Selection
First of all, try to find grade AA eggs for poaching, frying and boiling. They are firmer and look better when cooked whole.
Look for eggs from free-range chickens who receive vegetable-based feeds. Bacterial contamination of eggs begins with infected chickens; quality of the flock matters. 30 years ago, bacterial contamination of flocks was uncommon, and raw eggs were a safe part of many recipes. Now infection is likely, and many people have changed their recipes to include only cooked eggs or processed dried egg whites and yolks.
The new special-feed eggs really do have yolks with less cholesterol and healthier fats. If this important for you, use them. However, if you use the whites only, any clean, safe egg will do.
Egg sizes are:
Egg color is like apple color; no difference in quality, some difference in preference and taste.
Storing eggs
Store eggs carefully to preserve quality and your investment. Cracked eggs are unsafe. Clean,
uncracked eggs can be kept for a few days at room temperature. Refrigerate eggs in an air-tight
container to prevent dehydration or off-flavor and preserve freshness, and they are safe for 4-6
weeks.
Egg safety
Always remember the 140/2/40 rule for food safety: that's 2 hours between 140 and 40 is the maximum you can hold food safely! After that, bacterial growth begins to skyrocket.
Don't wet or wash eggs unless ready to cook; it washes away a natural antibacterial coating. In
one day at room temperature, an egg loses more freshness than during a week under controlled
refrigeration.
Don't use cracked shells for eggs cooked in the shell, it is unsafe. Bring eggs to be used or
cooked to room temperature (1/2 hour in air, 10 minutes in warm tap water) before starting to
cook. This prevents broken shells, makes them easier to peel, they beat better and poach or fry
better.
Next, be aware of bacterial contamination. Egg protein firms at around 150-160 degrees, barely
simmering, bacteria are not killed below 165 degrees. Keep hands, bowls and utensils clean.
Boil and cool water you plan to use to store cooked poached eggs (see below), add ice, and keep
it in the container in which it is boiled.
Cooking eggs
Egg size affects cooking time. Use eggs the same size if they will be cooked together. A small
egg takes 5 minutes less that an extra large by some methods. Use eggs at least 2 days old to
hard-cook. To check freshness just before cooking, place under water. A very fresh egg lies on its side on the bottom of the bowl, a very old egg floats to the surface and should be discarded. Eggs that stand up on the bottom of the bowl hard-cook well and are usually easy to peel.
How to tell a fresh from a hardcooked egg? When the egg hardboils, the insides become solid, can't move. In the raw egg, the yolk, which is heavier than the white, is suspended by those white strings you have seen in raw egg whites. When you stand an egg up and spin it, a hard boiled egg spins, a raw egg responds to the shifting of the moving yolk and drops to the side before it finishes spinning. I haven't had to do this in a while, because if you mark the egg with a penciled "h" or date, it stays marked through the boiling. Very convenient. Egg Recipes
Scrambled Eggs that hold for a crowd- 10 servings (adapted from "Cook and hold eggs" in
"Yes, you may have the recipe" by Maria Baker) If you are going to hold in a crockpot or buffet
server, preheat the ceramic in a 200 o oven or fill crock with hot water and set to "Low" for 20 minutes to preheat. Butter before adding the eggs. Or, hold and serve in the electric skillet in which they are prepared at 170 o.
24 eggs Soft-boiled eggs (portions adapted from "The fabulous egg cookbook" by Jeffrey Feinman) The
temperature on large amounts of water and eggs is tricky! If you are going to boil lots of eggs-
more than a dozen- often, find and use the egg-boiling timer that is shaped like an egg and
changes color as the cooking progresses.
Hard-cooked eggs (originally inspired by "The fabulous egg cookbook" by Jeffrey Feinman)
Older eggs that stand on their ends when placed in a bowl of water are easiest to peel after hard-
cooking. If the shell is uncracked, the cooked eggs may be refrigerated covered up to 3 days.
Chinese tea eggs - recipe using hard-cooked eggs.
8 hard cooked eggs Pickled Eggs- these sit in the refrigerator in the marinade for two days to two weeks to gather flavor. Made with the beet juice, they have a gorgeous red color. To make large quantities, just multiply the
marinade for each six eggs.
1/4 cup brown sugar Really Hot and Spicy Pickled Eggs
2 dozen hard-boiled eggs (peeled)
Bring all of the above ingredients (except
eggs) to a boil for 10 minutes in a covered
pan. Remove from heat and cool.
Place the hard-boiled eggs in a non-aluminum container and
pour the mixture over the eggs, making sure they are covered. Allow eggs to marinate in refrigerator for a minimum of 7 days before serving.
Poached eggs (adapted from traditional French methods)
Baked Cheesy Eggs Casseroles & variations (13 x 9 glass pan, about 8 servings), Butter or
PAM dish, preheat oven.
12 eggs This can be mixed the night before and refrigerated, then baked in the morning. Bake about 1 hour and 15 minutes from room temperature, 1 hour 25 minutes from refrigerator.
Cup eggs or shirred eggs (baked individually) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put 1/2 tsp. butter or Pam in individual cups, place on cookie sheet. Put cups in the oven till butter melts and cup is preheated. You can also start with a layer of heated rice, potato or vegetable/tomato sauce in the cup.
Oven methodIf the cups are preheated and the oven is preheated to 375 degrees, it takes 5 minutes to bake a plain one egg cup or 10 minutes for a 2 egg cup. It takes 12- 15 minutes if the 1-2 eggs are baked over sauce, tomatoes, rice, etc. A two egg cup bakes in 20-22 minutes at 375 o if cups are not preheated. If cooked at 325 degrees in an unpreheated cup, a single egg takes about 12 minutes. If you want to put a little grated cheese on
the cups, put it on 3 minutes before cooking is done. Stovetop method: My grandmother used to butter the cup and curl a piece of cooked bacon around the inside, add the eggs and then steam the egg-filled cup in a covered frying pan with an inch of water. It took about 5 minutes. Sometimes she would gently stir a half tablespoon of cream or milk into the white before steaming, leaving the yolk whole.
OAMC Frozen souffle for 3
Prepared when you have time, baked when you need it; watch out Stouffers! You can make 3, freeze two and bake one immediately: 60-75 minutes baking time if frozen, 40 minutes baking time if unfrozen.
For each 3 servings, prepare a white sauce base using: 2 tbsp olive oil
Make the vegetable sauce. Start with the onions and garlic, when wilted, add peppers, then tomatoes, parsley and seasonings. Recover and reduce the juice as described above. You can refrigerate the sauce here. When ready to bake, reheat the sauce, stir in the cheese and slivered ham, place in a greased casserole. With the back of a spoon, make 6 nests in the sauce, break one egg into each, bake as described in baked eggs above; about 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.
1/3 C butter or mild oil
2 2/3 C milk, buttermilk; or use part yogurt or sour cream, or part ranch dressing
1 tsp salt pepper or other planned seasoning
2 T granulated blending flour ("Wondra")
Heat large electric skillet to 175 degrees, melt butter. Mix the rest of the ingredients, including
flour, beat until well-mixed. Pour into skillet and immediately raise heat to 250 degrees. Pull
eggs from outside to center until eggs are just firm, but still soft and creamy. Immediately reduce
pan temperature to 170 degrees, or transfer to drained, buttered or Pam'd crockpot preheated on
low. Keep covered until served, up to 2 hours.
6 C water
3 T black tea or 4 tea bags
2 T star anise or 1 T anise
4 tsp salt
Crack the eggs all over. Place in non-aluminum pan with other ingredients, simmer on low heat 1 1/2 hours. Let cool in liquid (place container in refrigerator, if you will be using eggs later). Serve warm or cold. Often served halved, dome side down, on a bed of hot steamed rice with wedges of lime, lemon and tangerine.
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup cold water or beet juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 inch piece cinnamon
4 whole cloves
6 hard boiled egg, peeled
Boil 10 minutes and cool the marinade ingredients except the eggs. When chilled, submerge the
eggs and chill in refrigerator at least 2 days. Will keep several weeks, covered and submerged.
4 cups Distilled White Vinegar
1/8 cup vegetable oil (olive oil)
1 jar sliced hot jalapenos with juice (15 oz.) OR sport peppers in vinegar
1 medium onion (chopped fine)
3 tablespoons Hot habanero Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon Salt
1 tablespoon Crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon Ground ginger
2 tablespoons Crushed garlic
2 16 ounce cans cream-style corn
OR 3 1/2 C other vegetable sauce such as Italian vegetable spaghetti sauce,
OR 1/2 pound sauteed mushrooms
OR browned bulk sausage or shredded ham
10 ounce package drained chopped spinach,
OR 1 cup cooked chopped green vegetable
1/2 cup sauteed green or white onion sauteed in olive oil
1/2 C milk, sour cream, cream sauce or undiluted cream soup
3 1/2 C grated cheese (may use low fat)
OPTIONAL, 4 ounce can diced green chilis or pimentos (may substitute chopped olives and omit salt)
1 T Worcestershire or soy sauce OR 2 tsp salt and pepper to taste
OPTIONAL, 1 cup flavored croutons, rice, shredded frozen hash browns, etc.
OPTIONAL, Parmesan for dusting the pan
First make your selection at each ingredient choice, I write them down. If using croutons, refrigerate overnight or at least 2 hours after mixing.
The usual way to mix is to stir everything together and pour it into the pan, allowing the eggs to make it a sort of baked frittata. But it's tasty if layered, and would be a whole different dish if part of the eggs were placed whole on top- more saucy, less custardy, but tasty. If I did not mix in all the eggs, I would bake the rest of the casserole for about half the time, then break each egg into a hole made in the sauce with the back of a large spoon, then finish cooking, so as not to overcook the eggs.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter the pan, dust with Parmesan cheese if desired.
Mix your egg dish.
Bake as indicated.
Remove from the oven when still a little
soft in the center; eggs continue to cook when removed from oven.
3 T butter
1/4 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C cream or evaporated milk
Stir in:
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 C dry vermouth, sherry, or white grape juice
1 1/2 C coarsely grated natural cheese
1/2 cup cooked, drained spinach (drain very dry)
Remove from heat. Beat until thick, then beat into the cream mix:
4 egg yolks
Wash the beater thoroughly or use a clean whisk and beat until stiff:
4 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Gently fold together the cream sauce and egg whites. Pour into 1 1/2 quart ungreased freezer to oven casserole, cover tightly, freeze. The food should be only about 1" thick. Uncover, bake frozen in a preheated 300 degrees oven 60-75 minutes.
Corn variation: omit nutmeg, add 1 tablespoon sugar and substitute cooked or canned shoepeg corn for the spinach.
Piperade with baked eggs
Carelessly prepared, piperade dishes tends to become "a soup". The vegetables used (tomatoes, peppers and onions) are full of juices. To avoid soupiness, drain them over a pan after cooking them and recover the juice. Then reduce the juice in the pan over a brisk heat before mixing it back into the piperade. It will heighten the flavor.
2 large onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 medium red or yellow pepper, sliced
1 medium green pepper, sliced
450g / 1lb tomatoes, skinned, seeded and roughly chopped
5ml/1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh parsley or basil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 3 teaspoons mixed hot paprika, salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 ounce feta, Machego, or other sheep's milk cheese (optional)
2 to 3 thin slices (1-2 ounces) prosciutto, Black Forest ham, or Canadian bacon, cut into thin slivers, Optional
You can also serve this over 4-6 servings hot pasta.