poacher.

My new second-favorite incarnation of the egg: poached. I love my eggs over-easy, and there are no egg dishes in the same league as those with slightly-crispy edges of egg white cooked in a little salted butter. So that's why poached eggs are only my second-favorite. But that still makes them my approximately fourth favorite food in the world, so they have nothing to cry over.

Poached Eggs

Equipment: small bowl or measuring cup, slotted spoon or spatula, plate, paper towel

Eggs (as many as you want)
A pot of water
A glug of white vinegar (maybe a tablespoon or two)
Salt and pepper. And chewy whole wheat toast, if you're worth anything.

Bring your pot of water to a very gentle boil, then turn down the heat. You don't want you water active, but you do want bubbles to form at the bottom and occasionally escape to the surface. It may take a minute or two of tweaking to reach this balance.

Break an egg into your small bowl or measuring cup. Using the handle of your spoon/spatula, swirl the water in the pot to achieve a whirlpool effect. As soon as you pull the handle out of the water, gently slip the egg into the center of the whirlpool. Some of the white will feather off and possibly detatch from the egg; that's okay. The whirlpool effect helps hold the egg together, and the vinegar sets the egg white quickly.

Let the egg cook for approximately 3 minutes. If it sticks to the bottom of the pot, gently dislodge it with your spoon/spatula. Remove it to your paper-towel-lined plate, then repeat with remaining eggs.

Then devour them.

Poached eggs keep well in the fridge in water; just slip them into barely-simmering water for a minute to reheat.

And if you're REALLY good, you can do several whirlpools in the same big pot and cook several eggs at once. I was too chicken to try.