Lazy Sunday - a vacation breakfast

I decided to try out Thomas Keller's method for poaching eggs because I was feeling very patient.


Only partly serious - it turned out to be straightforward and do-able.

I started by filling a medium-sized saucepan with water and brought it to a boil. Once boiling I added two tablespoons of vinegar, as per Mr. Keller's instructions. I brought the water down to a simmer, prepared an ice bath (oh! the excitement for what that will be used for . . .), cracked an egg into a little cup and was ready to poach.

I swirled the water with a wooden spoon (this appears to be the wooden spoon's only role in the egg-poaching process - I was a good recipe-follower and DID NOT use the metal slotted spoon to stir the water, god knows what would have happened) twice (no more. Once again, who knows the catastrophic results if one were to swirl thrice). With the water swirling I gently slid my egg into the water and let it cook for 1 1/2 minutes (sometimes 2 minutes, as needed). Then I gingerly lifted my little egg out of the water and slid it into an ice bath and left them there until they were ready to serve. My only problem with the ice bath is my eggs were a little cold, I'm sure this could be remedied by taking them out of the ice bath and letting them come back up to room temperature. My final qualm (trust me) with poaching is that I find the eggs sometimes retain secret hidden pockets of water that ooze out just when you think you've dried them completely and can safely break the yolk. All in all the eggs were cooked quite nicely, I will just have to work on the temperature and more complete drying. I'll get there.

I served 'em up with some crispy bacon and arugula tossed with olive oil and sea salt.

7.3.10 (cont'd)

The Keller Garden

7.3.10

My first Thomas Keller meal - and I have nothing but savory remembrances. After a day of wine tasting and absorbing as much of the 90+ degree heat as possible, we made our way to Ad Hoc, Keller's establishment offering a four-course, $48 prix-fixe menu.

As our first course we were presented with a very straightforward salad with a melange of squash and endive accompanied by little sugar-bomb tomatoes. It was laid atop a luscious lemon cream dressing.

The salad was fresh and the vegetables were just cooked - celebrating them at the height of the season. For the main course, I had the pleasure of eating the most tender veal ever known. It was served in a cast iron pan alongside sous vide purple potatoes (finished under the broiler with a generous pat of butter), turnips (from the French Laundry's own garden), and morel mushrooms (oozing earthiness). and snagged bar seats at Keller's restaurant offering a four-course, $48 prix-fixe menu.

A delicious companion to the cheese (capra valtellina, an aged goat cheese) - local apricots with toasted almonds and a fig agrodolce. Everything worked together beautifully and when all taken in one bite it was exquisite. To close the meal we had a chocolate cake (imagine a moist dense instensely flavorful brownie) with a small piece of salted almond brittle and coconut ice cream (which we learned was made by the pastry chef who, for lack of an ice cream machine at the restaurant, had to run back and forth to Bouchon - Keller's bakery down the street - to make the dessert).