Ask Ari

Q: Dear Ari,

Our little flock of backyard chickens just started laying, and now I'm looking for a way to cook the eggs that doesn't hide the flavor with spices and vegetables, like a frittata does. I'm looking for a simple recipe that highlights their bright yellow yolks and creamy flavor.

—Chicken Farmer

A: Welcome to the world of egg-snobbery. I feel bad for anyone who invites you over for breakfast if they don't have their own flock. Ditto for the restaurant servers who bring you a three-egg breakfast, and anyone else within earshot. Everyone's going to have to listen to how yellow the yolks are in Buttercup's daily masterpieces.

Hopefully you won't be as bad as I once was, so high on my eggs that one morning, craving the corned beef hash at my local breakfast joint, I brought over three eggs, handed them to the cashier and asked to have them cooked into the order.

And guess what? As you suggested in your question, it was difficult to discern the fabulousness of my eggs amid the deliciousness of the corned beef hash. All I really gained was another notch in my well-deserved reputation as a snob.

My favorite way to cook good eggs is the minimal scramble. Heat a medium-sized pan with two tablespoons olive oil and beat your desired quantity of eggs in a bowl with salt and pepper. When the pan is hot, but before the oil starts to smoke, add your eggs. Watch them spread out flat and sputter. Wait 15 seconds, until the edges start to cook. Then stir it minimally with a spatula, just to make sure there's no sticking. Wait 10 seconds and do it again. Then kill the heat, stir it one more time, and let the remaining pan heat finish the job. For a demonstration of this simple procedure, I've posted a video on my website: flashinthepan.net.