Adventures in cooking

[vanillafluffy]

A little while ago, I did something I've never done before: I fixed poached eggs for breakfast. I used the non-stick skillet gifted to me by pwcorgigirl the Christmas before last, added a splash of vinegar to the water per Gordon Ramsey (at least I *think* it was Gordon)---and they turned out quite edibly. The vinegar adds a nice tang

Comments

[vanillafluffy]

I can tolerate a *little* looseness around the yolk, but I definitely want nice, creamy yolks. It's a challenge....

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[ang5fam]

My Mom used to have an egg poacher back in the 60's- small pot with 4 little egg cups and a lid.
My friend from Germany poaches them by boiling water in a pot, adding the eggs slowly, one at a time and then adding the vinegar.The eggs then pucker up and you can boil them till desired. She removes them from the pot with a slotted spoon. I had never seen them done that way before I met her.

[vanillafluffy]

I'll have to try the slotted spoon. My flat spatula wasn't optimum for the task.

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[adventurat]

Breakfast is awesome, though. So if you're enjoying it more, that's a win! Eggs are good protein to start the day on. I liked poached eggs, but prefer them on toast. And since I'm not eating grains these days, I generally either have 'em hardboiled with a dollop of butter for yumminess, or fried or scrambled, in bacon fat. Yes, bacon!

[vanillafluffy]

Hey, nothing wrong with bacon. I'm too lazy to cook it---it's such a mess!---but I'd eat it daily if it wasn't. (Probably just as well, huh?!)

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[ang5fam]

I buy the pre-cooked microwave bacon~ nuke it for 15-20 seconds and voila~ no muss, no fuss.

[vanillafluffy]

Yeah, I've tried that, and the scary thing is, I can go through a box of that a day, and I know better. So I don't get it often, because otherwise, OMG, the ankles of doom!

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[anomilygrace]

If you have a little glass bowl (something with fairly vertical sides) and a microwave, you can poach eggs in the microwave. Put the water & vinegar into the bowl, add the egg, and nuke for about 2 minutes. (It takes some playing with to get it perfect, but so easy & fast). And then you can scoop the egg out and dump it on toast if you like.

Also there's soft-boiling as another option!

I love love love eggs. I would eat them all the time if I could.

[vanillafluffy]

Whoa, soft-boiled eggs. My mom served them sometimes when I was a kid, but I haven't had them in eons.

[pwcorgigirl]

Glad the skillet came into good use. I've never had a poached egg, but like all eggs as long as the yolk isn't runny, so it would probably get a thumbs up from me.

I was reading a Patricia Highsmith novel last year (she wrote The Talented Mr. Ripley and Strangers on a Train) that was set just after WWII. The two women in the story have a meal of poached eggs served on a bed of steamed spinach in a restaurant, and it sounded so good! No one would regard that as a proper meal now, so it made me think how times have changed.

[ang5fam]

My Mom used to eat eggs on top of spinach~ I love that combo.

[vanillafluffy]

It *does* sound good!

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[vanillafluffy]

I've been using it for fried eggs, but I'd really like the scale to make more downward progress. I know, it's only a number, but if I can change it for the better with a simple thing like water and vinegar, so be it.

Cracker Barrel used to offer a terrific spinach salad, which I miss greatly. The Highsmith variation sounds interesting! And being that it was post-WWII, eggs and spinach were probably on a short list of items not rationed (as rationing lasted til the early 50s, IIRC).

Btw, the light has arrived---thanks so much! It's very stream-lined and supple, and I can imagine it coming in handy for a variety of non-Nook related purposes.

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