Julia's Kitchen Wisdom (19 page)

To Help the Egg Keep Its Shape.
Using a pushpin, pierce a hole ¼ inch deep in the large end of the egg to release the air pocket (otherwise the egg will crack). To help the egg keep its shape, lower not more than 4 eggs at a time into a pan of rapidly boiling water. Boil for exactly 10 seconds, then remove with a slotted spoon.

Vinegared Water.
To poach up to 6 eggs, bring 1½ quarts of water and ¼ cup white vinegar (which helps the white to coagulate) to the simmer in a saucepan 8 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep. Have a kitchen timer and slotted spoon at hand. One by one, starting near the pan handle and moving clockwise, hold the egg as close to the surface as possible, and break it into the water. Rapidly continue with the rest. Maintain the water at the simmer and poach exactly 4 minutes—the white should be softly set and the yolk liquid. Clockwise from the handle of the pan, remove the eggs one by one with the perforated spoon, and drop into a basin of cold water to wash off the vinegar.

Poaching in the Perforated Oval Metal Container.
Set the poachers in a pan of simmering water to cover, drop in the pierced, 10-second-boiled eggs, and poach at the simmer for exactly 4 minutes, as described above. Remove the poachers and dislodge the eggs carefully with a soup spoon.

Eggs May Be Poached a Day or Two in Advance.
Submerge in fresh cold water and refrigerate uncovered.

To Serve Cold.
Store as above, or chill for 10 minutes in ice water. Remove one by one with a slotted spoon, and roll over a clean towel to blot off water.

To Serve Hot.
Lower chilled eggs into a pan of lightly salted simmering water and let warm up for 1 minute, then remove.

VARIATIONS

• EGGS BENEDICT.
  Toast and butter English-muffin halves or crustless circles of brioche bread (which I prefer, since I find the muffins tough and hard to cut). Top each toast with a round of sautéed ham, a warm poached egg, and
  hollandaise sauce
  . Then, if you are feeling luxurious, slide on a warm, buttery slice of black truffle.
  

• SOUFFLÉ VENDÔME.
  Arrange 4 toasted and buttered
  French-bread rounds
  in a 6-cup baking dish, and top with 4 cold poached eggs. Cover with the
  cheese soufflé
  , and bake as directed. This dish always amazes your guests, and the eggs emerge perfectly done.
  

• SALAD OF CURLY ENDIVE WITH BACON AND POACHED EGGS.
  

Shirred Eggs

Here, for individual servings, the egg or eggs are broken into a shallow dish and started on top of the stove but finished under the broiler. The white is softly set but the yolk is filmed over with a translucent film. A deliciously buttery egg dish, but hardly a diet one!

Here is how to proceed. Provide yourself with a sufficient number of shallow flameproof baking dishes about 4 inches across, slide the oven rack onto the upper level, preheat the broiler, and melt about 2 tablespoons butter per serving. For each serving, set one of the dishes over moderately low heat and pour in 1 tablespoon melted butter. When bubbling, break in 1 or 2 eggs and cook for about 30 seconds, just to set a thin layer of white in the bottom of the dish. Remove from heat, and baste top of eggs with a teaspoon of melted butter. Place on a baking sheet, and do the same with your other baking dishes. Just before serving, set 1 inch under the broiler and cook for about 1 minute, sliding dishes in and out every few seconds and basting with a little more butter. When the whites are set and the yolks are filmed, season and serve immediately.

ADDITIONS AND VARIATIONS

• SHIRRED EGGS WITH CREAM.
  After starting the eggs on top of the stove, pour 2 tablespoons of heavy cream over them and set under the broiler to finish. No basting is necessary.
  

• SHIRRED EGGS GRATINÉED WITH CHEESE.
  Proceed as with the cream, above, topping it with a teaspoon of grated Swiss or Parmesan cheese.
  

• SHIRRED EGGS
  AU BEURRE NOIR
  —WITH BLACK BUTTER SAUCE.
  Use just a teaspoon of butter to baste the eggs under the broiler, and when done, dress them with black-butter sauce (see box below), adding the suggested chopped parsley and capers as well.
  

• GARNITURES.
  Just before serving, you could surround the eggs with sautéed mushrooms, kidneys, chicken livers, tomato sauce, sautéed green and red peppers, or whatever. However, I think the following eggs in ramekins take better to such additions.
  

BLACK BUTTER SAUCE—
BEURRE NOIR
.
A wonderful sauce for fish and egg dishes. For about ½ cup, cut 1 stick of butter into ¼-inch slices and melt in a 6-inch frying pan. When bubbling, increase heat to high. Swirl the pan by its handle as the bubbles subside and the butter rapidly begins to brown. In a few seconds, as soon as it is a nice walnut brown (not black!), pour it over the food.

NOTE:
Before saucing the food, you may wish to sprinkle on a teaspoon or so of chopped fresh parsley, which will sizzle as the hot sauce goes over it, then swirl a tablespoon or so of capers in the pan, and divide them over the sauced food.

Eggs Baked in Ramekins

These are a more leisurely egg dish than the preceding shirred eggs, with their rapid ins and outs from under the broiler. Here the eggs are broken into little buttered custard cups, and set in a pan of hot water to bake in the oven for 7 to 10 minutes. They can be simple, with just a base of cream, or you can put a filling in the bottom of the cup—a great way to use leftover cooked spinach, chopped mushrooms, cooked onions, or whatever enticing item you have on hand.

Slide the rack onto the lower-middle level, and preheat the oven to 375°F. For each serving, pour 1 tablespoon heavy cream into a buttered ½-cup ramekin and place in a pan containing ½ inch of simmering water over moderate heat. When the cream is hot, break in 1 or 2 eggs; pour over another tablespoon of cream; and top with a dot of butter. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, until softly set—they should still tremble slightly, since they will set a little more in their ramekins after being removed from the oven. Remove from the oven; season with salt and pepper, and serve.

ADDITIONS AND VARIATIONS

• AUX FINES HERBES—WITH MINCED GREEN HERBS.
  Add a teaspoon or so to the cream for each serving—one or a mixture of parsley, chives, tarragon, chervil.
  

• WITH VARIOUS SAUCES.
  Instead of cream, use a brown sauce with mushrooms, a cheese sauce, a tomato sauce, a curry sauce, an onion sauce, etc. A good occasion for using up your precious leftovers.
  

• BOTTOM FILLERS.
  Spread in the bottom of each ramekin a tablespoon or so of such attractive items as cooked and nicely flavored diced asparagus, broccoli, spinach, artichoke bottoms, diced ham, mushrooms, chicken livers, or shellfish. A slice of black truffle would be a happy surprise, as would a generous spoonful of foie gras.