Eggs Eggs Eggs And They Are Never Boring

How many times have we looked in the fridge and found eggs and thought to ourselves, I cannot possibly eat another fried egg.

                          ''BUT''

They are so versatile, I will show you every possible way I know to cook eggs.

Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients

8 x  eggs
80ml (1/3 cup) milk
1/4 tsp salt
15g (3 tsp) butter
4 thick slices buttered toast

Method

Scrambled eggs are made by mixing eggs together with milk, cream or water to produce moist, soft folds or "clouds" of egg when cooked. 

If you can get them Free-range eggs tend to have more flavour than battery-hen eggs and generally give scrambled eggs a richer yellow colour.

Crack the eggs into a medium mixing bowl. 

This is best done by first cracking each egg, one at a time, into a small bowl before sliding it into the mixing bowl, so that you can remove any blood spots or pieces of shell (to remove these, use the egg-shell half). Add milk and salt.

Measure the milk carefully, as cooked egg will only hold a certain amount of liquid and too much will cause the egg to "weep" moisture. 

Use a fork to whisk the egg mixture lightly until the ingredients are just combined. 

The eggs should be mixed through evenly to ensure a consistent yellow without streaks of egg white (which will result in white streaks through the cooked eggs)

There is one main rule when cooking scrambled eggs: do not cook on heat that is too high, as this will cause the eggs to stick to the pan and become flaky and dry. Heat the butter in a medium, deep heavy-based frying pan over medium heat on the largest hotplate or gas burner (to ensure even cooking) for 1 minute or until the butter begins to foam. Swirl the pan to lightly coat its entire base with the butter.

Add the egg mixture to the frying pan and cook over medium heat for 30 seconds.

Use a flat-topped wooden spoon to gently push the egg mixture, scraping the top of the spoon along the base of the pan, from one side of the pan to the other in 4 different directions. 

Soft folds of cooked egg will begin to develop.

Repeat the pushing action with the spoon every 10 seconds (or slow count to 10), including around the pan edge to prevent the egg mixture sticking. 

The important part of this step is to push the spoon through the mixture and lift and fold the eggs rather than stir, as stirring will break the egg up into small lumps. 

Do this often during cooking to prevent the egg mixture sticking and forming more of an omelette rather than moist, soft folds of scrambled eggs. 

Cook for 2 minutes or until about three-quarters of the mixture is cooked and one-quarter is still liquidy.

Remove the pan from the heat and use the wooden spoon to gently fold the egg mixture twice more.

The residual heat in the pan will finish cooking the eggs.

Spoon the eggs onto the toast and serve immediately.

Poached Eggs

I have perfected the poached egg, by using a drop of red wine vinegar in my water.

You want a very slow boil not a quick boil or your eggs don't cook nicely.

Before placing the eggs into the water create a vortex, which just means use a spoon and stir the water so its moving in a circular motion, then add the eggs to the water.

The easiest way to do this is to crack each egg into a cup and just pour them in slowly.

before you .

Turn the heat right down and leave in the water for 4 minutes, that is all they need, and place on hot buttered toast.

Eggs Benedict

Making eggs benedict requires careful orchestration. 

You have to have warm, crispy bacon, hot buttered toasted English muffins, eggs poached perfectly to your desire, and a warm, creamy, unbroken Hollandaise sauce, all at about the same time. 

If you know how to toast an English muffin, know how to cook bacon, and know how to poach eggs, then the only element that is not your standard fare is the Hollandaise sauce, which is actually quite easy if you have a blender.

Ingredients

8 Pieces of bacon
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley, for garnish
4 Eggs
2 Teaspoons white or rice vinegar
2 English muffins
Butter

Hollandaise Sauce

10 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 Egg yolks
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of cayenne or tabasco

Cook the bacon and keep warm in the oven

While the bacon is cooking get the water ready for your poached eggs.

Also make the Hollandaise Sauce

Then poach your eggs, 2 per person.

Once your eggs are in poaching, cook your english muffins

To assemble

To assemble the eggs benedict, butter one side of an English muffin. 

Top with two slices of bacon.

You can trim the bacon to fit the muffin if you'd like. 

Put a poached egg on top of the bacon, then pour some hollandaise over.

Sprinkle some parsley over it all and serve at once.

Omelet

Ingredients:

2 eggs
2 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp butter
Salt and ground white pepper, to taste

Method

Crack the eggs into a glass mixing bowl and beat them until they turn a pale yellow color.
Heat a heavy-bottomed nonstick sauté pan over medium-low heat. 

Add the butter and let it melt.
Add the milk to the eggs and season to taste with salt and white pepper.

Then, grab your whisk and whisk like crazy. 

You're going to want to work up a sweat here. 

If you're not up for that, you can use an electric beater or stand mixer with the whisk attachment.

Whatever device you use, you're trying to beat as much air as possible into the eggs.

When the butter in the pan is hot enough to make a drop of water hiss, pour in the eggs. 

Don't stir!

Let the eggs cook for up to a minute or until the bottom starts to set.

With a heat-resistant rubber spatula, gently push one edge of the egg into the center of the pan, while tilting the pan to allow the still liquid egg to flow in underneath.

Repeat with the other edges, until there's no liquid left.
Your eggs should now resemble a bright yellow pancake, which should easily slide around on the nonstick surface. If it sticks at all, loosen it with your spatula.
Now gently flip the egg pancake over, using your spatula to ease it over if necessary. 

Cook for another few seconds, or until there is no uncooked egg left.
If you're adding any other ingredients, now's the time to do it. (See below) 

Spoon your filling across the center of the egg in straight line.

With your spatula, lift one edge of the egg and fold it across and over, so that the edges line up. 

Cook for another minute or so, but don't overcook or allow the egg to turn brown. 

If necessary, you can flip the entire omelet over to cook the top for 30 seconds or so.

Just don't let it get brown.

Gently transfer the finished omelet to a plate. Garnish with chopped fresh herbs if desired.

NOTE: There's no limit to the number of fillings you can use with this basic omelet recipe.

Some suggestions include:

Grated cheese
Sautéed mushrooms
Diced and sautéed onion
Chopped cooked bacon
Diced ham

Eggs In an Egg Cup

Or Eggs with Soldiers

Cooking the egg

There are different ways of cooking soft boiled eggs, but this is the simplest. 
Use the large spoon to gently lower the egg into the cold water.
Then bring the water to the boil. 
When the water boils, leave the egg for a further 3 minutes.

While the egg is cooking you can toast the bread. 
When done, remove the toast and spread a little butter on one side.
Then slice into strips about 2 centimetres wide, you should be able to get 4 strips from one slice of toast. Your soldiers are now ready for action.

Remove the egg from the boil

As soon as the 3 minutes are up, place the boiled egg into an egg cup.
Slice off the top immediately with a knife - if you don't the egg will continue to cook, and the yolk will harden. Put the soldiers alongside, ready for dipping.

Bacon & Egg Breakfast Cups

Ingredients:

4 eggs
4 slices of precooked bacon 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200C. 
Spray muffin tin with pam spray.
Line muffin pans with bacon so that it circles each mold.
Break an egg into the center of each mold.
Bake for about 8 minutes or until egg is cooked to the doneness of your liking. 
Serve while warm.

Devilled Eggs

Ingredients:

10 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced in half
¼ cup Plain  Mayonnaise
¼ cup Sour cream
1 T. Dijon mustard
2 T. Finely chopped fresh chives or shallots (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Paprika, for garnishing

Method:

Remove the yolks from the hard boiled eggs and transfer to a small mixing bowl, along with the mayonnaise, sour cream, Dijon mustard, chives (if using), salt and pepper. 
Mash well with a potato-masher or fork until the mixture is creamy.
Scoop the yolk mixture into the egg whites and sprinkle with the paprika just before serving.

Baked Eggs

Ingredients:

4 Tomatoes, peeled and chopped into small pieces
1 T Salt
1 T Olive oil, plus more for ramekins
1/2 Cup finely chopped onions
1/3 Cup chopped ham
1 Cup chopped spinach
1/4 Cup cream cheese
3 T.Chopped fresh chives , plus more for garnishing
2 T. and 2 t. Milk, divided
Whole grain bread or dairy-free buttermilk biscuits, for serving

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C.
Boil a small kettle of water for the baking pan. 
Lightly oil 4 ramekins.
In a small bowl, toss tomatoes and salt. 
Spoon equal portions into prepared ramekins. 
Set aside.
In a heavy-bottomed skillet, combine oil and onions and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until translucent, about 4 minutes.
Add ham, and cook for about 1 minute more.
Remove pan from heat.
In a small bowl, toss ham and onion mixture with spinach, allowing the greens to wilt slightly. 
Add the cream cheese, chives, and 4 t. of the milk.
Add equal portions on top of the tomato mixture in each of the prepared ramekins, sprinkle just a few tomatoes on top of the spinach mixture.
Break each of the eggs carefully on top of the vegetable mixture, keeping the yolks in tact. 
Add 1 t. of remaining milk on top of each of the eggs.
Place in a small baking pan just big enough to hold the four ramekins.
Place on middle oven rack and, very carefully, pour boiling water in the bottom of the baking pan so that the water is just half-way up the sides of the ramekins.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until whites are opaque but yolks are still a little runny.
Carefully remove ramekins from hot water with tongs. 
Salt and pepper to taste. 
Serve hot with whole grain bread, garnishing with fresh chives if desired

Frittata

Ingredients:

2 T. Olive oil
2 Medium onions, peeled and chopped into rings or crescents
2 Cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 10-oz bag fresh baby spinach, rinsed and stems removed
1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
1 ½ t. Salt
¼ t. Black pepper
4  Eggs
8  Egg whites
¼ Cup nutritional yeast
½ Cup Yogurt
¼ cup fresh dill, or other fresh herbs on hand (optional)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Heat the oil over medium heat in a 10” heavy-bottomed skillet that is also ovenproof.
Once the oil is hot, add the onions and garlic. 
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and soft, about 6 minutes. 
Add the spinach, broth, salt and pepper and cook until spinach is just wilted, about 2-3 minutes. 
Transfer mixture to a bowl and let cool to room temperature or until just barely warm.
 (If the mixture is too hot, you will "cook" your eggs and end up with an uneven frittata.)
With a paper towel, wipe out any moisture from the skillet and lightly coat with oil.
Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and egg whites. Using an electric hand mixer at a medium-high speed setting, beat the eggs until foamy, about 10 minutes.
Add the nutritional yeast, yogurt and fresh dill (if using) to the cooled spinach-onion mixture, and then fold the spinach mixture into the eggs until just combined.
Heat the skillet over medium-high heat, adding the frittata mixture and cooking for 2-3 minutes without stirring.
Carefully, transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the frittata is golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.
Let the frittata cool slightly before transferring to a serving plate.
Serve hot, warm or at room temperature. 

Crustless Quiche

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded cheese
1 T. Minced Garlic
1 Small Onion, sliced thin
1 cup of fresh cherry tomatoes
leaves from about 3-4 stems of basil
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 t. salt
Fresh ground pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Lightly grease a 9" pie plate or 8" baking dish. 
Sprinkle half of the cheese evenly over the surface of the dish. 
Sprinkle the minced garlic evenly on top of the cheese, then layer the onion slices evenly on top of the cheese and garlic. 
Add the cherry tomatoes (I prefer to add them in whole, but feel free to slice them in half if you like), evenly spacing them from one another. 
Add the basil leaves (if they are too large, tear them with your hands), again spacing them evenly from one another. 
Set aside.
Using an electric hand mixer or food processor, beat together the eggs, milk and salt until well combined and pale yellow in color. 
Pour the egg mixture over the the vegetables in the prepared pan. 
Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the egg mixture (it's okay if the cheese sinks), and then sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the quiche is set.
Allow quiche to cool for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Now that you can cook eggs all these different ways, you will never open up the fridge and see and egg, and think YUK.