By Travis came for the weekend. Let me tell you about Travis. He is twenty-one, a year older than Kayla, studying business at Savannah State. He is tall, polite, and he shook Earl's hand when he came through the door, which earned him one point. He called me "Mrs. Henderson" until I told him to call me "Miss Dot," which he did without being awkward about it, which earned him another point. He offered to help carry groceries from the car. Three points. Then we sat down to dinner.
I made fried chicken. This was not accidental. Fried chicken is the test, baby. It is the meal I serve when I need to evaluate someone, because how a person eats fried chicken tells you everything. Do they use a knife and fork? (Suspicious.) Do they eat the breast and leave the rest? (Wasteful.) Do they go for the thigh? (They know what they're doing.) Do they eat the skin? (They have good sense.) Travis ate a thigh and a leg, used his hands, ate the skin, and asked for more. Four, five, six points. He's passing.
Then he made a mistake. After dinner, Kayla asked if we could watch a movie, and Travis pulled out his phone. During the movie. In my living room. He wasn't watching the movie — he was watching highlights of something on his phone with the brightness up. Earl looked at me. I looked at Earl. We have been married long enough that a look is a paragraph. My look said: "This boy is on his phone in my house." Earl's look said: "Give him time." I gave him time. He put the phone away eventually. But I noticed. I notice everything, baby. That's how I've survived sixty-one years.
Saturday morning Kayla and Travis slept late — in separate rooms, I should say, because I am a Baptist woman and there is one guest room and Kayla slept in her old room and that is not negotiable. I made a big breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, grits (the real kind, slow-cooked), biscuits from scratch, and sliced tomatoes from the garden that are just starting to come in, green at the edges but ripening. Travis ate three biscuits. He said, "Miss Dot, these are the best biscuits I've ever had." I said, "That is because they are." He looked at Kayla. She shrugged. She knows.
After breakfast, Travis offered to help Earl in the garden. Earl said, "I don't need help." Travis said, "Then I'll just keep you company." They sat in the garden together for an hour. I don't know what they talked about. Earl didn't tell me. But when they came inside, Earl said, "He's all right." From Earl Henderson, that is a letter of recommendation.
Now go on and feed somebody.
Now, I know you came here for the biscuits — everybody always does — but those live in my hands and I haven’t written them down in thirty years, so you’ll have to forgive me. What I can give you is the scrambled eggs that sat right next to those biscuits on Saturday morning, the ones Travis ate without saying a word because his mouth was too full to talk. The secret is cottage cheese, and before you make a face, just trust me the way Travis trusted that thigh piece: go in with confidence and come out changed.
Scrambled Eggs with Cottage Cheese
Prep Time: 3 minutes | Cook Time: 7 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 cup full-fat cottage cheese (small curd)
- 2 tablespoons whole milk or heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives or flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional, for serving)
Instructions
- Whisk the eggs. Crack the eggs into a medium bowl. Add the cottage cheese, milk, salt, and pepper. Whisk vigorously for about 60 seconds until the mixture is well combined and slightly frothy. Some small curds of cottage cheese will remain — that is exactly right.
- Warm the pan low and slow. Set a 10-inch nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add the butter and let it melt completely, swirling to coat the bottom. Do not rush this step. A hot pan makes tough eggs; a patient pan makes creamy ones.
- Cook with patience. Pour the egg mixture into the pan. Let it sit undisturbed for about 30 seconds until the edges just begin to set. Then, using a flexible silicone spatula, gently fold the eggs from the edges toward the center in slow, wide strokes. Continue folding every 20–30 seconds, letting the eggs rest between each fold.
- Pull them early. When the eggs look almost-but-not-quite done — still glossy and slightly wet in the middle — remove the pan from the heat. The residual heat will finish cooking them in the 30 seconds it takes to get them to the table. Overcooked eggs do not impress anybody.
- Serve immediately. Transfer to a warm plate, top with fresh chives if using, and taste for salt. Serve alongside bacon, grits, sliced garden tomatoes, and biscuits if you have the gift for them.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 210 | Protein: 17g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 2g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 380mg