Jacques Pépin Scrambled Eggs In Bread Cases

Garnish the plate

My Mother-In-Law is a foodie! A couple of years ago she let me borrow an old calender of hers that she had noted every day what my Father-In-Law and her cooked or ate every day for an entire year. "Okay she keeps a food journal." I thought.

Loaf of bread (unsliced)

One day she called me and said that she just watched Jacques Pépin making scrambled eggs in bread cases. She gave me a brief description of what it was and set me on a quest to find the episode on the Internet. I went directly to the "Essential Pépin" website and found the video for episode 118. To view this episode follow this link: http://blogs.kqed.org/essentialpepin/2011/09/16/recipe-1/  

Bread sliced 1" thick

In the video I learned that whisking scrambled eggs almost continuously as they begin to set allows only the smallest possible curds to form, producing the creamiest egg mixture. To prevent the eggs from overcooking once they have reached the proper consistency, a portion of reserved uncooked eggs is stirred in with cream at the end.

Remove crust shape bread cases

Before I continue I must explain that I grew up watching the original TV chef's Julia Child, Jacques Pépin, Galloping Gourmet, Frugal Gourmet, and Justin Wilson's Cajun cooking. If you don't know who these people are you should check out old episodes on YouTube. I have always been a fan of Jacques Pépin, especially when he would cook with Julia.

Generously butter egg cases

I've always considered my cooking abilities in the easy to moderate range level. "I love scrambled eggs and I love bread so how hard could this be?" I wondered. Not everyone can cook scrambled eggs properly. Gordon Ramsy, the modern day celebrity chef has a nice video on making scrambled eggs. Follow this link:       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUP7U5vTMM0 

Beat egg together

After watching the Pépin video I realized that some shopping was necessary. I needed to get some unsliced bread at the Breadsmith. I suddenly realized that this recipe was slightly similar to eggs-in-the-nest, one of my all time favorite breakfast's. Now I needed to trim the crust off my bread and prepare the egg cases. Reading the recipe entirely was something that I should have done before going to the store. The recipe also calls for Candied Oyster Mushrooms and a brown sauce, something that I didn't buy when I went to the store. For now I'll just skip that part.

Remove bread cases from oven

INGREDIENTS

4 bread slices, 1" thick, crust removed, hole cut from center

6 large eggs, beaten, divided

to taste salt

to taste black pepper freshly ground

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

3 tbsp. heavy cream
as needed Oranges, strawberries, parsley, chives for garnish 

Keep whisking

DIRECTIONS 

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Now comes the tricky part. You must cut a rectangular shaped hole or well in the bread slice about 3/4 inches deep without cutting through the bottom of the well. I used a very sharp paring knife. Cut an inside square and then pull the bread out of that well.

Add some parsley

Butter the bread cases liberally inside and out with the softened butter, or melted butter . Arrange the cases on a cookie sheet and bake until nicely browned all over. Remove from the oven and set to the side. You are now ready to start making the eggs.

Ready to fill egg case

Into a bowl crack the eggs into a bowl, add the salt and pepper, and beat with a whisk to mix well. Divide the egg mixture into 3rds. Put 1/3rd of the raw eggs to the side while you cook the remaining 2/3rds. There is that magic formula again 1/3 to 2/3 the exact formula for making Kartoffelklösse. 

Fill  egg case well with scrambled eggs

Melt the butter in a large heavy bottomed saucepan. When it is foaming, pour in the eggs and cook over medium to low heat, stirring gently with the whisk. Continue whisking making sure to get the bottom of the pan where the eggs are most likely to cook first.

Serve Scramble Eggs in Cases

To help keep the eggs from burning on the bottom, removing the pan from the burner while whisking. Keep cooking and whisking until the mixture gets very creamy; the eggs should have the smallest-possible curds. Continue cooking just until you can see the bottom of the pan as the whisk is drawn through the eggs. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the 1/3rd reserved uncooked eggs and cream.Continue whisking until the eggs are almost set.

Need a glass of sunshine with that?

Place a bread case in the center of each serving plate. Garnish with parsley or a sprig of chives. Serve immediately.

© TMelle 2013

Soft and creamy Mollet Eggs Florentine make a perfect and easy breakfast or lunch that Jacques shares with his best friend Jean-Claude in the program’s open. He continues with an egg theme featuring Eggs In Ramekins, Eggs En Cocotte and Scrambled Eggs In Bread Cases With Candied Oyster Mushrooms. - See more at: http://blogs.kqed.org/essentialpepin/2011/09/10/episode-118-egg-ceptional/#sthash.xQCLz3qD.dpuf

Soft and creamy Mollet Eggs Florentine make a perfect and easy breakfast or lunch that Jacques shares with his best friend Jean-Claude in the program’s open. He continues with an egg theme featuring Eggs In Ramekins, Eggs En Cocotte and Scrambled Eggs In Bread Cases With Candied Oyster Mushrooms. - See more at: http://blogs.kqed.org/essentialpepin/2011/09/10/episode-118-egg-ceptional/#sthash.xQCLz3qD.dpu