TO POACH EGGS
Drop the eggs into water just off the boiling-point. Let them cook slowly until the whites are like jelly, but not until hard. Muffin-rings may be used to keep them in good shape.
TO POACH EGGS IN FRENCH STYLE
Use a large saucepan and have it two thirds full of water. Add a tablespoonful of vinegar. When the water boils stir it with the handle of a wooden spoon until it whirls, then drop quickly a fresh egg into the depression or eddy of the whirling water. This will give the egg a rounded shape. When the white is set and before the yolk has hardened, remove the egg with a skimmer and place it on a dish to drain. Only one egg at a time can be cooked in this way. Trim the eggs carefully, cutting away all the ragged white.
TO SCRAMBLE EGGS
Add a tablespoonful of milk, a saltspoonful of salt, and a dash of pepper for every two eggs. Beat them just enough to break them, but not enough to make them smooth or frothy. Put a tablespoonful of butter into a sauté-pan, and when it bubbles turn in the eggs. With a fork scrape the cooked eggs from the bottom of the pan, giving flakes of cooked egg. If the butter is not allowed to brown, the eggs will have a clean, bright yellow color.
PLAIN FRENCH OMELET
Add a tablespoonful of milk, a half teaspoonful of salt, and a dash of pepper to three or four eggs. Beat them just enough to break them. Put a tablespoonful of butter into a clean, smooth sauté-pan. When the butter bubbles turn in the eggs. When the eggs are a little set on the bottom, tip the pan a little towards the handle, and with a fork stir the mixture on the handle half of the pan, lifting the cooked portion off the bottom in large flakes. When the mixture is all cooked, but still soft, pile the scrambled part on to the smooth half, making it high in the center. Turn the omelet on to a hot dish. This should give a smooth outside surface of egg, covering the softer inside portion, which is scrambled in large flakes. It is not well to make an omelet of more than three or four eggs. If more is needed, make a second omelet.
BEATEN OMELET
Beat the whites of three or four eggs to a stiff froth. Add to the yolks a half teaspoonful of salt, a dash of pepper, and a tablespoonful of milk. Beat them well together, then fold in lightly the whipped whites. Put a teaspoonful of butter in a sauté-pan and let it run all over the bottom. When it bubbles turn in the egg mixture and spread it evenly over the pan. Let it cook slowly without stirring until it seems cooked through, then place it in the oven for a few minutes to harden the top surface. Fold one half over the other and turn the omelet on to a hot dish.