1st "Jean Georges" Course: Jean George's Signature "Egg Caviar"
Explore debut March, 2007 #399.
Very lightly scrambled egg topped with whipped cream and osetra caviar.
Notes: I've read this recipe many times before and had a hard time imagining the consistency of the "scrambled egg." If I'm not mistaken, there's a lot of cream and butter involved. The result was something a lot more liquidy than I imagined - but not quite quick poached-consistency, like Alaine Passard's famous Arpege egg, which I personally preferred for a couple of reasons.
First, the Arpege egg, at least the one I tried at Manresa, was easier to eat. The JG caviar egg was a bit too "filled" - the scrambled egg and the cream overflowed and the caviar was liable to dribble down the sides (although I managed to contain everything, my guests eggs ended up looking like Vesuvius had performed an encore). As you can see from the Arpege egg, everything is contained within the shell.
Second, I liked the consistency and flavor of the Arpege egg more - the yolk was smoother, and there was more of a yellow-yolk flavor. JG egg tasted more like a very light watery custard - the flavor injected by the briny bitter caviar, which, I found to be a more compelling aspect of the JG caviar egg than the Arpege egg. However, I very much liked the sherry whipped cream with the Arpege egg.
Regardless, JG's caviar egg stands as a masterpiece by itself. Comparisons with other "eggs" aside (I could also sing praises about Michael Laiskonis's dessert egg (Le Bernardin)), I very much enjoyed JG's version. In fact, one of my guests said it was his favorite course of the whole mea.