Eggs Baby!

Toward the end of the week when I look in the fridge, there's not a lot of exciting options for lunch. One thing that I can generally throw together with stuff I have on hand is a great egg salad sandwich. I enjoy this recipe from 101 Cookbooks. It is quite good.

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Egg Salad Sandwich

101 Cookbooks

I've realized that 90% of the challenge here is properly boiling the egg. You need to boil it so the center sets yet stays moist. You also need to avoid the green/grey ring thing that surrounds the yolk in many hard boiled eggs. I use the same technique here that I learned camping with a hardcore egg enthusiast. It has worked for me flawlessly ever since. The key is to avoid over cooking, and to dunk the eggs in a bowl of icy water to stop the cooking after you remove them from the hot water. I always use good quality eggs - but something to keep in mind, the fresher they are, the harder they are to peel after boiling.

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6 large eggs
1-2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Salt and pepper

A tiny squeeze of lemon juice

2 stalks celery, washed and chopped

1/2 bunch chives, chopped

2 small handfuls of lettuce

8 slices of whole grain bread, toasted

Place the eggs in a pot and cover with cold water by a 1/2-inch or so. Bring to a gentle boil. Now turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for exactly seven minutes. Have a big bowl of ice water ready and when the eggs are done cooking place them in the ice bath for three minutes or so - long enough to stop the cooking. Crack and peel each egg, place in a medium mixing bowl. Add the mayonnaise, a couple generous pinches of salt and pepper, now mash with a fork. Don't overdo it, you want the egg mixture to have some texture. If you need to add a bit more mayo to moisten up the mixture a bit, go for it a bit at a time.

Stir in the celery and chives. Taste, and adjust the seasoning - adding more salt and pepper if needed.

To assemble each egg salad sandwich: place a bit of lettuce on a piece of toast, top with the egg salad mixture, and finish by creating a sandwich with a second piece of toast.

Make 4 sandwiches.

And speaking of eggs, if you've ever looked in the fridge to find a carton of eggs marked with an expired date there is a quick way to tell if they're still okay to eat.

Put your eggs in a bowl and cover with tap water. If the eggs sink and rest horizontally, they are very fresh. If the larger end of the eggs start to rise, your eggs are about one to two weeks old. If your eggs float, they've gone bad.

And one last thought on eggs. If you're ever in the strange mood to make deviled eggs, you should try my mother-in-law's recipe. They are the best I've ever tasted.

Curried Deviled Eggs
My mother-in-law's recipe

8 hard boiled eggs
3 T miracle whip
3-4 T Heinz sweet relish
1 T curry powder (or to taste)
¼ chopped sweet white onion
Salt and pepper
Paprika