Third Coast Chefs Crack A Few Eggs For Easter

Nest Eggs
For Some Chefs, Eggs AreAll They’re Cracked Up To Be
Eggs.  So basic and fundamental, they’re often overlooked as the main event on a menu.  But with Easter just around the corner and spring in the air, we asked the chefs of simoneink to focus on eggs for a moment, and the enthusiastic responses range from down-home to exotic, from simple to fancy, and from breakfast to …burgers!
 
Chip Flanagan: Ralph’s on the Park, chef de cuisine
I've been running a great frisée salad with a poached egg on top, lately, my take on the classic French bistro salad that is served with bacon lardons.  In my salad, I sous vide beef short ribs [to medium rare] and pork belly [fully cooked.]  The two meats are diced and then fried to order. The egg is sous vide in the shell.  The salad is plated, and the egg, shelled, is placed on top.  This dish showcases our sous vide techniques, but it's damn good, too.

David Guas: Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery, owner and chef
Eggs Sardou is something we had at home for Sunday dinner. My mother made it with Spinach Madeleine, which is a creamed spinach dish made with Kraft jalapeno cheese and a bit of cream cheese. Get a toasted English muffin, a layer of spinach Madeleine, followed by a poached egg, and liquid gold, Hollandaise.  For breakfast, I love deviled egg sandwiches, which is simply deviled egg filling on white bread.  That was a favorite childhood breakfast, and still one of my guilty pleasures.
 
Brian Katz:  Ralph Brennan’s Red Fish Grill, chef de cuisine
My favorite is an egg dish that we run on occasion as a special here at the restaurant: Jumbo Lump Crabmeat with a Slow Poached Egg, Frisée, Boudin croutons and a Champagne Dijon Vinaigrette.  I really enjoy the way this combination of flavors works -- the richness of the crabmeat is accented by the creaminess of the slow poached egg, and by the spiciness and crispy crunch of the boudin croutons.  The slight bite of the vinaigrette-dressed frisée adds a nice counter punch to the richness.

Baruch Rabasa: Mesón 923, executive chef
My favorite egg dish is Huevos Rancheros.  It consists of sunny side up eggs, a fried tortilla, tomatillo salsa, refried black beans, queso fresco and crema. It's what we ate Sunday mornings when I was growing up in Mexico – a sentimental favorite, but I’d love it anyway, it’s that good.

Jeff Tunks: Acadiana, Ceiba, DC Coast, PassionFish, TenPenh, owner and chef
I am not usually a big fan of eggs, deviled being one of my least favorite things overall to eat.  That said, the best egg dish I had cannot be reproduced, because it was about the experience (much like the hotdog you eat at the World Series). In the Piedmont region of Italy, I went to enjoy white truffle season and did.. The combination of eggs and white truffle is incredible, and one that stands out was a lion's head white ceramic soup dish bubbling with a fontina cheese Fonduta with a fresh farm egg yolk baked inside. The waiter then sliced an obscene amount of white truffle on top, to the point that I was afraid to make eye contact with him.  I’ll admit it: THAT was an egg I liked – a lot.

Tucker Yoder: The Clifton Inn, executive chef
There are very few egg dishes I don’t like.  When we were growing kale at our house in Lexington, we used to sauté kale in bacon fat and serve it over sourdough English muffins with white cheddar, a fried local farm egg, and [of course] hot sauce.  It’s a very comforting dish.  Steak and eggs are another favorite.  You really can’t miss with pretty much any steak with soft scrambled eggs, fried eggs, or slow cooked eggs.


Eggs, the ancient symbol of spring and rebirth are versatile, delicious, a sentimental favorite – and, clearly, all they’re cracked up to be. 
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