Let me tell you about scrambled eggs; they’re one of those easy-to-learn, hard-to-master things.

I’ve been making scrambled eggs for years; like most people, I mostly used a bit of water or milk to dilute them so they’d scramble better, beat ’em with a fork (later with a whisk when I got a little classier), then cooked them on medium. They’d come out OK, they’re edible, whatever. Bachelor cooking, y’know; most people can figure out how to make them.

So last February Claire and I went on a vacation to the Catskills. We stayed at a really nice place, the Alpine Osteria near Belleayre Mountain in upstate New York. We just wanted the hygge trip, you know, roaring fireplace/après-ski kind of deal without the actual skiing part (we’re both kind of risk averse). Being late risers on vacation, we usually are the last ones to have breakfast, so it was just us and Scott Fawaz, the owner (and Culinary Institute of America chef). Claire remarked that the scrambled eggs were the best she’d ever had, within Scott’s hearing, and he kindly took the time to explain his process.

1. Don’t add anything to them, just use elbow grease and a whisk to get them smooth.

2. Cook them on the lowest heat your stove can put out.

3. Just stir them once and leave them alone.

He explained that the same principles apply to this as to most cooking; the longer heat is applied, the more connective tissue dissolves and the more tender what you’re cooking turns out. This is the principle behind crock pots, stews, and barbecue.

We tried it when we got home, and with a little tweaking for our gear (we have to move them around a bit more to heat evenly), turned out great and got the Claire seal of approval. Now we make our scrambled eggs this way every Sunday!