Preparing Your Eggs

1. Fill a 6-quart or 8-quart saucepan two-thirds full of water, and bring it to a boil. As soon as the water boils, add a tablespoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of white vinegar, and reduce the heat. When the water stops visibly bubbling, you're ready to begin.

2. Crack an egg into a small cup, bowl or saucer, and pick out any shell fragments. Hold your cup at the surface of the water, and gently slide the egg from its cup into the water.

3. Repeat, until you have four or five eggs in the water. If you're quick, you can use one cup or bowl. If you're slow or inexperienced, it's best to have five cups ready so you can add the eggs to the water quickly.

4. Cook the eggs gently for three minutes. At this stage, the whites will be nearly set, and the yolks very soft. Remove your eggs carefully from the pot with a slotted spoon, and transfer them to a food-safe container filled with ice water.

5. Continue cooking until you've prepared enough eggs for your group. Always allow a few extra, because some will break when they're transferred to the ice water and others will break when they're reheated.

6. Cover the bowl of eggs and refrigerate it overnight.

Serving the Eggs

1. Fill one or more large pots with water, and bring it to a boil. Turn down the heat, and wait until the water has completely stopped bubbling.

2. Lift the eggs from their cold water bath into the warm pot with a slotted spoon. Allow 30 to 60 seconds for the eggs to finish cooking to a perfectly soft-poached texture, or up to two minutes for a firmer yolk.

3. Drain the eggs with a slotted spoon and serve them immediately, or transfer them to a shallow pan of warm -- not hot -- water. They can be held warm for up to an hour after reheating, without any appreciable loss of quality.