Gratin d'oeufs (Fernand Point)

Hard-boil the eggs 9 minutes, then 10 minutes in cold water, and peel.

Make a bechamel from a cold roux of flour and butter and hot milk flavored with salt, white pepper, shallot, bay leaf and thyme.

Peel the outer skin off the mushrooms to keep them white and slice thinly.

Sweat the mushrooms in butter until they render water, season, add dry white wine in place of water and lemon, bring to a simmer and cook gently 5 to 10 minutes.

Taste the bechamel and add cream, starting with 100 ml, to make a sauce creme; do not add so much cream that the bechamel's flavor is lost.

Clean down and have every component ready, with the broiler on, before making the hollandaise.

Hollandaise over a double boiler: vinegar with a little water, the egg yolk, pepper and salt, whisked directly over simmering water until foamy.

Lower the heat and add the soft butter cubes, moving constantly; add lemon juice, and a little cold water if it gets too hot; turn off the heat for the last cube.

Slice the eggs with an egg slicer.

Warm the egg slices very gently in the sauce creme over very low heat with a touch of cream, add a little mushroom cooking juice.

Bind with the hollandaise, shaking the pan in a circular motion.

Lay a layer of the eggs in the dish with a spatula, add some of the mushrooms, grind over salt and pepper and finish with a little sauce.

Broil on the top element at maximum power just to color; the eggs are not being cooked.