No matter how confident the home cook, there's still an occasional need to call your mother for advice. As I prepared for Clotilde's dinner party, I looked at the instructions for the one dish that didn't get a trial run and called my mom for help. Lest there's any doubt that we're related, I offer this exchange.
"Hi, mom. I'm confused about something in a recipe, and I want to ask you about it."
"Sure, honey, what's up?"
"I'm making a variant of the 'custard in an eggshell' recipe from The French Laundry Cookbook, and it says that you immerse the egg carton in water. Is that what you do when you make it?"
"Yes; it works perfectly."
"The box doesn't break down?"
"I've never had a problem with it."
pause
"You should have told me you were making this dish; you could've just taken some of the eggshells I clean and keep around for when I make it."
