Aside from receiving gifts, seeing family, and gorging myself on lavish dinners, one of my favorite things about the holiday season are the family and friends who crash at my apartment, giving me an excuse to make big, hearty breakfasts. My sister’s speciality is pancakes. Mine is eggs, scrambled eggs to be specific. Too often when I think of scrambled eggs I imagine hard, dense, cake-like mounds of dry, overcooked eggs served in some type of buffet warmer. I’m not sure why. It must be all those summer camp and college cafeteria breakfasts. They were enough to make me a devoted sunny-side up girl until I began making eggs myself. Now the only time I eat scrambled eggs is in my own home. That might sound obnoxious, but I’ve just had too many badly scrambled eggs to trust others. OKAY. Maybe these aren’t the “best,” but they’re pretty damn good.
Much more important than the ingredients are the technique and timing. So here’s my recipe for the fluffiest, cheesiest, most delicious scrambled eggs.
Cheesy Scrambled Eggs
Serves 4.
8 large eggs or 7 extra large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk or heavy cream
1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed in palm
2 tsp. garlic powder
1-2 pinches red chili flakes
3 tb. unsalted butter
2 big pinches salt
1/2 cup American cheese/cheddar cheese/monterey jack/goat cheese, diced/grated/crumbled
2 tsp. chives, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
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Take the butter out of the fridge to allow it to soften.
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Crack eggs into a large mixing bowl and begin whisking them. Add milk, salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried oregano, and chili flakes and whisk until everything is thoroughly mixed. Add most of the cheese (reserve a small palmful) and gently mix the eggs until the cheese is well distributed.
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Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add the butter to the pan. After about 5 minutes all the butter should be melted and slightly foamy and the pan should be ready. Test the heat by dribbling a droplet of the egg mixture into the pan. The egg should turn opaque upon contact and cook in literally 2 seconds.
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Lower the heat to a medium-low heat. Pour the egg-cheese mixture into the pan and immediately begin stirring the eggs in the pan in a circular motion with a rubber or wooden spatula (so you don’t scratch up your pan as you scrape the bottom). Make sure, as you stir, that you stir up any egg that cooks and sticks on the sides or on the bottom of the pan. Keep everything moving slowly, gently, and steadily.
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After about 4 minutes (the cooking process is very, very quick), the eggs should look just a smidgen under cooked. At this point, turn off the heat, but continue stirring. The eggs will continue to cook some more.
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Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of the eggs. Garnish with the chives.
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Serve with toast, sausage, bacon, and juice!
You can easily change things up and make a million variations on this basic recipe. Add fresh herbs like parsley and dill to the egg mixture or fresh chopped tomatoes at the end. I”ve also added crumbled bacon or chopped breakfast sausage into the raw egg mixture.
