Poached Egg

I love watching Julia Child's videos on PBS. Of course, when the movie Julie and Julia came out, I was a bit obsessed and that is where the idea to blog came from. Now I just need Julia's book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volumes 1 & 2.

Julia says you can make a meal out of any dish by adding an egg to it. Salad + egg = meal, Potato + egg = meal, ect. ect. Poaching was Julia's favorite preparation, as she said it was the "purest and loveliest way to cook an egg." Gosh, poaching an egg was a little complicated to me at first. But once you get the method down, it comes out perfect every time. The most important tip I can share with you is do not fill the skillet with too much water otherwise when you drop the egg, it will sink a LONG way down and when it starts to come back up, the white and yolk will separate. 

 Julia Child's Video (28 minutes), Elegance with Eggs

Ingredients:

1 egg

water

salt

vinegar

Directions:

Fill a skillet with 1 1/2 inches of water. Add a pinch of salt and a splash of vinegar. Heat over medium-high just until the water starts to boil. Try to maintain a temperature of 190 degrees F throughout the process. (You do not want the water to boil rapidly while the egg is in it.)

Crack the egg in a small bowl. With the bowl as close as possible to the surface of the water, ccarefully slide the egg into the water. The egg white will spread out and sink to the bottom as it initially hits the water, but will soon start to form up as it rises to the surface.

Allow the egg to cook for 5 minutes, until the white sets. Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and set on a paper towel to let the water drain off. Serve over toast. Season with salt and pepper.