One with the egg. Or something.

It's funny: you learn how to do something when you're young - many times just by observation - and if the method works reasonably well you'll never question it again. With that in mind, how do *you* crack an egg?

Looking for a scramble? Well, then, I would take a set of eggs - one at a time - to the top edge of nice bowl and crack them there, pulling apart the two halves of the shell with my thumbs and watching the gooey insides plop down into the mixture du jour. All the while, I hope that no errant bits of shell escape my (ahem) deft handing in an attempt to invent themselves anew as a cooked, but crunchy breakfast delight. Overall, this process seems to have worked reasonably well thus far, but I've noticed recently that all the tv chef people tap their eggs *on the table* to crack them.

So, I gave it a go - say, for the past 2 or 3 weeks - when making pancakes, biscotti or toad's in a hole. And the results are surprisingly satisfying! That is, you not only have a lesser chance of getting rogue shell pieces into your bowl, but there is actually a different feel to the egg cracking altogether. It's like you are more in tune with the experience; you feel the shell give ever-so-gently.. and you are, uh, one with the egg. Or something..

Really, I'd say to try it out. At first, I admit I was a bit hesitant, but at this point, I, for sure, won't got back to my old, bowl-as-breaker, ways. It just feels right. Now if I could just get myself to crack the eggs into a separate bowl before adding them to the final recipe (to make sure you don't have a rotten one that would ruin the whole dish), I'd really look like I knew what I was doing in the kitchen. Baby steps..