CULINARY COMFORT
This Month…Eggs 101
BY KAREN PERRY & DEE
DEE GOIDEL
Which came first, the
chicken or the egg? All
chickens hatch from eggs
and yet all chicken eggs are laid by
chickens. This question has been
debated by everyone from evolutionary
scholars to theologians to
culinary beginners. No one has
come up with a definitive answer.
We will side with the source that
names the chicken as being first.
We need the chicken coming first
to lay our “golden eggs”.
Eggs have been part of man’s
diet from earliest times. Wild bird
eggs were a source of sustenance
for primitive man. However, as
early as 2,500 B.C., the domestication
of fowl began to ensure a
more reliable egg supply. Today, a
single chicken can lay 200 or more
eggs a year. The domestic hen and
egg cookery have been carried to
every corner of the globe. An egg is
a protein packed and economical
ingredient. In Jamison’s cookbook,
“A Real American Breakfast”, it is
said “A good egg is a miraculous
little package with an amazing
power to please”.
Egg preparation is divided into
three basic forms: whole egg cookery,
beaten egg cookery and combination
egg and cheese cookery.
Eggs that are cooked whole may
be fried (“sunny side up” or “over
easy”), boiled, poached, baked or
steamed. Beaten egg cookery consists
of the many guises of scrambled
eggs and omelets, stratas or
frittatas. Combination egg and
cheese cookery provides a broad
array of dishes. They range from
custards, puddings and souffles
to pies, tarts, crepes, blintzes and
quiches.
We have been ignoring the quality
of our eggs. Stay clear of the stale
supermarket varieties. Instead,
select cage-free, organic eggs.
Here, the chickens have greater
access to the outdoors. They have
hormone-free, antibiotic-free diets
without fungicides, herbicides
or pesticides. Also available are
Omega-3 enhanced eggs. Here, the
chickens eat feed supplemented
with Omega-3 sources like flaxseed
and fish oil. Omega-3 fatty
acids have been shown to have
powerful health benefits for your
body and brain.
Many believe that darker shell
color is an indication of quality.
The nutritional content of an egg
is only influenced by the hen’s
diet. Without taking shell color
into account, hens that are fed
the same diet lay eggs that are the
same nutritionally. The eggs will
also have the same flavor, taste
and cooking characteristics. The
higher demand for brown eggs on
supermarket shelves is caused by
the consumers’ faulty belief that
brown eggs are healthier than
white ones.
A hard-boiled egg is the most
portable of all varieties when
transformed into an hors d’oeuvre,
salad or sandwich. Cooking
hard-boiled eggs seems easy at
first. However, it requires precise
methods and timing. Success is
only seen when the egg is peeled.
There is a mystique surrounding
hard-boiled eggs. Some say peeling
is perfect when the eggs are
at least two-weeks old. Martha
Stewart believes that you start
with room-temperature eggs. They
are then covered with cold water.
Twelve minutes is her suggested
time to let the eggs sit, after
removing them from rapidly boiling
water. Finally, after the twelve
minutes, she advises that the eggs
be submerged in cold water. This
stops the cooking process and
results in a perfectly peeled egg.
Next Month in Culinary
Comfort
It’s time to reveal our next
culinary comfort theme. We have
had so many excellent egg recipes
submitted to us that next month
we will graduate to “Eggs 201.” We
leave you in suspense until then!
Contrary to popular belief, quiche is not of French origin. Instead,
its roots are German. Even the word “quiche” comes from the
German word “kuchen” which means cake. The French enhanced
the dish and renamed it “Lorraine”, an open pie with a filling of
eggs, cream, custard and bacon. It was later that cheese was added
to the dish.
Originally made from bread dough, it has evolved into a shortcrust
or puff pastry shell. As with the omelet, quiche fillings are varied.
Using the French terms, “Quiche aux champignons” is made
primarily with mushrooms, while “Florentine” and “Provenc̡ale”
quiches are made with spinach and tomatoes respectively.
Spinach Quiche
(8 slices per pie)
Our Gratitude to Linda Savad
Ingredients:
4 frozen pie crusts
1 ¼ pounds grated Jarlsberg cheese
3 Seabrook Farms frozen creamed spinach
1 pint half and half
1 can French fried onion rings
2 eggs
Dash of pepper
Directions: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pie crusts according
to package directions. Mix all ingredients and pour into baked
pie crusts. Bake for 20 minutes. The quiches freeze beautifully.
When ready to use them, defrost then bake at 350 degrees for 30
minutes.
It seems that omelets have surfaced some time in every culture in the
world. (Even the Romans were known to use eggs and dairy to create
dishes.) Each society discovered the heavenly result of pouring eggs into
a heated pan without stirring them, then carefully folding in a complementary
filling. (Scrambled eggs differ from omelets in that they are stirred.)
Fillings span the gamut from cheeses, herbs or vegetables to meats such
as ham or bacon. There are even novelty omelets. In one, kirsch or rum
are combined with sugar to make a sweet dessert.
Folded, Scrambled Lox,
Eggs and Onion
(serves 4)
Our Thanks to Mattie Grosser
Ingredients:
4 Eggs
1 Onion1
1/2 Tablespoon Milk
Lox (of your choice)
1 1/2 Tablespoon Butter (unsalted)
Dash of Pepper (optional)
Directions: Whisk 4 eggs together with 1 ½ Tbs of milk. Heat the
butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add egg mixture to pan and
cook for about 20 until the edges are starting to set on the bottom and
on the sides of the pan. Lift and fold partially cooked omelet letting the
uncooked egg mixture flow underneath. Add Lox and chopped onion.
Season with pepper only to taste. Cook until golden in color. 20 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ May 2021