Creamed Eggs on Toast

I don’t remember when I first made creamed eggs on toast, but it was probably when we still living in Kentucky. We had bought Beard on Bread shortly after it was published in 1973, and the book got me interested in James Beard. He loved tarragon and, as I have mentioned elsewhere, he once said that “tarragon is the best friend a chicken ever had.”

I am sure that comment prompted me to try adding tarragon to béchemel sauce for creamed eggs. If tarragon was good for chicken, as I knew it was, it should be good for eggs too. And it is.

Béchemel sauce is one of the “mother” sauces in French cooking. Don’t let the name scare you. In English we call it a white sauce, and it’s a “mother” because it has many children, depending on what is added to it. For instance, many cream soups owe their velvety texture to a thin béchemel sauce. A medium sauce with Swiss cheese becomes sauce Mornay , and soufflés begin life as a thick béchemel sauce.

For creamed eggs, you make a medium white sauce flavored with tarragon, pepper, nutmeg and hot sauce. It is simple and delicious for breakfast or even a light lunch or supper.

INGREDIENTS:

4 large eggs
4 T butter
4 T all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. tarragon
1/4 tsp. white pepper
Dash of ground nutmeg
A few drops of hot sauce
2 cups milk plus a little more if needed
Toast

PROCEDURE:

Cover four large eggs with cold water in a saucepan. Boil the eggs for four minutes. Cover the pan, turn off the heat and allow the eggs to finish cooking in the hot water for eight minutes. Drain the hot water off the eggs and chill them in ice water for a minute. Peel the eggs and set them aside.

While you are peeling the eggs, melt the butter over low heat in a one and a half or two quart saucepan. Using a wooden spoon, stir the flour into the butter to make a smooth paste, which is called a roux. Add the salt, tarragon, pepper and nutmeg and continue cooking the roux for about four minutes, being careful not to brown it. The tarragon will color the roux an unappetizing gray-green, but don’t worry, everything will be okay.

While the flour is cooking heat the milk to steaming, either in a pan on the range or in your microwave. Stir the milk into the roux with a whisk or fork until you have a creamy white sauce. If it seems a little too thick, add a little more milk. Cook the sauce for five minutes.

Slice or chop the eggs and stir them into the sauce. Add a few drops of hot sauce, taste and adjust the seasoning.

Serve over toast.

NOTES: This recipe makes four generous servings.

Don’t even think of using oleo to make a roux. The sauce is better with whole milk, but one or two percent milk is okay. I have never tried skim milk.

Instead of peeling the eggs whole as for making deviled eggs, I often just cut the eggs in half and pop the egg out of the shell with a table knife. Just be careful not to include too much shell when you add the eggs to the sauce.

 Sally’s Hot Chicken Dip

My sister Barbara has been cooking almost as long as I have, and she knows a good dish when she tastes something. That’s how she got this recipe for a hot chicken dip from the beautician who has been styling her hair for many years. Sally, whose shop is near Seeley, Wisconsin, offered Barb some hot dip and crackers one cold winter day and then shared the recipe when Barb begged for it.

Sally told her that she got the recipe from a former co-worker years ago who had obtained it from a chef. If you like chicken and cheese, you will probably like this simple way to whip up a tasty appetizer in just a few minutes.

INGREDIENTS:

1 twelve oz. can cooked chicken chunks
1 four oz. can of diced green chilies
1 eight oz. package of cream cheese
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
 
PROCEDURE:

Drain the can of chicken and use a fork to shred the chicken into a microwavable mixing bowl. Cut the cream cheese into chunks about a half inch on a side. Combine the ingredients in the bowl, cover lightly and microwave on high for a minute. Stir and microwave for another minute. Continue alternately heating and stirring until the cheeses are melted and the dip is steaming.

Taste and add a dash or two of hot sauce if you wish.

Serve hot with tortilla chips or crackers. This recipe will serve ten to twelve people.

NOTES: The flavor will change with the kind of cheddar you use, so experiment with mild, medium and sharp to find the one you think works best for you.

Sally says any store brand chicken will do. Or if you want to go fresh, use a chicken breast poached in bouillon.

If you want to add a little color to the dish, reserve three or four tablespoons of the cheddar cheese to sprinkle on top of the dip before setting the serving dish before your guests. However, if you are like my sister or me, simply stir in all the cheese before heating. If anyone comments that it looks a little white, just explain that it is an old Scandinavian recipe.