Chefs aspiring to become CIA Instructors are often tested on a variety of egg dishes. Omelettes and poached eggs are a little tricky unless you are using your own pan and have practiced and practiced and practiced!
Scrambled eggs are more civilized; Escoffier writes about scrambling eggs with a clove of garlic stuck on the end of a paring knife-I do this sometimes for the amazing flavor...
Try flavoring scrambled eggs with shredded cheese, shaved truffles, smoked ham, veggies or herbs, scrambled eggs with buttered toast is the perfect comfort food.
Scrambled Eggs with Buttered Toast
Scrambled eggs are a simple but revealing test of a cook’s skill. This delicious breakfast is a classic yet the difference between merely acceptable and exceptional scrambled eggs comes down to technique and attention.
Some people prefer runny eggs while others prefer very dry eggs, so it's very important to prepare the eggs 'a la minute' and serve hot! (and ask your customer how they like their eggs...)
Proper whisking, the correct pan and controlled heat to melt the butter and scramble the eggs transform simple eggs into a creamy, tender, custard-like dish that sets the tone for the morning.
Scrambled Eggs
Prep Time: 5 min
Cooking Time: 15 min
Yield: 2 portions
Ingredients
4 ea Eggs
2 Tbsp Milk or Cream (or water)
1 Tbsp Butter or Oil
4 Tbsp optional: Cheddar, shredded
tt Salt & Pepper
How to Scramble Eggs
Step 1
Crack one egg at a time in a small bowl (in case a piece of shell gets in the egg, it's easier to pick it out). I like to hold the egg the long way and simply tap it on the counter (on the side of the egg); then crack in half.
Whisk the eggs with a fork until fluffy-about 4 minutes.
Add the water, milk or cream. Whisk the eggs with a fork or whisk lightly so that the eggs and cream are homogeneous. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 2
Add the butter or oil to a warm pan to heat. The pan should be low heat-teflon is good for scrambling eggs.
Step 3
Add the egg mixture and begin to gently move the eggs around the pan, sides also. You'll begin to see lumps.
If you like smaller lumps, stir more-less stirring gives you larger lumps.
You don't want any browning so monitor the heat and be sure to keep moving the eggs around. The eggs will be scrambled in 2-3 minutes and ready to enjoy.
You can add cheese, cooked vegetables, herbs at the beginning but I like to add at this point to heat them up but not overcook the garnish.
If you like the eggs wet, serve when there is a little uncooked egg still in the pan, the eggs will carry over.
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 3 Cooking Pork Spare Ribs
Years ago I traveled around the south for a few weeks researching some of the amazing foods of each region. In Charleston, I was introduced to a local pig farmer, Tank Jackson who manages Holy City Hogs. Tank and his wife raise heritage breed pigs and distribute the pigs around the country. He offers on-site cooking whole pig roasts, primal cuts and sausages, and I believe he produces the best pork in the country.
Years ago, while working as a chef in a busy continental restaurant, we featured grilled, fresh swordfish on the menu—finished with a generous spoonful of herbed compound butter and capers. It was popular and delicious. One afternoon, a seafood purveyor stopped by with a sample of frozen swordfish steaks, fully thawed and ready for evaluation. Curious, we grilled it side by side with the “fresh” swordfish we had been serving—fish we believed to be of high quality. The result was surprising. The frozen swordfish was superior—firmer, cleaner in flavor, and more consistent in texture. In contrast, our “fresh” fish, likely several days out of the water, lacked the same integrity. It was a defining moment and an important reminder: in many cases, properly handled and quickly frozen seafood can offer better quality than fish labeled as fresh. For chefs, understanding sourcing and handling is just as critical as technique—especially with a product as prized as swordfish.
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 2 Cooking Rice: creating socarrat—
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 1 The Biggest Mistake People Make When Cooking Scallops
The name "caponata" itself has a fascinating origin story. One popular theory suggests it derives from capone, the Sicilian word for mahi-mahi. Historically, wealthy Sicilian aristocrats enjoyed a sweet-and-sour fish dish. Because seafood was too expensive for the working class, local home cooks substituted fish with affordable, meaty eggplant. Over time, this creative peasant food evolved into the beloved antipasto we celebrate today, often rounded out with celery, olives, and capers.
From Talk to Action: A Chef’s Challenge for School Lunches
The legendary New York-style cheesecake was famously popularized by Lindy’s Restaurant , an iconic Theater District deli opened in 1921 by German-immigrant Leo "Lindy" Lindemann and his wife Clara . A NY-style cheesecake has a dense but velvety cream cheese base, citrus zest, and a distinct cookie-dough pastry crus t. For years, I took the bus into NYC to work in amazing restaurant kitchens. On one bus ride I met and became friends with a manager at the legendary Lindy’s Restaurant. One day, he did the ultimate honor: he shared the closely guarded, original cheesecake recipe with me. This new recipe is directly inspired by that legendary Lindy’s classic, capturing its iconic velvety richness and signature flavor profile, but re-engineered for a modern, protein-packed lifestyle. Why This Recipe Delivers High-protein swap : Cottage cheese provides a clean, protein-packed base that replaces heavy fats without sacrificing richness. Silky texture : Blending the batter thoroughly ensures a velvety smooth consistency that rivals any NY-style cake. Savory-approved : Simple, foolproof assembly that requires no pastry-chef precision to get a perfect bake every time.
One of the great pleasures of my career is spending time each year working as a Culinary Educator aboard a cruise ship alongside my wife. She teaches baking & pastry while I focus on savory cooking and culinary techniques. Our travels take us to fascinating ports around the world, providing opportunities to explore local markets and study regional cuisines. I have a particular affection for the Mediterranean and always make it a point to seek out local variations of pesto, one of the world's great culinary treasures. One evening aboard ship, the pasta station served rigatoni with a choice of pesto, marinara, or Alfredo sauce. The cook prepared each order by reheating the pasta in hot water and then finishing it briefly in a sauté pan with the selected sauce. I watched in disbelief as he prepared to heat the pesto exactly the same way. "Horror!" flashed through my mind. Pesto is not a cooked sauce. Heating it aggressively dulls the fresh basil aroma, darkens its vibrant color, and diminishes the delicate flavors of basil, garlic, pine nuts, and extra virgin olive oil that make pesto so special. I may have startled the cook when I quickly called out, "Please don't cook my pesto!" Instead, I asked him to simply toss the hot rigatoni with the pesto off the heat, allowing the warmth of the pasta to gently release the fragrance and flavor of the basil. The result was exactly as pesto was intended to be enjoyed—fresh, vibrant, aromatic, and unmistakably Mediterranean.
As chefs, we spend years mastering sauté work. I remember my early days working the sauté station for lunch in a French restaurant in NYC. We served over one hundred guests in an hour-and the food was excellent — a dozen hot pans on the flat top, stocks simmering, mise en place of freshly chopped herbs, minced shallots, butter for mounting into sauces à la minute. There is rhythm to good sauté cooking. You learn quickly that great sauté work is not about rushing — it is about organization and control .