Let’s Unscramble the Eggs [PHIL-OSOPHY]

A loyal morning show listener enjoys the segment with Howie Carr and myself every Thursday morning at 7:30 a.m. It's one of my favorite segments of the week, too.

She asked me about a phrase I often use to promote Howie that goes, "We'll unscramble the eggs." I can't remember when I first started using the phrase, but it caught my attention, so I use it. I suppose it means to resolve something from disorderliness, but I've never given it a second thought.

Someone said that they used the phrase "unscrambling the eggs" in antitrust law cases, but I plead the fifth. Here's what I can state clearly and unequivocally: I bet most of you can't make excellent-tasting scrambled eggs. Well today, you'll walk away from this article as the new scrambled egg prize winner! But first, a couple of quick foodie questions that have collected dust.

A listener has wondered what bay leaves actually do to enhance the taste of tomato sauces and soups. To be honest, I've never tasted a difference, but this much I can tell you: Bay leaves are bitter and act as a natural MSG because it's supposed to coax more flavor out of the other ingredients. Chefs swear by it, but I can take it or leave it. What's important to know about bay leaves is it's preferable to use fresh over dried leaves, if you can find them. That's supposed to give you a bigger bang of flavor.

And "Tony from the Fruit Market," a frequent flier, wants to know why the sandwiches at the Shawmut Diner always tasted so good. That's an easy one: never use Miracle Whip. I'm joking, to each his own. But obviously, if you can use fresh-baked bread, that's a huge plus and never ever lay deli meats like sliced ham or turkey flat on top of each other. You always want to make the slices into waves for the most flavor.

For perfect scrambled eggs, forget the teaspoon of milk. It's the worse thing. If you have to add anything, a splash of water is okay. Don't use a whip to scramble them in a bowl. A fork is fine because you only want to gently break the yokes and mix them with the whites. Go real easy on the heat, as in between low and medium; "3" on a gas stove and "3" to "4" on an electric stove.

I've always used a pat of butter. When you pour the eggs in a non-stick skillet, continually stir them with a flexible silicone spatula, scraping the side and bottom to keep them from sticking. Now is when to salt your eggs about halfway through. Watch out for taking them off too late. The best time to take the eggs off is just before they finish cooking in the pan and still are somewhat shiny and a bit wet because they keep cooking once they go onto a warm plate. Put them on a cool plate and they'll cool down too quickly.

Not only do we offer you an informative and fun to listen to morning radio show, but we serve you breakfast as well.

Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.