Here's another of our "Your Questions" posts, in which we try to answer readers' queries about recipe ideas, kitchen gadgets and what the deal is with "Lost" (just kidding! [But seriously, our money's on Desmond, who we believe is locked in Widmore's sub, as the candidate to take replace Jacob in the fight against the Man in Black]).
Got a question? Email us! We'll be happy to share our thoughts, and we'll do our best to find the answers for you.
Today's question comes from Gina in Northport, Long Island, New York:
I'm tired of the ordinary egg salad. With Easter coming up and the abundance of hard cooked eggs we all get stuck with, do you have a unique and/or different recipe we could all try? Thanks!
Great question, Gina! After the jump, we'll share some ideas of what to do with hard-boiled Easter eggs.
But first, we've just got to talk about the amazing Easter eggs in the April issue of Martha Stewart Living.
To be honest, we actually haven't dyed Easter eggs in years. But the gorgeous eggs in the latest issue of Living might convince us to do it this year. Using overlaid decals, cut-outs and electrical tape, Martha has created elegant eggs that are like little works of geometric pop-art.
Amazing, right? You need to pick up the April issue of the magazine to see all the great ideas and get the full how-to. But the whole feature just made us smile!
Now, on to Gina's question!
As Gina says, dying eggs for Easter leaves you with a kitchen full of hard-boiled eggs. And she's right about egg salad -- it's definitely time to replace that as the standard way to use up leftover eggs.
Now, before we get to recipe ideas, we need to talk about food safety. According to the USDA, if you plan to eat the eggs after Easter, you should only use food-grade dyes. You might also consider using things like coffee, pomegranate juice and spinach to create your own natural dyes. The USDA goes on to say that you should refrigerate the eggs until it's time to hide them, and that "the total time for hiding and hunting eggs should be no more than two hours." Also, be careful with hiding and hunting -- if the shell cracks, bacteria could contaminate the egg. Hide eggs you plan to eat only in areas that are protected from dirt, pets and other possible sources of bacteria.
Okay, with that out of the way, here are our ideas of what to do with your leftover Easter eggs:
- Deviled Eggs -- We wrote about these a few months ago. We really love deviled eggs, and these Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs are an upscale take on this classic fare.
- Warm Escarole Salad with Goat Cheese, Hard-boiled Eggs and Bacon -- Hard-boiled eggs are a classic salad ingredient. This recipe sounds particularly delicious.
- Hard-Boiled Egg Dressing with Tarragon and Cornichons -- What a great idea! Here's a dressing that actually uses a mashed hard-boiled egg to add flavor and texture. The recipe suggests using the dressing on cold meat, poultry or vegetables.
- Chinese Tea Eggs -- Eggs steeped in black tea are a popular Chinese snack. We like the idea -- and we really love the pretty marbled pattern you get from this method.
- Scotch Eggs -- Our friend Royce makes these for parties and special occasions, and they're always a tremendous hit. Eggs covered in sausage, mustard and breadcrumbs, and then deep-fried -- what's not to love?!
- Baked Eggs in Tomato-Parmesan Sauce -- One of our all-time favorite meals when you've got nothing in the pantry and no time to cook. Our recipe calls for soft-poaching the eggs in the sauce, but you could easily swap in slices of hard-boiled eggs.
- Scandinavian Open-Faced Shrimp Sandwich -- Okay, this one's a little out there. But why not try this classic Scandinavian lunch dish? Shrimp, tomato, lemon and dill make for a bracing combo -- and a nice balance for the hard-boiled egg.
- Ham Hash with Eggs in Mustard Cream Sauce -- How great does that sound?! Potatoes, ham, onion, eggs, cooked together in a crispy brown hash? Yes, please!
Do you have a favorite hard-boiled eggs recipe to suggest to Gina? Leave it in the comments!
And if you have a question for us, please send us an email!
Previously: Your Questions: Looking for Lima Bean Ideas
