Poaching Eggs for a Crowd

Poaching eggs a couple at a time is fine for an intimate little breakfast. But the logistics of poaching a large number of eggs, keeping some warm while not allowing others to overcook, can be daunting. One way around this is to poach the eggs up to several hours ahead of time (or even the night before), keep them in a bowl of ice water, and reheat them all at once. Just set a bowl of ice water next to you as you poach, trim the eggs with a paring knife as you go, and gently put them in the bowl. Go ahead and pile the eggs on top of each other, you don’t need to arrange them in a single layer. Put the bowl in the fridge until you need the eggs. When you’re ready to reheat them, pick out the ice cubes and gently drain away the cold water by tilting the bowl and holding the eggs back with your hand. Pour boiling water over the eggs (pour it down the side of the bowl so you don’t break a yolk), let them sit for 1 minute, and then quickly take them out with a slotted spoon, setting the spoon over a towel for a second to absorb water, and serve.