Eggs'quisite Eggs - Poached Scrambled Eggs in Cheese Sauce

Every once in awhile, I read an article in a food magazine and become obsessed.  It was like that with the Fleur de Sel Caramel Chocolate Cake... and so it was with Daniel Patterson's Poached Scrambled Eggs published in Food and Wine Magazine. 

I am an egg fan to begin with... Fried, Basted, Omeletted, Coddled, Baked, Poached, Frittata'ed, Scrambled, Boiled, Belgianed, Scotched and even on Pizza... they're ALL good.  In fact, if there were no eggs, I am thoroughly convinced I would starve to death.  Oh sure, there would still be cheese, but a wise man once said, "Man cannot live by cheese alone."  Though I would definitely give it a try.    :)

Luckily this dish combines these two ingredients in a brilliant new way. Thus ensuring that I will not starve and that I will not have to attempt living on cheese alone.  I mean come on-- eggs and cheese.  Can it possibly get any better?  I think not.  OK, I will concede the point that Bacon might make it better, but as shocking as it may sound, I am a bit dubious as to whether my beloved nitrate ridden porcine products could possibly improve on the transcendental experience this dish evokes.

Usually, when I am poaching eggs, my main objective is to keep the egg intact as much as possible, thus ensuring my yolks remain all nice and runny.  I would never have conceived of poaching "scrambled" eggs.  It might be because of my chosen method of scramblization.  Normally I just crack the eggs into the pan, allow them to cook for about 30 seconds, then start stirring with a fork... in the pan.  Towards the end, I add a little Cream Cheese and some shredded Basil.  But the point is, I don't pre-scramble my eggs in a bowl before they enter the hot pan.  I have seen people on TV do it that way over and over again, but it just never sunk in. I have simply continued to scramble eggs the way my mom and grandmother do.

Now I see the advantage of scrambling ahead of time in a bowl; it affords the opportunity for some slightly unconventional egg cookery.  :)   Lemme tell ya, I think I am going to be cooking my scrambled eggs this way from now on.  Cause golly bob howdy, Vern! They are GOOD in all their permutations. 

Oh yes...  I do mean permutations.  This recipe is a great frame work for some awesome eggs.  Not a fan of Goat cheese?  Try Mascarpone and Pecorino Tartufo with Thyme.  Sheep milk cheese not your thing?  How does Cream Cheese and Gruyere with Chives grab you?  Well, I have tried all 3 and they are all decadently delicious.   

Poached Scrambled Eggs in Goat Cheese Sauce

1 cup warm Water, divided; plus more for poaching the eggs
4 oz soft fresh Goat Cheese, such as Chevre
2 oz aged hard Goat Cheese, such as Etude or goat Gouda, shredded
1 TB freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
4 large Eggs
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling 
1 tsp chopped Rosemary, Chives, Tarragon or Thyme (Your Choice)

Prepare water for poaching by adding about 3-4 cups of water to a saute pan and set it over medium-high flame.
Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by combining fresh goat cheese with 1/4 cup of warm water

and whisking until smooth.

In a small saucepan, bring 3/4 cup of water to a simmer.

Stir in the aged goat cheese and Parmigiano-Reggiano until melted and smooth.

Whisk in the fresh goat cheese "sauce".

Season with Salt and Pepper, then keep warm over VERY low heat.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs well.

Once the poaching liquid is simmering, use a wooden spoon to stir the water vigorously in a circular motion to create a whirlpool in the center.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and stop stirring.

Immediately pour the scrambled eggs into the center.

Cover the pot and cook for exactly 40 seconds.

Using a slotted spoon to hold the eggs back, tilt the saucepan and pour off the water into the sink.

Carefully transfer the scrambled eggs to a strainer, preferably in once piece, and let drain for 10 seconds.

Divide the eggs between 4 bowls.

Then spoon the warm cheese sauce all around.

Drizzle with Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper.

Sprinkle with fresh Rosemary, Chives, Tarragon or Thyme.

Serve immediately.

Now THAT is a big bowl of love!

Mangia!!
~~

Homage to Julia Child - Oeufs en Croustades a la Béarnaise

There is really not a whole lot to say about this, except that I love poached eggs, I love toasty bread and I loved the movie, Julie & Julia. Since I have a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I went through the egg (oeuf) recipes. This one caught my eye... Although Julia's original recipe calls for a Béarnaise, my favorite sauce is Hollandaise. And Julia was very fond of changing her recipes. The book even offers myriad of combinations. So, in the spirit of Julia and all things improvised.....

Oeufs en Croustades a la Hollandaise

First the Sauce Hollandaise
OK, I need to be honest, this is not Julia's recipe, this is the way that I usually make it, because it seems to work best for me. It is slightly different than the 1/2 batch that I made for my Eggs Benedict Pizza. I do not normally use clarified butter, I use butter chunks, because they melt slowly, thus controlling the rate of liquid butter being added to the sauce and preventing 'breakage'.

1/4 cup Egg Yolks - This is approximately 3 - 4 Large Egg yolks (If 4 is a little over 1/4 cup, just use the 14 TB of butter)
1/4 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper -or- a Dash of Tobasco
12 - 14 TB Unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1 TB freshly squeezed Lemon Juice

Bring water to a simmer in a small sauce pan.

Whisk yolks, sugar, salt, and cayenne together.

Move everything to a stainless steel bowl and whisk until the yolk begin to pale & thicken slightly.

Place the bowl over barely simmering water and continue whisking until the mixture becomes smooth, creamy and thick enough to leave a clear line on the back of a spoon (Trace, in Soap-makers terms)

Do not heat the yolk mixture too much or you will end up with scrambled eggs; the proteins will re-bond with each other if the yolks get too hot.

Remove from heat and begin adding the butter 1 piece at a time, continuing to whisk until the butter has completely melted and emulsified before adding the next piece.

If your sauce begins to cool to the point that the butter is having difficulty melting and incorporating you can return the bowl briefly to the simmering water to warm the sauce again.

When all the butter has been added and the sauce is smooth, whisk in the lemon juice to loosen the sauce a little.

Place the sauce in a thermal carafe to keep it warm.

And unused sauce can be placed in a small bowl and refrigerated for up to 2 days, with Plastic wrap on the surface to prevent crusting.

Simply re-warm the sauce over gently simmering water, whisking constantly.

Toasts and the Poached Eggs
The above Hollandaise recipe is enough for 8 toasts and eggs, but since this was a late lunch for me, I made 3 for myself, and thankfully had hollandaise left over. Cause when it's cold, I like to spread it on toasted bread, instead of butter. I am only going to touch lightly on the poaching of eggs. I covered the process better in my Eggs Benedict Pizza post so I didn't take many pictures this time. Although the timing is important here as you want the toast to come out of the oven just after the the eggs are finished poaching and have drained slightly. So...

Place 2 inches of water in a saute pan or a deep skillet, add 1/4 cup vinegar and a pinch of salt, placing it over medium heat and bring to a simmer.

Crack eggs into little ramekins so they can be eased into the water; set aside and let them warm up a little to room temp.(I am using Jumbo eggs I picked up when I was on my way to Julian last weekend)... The one on the left is a large egg from Trader Joe's for comparison.

And how awesome!!! I got a double yolker!!!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice bread about 1 inch thick.

Julia removes the crust, so I did.

Using a fork, scrape out a hallow, stopping about 1/2 inch into the bread.

Brush all over with olive oil.

When the oven is heated and the water is simmering, place the bread in the oven for 8 -10 minutes.

Slide the eggs into the simmering water.
When the whites of the eggs are set, remove from water with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain slightly. Seasoning with salt and pepper to taste

Remove toasts from the oven and place on the serving plate, very carefully tucking an egg into the hallow. (I almost broke the middle one)

Pour or spoon Hollandaise over the top and garnish with paprika if desired. I was too hungry to bother....

I just dug into that golden deliciousness.

Mangia!!
~~

Pampering Your Poultry - Coddled Eggs

I love eggs, always have and probably always will. Poached, Fried, Baked (oeufs Cocotte), Boiled and my most favorite of all, Coddled. The term "coddling" doesn't seem to have really caught on the U.S. Thus Coddled eggs are often simply, but incorrectly, referred to as "Poached" even though poaching technically requires contact with the cooking liquid or oil.

The "inserts" for sauce pans;

instruct cracking an egg into the indentations and setting the insert in a saucepan of simmering water. They are always labeled as egg poachers, but this is really a coddler. The idea is to "pamper" or literally "coddle" the egg by cooking it gently like you would when using a Bain Marie (Double Boiler) over, or setting in, barely simmering water for about 8 minutes. This leaves the egg at about 160 degrees, however the white stays tender due to the gentle cooking and the yolk remains runny, although I tend to leave mine in for an extra minute so the yolk JUST begins to gel.

Even without a Poacher/Coddler, you can still make great coddled eggs at home with a few ramekins and a saute pan.

Begin heating a saute pan with about 1 inch of water in the bottom.

Butter about 4 - 6 ramekins, depending on how big your saute pan is.

Crack an egg into each one, sprinkling with salt and pepper as desired.

Then I always add a little Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Once the water reaches about 185 degrees, slip the ramekins in the hot water, and cover.

Simmer for 7-9 minutes depending on how cooked you like your yolk.

Remove ramekins from hot water and either serve as is on a plate with a little pat of butter (I used a touch of White Truffle butter from my freezer).

Or run a butter knife around the edge and turn the egg out onto a plate.

As I stated earlier, when I make coddled eggs, I tend to cook them just a touch longer so the yolk barely gels,

instead of leaving it runny. Delisioso!!!

Mangia!!
~~