Weekly R&R #002: Soft Scrambled Eggs on Avocado Toast

Ingredients:

For the Eggs:

• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt
• 1/8 tsp smoked paprika
• A pinch of oregano
• A small pinch of adobo seasoning
• Cracked black pepper, to taste (before or after cooking)
• 1 small handful Mexican shredded cheese
• Optional: 1 slice pepper jack cheese, torn
• 1 small pat of butter

For the Avocado Toast:

• 1 thick slice sourdough
• Butter, for toasting
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• Pinch of salt

Optional Adjustments:

• 1–2 tbsp chopped bacon (keeping the Costco pre-cooked bacon frozen is a great hack that surprisingly adds a noticeable smokey depth)
• 1–2 tbsp breakfast sausage, chopped or crumbled (~90% cooked before lowering heat and adding eggs)
• Pickled red onions
• Hot sauce, for drizzling at the end
• Freshly sliced scallions
• Bagel sandwich substituted for sourdough toast

Instructions:

1. Season & Whisk Eggs: Crack eggs into a bowl. Add garlic salt, smoked paprika, oregano, and adobo. Whisk until smooth and slightly frothy. Add freshly cracked pepper now or at the end.
2. Preheat Pans: Add a thin layer of water to a nonstick skillet and place over high heat to bring to boil (to ensure pan heats evenly). In parallel, preheat a cast iron griddle or skillet over medium heat for 5-10 minutes.
3. Grill Sourdough: While pans are heating up, butter one side of your sourdough. When pre-heated, place bread butter-side down on the hot griddle and toast ~2 minutes per side, until golden and crisp. Let it rest on a wire rack.
4. Cook Eggs (Low & Slow): When the water starts to boil, the pan has reached the ideal temperature to melt butter without burning. Reduce heat to low (around a 2 out of 10) and discard the water. If adding protein (e.g., bacon or sausage), warm it in the skillet first at medium heat until heated through and then reduce to low, then add the butter and swirl to coat and prevent eggs from sticking. Otherwise, pour in the eggs and immediately add both cheeses. Use a silicone spatula to gently stir, lift, and fold the eggs. Keep the pan in motion — off and on the heat — until the curds are glossy and barely set. Shape to fit your toast. If it feels like nothing is happening, increase heat. If forming too fast, decrease heat. Once complete, turn burner off and loosely shape eggs desired shape and rest until ready to plate.
5. Smash and Season Avocado: In a small bowl, mash the avocado with a pinch of salt. (We are in love with the OXO Avocado slicer for prep).
6. Assemble: Spread the avocado on the toast. Add pickled red onions if using. Layer the scrambled eggs overtop. Finish with cracked pepper, sliced scallions or a drizzle of hot sauce to spice things up.

Other Considerations:

• Swapping out the grilled sourdough for a toasted bagel can turn this dish from avocado toast to a breakfast sandwich with ease (recommend increasing heat to a 4 out of 10 to keep eggs together and on sandwich when eating)
• Alternatively, keeping pan at medium heat, adding butter and eggs and cheese without stirring, then simply placing a tortilla on top and flipping (adding avocado or sauce of choice while toasting tortilla) can make for a great breakfast wrap

Technique Spotlight:

The Boiling Water Trick

Before adding butter, heat the pan with a thin layer of water over medium heat. Once the water boils, you know the pan is evenly heated — hot enough to melt butter cleanly without burning. It ensures even distribution of heat across the surface and sets the stage for a smooth scramble.

Constant Movement = Creamy Texture

Eggs are mostly water and protein. As they cook, the proteins bond — forming curds. Constant movement keeps those bonds from tightening too early, resulting in smaller curds and a silky, custard-like texture. You’re gently interrupting coagulation to create softness.

Cheese + Eggs = Emulsion + Structure

Adding cheese as the eggs hit the pan helps:

• Create an emulsion — Cheese fat blends with egg moisture.
• Slow the set — Cheese raises the coagulation point, buying you time.
• Add structure — Melted cheese acts as a soft binder, helping curds cling.
• Even flavor — The result is creamy, moldable eggs you can layer or fold (almost feels like you are "painting" them into whatever the shape of the bread is).

If you watch a thousand videos about how to make eggs, you’ll learn a thousand different ways to make an egg. Everyone has their own rules: when to salt, when to whisk, when to pull the pan off the heat, etc. In a way, how someone cooks their eggs is like a fingerprint – Subtle, familiar, a quiet reflection of how they like to move in the kitchen. And this is mine.

Let me be clear, I am not here to tell you the definitive or “right” way to scramble an egg. I think cooking – whether it’s this dish or any recipe, really – is more of an art than a science. It’s about exploring different techniques and methods to better understand your own preferences. The point isn’t to find the way, it’s to find your way.

Following this recipe step-by-step liekly wouldn’t take more than 5-10 minutes. It’s simple by design. No big culinary secrets here – just a soft scramble over low heat with constant movement. This, along with adding the cheese immediately as the eggs hit the pan, helps make the scramble stay cohesive enough to shape onto the vessel I’m in the mood for: grilled sourdough, toasted bagel or a wrap.

What does takes time, however, is going through the process of experimenting and adapting as you learn what texture and flavor profile tastes best to you. Not just executing the recipe to perfection, but the journey of discovering and creating something that has meaning to you. That is what this dish represents to me.

I make this a few times a week and it never seems to get old – it’s the perfect way fuel up for the workday or nurse yourself back to life after a concert the night before. Over time it’s become less of a recipe in my mind and more of a framework. A familiar canvas that I can adjust, layer or reinvent depending on my mood or the moment. Going back to the concept of art vs science, I find that the more you understand the “rules” behind something, the more free you feel to apply and experiment with them – that is where true creativity begins.

There is something grounded in that – in returning to a dish you know by heart and still finding new ways to bring it to life. A small ritual in a fast-moving life that feels like it never quite shuts off, yet a quiet reminder that routine doesn’t have to mean repetition. Even if you do find yourself cooking these...dare I say it...eggain and eggain.

From my kitchen to yours,

-PGP