Every morning I make coffee and bring it to my wife while she’s in bed. And many mornings I also make breakfast. Most of those mornings, I make this classic. You can too, and we can look at the signifigance of eggs in cooking together.

Meg’s Favorite

This dish is as simple as it gets: a slice of bread, an egg, some butter, and a hot nonstick pan (with a lid). You just need something to cut the hole in the bread, and a spatula. Heat the pan over medium low heat and melt some of the butter (about 1 tbsp) until foamy. While it’s melting, cut out the hole using the lid of a mason jar and knife, or a biscuit cutter, and when the pan is ready, put but the hole and the slice into the buttery goodness, about 1 minute (maybe a little longer if its the first one) until golden brown. Flip sides, crack the egg on a hard flat surface and then drop the egg into the hole. Add a little more butter and cover until the egg looks about set; remove the hole from the pan and gently flip the slice and egg over for 10-15 seconds to let the top of the egg set. The whole dish takes about 3-4 minutes total, so you won’t have a chance to leave it to its own devices. Plate and serve, and watch with glee the look on your guest’s face as they get all of that buttery, yolky goodness to mop up.

Why write about this dish, and why eggs more generally?

Eggs are the measure of chefs. To do them well, consistently, means to be great at consistency. Because let’s be real here: it’s not about 1 dish served once, it’s about the same dish served thousands of times. To repeat a feat is more difficult than to simply perform a feat. In cooking, as in life, there’s glory in the one-off; but there’s true excellence in the mundane.

Eggs are versatile, cheap, nutritious, and flavorful. Whether the star of a dish or a supporting actor, eggs make so many meals. They are humbling, however in how quickly they can turn from sublime to shitty.

Here are some of the most common errors in preparing eggs:

Surface: You could make your eggs on a car hood, provided it’s well lubricated. I generally use a non-stick pan, preheated with a spritz of extra virgin olive oil and then what looks like a generous amount of butter. You do not want your eggs sticking to anything, ever, especially not a hot cooking surface. Err on the side of more lipid than less.

Heat: Err on less heat than more. For most egg recipies, medium or medium low settings. This might feel like its taking a lot longer at first but you won’t miss the time when you’re savoring them later. If you’re frying eggs, a little higher heat can help crisp up the edges. The best trick is to actually cover the pan with a see through lid: the steam helps set the white with out overcooking the yolk and allows you to use higher heat to crisp up the edge.

Size: use large size eggs unless otherwise directed. For serving sizes, plan on 2 whole eggs per person unless specified. For big boys (fit males over 220 lbs/100kg, or adolescent males 13-25), 3 is a good place to start.

Consistency: generally you’re looking for soft, creamy textures with eggs, especially with French omelettes and scrambled eggs. Small curds are the result of a lot of scrambling and movement. The notable exceptions are fried eggs (where you’re trying to crisp the edge), poached eggs (unique texture), and American omelettes, where you do want a firmer texture to hold the heartier ingredients.

Color: generally, we want a very pale yellow with no browning. Color means you were too impatient or undisciplined with your timing.

Eggs require good skills and kitchen discipline when you’re at your worst: bleary eyed, barely awake, and hungry. One thing I love about cooking is that its less about being consistently great than it is about being great at consistency. Eggs are the perfect, delicious, practice tool to improve your ability to do the same thing over and over and over again on your path to excellence.