RCP for Otto: Consomme de Huevos al Jerez

[Jenise]

I don't care for eggs, but my husband who loves eggs and sherry went wild for this simple soup (from Jackie Passmore's The Complete Spanish Cookbook), and this struck me as a dish an egg and sherry loving bachelor like Otto might cook up some night.

Consomme with Poached Eggs and Sherry (serves four)

4 small eggs
2 tsp white vinegar
4 cups rich veal or canned consomme
salt and pepper
2 tsp finely chopped parsley
2 ounces (1/4 c) Amontillado sherry

Separately poach the eggs in gently simmering water acidulated with the vinegar. Place one in each bowl. Bring the stock just to a boil and season to taste. Pour over the eggs, add the parsley and sherry immediately before serving.

That's the recipe: I added some fresh croutons pan toasted in a bit of EVOO.

Thanks Jenise! Alas, it does seem like I'm a bachelor once again. What is canned consomme? Did you use Amontillado in the dish when you made it? I'm tempted to try, but all the Amontillados available here are too good (and too expensive) to use in cooking, so I'd love to know if it works with cheap Fino or Manzanilla! Did you drink it with the same Amontillado used in cooking?

-Otto-

[Jenise]

Otto, sorry to hear you're sleeping alone again.

As for what quality to cook with, it's one thing to throw some cheap old sherry in a stew, and it's quite another when you're using the sherry as a finishing condiment as you are in this case. You'd want to use a sherry as good as any you would drink here, and the quantity's not much. For one serving, about a tablespoon.

Consomme is essentially beef broth. Oh wait--are you vegetarian? I remember the lactose intolerance, but not sure about the rest.

Consomme is essentially beef broth. Oh wait--are you vegetarian? I remember the lactose intolerance, but not sure about the rest.

Ah, I see! Thanks. I've always used the word stock, so I was thinking it might be something different. I am omnivorous, so I'll try it out soon. But perhaps with a Palo Cortado.

-O-