TAKE THE COMFORTING COMBO OF BACON AND EGGS TO AN EXTRAVAGANT LEVEL

By America’s Test Kitchen

FRENCH-STYLE SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH ROSEMARY CANDIED BACON

For the bacon:

Serves 4

12 ounces center-cut bacon

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon pepper

For the eggs:

8 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon table salt

3 tablespoons water, divided

1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley or chives

For the bacon:

1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil. Cut bacon in half crosswise. Arrange bacon on prepared sheets.

2. Combine sugar, rosemary, and pepper in a bowl. Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over bacon. (Do not flip and sprinkle on the second side.) Use your fin- gers to spread sugar mixture evenly over each piece.

3. Bake until bacon is dark brown and sugar is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. (If bacon on 1 sheet finishes cooking sooner, it’s OK to remove this sheet from the oven first.) Transfer bacon to a wire rack set over paper towels and let cool for 5 minutes.

For the eggs:

1. While bacon cooks, use a fork to beat eggs and salt until blended. Heat 2 tablespoons water in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over low heat until steaming. Add egg mixture and immediately stir with rubber spatula. Cook, stirring slowly and constantly, scraping edges and bottom of skillet, for 4 minutes. (If the egg mixture is not steaming after 4 minutes, increase heat slightly.)

2. Continue to stir slowly until eggs begin to thicken and small curds begin to form, about 4 minutes longer. (If curds have not begun to form, increase heat slightly.) If any large curds form, mash with spatula. As curds start to form, stir vigorously, scraping edges and bottom of skillet, until eggs are thick enough to hold their shape when pushed to 1 side of skillet, 4 to 6 minutes.

3. Remove skillet from heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon water and parsley and stir vigorously until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Serve with bacon.

(For 25 years, confident cooks in the know have relied on America’s Test Kitchen for rigorously tested recipes developed by professional test cooks and vetted by 60,000 at-home recipe testers. See more online at www.americastestkitchen. com/TCA.) (c)