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