Eggs! More eggs!

Level 2 Lesson 6 Aug. 4, 2010 continued...

Eggs Round 2

John and I heated water in a pot for the poached eggs. I added vinegar, which would help set the egg whites. John swirled the water and gently dropped eggs one by one into the pot.

At home, my poached eggs never had that beautiful white cover of egg white over the yolk. The mistake I made was trying to poach eggs in a large saute pan. If I had used a pot, my poached eggs would have been fine.

In 3-4 minutes, the eggs were done. We shocked them in ice water. I lifted an egg in my hand and cut away the jagged edges.

Meanwhile, our eggs in that were cooking in a ceramic dish (ceufs au plat) were done. The whites were set and the yolks still jiggled.

We presented the poached egg and the eggs on a plate to Chef C.

"Good," she said, looking at the eggs in the dish.

Then she cut open a poached egg. The yolk oozed out.

Chef C was pleased, but she said, "30 seconds longer and your yolk would have been overcooked."

Our eggs baked in cream had been in the oven for about 15 minutes. John took his out and so did I. We garnished our ramekins with a sprig of parsley.

I presented my baked egg.

Chef C dipped her spoon into the cream and lifted up the creamy egg.

"Oooh. Luscious," she said.

I went back to my station and tasted the creamy filling. It was slightly sweet and very, very rich. I closed my eyes and moved my shoulders up and down.

"You happy, Jenny?" John asked.

I nodded.

Eggs Round 3

For the last round, we made oeufs farci chimay.

"It's basically a glorified deviled egg," Chef C said.

John and I made a filling of sauteed mushrooms, shallots and egg yolks from hard-boiled eggs. We added some bechamel sauce into the filling. Then we piped the filling into the egg whites. After topping them with gruyere cheese, John put the eggs in the oven.

Later, we showed our dish to Chef C. The cheese had melted and had browned nicely on the eggs.

"Good," Chef C said.

Throughout the night, I had eaten a bite of a few egg dishes plus the international buffet that another class had made. I still shoved a stuffed egg into my mouth. It was too much. I regretted taking a bite of a second one.

I didn't feel sick like a few other classmates. But I grimaced when I smelled sulfur on my hands on the way home.

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Previously on Eggs Round 1...

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