My friend Vonda is celebrating a milestone birthday this week. A few friends and I spent an afternoon with her. One of the gifts she received was a little cookbook from 1978 titled THE FABULOUS EGG COOKBOOK. It was filled with interesting facts about eggs along with recipes. One recipe was most unusual to me; I had never heard of preparing scrambled eggs in a double boiler. I copied it so I could share it here.
Spending time with Vonda was great! She asked me if I remembered the night long ago when she gave me a ride on her horse! I certainly did remember that night!
I was a young teenager; Vonda took me for a ride on her big black horse. That doesn’t sound so unusual, but it was a pitch-black night, we were in the country, and we were riding bareback! Vonda was a seasoned horse rider; in fact, she broke wild horses. She wasn’t afraid of anything. Then there was me! Even though I loved horses, I had only ridden in a saddle and at a safe pace.
Well, that particular night I climbed up behind Vonda on top of that big horse. We sauntered down the lane but as soon as we turned onto that country road, Vonda loosened the reins and with her heels in the horse’s flanks yelled, “Come on boy, let’s go!”. I was in for the ride of my life! That horse took off galloping up that dark country road (I swear) at least 100 mph! Down the road, clippety-clop, clippety clop as the horse's hooves thundered over a wood plank bridge and into the dark abyss! Vonda called to me, “Hang on Cleo!” Believe me, I did! I hung on to Vonda and clamped my knees around that big horse’s belly. Maybe I begged Vonda to slow down, I don’t recall…. But finally, she did turn the horse around and we headed back to the farm. I’ll never forget that ride! Vonda still has horses, and she displays pictures of her horses throughout her home. It was wonderful to spend time with an old friend. Well, here is that recipe - fool proof - just like old friends!
FOOL PROOF SCRAMBLED EGGS (Serves 4)
Your eggs won’t turn out too dry and broken apart and they can be kept well up to an hour.
8 eggs ½ tsp salt ½ cup milk ¼ cup melted butter – cooled to room temperature.
· Beat the eggs in a large earthenware bowl (avoid using plastic bowl – plastic discourages the fluffy beating of eggs).
· Beat eggs at a low speed for one minute or until thoroughly mixed.
· Add salt & milk and continue to beat. While still beating, add the melted, cooled butter a little at a time.
· Prepare double boiler top by lightly buttering the bottom and sides then placing over just barely simmering water. Poor the egg mixture in and allow to cook at low temperature for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, turn the congealed portion of the eggs to the middle of the pan, cover and continue to cook for 5 minutes longer (or until all the eggs are in a large, congealed piece.
Serve on a heated platter.
NOTE: This is a good way to scramble eggs for a crowd if you have a large double boiler and double the recipe. The eggs stay tender and have a wonderful flavor. The eggs can also be kept warm over hot water without losing any eye or taste appeal.
Vonda... always smiling!