Kate Connally so bravely stated:
> notbob wrote:
>
>> Most of us here watch them. Julia, Jacques, The Bam Man and The
>> Perv.... But, have they ever really been of any real influence? Have
>> you ever really learned anything from these folks. Perhaps I should
>> ask, have you ever really changed how you cooked something because of
>> what you saw on these shows.
>> I certainly have. I thought about this as I was cooking scrambled
>> eggs for my breakfast, this morning. I used to cook scrambled eggs
>> like the old greasy spoon frycook. Hot and fast! Slightly browned
>> and dry as a bone. No wonder US eaters love ketchup on their
>> scrambled eggs. No more. I learned from julia how to cook scrambled
>> eggs like the French do it. Low and slow and with nothing added.
>> It's probably the single biggest change I've made in my egg cooking
>> over the years.
>> The difference is astounding. I discoverd that adding milk to eggs
>> just makes them watery. Not better tasting, not an improvement in
>> texture, just watery.
>
> I have not found this to be true in my experience.
>
> One of the things I got from a tv chef was how to
> do hard-boiled eggs - cover with cold water, bring
> pot to boil, cover and turn off heat, let stand,
> 12 minutes (well it used to be 20 minutes, then I
> heard 12 and tried that and it was better, I've also
> heard 10), drain, rinse with cold water, drain,
> shake pan to crack shells, peel.
>
> Also, the Frug got me onto the wooden lemon reamer.
> I use that thing a lot!
>
> Kate
>
The Frug got me started on adding water instead of milk to my omelets at
about 1 Tbs per egg. He said the milk toughened the egg.

For hard boiled eggs, I use a blancher. Set a dozen eggs into the basket
and place that in the pot. Then cover with about 1" of water and remove
the basket and eggs. Add a bit of salt to the water and add the basket
with eggs back into the water. Set the timer for 11 minutes. When the
water comes back to a roll, turn to medium and cover for the rest of the
boil. Remove eggs immediately and set to cool. Some eggs will crack, but
most won't and the eggs won't be hard and dry. The center might even be
a bit creamy, so suit yourself.

Any recipe that says 'put it in cold and bring to a boil' before I start
timing it isn't a recipe for me. You know that a watched pot never
boils, only when you turn away so you never get the timing right ;-)

I hated the overcooked 'green' yolks my mother used to cook, so Easter
was only fun to color and find the eggs, never to eat them.

--
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't hold his head under 'til
the bubbles stop.
-
><<XX>:> Buddy