Hard Boiled Eggs

Steps
Try to use eggs that are several days old. If this is Easter time, and everyone is buying their eggs at the last minute, buy your eggs 5 days in advance of boiling. Hard boiling farm fresh eggs will lead to eggs that are difficult to peel.

1. Put the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan, covered by at least an inch of cold water. Starting with cold water and gently bringing the eggs to a boil will help keep them from cracking. Adding a teaspoon of vinegar to the water will help keep the egg whites from running out of any eggs that happen to crack while cooking, but some people find that the vinegar affects the taste. Put the burner on high and bring the eggs to a boil. As soon as the water starts to boil, remove the pan from the heat for a few seconds.

2. Reduce the heat to low, return the pan to the burner. Let simmer for one minute. (I usually skip this step because I don't notice the eggs boiling until they've been boiling for at least a minute! Also, if you are using an electric stove with a coil element, you can just turn off the heat. There is enough residual heat in the coil to keep the eggs simmering for a minute.)

3. After a minute, remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let sit for 12 minutes. If you are doing a large batch of eggs, after 10 minutes you can check for doneness by sacrificing one egg, removing it with a slotted spoon, running it under cold water, and cutting it open. If it isn't done, cook the other eggs a minute or two longer. The eggs should be done perfectly at 10 minutes.

5. Either remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and place them into a bowl of ice water (this is if you have a lot of eggs) OR strain out the water from the pan, fill the pan with cold water, strain again, fill again, until the eggs cool down a bit. Once cooled, strain the water from the eggs. Store the eggs in a covered container (eggs can release odors) in the refrigerator. They should be eaten within 5 days.

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Deviled Eggs

Ingredients
1 dozen eggs
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp minced onion or shallot
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
Salt and pepper
Paprika

Steps
1. First hard boil the eggs. Fill up a large saucepan half-way with water and gently add the eggs. Cover the eggs with at least an inch of water. Add a teaspoon of vinegar to the water (this will help contain egg whites from leaking out if any of the shells crack while cooking). Bring the water to a boil. Cover, and remove from heat. Let sit covered for 15-17 minutes. Drain hot water from pan and run cold water over the eggs. (At this point if you crack the egg shells while the eggs are cooling, it will make it easier to peel the shells.) Let sit in the cool water a few minutes, changing the water if necessary to keep it cool.

2. Peel the eggs. Using a sharp knife, slice each egg in half, lengthwise. Gently remove the yolk halves and place in a small mixing bowl. Arrange the egg white halves on a serving platter.

3. Using a fork, mash up the yolks and add mustard, mayonnaise, onion, Tabasco, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Spoon egg yolk mixture into the egg white halves. Sprinkle with paprika.

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Sausage Breakfast Bake

Ingredients
1 lb of Italian pork sausage, (then cooked, drained, crumbled)
4 1/2 cups cubed day old bread
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
10 eggs slightly beaten
4 cups whole milk
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Optional:
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup peeled, chopped tomatoes

Steps
1. Heat a skillet on medium high. Break up the sausage into chunks and cook, working in batches if need be, until browned all around. Make sure the chunks of sausage have some space around them or your meat will steam and not brown. Remove the cooked sausage from the pan and let sit on some paper towels on a plate to soak up the excess fat. Crumble into smaller pieces.

2. Place bread in a well buttered 9x13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with cheese. Combine the eggs, milk, dry mustard, onion powder and pepper. Pour evenly over the bread and cheese. Sprinkle sausage and optional ingredients over the top.

3. At this stage you can cover and chill overnight, if you want to prepare ahead. If not, let sit for 10 minutes before putting in the oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bake uncovered for about one hour. Tent with foil if top begins to brown too quickly. Serves 6-8.

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Poached Eggs

Directions
Bring water in a saucepan to almost boiling. If the water is already boiling, lower the heat until it is no longer boiling. Add 1-2 teaspoons of vinegar to the water. Vinegar allows the egg whiles to congeal more easily. Crack open and gently drop the eggs into the water, one by one. With a spoon, nudge the egg whites closer to their yolks. This will help the egg whites hold together.

Turn off the heat. Cover. Let sit for 3-4 minutes, until the egg whites are cooked.

Lift eggs out of pan with a slotted spoon.

Another trick to make the eggs stay somewhat contained is to take a ring from a mason jar and place it in the pan. Drop the egg over the Mason jar ring and let it settle in the ring, then turn off the heat and cover.

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Huevos Rancheros

Ingredients
Fresh eggs, six
Green onion, 2 chopped all the way including the green parts
Fresh tomato, 1 peeled and chopped if in season, 2 from a can if good fresh tomatoes are not available
One canned jalapeño pepper, sliced*
Olive oil, 2 Tbsp
Oregano, a sprinkling of fresh if available, dry if not
Salt, one shake from a salt shaker for every egg used
Cilantro leaves, fresh and chopped, a couple of Tbsp

Steps
Heat oil in a large cast iron frying pan on medium high heat.
Add the onions and brown for a minute or two.
Add the chopped tomato and let cook for a few minutes on medium high heat until the tomatoes are somewhat cooked and mushy and some of the moisture has evaporated. Its okay if the tomatoes brown a bit.
Add the oregano.
Add the jalapeño pepper.
Crack eggs directly into the pan with the cooking sauce.
Add salt.
Stir with a spatula to mix in the sauce and to lightly scramble the eggs. Remove from heat when the eggs cook to the desired consistency.
If you are using a cast iron pan, remove the eggs from the pan and put into a serving bowl. Otherwise the eggs will continue to cook in the heat of the pan.
Sprinkle with cilantro.

Serve with bread or heated tortillas. Serves 2 or 3.

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Spinach Frittata

Ingredients
1 lb spinach leaves (about 2 bunches), cleaned, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 large clove garlic, minced
9 large eggs
2 Tbsp milk
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Sun-dried tomatoes, about 2 Tbsp chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 oz goat cheese

Steps
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Cook spinach in 1/4 cup of water in a covered saucepan until just wilted, a couple minutes. Drain water and set aside.

3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and Parmesan cheese. Add in chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside.

4. Sauté onions in olive oil in an oven-proof, stick-free skillet, until translucent, about 2 minutes on medium high heat. Add garlic and sauté a minute further. Add cooked spinach and mix in with onions and garlic.

5. Spread out spinach mixture evenly on bottom of skillet. Pour egg mixture over spinach mixture. Use a spatula to lift up the spinach mixture along the sides of the pan to let egg mixture flow underneath.

6. Sprinkle bits of goat cheese over the top of the frittata mixture. When the mixture is about half set, put the whole pan in the oven. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until frittata is puffy and golden. Remove from oven with oven mitts and let cool for several minutes. Although the pan may be out of the oven for a few minutes, the handle is still very hot. To keep from accidentally picking it up by the handle while hot (speaking from experience, ouch!) take a piece of ice and melt it against the pan's handle to cool it down.

Cut into quarters to serve. Serves four.

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Asparagus Frittata

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound asparagus, tough ends snapped off, spears cut diagonally into 1-inch lengths
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese

Steps
Heat olive oil into a 10-inch oven-proof frying pan over medium high heat. Add onions and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 3 minutes. Add asparagus; reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, covered, until the asparagus are barely tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Pour in eggs and cook until almost set, but still runny on top, about 2 minutes. While cooking, pre-heat oven broiler.

Sprinkle cheese over eggs and put in oven to broil until cheese is melted and browned, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from oven with oven mitts and slide frittata onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges.
Serves 4.

Adapted from Sunset Magazine
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