Oeufs brouillés - PUBLISHED

Scrambled Eggs from Monet's Table by Claire Joyes, p. 116

1 - Made this to great acclaim as a 'light' hot summer evening's meal. I used some old frozen chanterelles I'd forgotten in our freezer. I often find in the recipes from this book that there's some important detail missing. It just so happened that I was also looking at egg recipes in Anne Willan's Country Cooking of France, an author whose recipes I also find miss important details. In this instance, the two complimented each other famously. Fried croutons instead of dry croutons are the perfect accompaniment to the eggs - I doubt this first test would have elicited such enthusiasm, otherwise.
2 - I made this again but with only tarragon, again to ooohs and aaahs.
3 - I used dry tarragon this time, still to positive effect. I will alter the instructions slightly to underline the importance of a cool pan - I poured in the eggs when the pan was still too hot and it started to cook too quickly even before I could put in the first pat of butter.

1 cup croutons
2 slices of crusty bread (about 1 cup)
2 Tbsps butter
8 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
More butter, 1/4 to 1/2 cup, cubed
OPTIONS
2 Tbsps minced fresh herb OR
2 Tbsps minced truffles OR
1/2 cup chanterelle OR morel OR oyster mushrooms sautéed in butter for about 10 minutes WHICH YOU MUST DO FIRST (read instructions)

1. Cube the bread to make croutons.
2. Over medium heat melt the 2 Tbsps of butter in a small pan (level of butter should be 1/4 inch) and allow it to heat up completely so that when a cube of bread is put in, it will quietly sizzle.
3. Add the bread cubes and fry, stirring constantly so they brown evenly, about 30 seconds to 1 minutes. 
4. Burns easily!
5. Strain off the extra fat. 
6. With a slotted spoon remove the croutons and divide croutons between two plates.
7. If using mushrooms, use the remaining butter to cook them and set them aside.
8. Bring the water to boil in a bain-marie (NOTE the secret is not the bain-marie but to cook the eggs very slowly, therefore 
9. NOTE: A bain-marie is the usual way of preparing this dish, but a fry pan can be used - it should take about 5 minutes until the eggs just begin to thicken. If using the fry pan, it is VERY IMPORTANT that it be cool before putting in the eggs - if the pan is too hot, the eggs will start to scramble before you can incorporate the butter and it will not be as creamy.
10. Break the eggs into a bowl, and carefully remove the threads of the whites without mixing the eggs too much. Add the salt and pepper and beat lightly, as for an omelet. NOTE the mixture must not foam.
11. Grease the insert for the bain-marie with the first cube of the second batch of butter before pouring in the eggs (or, if using, a cool fry pan which can be the fry pan you've used before but cooled enough to touch). Beat the eggs well with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken.
12. Now add the remaining cubes of butter, beating constantly after each addition. When the eggs are on the point of setting, you may add your optional ingredient.
13. As soon as the mixture becomes grainy, remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the contents over the croutons and serve.