Eggs Adam Roberts

- Jenny

Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Here I am! (Jump cut to Jenny running into the kitchen with a head of wet hair and some ill-considered jeans and a shirt that may or may not belong to her.)

I am so sorry I missed all of you last week; I was a little busy observing 12 members of Congress attempting to put together $1.2 trillion in deficit reductions through a series of secret meetings buttressed by a few public hearings in which witnesses said it would be a good idea to resolve that. So there was no cooking. Just a lot of typing.

So, I think you all know how that turned out.

But I have better news about Eggs Adam Roberts. So before you start thinking, “Um eggs with cheese, so what?” -- let me just tell you that the combination of some fun ingredients and a little explicit instruction can really go a long way toward making what is a default quickie dinner into something kind of special. Also I futzed with the recipe.

Of course we’re talking scrambled eggs here, with a few twists. Would you think to dump sour cream into your raw eggs? Not me, but I love sour cream in anything breakfast-oriented and loved this idea.

Whisk this with the milk as amateurgourmet instructs. (We all hope that just because the author moved to Los Angeles he won’t start telling us to make this with almond milk.)

Now you’re supposed to sauté up a bunch of scallions. You can do that. But since we’re a sharing, communicating community here, I need to tell you all that I have a lot of hostility toward scallions. I think it is because I don’t like their hairy moustache things, or because my mother-in-law’s cornbread stuffing recipe calls for them and when I was first married I didn’t know what they were. It doesn’t really matter -- the thing I am trying to tell you here is that I browned up a large shallot instead. For about five minutes. I liked it very much.

Next, the eggs, and it is true, you cook them slowly, but not too slowly. You will intuitively understand when the middle is wet and running still that it is time to add the chilis. Only I used chili adobo paste, about a teaspoon. Because that was preferable to me, on hand, and I love it. I wish I had added more. In went some really nice sharp organic cheddar grated for the occasion. We ate them with chips and some MrsWheelbarrow salsa, sort of migas-style.

Delicious, friends.

My kids were a little annoying about them. Incipient: “I like it. I would eat more of it. But at breakfast.” Then, she ate two hamburgers. This happens. Bacon girl: “Listen, it tastes like eggs. I’m not really a big eggs fan. I like bacon. “
Husband: “I really liked it. It was a good amount of spice and the cheese gave it a nice texture. But how many servings is that for? Oh.”

Eggs Adam Roberts by amateurgourmet

Serves 4

1. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add the milk and sour cream and whisk powerfully for approximately one minute until foamy. Add salt and pepper to taste, whisk a few more times and set aside.

2. Place the butter in a non-stick skillet and heat on medium heat until the butter is foamy. Add the whites of the scallions and saute 30 seconds or so, until soft. Then add the eggs and IMMEDIATELY lower the heat. You want it on medium/low heat so it cooks slowly.

3. Stir, stir, stir and keep stirring as it goes. You want them to cook slowly but not painfully slow. If you've made scrambled eggs before, you know what I'm talking about. Once the eggs start to harden significantly but there's still some liquid in there, add the rest of the scallions, the pickled jalapeno and gradually add the cheese. Stir, stir, stir and add the rest of the cheese. When they're just set but not dry, scoop them on to a plate. Toast some bread and serve!

By day, Jennifer Steinhauer, aka Jenny, covers Congress for The New York Times. By night, she is an obsessive cook.