For someone in an area such as yours, the best replacement for creme fraiche is crema fresa -- which you can purchase fairly inexpensively from most hispanic markets. Crema fresa can be a bit salty, taste before you use and adjust accordingly. As a matter of fact, I prefer crema fresa for its conveniences and economy to creme fraiche for all purposes.
Ed's method, called "clabbering," gives you a more sour cream. The texture of clabbered cream will be much like a commercial creme fraiche if you catch it at the right time after clabbering. You can always stir overly thick, clabbered or commercial sour cream into something silkier, lighter, and more like creme fraiche. Attack it with a fork, con brio.
My wife never liked scrambled eggs but did like omelets. The method I use which suits her is as follows:
Whisk (or beat with a fork) two eggs until well mixed, but do not beat them fluffy. You may add pepper -- preferably white -- if you like, you may also add salt.
Preheat a 10" omelette pan over medium heat. Tip: Well cured, carbon steel, with sloped and ideally rounded sides is far and away the best. When the pan is evenly heated, oil it lightly with corn oil, or other light cooking oil.
When the oil is hot, remove the pan from the flame to prevent scorching, burning or browning, and immediately add two tsp of butter (one in your case). The butter will begin to melt and foam. Return the pan to the fire.
Beat the eggs again to make sure they haven't separated.
As soon as the foam from the butter subsides, pour the eggs into the pan. Stir the mixture in center of the pan with your fork. Wait about 20 seconds and shake the pan. You should see a layer at the bottom of the pan, reaching all the way to the edge, shake loose. If you don't, wait another 20 seconds and try again.
Tilt the pan away from you slightly, then use your fork to push the cooked eggs to the far edge. Holding the eggs there, tilt the pan towards you, so the uncooked egg mixture flows into the hot area of the pan.
When the fresh layer of cooked eggs reaches the edge, fold the eggs in half, as though you were making an omelette, and keep folding and turning. It's better to use the pan to toss-flip, but you may use a spatula if you don't know how. Remove the pan from the flame just before the eggs are cooked as you like -- and allow them to coast to done.
You can judge doneness quite accurately by appearance. For people who like their eggs medium, that means moving the pan when the eggs are still moist and shiny -- and serving them just as they just start to lose their sheen.
BDL
