This week in class we worked diligently with eggs. We started off with making poached eggs, then soft and hard -boiled eggs, omelets and finally a Hollandaise and homemade Mayonnaise.
Poached eggs, the eggs on top of Eggs Benedict, was one of the most intimidating techniques I have encountered. After learning a bit about it, I realized the only thing intimidating about it is technique and the freshness of your eggs. Crack a fresh egg into a ramekin or saucer, get your water to a low simmer, add about 1/2-1 T of vinegar and some salt to the water. In the middle of the water, swirl the water around the create a cyclone and very gently, pour your egg into the cyclone. Swirl around the water in the same direction for the cooking process, being very careful not to touch the white of the egg. This will help the white stay together and in a circular shape, you can also use a circle mold, but there is really no need. After it's cooked thoroughly (the white of the egg is no longer opaque and the yolk is set, but not runny ) use a slotted spoon to carefully cradle the egg and slide onto your plate or on top of your English Muffin and Canadian Bacon, then top off with some Hollandaise for a perfect Eggs Benedict! Sounds yummy, right?
To make an omelet, mix a few eggs into a bowl, add about a tablespoon of milk for creaminess and whisk away, whisking in air to create fluffiness. Melt a tiny bit of butter in a saute pan, preferably clarified butter, but regular butter will do and have the temperature at a medium low heat, or else they'll burn quickly. Add the eggs in, let the eggs form a skin at the bottom, then use a spatula to lift up a little bit of egg on the sides of the pan and swirl down some of the wet egg from the top, continue until there is still wet egg on the top of your omelet. You can also add it any type of meat or vegetable to your omelet, but make sure it is cooked before you put it in or else it may not cook in time. Any type of cheese can be added as well, towards the end of your cooking process. When it's done, fold over a third of it in the pan and flip onto your plate with another third being folded, seam side down. Super simple!
Another amazing power an egg is is emulsification! Emulsification i simply put, two ingredients, such as oil and water, that can not form a permanent mixture using eggs and fat, clarified butter, to combine them! If you look online for a Hollandaise sauce, some beforehand knowledge is expected to know, which is not too common! Of course you can buy the Knorr Hollandaise packets and add some butter and milk, but that will never give you a true Hollandaise. "Common knowledge" that will help you master this easy, but very impressive skill, is when you have your double broiler ( a metal bowl on top of a pan of simmering water) do not let the water from the pan touch the bottom of your metal bowl. The way it cooks is through the steam of the air pocket between the pan and bowl. If it touches, your eggs will quickly curdle and your sauce will break. A broken sauce is no good, unless you know how to fix it, which is quite complicated. When you add your clarified butter to your mixture of thickened eggs, reduced vinegar, ground pepper and water, drip the butter in one drip at a time, whisking vigorously throughout. After you've formed your emulsion, you can start adding in the butter a little bit faster, whisking the whole time.
Stay tuned for next week! Any guesses what it will be about? Also, let's have a poll! Would you guys like me to post the recipes I am making or my favorite recipes? Let me know in comments!
As always, food is love!
-Danielle
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