I don't know what it is, but lately I've been thinking a lot about my dear departed friend Johnny Apple. Eating with Johnny was a fantastic experience. He loved food and wine and life and politics and a zillion other things equally. He loved a perfectly char-grilled bratwurst as much as he loved foie gras.
His love of perfectly executed humble foods extended to scrambled eggs. But not just any scrambled eggs. Nah, Johnny had standards. The scrambled eggs that he loved the most are made at Bill's Cafe in Sydney, Australia. These eggs call for a half cup of cream per two eggs, but I have found that a quarter cup will still result in the best scrambled eggs ever. When I want to make a special breakfast for my wife, I turn to these eggs, which I always refer to as Johnny Apple's Crazy Creamy, Crazy Good Scrambled Eggs.
1 tablespoon butter, a pinch or two of salt,
4 eggs
1/4 cup cream
A couple of pinches of salt
1. Melt the butter over high heat in a nonstick pan.
2. Whisk the other ingredients together in a bowl, pour them into the pan and—summon your courage.
3. Do nothing for 20 seconds, except maybe cross your fingers.
4. Then stir very slowly with a wooden spoon, folding the rim of the egg mixture toward the center. Don't churn away like a cement mixer.
5. Pause for another 20 seconds, then repeat the gentle stirring-and-folding process.
6. Take the pan off the heat, allowing the residual heat in the pan to complete the cooking.
7. Finally, give the eggs one last easy swirl. Here's Johnny's description of what you will have wrought: "The eggs have a soft, mousselike texture, not the slightest bit rubbery, with unusually large curds. Not surprisingly, they are divinely creamy, but they are also as light as the breath of an angel."
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