Eggs.
Oh, eggs. How could I possibly not make eggs well?
Oh! I know! I could be making the eggs the way that we were taught today!
Here’s what I think: I think that runny eggs are disgusting. Little chunks of eggs swimming in their own mucus-y juices. Not appealing in any sense on any level.
That’s what I had to make for our practical today.
Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon (not just runny, but sitting in a pool of egg liquid) and an Omelette aux fines herbs. Omelette with finely chopped herbs that has standing liquid in the center. When you cut into the pale white rolled omelette, it should ooze liquid onto the plate. I had to make mine three times before it was considered acceptable. Cooked gently on one side, not cooked at all on the other, and then carefully rolled into a smooth cigar shape tapered to a point on each end.
Look. I know I’m being judgmental here, but really. Runny eggs??? We also made œufs pochés à la florentine (poached eggs with sauteed spinach, gruyère cheese, and sauce mornay, a white cheese sauce).
In demo, we saw eggs sur le plat, which were sunny side up, each cooked to order in its own little serving dish, we watched soft and hard boiled eggs, soft boiled eggs served in the shell in egg cups, we got to watch coddled eggs with parsley and tomato coulis, and we saw quite possibly the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Fried eggs. These are not your mother’s fried eggs. These eggs are poached. In a deep fryer. You slide your eggs gently into a pool of blazing hot oil, and working quickly with two wooden spoons, shape and mold your eggs into small balls. Crispy and golden on the outside, runny and amazing within. Served with bacon, I could easily envision myself cutting years off of my life eating these amazing creations day after day after day. All in the name of research, of course…