When I was a young 20-something, on my own for the first time, I couldn’t afford extra expenses, so I didn’t have cable (This was way before streaming services). As a result, I watched a lot of public television and it was during this time that I fell in love with Jacques Pépin’s cooking lessons. The legendary French-born chef and beloved host of several PBS cooking shows, Pépin showed Americans that French food didn’t have to be super fancy — in fact, it could be a very approachable cuisine. He often tells personal stories while he’s cooking his recipes, like his eggs Jeannette. It could be described as a spin on deviled eggs, but it is a totally unique dish Pépin’s mother used to cook when he was a boy. Fortunately for his fans, he now shares it with them.
Pépin himself gave the dish the name “eggs Jeannette,” in honor of his mother. To make them, he hard cooks six eggs, cools them in an ice bath, peels them, and cuts each egg in half to separate the whites from the yolks. Pépin crushes the yolks with garlic, parsley, milk, salt, and pepper to make a paste. He sets some of this mixture aside (which will go into a dressing) but places the rest in the hollowed egg whites, flattening the tops. He then places the stuffed eggs, yolk side down, in a hot skillet with oil and browns the tops. The eggs are served with a dressing Pépin quickly whisks together that’s composed of the egg mixture, olive oil, vinegar, and mustard. They’re like warm deviled eggs but with a browned, toasty, crusty top, and brightened by a tangy dressing.
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Jacques Pépin ate a lot of eggs in his childhood
Jacques Pépin remembers his mother, Jeannette, as a wonderful cook. And this isn’t just a loyal son praising his parent; she was a professional chef who ran a family restaurant called Le Pélican with his father. Pépin has shared that the family didn’t eat a lot of meat during any given week (particularly during World War II), but they ate a lot of eggs — often in the form of eggs Jeannette — of which he has fond memories. Pépin likes to serve the dish with a simple salad and crusty bread.
Taking inspiration from another of her egg dishes, Jacques Pépin’s cheese soufflé is an homage to his mother, too. While many are intimidated by the multiple steps and delicate balance of getting soufflé to rise in the oven, Maman’s Cheese Soufflé couldn’t be easier because the eggs aren’t separated. Pépin explained that when his mother developed this recipe, it was by mistake. As a young bride, she was inexperienced in the kitchen and upon making a soufflé for the first time, didn’t separate egg yolks from the whites by accident, and instead, beat them together. The dish worked, and Pépin makes it to this day. You’ll find plenty more egg recipes and advice in Jacques Pépin’s cookbook, “Cooking My Way.”
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Dining and Cooking