Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Egg Salad Week as seen on KMGH TV 7 Denver

Egg Salad Week-What to do with all those leftover Easter eggs……..

It seems that the week or so after Easter, we're always overrun with boiled eggs so it makes sense that Egg Salad Week is the full week right after Easter Sunday every year. But really, how many egg salad sandwiches can your family eat? And in these harder economic times, we want to make the most of all the nutritious food in our refrigerator. So Mary Lee is here today to show how we can take advantage of the nutrition from those beautifully colored Easter Eggs.

Also provide tips to how to hard cook your eggs instead of hard boiling them. Cooking eggs for too long or at too high a temperature can make them tough and rubbery, with an unattractive green ring around the yolks.

Step by step to hard cooked eggs:
Ø Put the eggs in one layer on the bottom of the pan. Put the pan in the sink. Run water into the pan until the water is 1 inch over the eggs. Put the pan on a burner. Turn it to medium-high heat.
Ø Let the water come to a boil. Put the lid on the pan when the water is boiling. Move the pan onto a cold burner. Set the timer for 15 minutes for Large-sized eggs (or for 12 minutes for Medium-sized eggs or for 18 minutes for Extra Large-sized eggs).
Ø Put the pan in the sink when the time is over. Run cold water into the pan until the eggs are cool. Put the eggs into the refrigerator if you're going to use them later or peel them if you're going to use them right away. Be sure to use all the cooked eggs up before a week is over.
Ø If your eggs get mixed in with the fresh eggs, spin eggs on a flat surface. The solid cooked eggs will spin easily; while raw eggs (with liquid inside) will wobble.

Safety first!
Ø Decorated eggs are safe to eat as long as they’re not cracked. Check that all decorating materials are food safe.
Ø Make sure eggs do not sit out for more than two hours, or 30 minutes if it is hotter than 85 degrees.
Ø And do not hide Easter eggs where they can come into contact with pets, birds, dirt, lawn chemicals or pests.
Ø Hard cooked eggs in the shell can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 week.

Nutrition: Take advantage of nutrients in your leftover eggs and serve them in meals the following week.
Ø Nutrient Density: Eggs are all natural and have 13 essential vitamins and minerals, high-quality protein, healthy unsaturated fats and antioxidants, for only 70 calories each.
Ø Healthy Pregnancy: Egg yolks are an excellent source of choline, an essential nutrient that contributes to fetal brain development and helps prevent birth defects.
Ø Eye Health: Lutein and zeaxanthin, two antioxidants found in egg yolks, help prevent macular degeneration, a leading cause of age-related blindness.


Breakfast:
Ø Jumpstart your day with a hearty and nutritious breakfast
Ø Brain Function: Choline helps maintain the structure of brain cell membranes and is a key component of the neurotransmitter that helps relay messages from the brain through nerves to the muscles.
Ø Hindoo eggs: The eggs are served in a curried white sauce and served over hot rice or toast points. May be eaten for breakfast or as an entree.

Lunch
Ø All Day Energy: Studies show that eggs provide energy without causing a spike in blood glucose or insulin levels, thereby helping people feel full longer and more energized.
Ø Pan Bagnat, a pressed baguette sandwich made with tuna, sliced hard-boiled eggs and potatoes that actually gets better the longer it sits. The sandwich is a specialty of the region of Nice, France.

Dinner
Ø Eggs play a role in weight management, muscle strength, healthy pregnancy, brain function, eye health and more. It’s considered a nutrient–rich food. That is, for the amount of calories it contains, it delivers a lot of nutrients. So get cracking!
Ø Try chopped hard boiled eggs on your spring asparagus, or use four hard cooked eggs in luscious lemon cookies.

For more recipes: http://www.incredibleegg.org/
RECIPES

Hindoo eggs
1 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon finely minced onion
1 teaspoon curry powder (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup warm chicken broth
1 cup warm milk
6 hard-boiled eggs
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Whole-wheat toast

Melt butter in a medium nonreactive skillet; add the onion and sauté over low heat until the onion is clear. Stir in the curry powder, salt, and flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.

Off the heat, gradually stir in the broth and milk, stirring until smooth. Return to the heat and bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer and cook about 10 minutes. The sauce should be slightly thickened and smooth. Taste for seasoning and adjust. Cut the hard-boiled eggs into quarters and add to the sauce. Cook just until the eggs are hot, but do not boil. Just before serving stir in a drop or two of fresh lemon juice. Serve over hot toast points. Yield: 4 servings

Pan Bagnat (Alton Brown recipe)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 baguette, approximately 16 to 18 inches long
12 ounces canned tuna packed in oil or water, drained and crumbled
1 small green pepper, sliced into rings
1 small red onion, sliced into rings
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
1 cup chopped kalamata olives
1 tomato, thinly sliced

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper. While continuing to whisk, gradually add the olive oil. Whisk until an emulsion forms. Set aside.

Slice the baguette horizontally into 2 pieces. Tear out some of the soft bread in the center of each side, making a slight well in the bread. Place the tuna, green pepper, red onion, hard-boiled eggs, olives, and tomato on the bottom side of the bread in that order.

Drizzle the vinaigrette over the vegetables, top with the second piece of bread, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature for 2 hours before serving.
Cut into 4 sandwiches and serve.


Asparagus Mimosa
3 pounds asparagus trimmed and stem ends peeled

Mimosa:
2 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
6 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh chives

Dressing:
1-1/2 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 Tablespoon wine vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste
Place asparagus in flat pan, covering with boiling water. Simmer until tender-crisp. Refresh with cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain well, then refrigerate. Make the Mimosa by mixing hard-boiled eggs, parsley, and chives. Set aside. Make dressing by mixing the mustard and wine vinegar in a bowl, beating with wire whip until smooth. Add olive oil while beating constantly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Coat asparagus lightly with dressing. Sprinkle Mimosa over the asparagus tips. Pass any remaining dressing. Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Hard Cooked Egg Cookies
Zest of 1-2 lemons + 1/2 tsp lemon extract
1/2 cup + 2 T sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter
4 hard cooked/boiled eggs, peeled
1 egg
3 cups flour
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream together lemon zest, lemon extract, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor.

Add in hard boiled eggs and process until fully incorporated. Mix in egg. Add flour and pulse until dough just comes together.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is 1/4 inch thick and cut into rounds with a 2 inch cookie or biscuit cutter. Dip the cut cookies into the egg white then dredge in the sugar. Arrange on baking sheet - cookies will not spread - and bake until just beginning to brown at the edges, about 12 minutes.

Remove to a wire rack to cool.
Makes 4 dozen.

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