Easter Eggstravaganza!

It's that time of year again...Easter! My daughter and I love Easter not just because of what it means but also for all the fun crafts and foods we get to play around with.  Today, though I am going to focus on the lovely egg.  Not everyone loves eggs, but most people love decorating them!  I have a couple of recipes to share and some techniques in egg decorating I will be sharing between now and Easter that will be sure to dazzle and amaze the kids.  For today, though, we will focus on how to properly cook a hard boiled egg.


Look, I've tried many, many methods and I've come to find out that the easiest way to make sure you have easy to peel eggs is to buy your eggs at least ONE WEEK in advance.  Older eggs make it easier to peel them.  Eggs will last in your fridge for several weeks so don't worry about them going bad.  The Europeans keep them on their counter (yes, unrefrigerated) for up to TWO WEEKS!  No one gets sick either.  Eggs are amazing...I told ya!

The boiling part is easy.  For 6 eggs, put them in a pot and cover with 1 inch of water.  For every 6 eggs you cook cover them with another inch of water.  This means 1 inch over the top of the eggs.  12 eggs 2 inches, and so on.  The key is to have plenty of water and surface area around the egg to boil.  The more eggs the more crowded they get so do not skimp on the water - this was one of my past mistakes.  Also, I put a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of vinegar - DO NOT DO THIS AT THE SAME TIME! You will have a mess on your hands.  Put the vinegar in first then slowly dump the baking soda in.  You could use salt too if you wish.  I like baking soda because I am a firm believer this is what helps keep the shells from sticking.  Gotta love the bubbles!  

Bring to a boil - a rolling boil.  A violent rolling boil...got it?  Not a cheesy little tiny bubbles boil.  This is important to make sure the eggs are cooked to your liking.  I like a fully cooked hard boiled egg.  If you want a softer boiled egg - one with a softer middle then reduce the amount of time they sit in the water after the boil.  Back to the boiling.  I let them boil for at least 5 minutes just to be sure.  Then let them sit for 15 in the hot water.  This is for 6 eggs.  If you have 12 or more you will add 5 minutes for every 6 eggs to the boil and to the sitting time.  Heck I let them sit til the water isn't scalding - it won't hurt them.  The only thing you want to make sure of is not cooking them in the boil too long or the green line forms around the yolk.  No one likes that...blech!

Once they've sat for the appropriate amount of time, pour out the hot water, add about 2

cups of ice and cover with cold water.  Let them sit until the eggs are cooled off enough to touch.  Then voila!  You can start peeling.  I then crack every area of the egg and the shells should just pull right off. Store for later use or eat 'em up!  I always eat one out of my batch just to make sure they turned out ok.  Hey, the cook should always try their creation before serving ;).