Are Gordon Ramsay's Scrambled Eggs All That?

Years ago I went through a phase where I watched a lot of shows from the BBC. I came across this British chef called Gordon Ramsay and watching him just made me chuckle. Why? It was very evident he knew his stuff & it was his love of profanity. Yup, the guy swears more than a trucker / sailor / ticked off mama, his favorite word seemed to be the f-bomb. Heck, he even has a TV show called "The F Word." Once you get past the profanity, the content of what he was saying was spot on! If you're looking for truth, he's your man. Not the sugar-coated version of the truth that's prevalent across our society, the truth we say so we don't hurt someone's feelings, it's the very brutal, pointed truth that makes you cry. The kind of truth that once you get over being insulted, you realize you can actually learn something and improve yourself, kind of truth. Hard to come by these days. But I digress...

Chef Ramsay has become well-known state-side from shows like Hell's Kitchen & MasterChef. Yes, he swears, the network just bleeps it out. Lately my son and I have taken to watching MasterChef together. We discuss what the contestants are cooking, would we ever eat the food and of course, Chef Ramsay's profanity. My son, not unlike me, finds it amusing. Anyway, while we're watching, one of the challenges was to cook scrambled eggs a la Ramsay. I said, "I could do that" and he said, "I would eat that." Challenge accepted!

I had all the ingredients (eggs, butter, salt, pepper) except creme fraiche, which was easy to find. I normally use a frying pan, this time I used a pot. I normally scramble my eggs and add milk before applying heat, this time the butter and eggs went in the pot unscrambled. I usually use a whisk, I used a spatula. The biggest difference was moving the eggs on and off the burner. I accomplished that without dropping the whole darn pot on my foot. Win! At the end put in the salt, pepper and creme fraiche, then plated. Please keep in mind that it was 6:00 AM and I didn't add the fancy garnishes, like dill he suggested. I did manage to make cinnamon toast for my son.

Well, if you're looking for dry, hard scrambled eggs, these are NOT for you. They're absolutely not runny, but they are soft and creamy. Not what you usually find at diners. Verdict: Jacob liked them, but wished they weren't so soft. He said he liked mine better. Brownie points earned. I on the other hand loved them. They were light and creamy. Definitely a winner with me. We're going to try them again, I may use less butter or more eggs to try and get them a smidge firmer for the boy. If you're looking to wow your family and friends at brunch, this could do the trick.

Feel free to share and comment away. What's the best scrambled egg recipe you've every made?

Review: Wegmans Delivery Service - Loved It!

Hi Everyone! I haven't written anything in awhile. Call it busy, uninspired or both. But I found a topic that has my hands on the keyboard again, woohoo. I'll be reviewing Wegmans grocery delivery service. 

Honestly I was nervous to try it. Over a decade ago (yup, it's been a while) I lived in northern Virginia and routinely shopped at Giant (not to be confused with Giant Eagle). I liked the store (it was no Wegmans) and was tickled that they had a regular aisle for beer and wine (coming from PA, that was just unheard of at the time). They also had one of the first grocery delivery services I can think of called Peapod. I tried and it was atrocious. My fruits and veggies were mangled, my meat was open and my diary products were left out in the hot Virginia sun. Hello, who does that? Needless to say I was not ever going to pay for crap service and crap groceries again. When I saw Wegmans was offering a delivery service, I was really hesitant as that long ago traumatic experience came rushing back. But it's been a long time since 2000 and technology is much better. Plus, Wegmans has an awesome reputation, there is no way they'd put that at risk. So, I sat down on my laptop and tried it...

Some of you may be asking why I couldn't get up, off my butt, simply walk into the store and do my own shopping. What am I, lazy? If you choose to think that fine, be judgey OR you could choose this think of it as a smart choice. If you're like me you shop by walking up and down the aisles putting stuff in your cart. You may or may not have a list, you may or may not have your meals planned and you're always tempted by items you don't need (stores really know product placement). I routinely spent a lot more money than I should just grocery shopping, many items would go to waste. In addition, I spent less time shopping on-line than I did in the store. That's more time to cook, clean, watch TV or...what I really love to do...spend time with my son. I was done in 45 minutes and part of that was spent looking up recipes. There was no traveling to and from the store, no lines to stand in and no butt head shoppers leaving their carts in the middle of the aisle blocking traffic (excuse me can you move your cart jacka$$, there's other people on this planet, it's not just you).

Let me quickly take you through my experience. Wegmans uses an company called Instacart for this service. The icon can be found in the top, right corner of Wegmans home page.

Top Right: Instacart Icon

If you don't already have an account they will prompt you to create one, use Facebook or Google to log in. You can link your Wegmans store card and a credit card. You also set up communication preferences like whether you want to receive texts or not. Account set up was quick and easy. I was ready to shop. I thought finding things was going to be a pain in the butt, it wasn't. I did the majority of my shopping by typing in the product I was looking for, either the generic name (e.g. cheese) or the brand (e.g. Welch's). I had no problems finding my groceries. They have all the different brands they usually sell and their own Wegmans brand available as well. In addition, you can choose quantity or weight for applicable products. For most it's one click and it's in your cart. They also provide you with options to shop by Departments & by Coupons, which makes

 

it easy for whatever way you like to shop. They also tell you when your order can be delivered, 1 hr, 2 hr or you can select your delivery for when you'll be home. The one thing I would like to mention at this point is about product prices, they are a bit higher. Example, I usually get Oikos Triple Zero yogurt and pay $1.00 per cup in store. I paid $1.19 per cup with this service. Keep in mind they do tell you about this ahead of time, you are paying for convenience and because you are not filling your cart with extras, they still want to make money. I get it. It's not like they're a non-profit. They also did a good job explaining the 10% service fee, the delivery charge and you can add a tip for the driver if you choose. It shouldn't be a surprise when you check out.

Loaded my cart up with what I needed, not a lot of extraneous crap and began the check out process. Because I set up my account before checking out, this process was a breeze. But then again what company doesn't want the part where they take your money to be easy? Check out is very similar to Amazon & Walmart, if you've ordered from them, you can order from Wegmans. Very shortly after I submitted my order I received a text that said "Fred (actual name changed to protect the innocent) just started shopping! We'll notify you if there are any changes. Your perishables will be temperature controlled until delivery." Ok! So now I have the first name of the person who's packing my stuff and whose neck to wring if crap is delivered. We're off to a good start.

It was right around 7:00 PM when Fred started shopping. Delivery was scheduled between 8:00 PM & 9:00 PM so he didn't have to rush. But then again he may have also been shopping for other customers, I wonder how he keeps all the orders straight? As Fred continued shopping some changes had to be made. First I received a text that said the cost of my sea scallops was refunded. I clicked on the link provided in the text which took me to where I could approve the refund, found out they didn't have them available. Received another text saying that Fred needed to replace one product for another. Another link was provided where I approved the substitution. I could have asked for a different product or had them refund the cost. 20 minutes later received a text that my delivery was on the way and approximate arrival was 8:00 PM. Car pulls up before 8:00 PM and low and behold, it was Fred, the same dude who packed up my stuff delivered it as well. He brought the stuff to the door, smiled a lot, was professional and friendly.


Ok, the moment of truth, did they deliver crap? I warily opened my eggs...not a crack. I gingerly took my Roma tomatoes out of the bag...not a bruise. I continued unpacking and didn't find a single thing to complain about. Then I noticed my bananas were missing. The horror, my heart just sunk. I went and checked my order, my mistake, I never put the darn bananas in the cart, ugh!. Fred did a great job picking out some good stuff. I had fruit and veggies, meat and dairy, all of it was just want I ordered and in fantastic condition, definitely not the experience from a decade ago with that other service. It was overall a fantastic experience. So now the question becomes, will they be able to meet these high expectations when I use the service again? Time will tell.

My recommendation is to try it! First delivery is free and you may have even received $10 off in your email. Instacart does have a subscription service that I'm going to look at an determine my break-even point. If it makes sense, I'll subscribe to save additional money. If you do try it, be sure to let us know what you think. I can send you a $10 off coupon, just send me your email.

What I Liked:

~ No traffic, no lines, shopped from the comfort of my home

~ Saved money even after the service charge & tip

~ Person who packed my groceries was the same person who delivered them

~ Friendly, professional customer service

~ Groceries were not damaged and what I ordered

~ Receiving texts with updates and links to approve changes

~ Overall ease of the end-to-end experience

What I Didn't Like:

~ Wish they would have told me they didn't have the product before I put it in my cart

~ Had a bit of trouble getting logged in the first time, nothing major

~ Guilt that I didn't get off my butt and go shopping (I'm over it now, lol)

Links

• My Referral Link
• Wegmans Instacart Link
• Wegmans Link
• Instacart Link
• Instacart Express Subscription Service Link
• How to Use Instacart Link
• Pricing Legalese Link
• Payment Information Link
• Ordering Information Link
• Delivery Information Link