Poached Eggs

GENERAL COOKING TIPS

Whether you’re cooking with your own eggs or not, a chicken somewhere worked very hard to lay those eggs, so out of respect for the chicken, if nothing else, pair them with the freshest, ingredients possible. The flavor of eggs is so subtle that it complements a wide variety of flavors, but that also means that a light hand should be used when seasoning or pairing eggs with other stronger-tasting ingredients, to let the egg flavor peek through. So, no cutting corners when you’re cooking from this book, promise? If a recipe calls for freshly squeezed lemon juice, squeeze that lemon!

Here’s a tip for citrus: I buy both lemons and limes by the bag when they’re on sale and slice some, halve some, quarter some, and leave some whole. Then I pop them all into the freezer. The frozen slices and quarters are ideal to chill beverages on a hot summer day or thawed to garnish cocktails or squeeze over fish or a salad; the halves quickly defrost and can be juiced. The whole frozen citrus can be used for grated peel as needed—frozen citrus is much easier to grate than fresh. This way my citrus lasts longer, and I always have as much “fresh” juice and peel on hand as I need.

Everyone should keep good-quality kosher salt on hand and grind peppercorns to order instead of using pre-ground. And why not try green peppercorns instead, or white pepper? Experimenting with different types of pepper can add variety to your meals very easily and inexpensively. I also use freshly ground nutmeg. The flavor and quality of many ingredients, especially spices, deteriorate once they’re in powdered or ground form, so buying them whole and grinding as much as you need on demand makes sense. It’s also often less expensive to buy whole spices in bulk.

If you’re still using vanilla extract, why not try switching that out for vanilla bean paste? Even good-quality vanilla extract can’t compete with the lovely paste. Used in a one-for-one substitution in any recipe that calls for vanilla extract, the paste gives cheesecake, crème brûlée, and homemade ice cream those beautiful dark flecks that you would get from using a real vanilla bean (but far less expensively), and there’s less of that alcohol taste you sometimes get from extract.

As for dairy items, I use whole milk and cream and unsalted butter, and I always purchase cheese by the block and grate or shred as I need it. Commercially shredded cheese is treated with an anticlumping agent, but that agent can mess up your recipes. Freshly grated cheese will also taste, well, freshly grated.

Herbs should be sourced fresh as well, if possible. It’s not hard to grow herbs, nor does it take much space to do so. My tip is to buy the whole plant in the plastic pot, if available. It’s not only more economical to buy the plant versus prepackaged herbs, but whatever you don’t use can be set on a sunny windowsill, then pruned and trimmed as needed. As long as you occasionally water them, most herbs thrive with little attention. I have a small “patio” kitchen herb garden in the summer months where I grow the culinary herbs I use most: basil, dill, mint, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon, and thyme. Then I dry some of the extra herbs to store and use through the winter. Before the first frost, I also bring a couple of plants indoors to keep on my kitchen windowsill during the winter, and I grow some herbs from seed in small pots. It’s so useful to have fresh herbs year-round to flavor and garnish