Oh what a ridiculous notion, I barely ever get stressed. Yes, I was upset when I was let go from RTH (I still believe that was wrong), but, I didn't stress over it. I merely mourned for the world I got to know so well in such a short period of time!
But, recently, I went to a Halloween brunch at Chateau Nice and discovered that stress can exist even if you're unaware of it. In fact, as I discovered that day, stress can manifest itself in bizzarr-o passive aggressive and anally retentive ways.
I freaked out over scrambled eggs.
Say it with me:
Scrambled.
Eggs.
It all happened when I saw a stranger at the helm of eggs at a brunch for close to 50 people. It being noon, and me stressed in a heavy fog of self afflicted hypo glycemia, I said loudly to my friend, "I bet they put dairy with the eggs" I glanced at the large wok filled with scrambled eggs sitting in a murky pool of whey. "Yep," I said, "Sure did."
Then the conversation went like this:
"You put milk with the eggs didn't you?"
"I didn't."
"Then dairy then"
"Sour cream"
"Why would you do that? You see how the eggs seperated, that's bad."
"I know what I'm doing, I'm an expert"
"Obviously not if you put dairy with scrambled eggs. You mess with the proteins. They get-"
"Do you want to take over?"
"No, I want to eat eggs. Can I take some from the top here"
"NO! You want eggs theres some in the microwave cooked"
I think on what those eggs would look like..
"No I want those ones. They're cooked"
"NO THEY AREN'T! I cook them until all the liquid evaporates."
"If you to that the eggs will over cook, turn into nuggets and will be tough!"
"Do you want to take over."
"No, you've obviously got it under control"
I reluctantly accept the egg paste from the microwave and head to eat.
So a rule of thumb:
Never add dairy to scrambled eggs. They will seperate, you will lose moisture from your eggs in bucket fulls.
Yes you add dairy to quiche, but, you also add flour and you don't agitate it.
Trust me.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Could I Be Stressed?
Posted by
KarmaCake
11/05/2005 11:37:00 PM
- KarmaCake 12:38 PM
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I used to feel the same way as well. I was a common milk to egger. However, upon reading Aidan's Chef's Bible (published by the Cordon Bleu) it catagorically explains why it's not desirable to add milk to eggs. You see the results, they seperate! Why make eggs harder then they ought to be?
The interesting thing about Foodtv is that it's not a place necessarily made up of chefs. Upon reading this article, I'm convinced that Foodtv is mostly made up not of a million Christine Cushings (annoying, but, she knows her stuff) but people who are just fine home chefs. If they were true chefs, then they would've been trained otherwise.
In addition, they recommend seasoning the eggs with salt, which will be another reason why the eggs will seperate. The salt will bond to the proteins and encourage the extraction of water.
For excellent scrambled eggs, have room temperature eggs and unsalted butter. Crack and whisk your eggs in a bowl.
Melt a generous amount of butter in a skillet over medium heat, cook eggs until still just a little moist. Remove from heat, season with a little salt and pepper and serve!
If you're determined to add something, then add a tablespoon of water to one egg. This will satisfy the addition of extra liquid to steam the eggs fluffy, but will not damage the integrity of the eggs proteins.
Also, be delicate! Once the eggs are poured into the pan, let sit for a moment, then stir, covering the entire bottom of the skillet. Repeat until cooked! Remember, JUST A LITTLE MOIST!
Fluffy eggs! - Mariza 6:46 PM
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Not to dispute you, but Christine Cushing is actually a trained chef. In fact, she's trained in Paris at École de Cuisine La Varenne. And, the foodtv.ca link just happened to be the one I chose among many others that said the same thing. HOWEVER, I don't disagree with you. I was one of the ignorant, dairy using masses. You still can't prevent me from adding in goat cheese though.
- Monsieur Bonhomme 8:12 AM
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no milk in eggs? tis a sad sad discovery. we who love lactose are being threatened on all sides. o for the innocent eggs of my youth
- KarmaCake 5:26 PM
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Thanks Superior Eggman... Toxic Chi and I were already discussing that recipe.
I already said it's pucky. Make that recipe, and tell me if your eggs don't seperate.
If you want your eggs to be fluffy and the only reason you're adding milk is for the water to evaporate, then why not add a tablespoon of water per egg? The milk doesn't add any flavour, what's the point?
Then why do all the recipies tell you to do it?