I have a friend who loves egg salad sandwiches. I mean she really loves them and will call me up to suggest I make her an egg salad sandwich lunch. Notice I am the one making the egg salad. Not that I mind, because I love to get together. It is one of the easiest things to make and she is so appreciative. My friend makes a delicious seafood bouillabaisse so I am happy to let her do the fancy stuff. Give me a good egg sandwich any day. In fact, I like eggs in almost any form. Well not the raw, throw it down Rocky version, but cooked any way.
I grew up with chickens and we had eggs every morning for breakfast. Eggs are that miracle food that is good for any meal. I still like them for breakfast but my favorite is for dinner. A frittata, egg in a basket or egg on roasted veggies is my kind of comfort food. I still prefer to cook with farm-fresh eggs. I can find them at the grocery store but really love the whole experience of buying at our local farmers market. Scrambled eggs was the first dish my children learned to cook. Teaching a child to crack an egg was fun and messy but empowering for that child.
For a while, eggs had a bad rap as contributors to heart conditions. Turns out that was not entirely true. Thank goodness, because while I did cut back on my overall consumption, I was not going to give up my eggs. The nutritional value of one large egg is impressive with protein plus 13 essential vitamins and minerals all for only 70 calories. And the yolk is important too, since it contains the majority of those nutrients.
The Egg Nutrition Center reports, “an average of two percent of the population under age five develops an egg allergy. However, most children outgrow their egg allergy by late childhood.” If you do have someone with an egg allergy in your household please indicate it in your DinnerTime profile.
I have eggs on my grocery list every week. They are a staple and I put them in my DinnerTime Pantry as a frequent purchase so I am prompted to add them to my DinnerTime Grocery List every time I shop. i am ready to make egg salad sandwiches any time my friend calls.
8 Tips and Tricks to enjoy your eggs:
- Always check the carton at the store to make sure there aren’t any broken eggs.
- The “Sell by” date is informative but may not be what you want to look at to determine freshness of eggs. Look at the marks below to see the Jilian date. This indicates when the eggs were actually packed. This number ranges from 1 to 365 (1 representing January first). Click here for a tool to help determine the date.
- Use last week’s extra eggs to make hard-boiled eggs. Older eggs just seem to hard boil better.
- Always have hard-boiled eggs on hand. They are the perfect snack to hold off the ‘hungries’ throughout the week.
- Hard boiling eggs is easier than you realize. Add eggs to a pot of cold water, bring to a brisk boil, cover and remove from heat. Leave them for up to 20 minutes. After they are done, cool and peel.
- Fresher eggs make the best cakes.
- Room-temperature eggs are best for baking and beating egg whites to a peak. Otherwise use straight from the fridge.
- For added fluffiness, add a little bit of milk to your bowl as you scramble eggs. Don’t over whisk, you just want to blend and add some air.
- Serving poached eggs is impressive and not difficult. Bring a pot of water to a boil, crack an egg into a small bowl for easier handling and then slide the egg into the water. It is done when the whole white is solid but the yolk is not.
- Deviled eggs are always a hit at a party. Easy to prepare and economical.
