Eggs and Patience

This morning I decided to switch up my normal over medium eggs and go for some scrambled. I have to confess that I never order scrambled eggs when I am out at a restaurant for breakfast because I think that they tend to over cook them and scramble them to death while they are in the pan. Also, I think that scrambled eggs are the perfect platform for mix-ins. You can take a basic egg and turn it into a fantastic scramble by simply adding a few simple items from your fridge that sound good to you at the time. This morning I was feeling like some leftover ham, bacon, mushrooms, green onions and a little cheese. You have to have cheese when you have scrambled eggs!



I sauteed up the bacon, mushrooms, and green onions in a pan with a little extra virgin olive oil. (This was simply to provide some fat in the pan before the bacon starting providing some of its own to the party.) I pulled out the mushrooms and onions and allowed the bacon to continue cooking. I added the diced ham to the pan to heat up with the bacon. Once the bacon was done I dumped the ham and bacon onto the plate with the mushrooms and onions.



The real key component of all of this is how you cook the eggs. I turned the heat down on the stove to medium to ensure the right cooking temp for the eggs. (Less heat is better with scrambled eggs.) I placed a small dollop of butter into the pan (maybe a teaspoon) and spread it around to coat the pan evenly. I added the eggs and stepped back. This is the key. Be patient and allow the eggs to cook for awhile before you start stirring them. This allows large chunks of egg to cook together so that once they get to your plate you have hearty pieces of delicate eggs and not tiny little hard bits of over cooked eggs. Use your spatula and stir ever so gently. You are not trying to dice your eggs, just agitate them slightly so that they can cook on all sides. Once you see that the eggs are 75% cooked, pull them off the oven and add back in the items on your plate with some cheese. The eggs will continue to cook and the cheese will melt nicely. Dash a bit of salt and pepper to the top and enjoy!



Scrambled eggs do not have to play second fiddle to the classic over easy egg, but they take some time and patience. Bring a few more goodies to the pan and you can take a traditionally bland dish to another level. The key though is to be delicate and patient with your eggs. You can do it!!