Awhile back--maybe a year ago--Sweet Husband went on a quest to learn to properly poach eggs. Through trial and error, he found the best method was to crack the eggs into coffee cups and slowly lower them into simmering vinegar-water. The coffee cup and the vinegar together take care of one of the biggest problems in poaching eggs--the whites separate into a tentacle-y creature, instead of forming a nice, round pocket.
That has been the established method of egg poaching in our house, until last weekend.
I was reading Julia's Kitchen Wisdom--which is like the cliff notes version of Mastering the Art--when I came upon a trick Sweet Husband had not discovered in his research.
Using a push pin, punch a hole in the bottom of the egg's shell. Then gently boil the egg (with the shell still on) for ten seconds. Using tongs, pull the eggs from the water, then carefully crack the egg back into the water and poach as normal. That little ten second dip is just enough to keep the egg in its shape. (And you can use your coffee cups for coffee!)
