Norman's eggs over easy

Norman’s Eggs Over Easy

I can't believe I'm even posting this one. It is so simple that everyone knows how to cook eggs over easy, right? I have, however, had some that weren't so great at restaurants over the years. Since I'm fussy about how my eggs are cooked, I decided to write this one down.

Over the years I have been moderating the way I eat. I now yield somewhat in order to make things just a little healthier. For example, in the years of my youth I would fry potatoes in bacon fat. (When I have some, I still like to fry potatoes in duck fat from a roast duck but that’s a tale for another recipe). Now, I usually fry potatoes in olive oil or peanut oil. I also make pie crust out using olive oil instead of lard.

One thing I won’t yield on however, is when I cook eggs over easy. I like my eggs cooked in butter (or sometimes bacon fat). I don’t think there is anything better than eggs and butter. If you are going to have eggs, you might as well do them right.

2 eggs

1 tbs. butter

1 small shallot, sliced razor thin

Fresh ground white pepper

Salt

Preparation

Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium heat. Remove the eggs from their shells into a small cup or saucer. Gently, without burning it, melt the butter and add the shallots. Shake the skillet until the shallots soften, but do not brown them.

Carefully pour the eggs into the skillet. Sprinkle them with a little salt and a generous amount of the white pepper. When the bottom of the eggs begin to set, you should be able to gently shake the skillet until the eggs are sliding around in the skillet.

If you are confident in your ability to do this, shake the skillet back and forth and then, with a little wrist action, flip the eggs. If you don’t want to try this, use a plastic spatula to flip the eggs. Sprinkle them with a little more white pepper. After about a minute, slide them onto a warm plate.

Serving

Here’s how I like to serve the eggs. Next to the eggs, place three strips of crisp bacon. Now add some potatoes fried in olive oil. On another plate, have several slices of homemade bread, toasted and buttered to mop up the yolk. 

Now add a bowl of freshly sliced strawberries and lots of good coffee. If it is the weekend, you may also want to have a glass of chilled Prosecco.