Now That the Eggs are Peeled... What to do with Hard-Cooked Eggs

My all-time favorite use for Easter eggs:
GOLDENROD TOAST


DINE-IN'S FAMOUS DEVILLED EGGS
Yes, I'm sharing my secret ingredients for the best ever devilled eggs. These still qualify as traditional, as opposed to smoked salmon devilled eggs, Mexican devilled eggs, etc... But the recipe is unique enough to make them stand out from the crowd. This ingredient list is why, even in Georgia where devilled eggs and their afficionados abound, I'm always asked to make them.

Quantities will naturally depend on how many eggs you're devilling, so go by taste and the consistency you prefer. Mine are always on the tart side - a little heavy on lime and mustard.

Ingredients:
crumbled hard-cooked egg yolks
Miracle Whip
squeeze of fresh lime
India relish - a type of pickle relish, hard to find these days, optional
dijon mustard - start with less than a teaspoon for a dozen eggs and adjust to taste
grated parmesan cheese - the real secret ingredient - also helps to thicken/dry out mixture
salt and pepper to taste - remember that parmesan is salty so wait until last to test for saltiness

Note - I bought devilled egg trays with snap-on lids at the dollar store, and they're great for transporting them to potlucks.

Using these ingredients, nobody will consider Devilled Eggs passe again!


Thoughts on Egg Salad
I rarely make egg salad because it takes so many eggs, and we use expensive organic eggs. (UPDATE - June 2014 - we now have a wonderful supplier of organic-fed heirloom eggs for a very reasonable price: Matador Farm on Gabriola Island.) But of course it's a great after-Easter dish, and for when you try these new methods of hard-cooking eggs. In fact, I think I'll be making some after posting this! But one little time-saving tip: I've stopped spreading mayo on bread for salad sandwiches (such as tuna, egg, salmon...) and instead add an extra dollop of mayo/Miracle Whip to the salad mixture. For healthier homemade mayo/dressing, see this post.

Here you can read Heidi Swanson's counterpoint to my mayo opinion, though I agree with her on much else. I think I'll add capers to tonight's egg salad, and serve it on toasted light rye.

Recently I saw and egg salad recipe that included fresh cucumber and chopped dill pickle (some people use sweet pickle relish in egg salad). I think adding a layer of sliced cukes to an egg salad sandwich sounds like a super idea.


Thoughts on Salads with Eggs
Slices or wedges of hard-cooked eggs are great on Chef Salads (including tomatos, cheddar, ham and Old Dutch Dressing) and Spinach Salads (especially with chopped bacon). Chopped, eggs are great to bulk out Tuna Salad, Shrimp Salad and Potato Salad, particularly when you include some crisp celery as a counter to the soft, smooth texture of the egg whites.


Every once in a while, I'll set one hard-cooked egg aside to include in my husband's lunchbox when he's home from sea and filling in as Captain of our local ferry. Don't forget to save your salt and pepper packets from the drive-thru for this purpose.

Here are a few ideas from other sources for you. They all got good reviews, but that doesn't mean I think they all sound good. ;-) I'm sharing them in the interest of variety.
Holly's Egg and Cheese Bake
Donna's Nest Eggs - scotch eggs - I've never been tempted to try these
German Wreaths - cookies made with hard-cooked eggs!
Egg and Olive Crostini
Avocado Egg Salad - I think this would definitely need the crunch of celery added, but the flavours of egg and avocado are likely good together
If you think you'd like to try pickled eggs, you're on your own. However, I will say that I've seen quite a variety of recipes in my research today: Pickled Beets and Eggs, Sweet Pickled Eggs, Chinese Tea Leaf Eggs, Balsamic Pickled Eggs, and something ghastly called Polished Eggs. allrecipes.com has quite a selection. Have at it and have fun.

Goldenrod Toast - My Comfort Food and the Perfect Post-Easter Meal

How did Daddy know how many eggs the Easter Bunny had hidden? He always seemed to think my brother and I had missed one or two. So he'd join in the hunt to locate the last of the eggs, but to no avail. A month or so later, here'd come Hush Puppy, the Basset Hound that practically raised us, out from under the house with what to her must have been the perfectly aged Easter Egg feast.

Don't let that happen to your eggs! Peel them right after the hunt and make the perfect Easter breakfast treat - Goldenrod Toast. Here are more ideas for using up all those hard-cooked eggs. Also, check out the post on alternative ways to cook them and make them easier to peel.


GOLDENROD TOAST
This is the last-day-of-school tradition in my family, true comfort food and an all-time favorite.

Ahead of time, hard-cook a couple of eggs per person. I usually just go ahead and cook a dozen, but that's me. Peel when cool enough to handle. Slice the eggs in half vertically and pop the yolks out into a small bowl and set aside. Set aside whites in a medium bowl. At some point before serving, chop the whites and crumble the yolks (a fork works well), keeping them in their separate bowls. Cover to prevent drying out or being eaten by your cat, if it'll be a while before serving.

About 30min before meal time:
Make a quantity of white sauce (bechamel sauce) as per your favorite recipe/method. You want to make enough for about a cup per person. Translated, that means I make 2c per person, but we're gluttons when it comes to this dish and I don't mind having a bit left over. If you need a recipe for white sauce, you'll find one in your favorite general purpose cookbook such as BH&G, Joy of Cooking, etc... You want the sauce to be a little on the thick side, and make sure you cook the flour/butter mix long enough to avoid that raw flour-y taste. (When I have time I'll post my favorite method under 'Sauces' on this blog.)

Toast 2 pcs of your favorite sliced sandwich bread per adult. (No need to butter.) Keep extra bread on hand, ready for toasting - I'm just saying.

When sauce is ready, add the chopped whites and stir, leaving on the heat long enough to warm the whites through. Since I don't butter the toast, I sometimes a an extra dollop of butter at this point and stir until melted. Ladle sauce over toast and sprinkle with crumbled yolks. Serve immediately, be amazed. You will either feel the peace of comfort food descend on you and carry away the stress of the day, or be amped up by the Foodie Frenzy. Either way, it's just plain good.

UPDATE! How Else to Hard Boil an Egg (and make peeling easier)

We're having a party tomorrow night and I had no intention of making devilled eggs. I was never a devilled egg fan until I became an adult and played with the filling until I found a combination of ingredients I liked. I must admit, mine are really good and everyone loves them, but still, they're a bit passe, don't you think? However, after discovering these new egg-cooking techniques, I'm tempted to put them on the party menu after all.

The best news is that at least one of the methods (pressure cooker) is supposed to make the eggs a cinch to peel. The oven method is reputed to impart a slightly smoky flavour, which I think would make a wonderfully complex egg salad. Who's going to be the first to try one of these methods and report on it? Easter's just a week away, you know - there are lots of hard-cooked eggs in you near future!

Even if you stick to boiling your eggs, here are a few tips:

1. Use week-old eggs for easier peeling.

2. Turn the carton of eggs on it's side in the refrigerator to center the yolk. You'll get better shaped whites for devilling.

3. Overcooking produces the green film between the yolk and white.

4. Best method: Place eggs in pot and fill with enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. When boiling vigorously, cover the pan and remove from heat. Let the pot stand covered for 15 minutes for large eggs. (3min less for medium, 3min more for extra large)

5. Best peeling method: Run cold water into the pot until eggs are cool enough to handle. Add ice cubes to the water at this point to speed cooling, which helps separate shell from egg. Crack eggs underwater against the side of the pot, and let eggs remain there for 5 minutes or so before peeling underwater. The water will get between the egg and shell and assist with peeling.

6. Hard-cooked eggs will keep in the fridge for several days if sealed.

Now for two NEW (to me) methods...

HARD-BAKED EGGS

Make sure your oven racks are in the center of the oven. Place eggs on the racks - you can cook 2-4 dozen eggs at a time using this method. Place a baking sheet pan in the bottom of the oven in case an egg breaks. Set the oven to 325F, and bake for 30 minutes (do not preheat). Remove the eggs to an ice water bath then peel as soon as they're cool enough to handle. Return them to the ice water to thoroughly chill.

UPDATE MAY 2014: If you have a pressure cooker, you own the world's best tool for cooking easy-to-peel eggs!
I have made eggs 3 times now in my Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker (see affiliate link on home page Tool/Appliance carousel) - fresh eggs, week-old eggs, varying breeds and sizes - and I have never had easier eggs to peel. They were perfect.

PRESSURE COOKER EGGS

(See how this method makes eggs easier to peel: Eggsperiment courtesy of HipPressureCooking.com)

Let eggs come to room temperature. Pour 1c water into stovetop or electric pressure cooker and place rack or steamer basket into cooker. Place up to a dozen eggs in your pressure cooker. For best results, cook on low pressure for 6 minutes with natural pressure release. Natural pressure release is a setting on electric pressure cookers - on stovetop pressure cookers, remove from heat for 5 minutes or so and the lock should release. If not, release through valve. Run cold water over eggs in sink for about 3 minutes to cool.

For ideas on what to do with your leftover Easter Eggs or your 4 dozen hard-baked eggs now that you've tried the above methods, see my next post.

Lemon Chicken Dinner Prepped in a Flash - UPDATED 7/2014

On a quick errand-running dip down into Washington State a few months ago, I picked up a huge package of chicken that would have cost a day's pay up here in Canada. But plans for the week changed and I must have been in quite a rush, because I had tossed it into the freezer packaged just the way it came from the  grocery store, whereas I normally would have divided the package into portions. It needed to be used.

Last week I had a group of ladies coming over for a game night. Usually, if my husband is here, he tends to the last minute dinner prep and serves us. He's great about things like that. But that week he was away, so I needed something really easy with no last minute chores involved to disturb our play. Usually I do a one-dish or crockpot meal for that reason, but I really needed to use that chicken, and it would take a crowd to eat it all, so this was my chance.

Brainstorm. My mom makes a baked lemon-garlic chicken, but I made the entire meal even easier. Here's what to do:


DINE-IN LEMON PEPPERCORN CHICKEN AND POTATOES

13x9x2 pan (I had to use 2 pans) - sprayed w/ oil
enough chicken pieces to feed your family or crowd*
enough potatoes to feed same
salt
4 cloves garlic per pan, peeled
about 2 t peppercorns per pan
2 juicy lemons per pan
sprigs of tarragon or rosemary would be nice additions
**see note below

Cut potatoes in half lengthwise unless using small new potatoes. Place both chicken and potatoes together into baking pan(s). (*leave the skin on - at least on half of the chicken pieces) Make sure potatoes are cut side up. Salt liberally. Toss garlic cloves and peppercorns into pan. Using reamer, juice lemons over chicken and potatoes. Cover with foil but poke a few holes in it. Bake at 375F for roughly 75min - until potatoes are soft and chicken is tender. Take foil off the last 15-20min.



I was very fortunate that day - the chicken was still a little frosty after leaving it to thaw overnight, so I assembled the meal in the pans, covered it with foil and it was fine just sitting on the counter until time to pop it in the oven. I also made ahead a pan of Green Beans and Sour Cream, which I left out at room temp and added to the oven when I took the foil off the chicken. It was a lovely meal, and there was nothing to do at mealtime but serve the plates. But here's an even easier idea to truly make this a one-dish meal:

**toss fresh green beans, broccoli or asparagus with olive or avocado oil, salt and pepper, and layer it on top of the chicken and potatoes to roast when you take the foil off.