Egg: The starting point.
Basic Techniques:
- Boiling:
- Hard-boiled Egg | Ingredients: Egg, water. A staple in many diets, often featured in the protein-packed breakfasts of fictional detectives.
- Soft-boiled Egg | Ingredients: Egg, water. Famously enjoyed by the character Jeeves in P.G. Wodehouse's stories as part of an impeccable breakfast.
- Poached Egg | Ingredients: Egg, water, vinegar (optional). Central to Eggs Benedict, which was purportedly invented at Delmonico's in New York in the 1860s when a patron complained of a hangover.
- Frying:
- Fried Egg | Ingredients: Egg, oil or butter. Featured in the iconic breakfast scene in "Moonstruck" where Cher's character cooks them with red peppers.
- Sunny Side Up | Ingredients: Egg, oil or butter. A sunny delight often depicted in cheerful morning scenes across cinema and television.
- Baking:
- Baked Egg | Ingredients: Egg, cream, butter, seasoning. Also known as 'shirred eggs,' this dish became popular in 19th-century France.
Advanced Techniques:
- Deviled Eggs | Ingredients: Eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, paprika. Known to have been part of ancient Roman feasts; the term "deviled" refers to the spicy quality of the seasoning.
- Egg on Toast | Ingredients: Egg, bread, butter. A quick fix beloved worldwide, making its pop culture mark in films like "V for Vendetta."
- Scrambled Eggs | Ingredients: Eggs, butter or oil, milk (optional), salt, pepper. A favourite of Ian Fleming's James Bond, often described in the novels with loving detail.
- Simple Omelette | Ingredients: Eggs, butter or oil, salt, pepper. The base for countless variations, the omelette has origins that trace back to ancient Persia.
- Eggs Benedict | Ingredients: Eggs, English muffin, Canadian bacon, hollandaise sauce. Besides its origin story at Delmonico's, it's a brunch staple in countless films and TV shows.
Gourmet Dishes:
- Frittata | Ingredients: Eggs, various fillings (vegetables, meats, cheeses), seasoning. Essentially an Italian version of an omelette, known for being open-faced and enriched with additional ingredients like vegetables and meats.
- Western Omelette | Ingredients: Eggs, bell peppers, onions, ham, oil or butter. A hearty American version containing bell peppers, onions, and ham, also known as a 'Denver omelette.'
- Florentine Benedict | Ingredients: Eggs, English muffin, spinach, hollandaise sauce. A variation of Eggs Benedict that includes spinach, aligning with the health trends in modern culinary scenes.
Egg-Adjacent Dishes:
- French Toast | Ingredients: Eggs, bread, milk, cinnamon, sugar, butter. Made by soaking bread in a mixture of beaten eggs, milk, and spices, then fried to perfection. A delightful way to transform stale bread, often featured in cozy breakfast scenes in literature and film.
- Pancakes | Ingredients: Eggs, flour, milk, baking powder, sugar, butter. A mixture of eggs, flour, and milk, cooked on a griddle to create soft, fluffy discs that are a canvas for a variety of toppings. Pancakes have been a breakfast staple around the world and are especially popular in American diners.