Do Americans use egg-cups?

[skatemommy]

Both the egg cookers I've had offer poaching containers that IMO produce something nothing like a proper poached egg. You basically get a soft boiled egg that uses the container instead of the shell to run to keep it together.

If you love poached eggs, and can't master the proper method, I think there are units that you can put into a pot of water that more closely matches the texture you want than an egg cooker, which cooks with steam, not water.

Actually, after a lot of practice and misshaps - I'm pretty good at poaching eggs. The secret is to add white vinegar to the water. It keeps the protein of the egg from running all over. But it is a lot of work basting, I was just wondering if there was an easier way, per usual with cooking...NO. (PS my mom (Hungarian descent, Canadian born) makes the best poached eggs ever!)

[Jenny]

Can you share the Caesar salad dressing recipe, please? My oldest DD hates anchovies, so it's hard to find a store brand she likes other than the silly pre-packed salad kits' packet.

I find prepared Caesar dressings nothing like the real thing - more like ranch with extra vinegar and garlic, yuck.

For classic recipes, I often rely on Better Homes and Gardens, knowing that all their recipes are well tested. This is from the 1989 edition of their red and white book:

1 egg
1 clove garlic, halved
2 tbsp olive or salad oil (guess that would be vegetable oil today)
2 tbsp lemon or lime juice
Few dashes of Worcestershire
Dash hot pepper sauce
5 cups torn romaine
1/2 cup croutons (there's a separate recipe for homemade)
Dash pepper
1 2 oz can of anchovy fillets, drained, rinsed and dried (I leave this out and add a bit of salt instead)

Short version of the instructions suggests coddling the egg: bring to room temperature, then place in boiling water and remove from heat and let stand for one minute, then remove from water and let cool slightly before whisking into the dressing. Note also that the garlic is meant to be rubbed on the salad bowl - helps if you have a wooden one.

Personally, I also like fresh bacon bits in Caesar salad, and I use Kraft parmesan to toss with the dressing, and lots of freshly grated parmesan for topping, with a liberal amount of cracked or freshley ground pepper. With or without the croutons, depending on how I'm feeling about carbs.

[FigureSpins]

I'm game to try it - I have the 1981 issue of that cookbook, so I just bookmarked it physically! Thanks!

[pat c]

Try it with poached eggs, too. Butter makes anything taste better.

Putting butter on warm hardboiled eggs is pretty good too.

[FigureSpins]

Had softboiled eggs (butter and S&P) for lunch. Might try the hardboiled version - what could it hurt? (Good thing my last cholesterol blood test came back rated "Excellent!")

[Grannyfan]

Just wanted to say, who would ever have thought a thread about egg cups would reach six pages. One of the reasons I love FSU. You just never know.

[allezfred]

Ooops! first I misread and thought you "drew/created the design and won a prize at some designers' X-mas party" and thought "oh wow! nice post-retro style, I wonder what other drawings allezfred has in the are of industrial design"....

i want one,, that is so cute

still dont want to eat an egg in it though

PM me your address and I'll send it to you. I never really eat soft-boiled eggs. Not because I don't like them or anything. It just never occurs to me to make them.

We didn't have an egg cup in our place until I won that one either.

[barbk]

Actually, after a lot of practice and misshaps - I'm pretty good at poaching eggs. The secret is to add white vinegar to the water. It keeps the protein of the egg from running all over. But it is a lot of work basting, I was just wondering if there was an easier way, per usual with cooking...NO. (PS my mom (Hungarian descent, Canadian born) makes the best poached eggs ever!)

I make poached eggs all the time without the vinegar, and just assume some loss of white. They still taste yummy. But I got a friend these poach pods last year at Christmas and she says they work great:
http://www.amazon.com/Fusionbrands-P...4445002&sr=8-1

The bonus is that they take up almost no room and clean very easily.

(FSU ought to get an Amazon referral credit account set up given the number of postings that link to something there -- it might actually add up to some bucks between the book threads, the DVD threads, and miscellaneous ones like this one.)

[IceAlisa]

Did you use two egg cups or one?

One, although I have two.

[mkats]

I mentioned this thread to my boyfriend yesterday and he had totally never heard of an egg cup! I showed him some pictures people posted and he was fascinated

Also, I'm surprised nobody has mentioned balut

[skatemommy]

One, although I have two.

It should be an assembly line sort of preparation, so one is totally correct from my childhood. Plus the toast would get cold waiting to eat the first egg. PS. Congrats on the pie recipe, it sounds divine!

[flowerpower]

What an unusual (and interesting) thread!

Canadian here; my mother always used egg cups to serve soft-boiled eggs. She had "everyday" egg cups and lovely bone china cups as well. She always made toast fingers for dipping in the yolk - what memories this brings back!

I rarely make them myself just because the timing is finicky - I find it tricky to get the white solid and yolk runny, so I do poached eggs instead. But maybe I'll try again now!

[pat c]

Also, I'm surprised nobody has mentioned balut

Ok, now this I've never heard of.

[JerseySlore]

I mentioned this thread to my boyfriend yesterday and he had totally never heard of an egg cup! I showed him some pictures people posted and he was fascinated

Also, I'm surprised nobody has mentioned balut

[Twilight1]

I never heard of making poached eggs in boiling water and learned it on Hell's Kitchen. I was WTF was that? We have an egg poacher. It is basically like a double boiler that you pour the egg in the top section and the steam from the boiling water cooks the egg.

[skatemommy]

Someone mentioned upthread about the "whack" with the knife...my dad could do that without getting the shell bits in the egg you were about to eat. And he liked the runny whites...looking forward to a lazy Saturday morning with maybe fried potatos w/ketchup. Yum, good night!

[Twilight1]

Okay so I just read that what I thought of as poached eggs is actually steamed eggs... so I guess that means I like steamed eggs and not poached!

[Prancer]

I have a sort of side question about toast soldiers. Is that just regular toast cut into strips or it something my mom used to make me every now and then on snowy days when I was little?

She would butter pieces of bread and bake them for a while in the oven, then flip them over, butter them again and bake again until the toast was crispy and buttery and a bit crunchy all the way through without being hard like a crouton. She'd slice each piece into fingers and I'd munch away.

I've mentioned them to a few people over the years and no one has any idea what I'm talking about. Are those toast soldiers?

[ice dance]

I have a sort of side question about toast soldiers. Is that just regular toast cut into strips or it something my mom used to make me every now and then on snowy days when I was little?

She would butter pieces of bread and bake them for a while in the oven, then flip them over, butter them again and bake again until the toast was crispy and buttery and a bit crunchy all the way through without being hard like a crouton. She'd slice each piece into fingers and I'd munch away.

I've mentioned them to a few people over the years and no one has any idea what I'm talking about. Are those toast soldiers?

I've always understood soldiers to be regular toast cut into strips.
From Wikipedia:

Soft-boiled eggs can be eaten with buttered toast cut into strips, which are then dipped into the runny yolk. In the United Kingdom, these strips of toast are known as "soldiers".

Soldiers.

[skatemommy]

Putting butter on warm hardboiled eggs is pretty good too.

Are you really Paula Deen in disguise? I saw her show today and swear I gained weight by osmosis!