Culinary Secrets with The Hills
Eggs! Eggs! Eggs!
Twists and tricks for better eggs from Maralyn Hill and
Brenda Hill, the ‘Tandem Tasters’

We love eggs - in many healthy and delicious ways. They are easy, yet difficult to prepare just right. Many home and cafe cooks overcook or overwork eggs, especially scrambled.  Eggs continue to cook or bake after the pan leaves the stove or oven. Then, they cool very fast.

Maralyn and I have some twists to keep eggs hot and soft.

• We scramble very fresh farm eggs gently. We do not add milk, as it toughens scrambled eggs. However, adding a walnut-size hunk of cream cheese to the egg mixture before cooking (2-3 eggs) keeps the eggs soft, hot and tasty.

• Then think color, texture and taste. Adding some snips of fresh chives (or scallions) as a tasty garnish finishes the simple scramble to gourmet brunch status. We also add freshly ground pepper and sprinkle paprika on top.

• Adding a few cut up chilies from the can is a flavor pop to scrambled eggs or quiche.

• Another simple trick we learned from the French is to add one extra yolk to the whole egg mix. This secret gives a richer flavor and a deeper golden color.

• From our former homes in the nutmeg state of Connecticut, we learned to add a pinch of nutmeg to plain scrambled eggs just before serving.

As a child growing up in Chicago, eggs were inexpensive and no one thought about cholesterol or eating too many. My grandma would fix me eggs in brown butter. Oh, were they delicious! During the spring, there always seems to be a great focus on eggs. The farmers must love it—I know they promote it. Easter seems to kick off the egg season, so we are going to provide you with a lot of egg recipes.

Egg Recipes
Hard Boiled Eggs     Deviled Eggs and Variations     Rosemary Brie Sauce with Hard Boiled Eggs
Eggs Benedict & Variations      Millionaire’s Coffee      Classic Bloody Mary (with twists)

In our family, we each would get a dozen eggs to color for Easter. When you multiply by 5 or however many additional people were around for coloring, that is a lot of hard boiled eggs. However, egg coloring is a good way to keep children entertained for quite a while. A dozen eggs each can be a good thing.

Let’s first cover hard boiled eggs and what to do with them.

Hard Boiled Eggs
For hard boiling eggs, you do not want the freshest of the fresh. They should be 3 to 5 days old to make them easier to peel.

Ingredients:
1 dozen eggs
Cold water
½ teaspoon vinegar
½ teaspoon salt

Directions:
Place eggs in a large pan and cover with at least one inch of cold water.
Add vinegar and salt (this helps egg whites from squiggling out if any happen to crack and it is claimed to help towards easier peeling).
Put the burner on high and bring to a boil.
After boiling 2 to 4 minutes, remove from the heat.
Cover and let sit for 12-20 minutes (I usually wait 20).
Remove eggs with slotted spoon and place in a bowl of ice water or drain water from pan and fill with cold water and add ice.
Once the eggs are cool, drain until dry and then store in a covered container.
It is recommended eggs should be consumed within 5 days.

Deviled Eggs and Variations
I encourage you to experiment. Both Brenda and I always use what is available and look for different twists. Use light mayonnaise to help cut down calories from fat. However, regular mayonnaise has a creamier end result. For deviled eggs, I use light.

Keep your deviled eggs chilled. When serving, use smaller plates and refill often. This recipe can be cut in half or doubled. With the filling, you can get fancy and put it in a pastry tube to squeeze out (it may need a tablespoon more mayonnaise to squeeze out smoothly) or you can just plop the filling in the egg whites.

Ingredients:
1 dozen hard-cooked eggs, peeled and cut lengthwise
½ cup light mayonnaise or salad dressing
3/4 teaspoon dry ground mustard (or 1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard or regular mustard)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper or white pepper
Paprika for garnish

Directions:
Remove egg yolks into a small bowl and mash with a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Fill the egg whites with the mixture. Sprinkle with paprika.
Cover lightly with cling wrap and refrigerate. You can make these one day ahead.

Variation 1:
Add 2 teaspoon chopped chives for filling and 2 teaspoons for garnishing.
1-3 dashes of hot sauce.
A light sprinkle of chili powder.

Variation 2:
Add 2 tablespoons sweet red pepper finely chopped.
2 tablespoons of green onion, finely chopped

Garnishes: These are garnishes Brenda likes to add for color: half of a black olive, half of a green olive, pieces of red pimento and leafy parsley sprig

Rosemary Brie Sauce with Hard-Boiled Eggs
I’m partial to Brie cheese, but then Brenda and I are partial to just about any cheese. This is easy and it takes 10-12 minutes to make.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons flour
¼ teaspoon dry mustard or ½ teaspoon regular or Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1-1/4 cup whole milk (I use 2%)
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1 pound Brie, (rind removed) cut into 1-inch pieces (You can substitute a goat cheese or soft cheese)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced fresh Rosemary leaves (You can substitute tarragon or basil)
1 teaspoon parsley leaves minced
Pepper to taste
6 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and sliced, preferably with an egg slicer for nice round slices
Favorite bread for toast (I like a multigrain)

Directions:
Combine flour and mustard.
Hard boiled eggs should be at room temperature.
In a heavy saucepan, melt butter over low heat.
Whisk in flour mixture until smooth. Cook this roux for 2-3 minutes and keep whisking.
Whisk in milk a little at a time and simmer mixture, whisking in between until thickened, about 2-3 minutes.
Add white wine and simmer, whisking occasionally for 1-2 minutes.
Remove pan from heat and stir in Brie.
Cook sauce over low heat, stirring constantly, until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Do not boil.
Stir in lemon juice, rosemary, parley, salt and pepper.
Toast bread.

Plating:
Place 1 or 2 slices of toast on plate. Put a sliced egg on each piece of toast.

Pour cheese sauce over top. Garnish with Rosemary, Tarragon or Basil.

Short Cut: When I was little, my mother and grandma did not make a Brie sauce. Even though they were great cooks, for this they opened a can of Campbell’s Cream of Celery or Cream of Mushroom Soup. We liked it.

Eggs Benedict & Variations
The Tandem Tasters recently returned from the IFWTWA Mexican Riviera Cruse on Holland American Line. Somehow, Maralyn discovered the “Eggs Bennie Station." Then the word spread like wild fire. What a decadently delightfully delicious way to start our long work day. Every imaginable way to prepare Eggs Benedict was done to perfection by the Holland American International chefs. From Scotland, we devoured perfectly poached eggs over smoked salmon. From Italy, it was over a hot, herb crusted, roasted tomato. Other offerings were crab Benedict or our favorite, eggs Florentine over fresh, wilted spinach.

Our suggestion is to try all kinds of ingredients for a festive brunch. We love hollandaise, but a hot cheese sauce works well over the tomato or spinach and is easier.

Hollandaise Sauce
Ingredients:
8 ounces butter
3 or 4 large egg yolks
2-3 tablespoons of hot water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions:
Melt butter in medium size pan, remove from heat.
Using a small mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks.
While whisking, add lemon juice, salt and cayenne to the yolks.
Slowly begin to add the melted butter and water while still whisking.
Return the mixture to the saucepan and heat over extremely low heat until thickened, whisking continually.
Add salt and pepper to taste if necessary.
Remove from heat and keep the sauce warm until serving – 25 to 30 minutes.

Short Cut Hollandaise: With McCormick's, for example, you just add butter and water to mix and cook for one minute. You can tweak it with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or a teaspoon of mustard or both.  

Poached Eggs
You’ll want the freshest eggs you can find.

Ingredients:
Eggs, room temperature
Water
¼ teaspoon white vinegar (helps egg whites stay together)

Directions:
Use a pan or skillet that is a minimum of 3 inches deep, so you have enough water to cover the eggs. You also want a pan wide enough to hold all the eggs you will be poaching.
You can use Mason jar rings, egg rings or tuna cans (top, bottom & label off) to contain your eggs. This is strictly optional.
Crack open each egg into a small cup or individual bowls so they are ready.
Bring water to a boil and then reduce to simmer.
Slide eggs carefully into slowly simmering water. Do not put too many in at one time.
Using a spoon, carefully push egg whites closer to yolks.
Immediately cover and turn off heat.
Set timer for 3 minutes for medium firm yolk.
Remove from water with slotted spoon—let water drain down in pan from spoon.
Place on your English Muffin (Eggs Benedict), toast or plate.

If you are making a Benedict, place Canadian bacon, (or crab, ham, spinach, whatever) on English muffin and top with poached egg. Add hollandaise sauce, garnish and serve.

Tip: A fact on keeping fresh eggs fresher - we used to toss the cardboard carton and put eggs in the fridge door.  However, eggs keep fresher in their own container.

Now, let’s move on to the drinks. No doubt that Lisa and Nancy, the Big Blenders, agree with Maralyn and me, the Tandem Tasters, about champagne. We all love it.

Champagne or sparking wine is great anytime, anywhere, especially on Champagne Sundays. This delicious wine goes with just about every recipe we write. We especially enjoy Mimosas and Bellini's with a late morning quiche brunch, while listening to their radio show on The Big Blend.

However, with this month’s column about eggs, I prefer a coffee drink or a bloody Mary with most egg dishes for vibrant color and kick. Maralyn and Norm discovered a delectable coffee drink years ago at Patrick Sinclair's Irish Pub on Mackinac Island in Michigan. This Millionaire's coffee was worthy enough to be featured in our book, Our Love Affairs with Food and Travel.

Millionaire’s Coffee
Ingredients:
1 ounce Bailey’s Irish Cream
1 ounce Kahlua
1 ounce Frangelico
1 ounce Grand Marnier
6 ounces hot coffee
Whipped cream
Chocolate shavings

Directions:
Mix liquor with coffee in large mug.
Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings and serve.

I enjoy making the classic Bloody Mary, then tweaking the taste with some surprise ingredients. The fun is in finding your own unique touch, then serving it in big batches to your friends. Mason jars are an interesting serving glass idea for you and your guests.
I am not positive how this morning libation (also said to be a hangover relief - there is no cure) received its name. Although the vodka is from Russia, I read that the name Mary came from a queen in England in the l940s.
The one ingredient I cannot substitute in my Mary's is Lee and Perrins Worcestershire sauce, created from an Indian spice recipe. The two chemists introduced the sauce in Worcester, England in 1823.

Classic Bloody Mary
Ingredients:
1-l/2 ounces (l jigger) vodka
1/2 cup tomato juice
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Worcestershire sauce to taste
Tabasco to taste
Salt and pepper (I prefer celery salt)

Directions:
Combine the above and shake the mixture well.
Pour or strain into a tall glass filled with ice cubes.
Garnish with a celery stick and lemon wedge.

That is the tried and true and here are the twists I like best.