Scrambled eggs —who would have thunk that Julia Child could make them better? All it takes to scramble eggs is a hot pan, dump in the eggs, and stir. Right? How misguided I’ve been all these years!
It turns out the trick is kind of like grilling ribs — low and slow!
Basically, whip the eggs and any spices in a bowl plus a bit of milk (about a tablespoon for two eggs). Rub butter in a COLD frying pan. Dump in the eggs and put the pan on a low heat. Then constantly stir with a whisk and wait patiently. Remember -- patiently! You're going to be stirring the slimy eggs around in the pan wondering if I was pulling your leg because literally nothing appears to be happening for about 3 minutes or so. Then verrrrrry slowly the eggs begin to thicken and you'll see the eggs slowly transform into an almost custard consistency. Don't be lazy, keep on gently stirring with the whisk (you don't have anything else to do, right?) until the eggs start to break up into little lumps. Lumps is probably not the best cooking term, they actually look like the curds in cottage cheese but "curds" didn't seem like the word to use to describe eggs. Besides, cottage cheese curds are white (unless they're waaaaaaay past their expiration date) and your scrambled eggs should be yellow, not white. Although I suppose you could scramble just egg whites and end up with white curd looking eggs... I digress.
We're not done yet, the eggs are still cooking so we need to go right to the next step so the eggs don't overcook. When the eggs get to the right consistency you need to take them out of the pan right away, put them into a cold bowl and add either cold butter, cream, or cheese to stop the cooking and stir.
Remember, these are French style scrambled eggs so they're going to be more moist than what you're typically used to. When done, it ends up being almost a spread - I put mine on a toasted English muffin. It was soooooooo good! Actually, I ended up making these two days in a row because they were so good and both times they ended up on English muffins because I love English muffins. It appears that the French and English can get along pretty well! The second day (photo at the end) I used freshly grated Parmesan cheese and it was excellent!
I hope you'll try these -- let me know if you like them as much as I do. I've never been a huge fan of scrambled eggs but I literally dreamed about these eggs after making them the first time (that's why I made them again the next morning). Kathryn was home for the second day and loved them too. That may have been because I didn't make her be my guinea pig to eat the first attempt... Try them and let me know if you agree that these are the best scrambled eggs ever!
Special note for Elizabeth: only 1 pan this time!
Special apology to Julia Child: I was lazy on the first attempt and didn’t grate any Swiss cheese, I used pre-grated cheddar. Just think how good they'll be when the reach their full potential with freshly grated Swiss cheese! I have something to look forward to.
Another apology to Julia: I did garnish the eggs for appearance, a little paprika and parsley but they weren't fresh. I suppose I need to grow a parsley plant. Nah, its just parsley - maybe I could use fresh grass clippings and no one would notice?
Bon Appetit!
They look delicious, but I have to admit, I've always liked your scrambled eggs.
Easy breakfast for everyday.