The Art of the Easter Egg + How to Hard Boil an Egg.

Little Man is still a little young to dye the Easter eggs this year. It was convenient that Easter came at the end of my week to plan our date night. I boiled up 2 dozen eggs to color in hopes that I could use them the next day for deviled eggs on Easter Day. (strange that deviled eggs are common on the day we celebrate Christ... just sayin')

We had fun with all the colors that came in the PAAS original package. We chose to use vinegar as it gives a more vibrant color. Here's a look at our creative outlet.

Here is the awesome creativity that comes from the hubby...

needless to say, it hasn't been eaten yet...

I mentioned that I was hoping to use these lovely eggs for my deviled egg contribution to Easter dinner. I am now pro at boiling the eggs to perfectly golden centers (after that oh-so-helpful food science class) and I wasn't worried. Until we tried to peel them...

This is one of the better ones... and not pretty enough for little chick-lets coming out of their eggs... the moral of the story? (one I forgot, even after my food science class)

Buy your Easter eggs about a week or two before you boil them up for decorating. The fresh eggs have hearty albumen (the yucky clear gooey stuff when the egg is raw... that turns white when you cook it) that holds to the shell very well. As an egg ages, that albumen (see, you learned a new word today!) thins a little and is less able to stick to the shell, thus it is easier to peel a boiled egg.

How to boil an egg:
1. place desired amount of eggs in bottom of a pan (choose a small pot if you are only doing a few eggs.)
2. cover eggs (barely cover) with cold water.
3. cover pan and bring to a rolling boil.
4. just as it comes to a rolling boil (I mean, rolling bubbles, rolling. Not the wimpy sorta-bubbles) take the pot off the heat.
5. Let the eggs sit in the hot pot for 15 minutes. -more and you will get that yucky grey-ish film on your yolk. less and the middle of the yolk is not completely cooked (and it wont come out of your egg nicely for your deviled eggs)
6. after 15 minutes, cold shock your eggs to stop them from cooking. Take the pot, and run cold water over the eggs until it has replaced the hot water and is cold to the touch.

I did boil another set of eggs... for dinner... I followed a method for peeling them that I found via Pinterest. You can see her post for the "World's Easiest Boiled Egg" here. They peeled beautifully, but...I was in a rush and I cooked them for 14 minutes and they didn't turn out. Moral of this story? Do NOT rush the art of the boiled egg...

Halloween 2011

Here's our Halloween dinner this year. Everyone actually ate what we cooked this year.

Maggot Sliders

ground turkey or beef

favorite seasoning (we like montreal steak seasoning)

cooked white rice

small, slider sized buns

Mix the ground beef and seasonings and form into small patties. Roll the edges of the patties in a plate full of rice. Carefully cook so all of the rice doesn't fall off. (Some of it will) Cook to your liking. Serve on buns with ketchup for that bloody look!

Deviled Eyeballs

check out this post

and for dessert . . . .

Worm Covered Rotten Apple Bars

CRUST:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp cinnamon

FILLING:

8 apples, peeled, cored and sliced (we used 5 and thought it was plenty)
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 TBSP ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg

TOPPING:

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 box (15 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts

Heat oven to 425°F (400°F for dark or nonstick pan).
In large bowl, beat flour, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. It will be crumbly.
Press mixture in the bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan.

Combine the dry ingredients for the filling in a bowl. Toss the apples with the dry stuff--coat them well. Carefully spread the filling over the crust.
Bake 10 minutes.

While that bakes, in large bowl, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon.
Cut 1 cold unrolled crust lengthwise in half (keep remaining crust refrigerated).
Cut into 1/4-inch slices. Repeat with remaining crust.
Separate pieces, and toss with sugar mixture.
After the 10 minutes, sprinkle cut-up crust mixture evenly over filling.
Bake 18 to 22 minutes more, or until crust is golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.