Book of Days Tales

Today is the birthday (1900) of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (officially: Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint Exupéry), a French aristocrat, writer, poet, and pioneering aviator, best remembered for his novella The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince), and also for his lyrical aviation writings, including Wind, Sand and Stars and Night Flight.

The rose in The Little Prince was likely inspired by Saint-Exupéry’s Salvadoran wife, Consuelo with the prince’s small home planet being inspired by her home country, El Salvador, also known as “The Land of Volcanoes.” Saint-Exupery devoted himself to writing The Little Prince during late night shifts, in his home on Long Island, usually starting at about 11 p.m., and fueled by quantities of scrambled eggs on English muffins, gin and tonics, Coca-Colas, black coffee, and cigarettes. Sounds good, even though I write in the morning hours (usually 3 am to 7 am), and drink more Coca-cola than gin and tonic. I have been a devotee of scrambled eggs all of my life. Plain scrambled eggs, rather moist, with a little salt and pepper, are still my favorite but, as with the classic omelet, you can add whatever you want – mushrooms, ham, herbs, and so forth, if you wish.

Scrambled Eggs

My mother made scrambled eggs in a saucepan, as do many English cooks, but I prefer the U.S. method of using a skillet. Mine is heavy cast iron, seasoned and made non-stick by decades of constant use. Sticking is the biggest single problem with scrambled eggs, and saucepans exacerbate the problem because the cooked eggs stick in the bottom corners. This recipe is for one person because I like to cook scrambled eggs to order, rather than making batches.  Do not add milk or cream or any other dilutions of the eggs. 

Ingredients

2 eggs, beaten

1 tbsp butter

salt and pepper

Instructions

Heat the skillet over a medium-low flame, then add the butter. Melt the butter, swirl it around to coat the pan, and, before it is sizzling, add the eggs. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let the eggs cook slightly, then begin tossing them with a spatula, making sure they do not stick. Alternate between tossing the eggs and letting them cook undisturbed. Be really vigilant throughout the cooking process. The eggs can overcook before you know it if you are not paying attention. When they have stiffened enough so that they cohere, but before they are dry, remove them from the heat, separate into chunks with a spatula, and serve immediately. They should be moist and can even be slightly runny (not too much) because they will continue to cook after they have been taken from the heat.

Serves 1

To honor Saint-Exupéry serve the eggs on buttered, toasted English muffins with a cup of coffee (or gin and tonic, if you prefer). I’m more of a Coca-Cola fan myself. Remember, scrambled eggs are not just for breakfast. I like to heap freshly ground black pepper on the eggs when I am about to eat, but that’s me.