breakfast is served

One of best parts of the holidays can be the ebb and flow of loved ones into your home… dinners crowded around the dining room table, sandwich fixings splayed across the kitchen counter for lunch, and then there’s breakfast. Let’s be honest- that first meal of the day be a real challenge.

Almost every morning my Norwich terrier and I share an egg. It’s a simple affair, one that takes approximately seven minutes from creation to clean-up. Sometime it’s scrambled, occasionally it’s poached, a little French omelet is always a treat, and a runny soft boiled egg is heavenly over a slice of buttered toast.

But I find the joy in this morning ritual tends to dwindle as the number of recipients increases. Soon you find yourself feeling like a short order cook, and if you ever have noticed- real short order cooks never sit down with their patrons. Even if they could, they really can’t. And don’t get me started with the dishwasher.

As your house fills it’s rare that everyone is up and adam at the same time. Most likely one has just darted out the door for a jog, another just back for a shower, and others jet-lagged are still slumbering in their beds.  Boxes of cereal or repeat performances of bagels and cream cheese don’t tend to exude the “welcome home” you probably want.

The question is how to serve up a hot breakfast for all you love? There are actually many ways to precook otherwise complicated eggs. Two for a crowd that can be disastrous if left to the last minute are poached and soft boiled. Nothing more makes you want to scream “why the hell did I bother” into a kitchen towel then turning a dozen eggs into virtual super balls because you got distracted by having all of your love ones enter, then leave, then enter and leave your breakfast kitchen.

Here’s an amazing technique for pre-poaching eggs. You can actually prepare these and store them in an ice water bath in your refrigerator for a day or two. Then simply warm in a pan of simmering water for less than a minute. Delightful served as a benedict, over some hash, or some sautéed spinach.

For this post I’d like to replicate an amazing breakfast I recently had in Brooklyn at the Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg.

Their “Dippy Eggs” are two perfectly soft boiled eggs served in egg cups with little toast soldiers, kefir butter, maldon salt and breakfast radishes.

A few months back I stumbled upon a fabulous recipe for jammy soft boiled eggs. The trick was to lower the eggs into boiling water, simmer for exactly six and a half minutes, lift them out and immediately place them into ice water for 30 seconds, then tap each end to find the air bubble, and peel away the top.

I thought why couldn’t you just keep the soft-boiled eggs in the ice water and reheat them in simmering water the next day just like poached eggs. Guess what? You can!

I can’t wait to serve Dippy Eggs to my crew in the coming weeks. Because what could possibly say I love you more than an egg in a little cup.

Carefully place eggs into a pan of boiling water with a slotted spoon.

Simmer for exactly six minutes and thirty seconds. Immediately lift the eggs out with a slotted spoon and carefully place in a dish of ice water. Place in the refrigerator for up to three days.

To mimic the fancy kefir butter place Land-O-Lakes butter with canola oil in a ramekin.

Sprinkle with a little Maldon Salt.

Cover and store in the refrigerator. It will keep for days.

Combine a quarter cup of Maldon salt with freshly ground black pepper and if you have any pink and white pepper corns grind those into the mix as well. Set aside.

This will last for a month.

Wash and trim the radishes. Rainbow ones, if you can find them, look great on the plate.

Slice and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator for up to a day.

The morning of, take the eggs out of the ice water and set in a bowl at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bring a pot of water to a boil, then lower to a simmer.

Spread country rustic bread with soft butter.

Cut into finger-width spears.

Place the toast “soldiers” on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until toasted, about 8 minutes. When golden remove from the pan from the oven and set aside until ready to assemble.

For each plate place a dollop of butter. Add a heaping pinch of seasoned slat flakes. Arrange a pretty pile of sliced radishes. And stack several toast soldiers like lincoln logs.

As your loved ones file into the kitchen lower their egg into the boiling water with a slotted spoon. Simmer for 30-40 seconds until the eggs are warmed through. Remove from the boiling water. And place in a dish of room temperature water in the sink.

Tap an end to find the air bubble, then peel away the top of the shell. Trim off the top and place in an egg cup.

To serve simply place the filled egg cup on the assembled plate.

I’m sure you’ll crew will swoon for these dippy eggs too.