Take THAT, Julia Child!

After watching Julie and Julia I remembered how much I looooved poached eggs and how long it's been since I've had one. I haven't poached an egg since I moved out because I don't have an egg poacher and I haven't been brave enough to try it the "real" way.

So the other night I decided I was going to try it. I did some reading and found that the following things were important:

1. The eggs must be fresh. Also, did you know, that the "A," "AA," and "B" categorization of eggs refer to their freshness? Well, not their freshness per se, qualities of the egg that are indicators of freshness. Also also, did you know that each egg carton is stamps with a Julian date, indicated which day of the year the eggs were packaged? This is all important so that you get the freshest eggs possible. (Thank you, Alton Brown).
2. The water should be prepped with both salt and vinegar the keep the egg together. HOWEVER, a wash after poaching is essential so that these flavors don't come through in the final product. (I think this is why I've never hand-poached an egg. I had one in San Francisco that was so vinegary that I could just not get over it). The vinegar also makes the whites rubbery so it takes a little playing to see how much vinegar your water requires.
3. After writing "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" Julia Child recommended poking a pinhole in the big end of the egg and boiling it for just 15-20 seconds before lowering the water temperature to a simmer, adding vinegar, and poaching. This helps the eggs keep their shape.

So, following all the masterful rules of Julia Child and folks all over the internet, here's what I came up with:

And oh yes, there is cheese. The yolk is a little creepy in these pictures because I had to lighten them.

So. Poached eggs good, work bad. Luckily Crate & Barrel solved that:


Ryan says that we have more kitchen gadgets than we have space. I don't know what he could mean...