I'm a bit obsessed these days with oeufs (eggs) mollets (pronounced mo-LAY), otherwise known as peeled, soft-to-medium boiled eggs - fully cooked white with soft (but not runny, at least not in my version) yolk, served warm with salt and pepper. I've been messing around with a couple of different preparations, trying to nail down my fav. The classic recipe is to bring a pot of water to boil, lower the eggs into the water, lower the heat so the water barely bubbles (less than a simmer), and cook for six minutes. Immediately remove the eggs to a bowl of cold water to halt cooking, then lift the eggs from the water, gently crack and peel, and serve in a small bowl with salt and pepper. The recipe produces a yolk a bit on the runny side for my taste, although delicious.

Today, however, I improvised with the cold water method and liked the result even better. I put eggs in a saucepan, covered them by one inch with cold water, brought the uncovered pan just to a boil over high heat, then quickly shut the heat off and covered the pan for 4 minutes (for perfect hard-boiled eggs, btw, cover for 10 minutes). Finish the same as for the recipe above (cold water plunge, peel and eat). Delicious!

On a completely separate note, last night we had a lovely roast (wild) goose dinner at my parents'. It was delicious, especially with the warm, spicy plum sauce my stepmom Susanna made to accompany it. (Sauteed red cabbage and crusty bread didn't hurt either, yum!) I think the sauce would be delicious with any kind of poultry, especially at this time of year, it's so fragrant and spicy-sweet and beautifully dark and glossy. And as a bonus - easy to make! (Recipe posted in comments, below.)