One of my more interesting experiences at culinary school was two three hour classes involving me, about 10 other students and approximately 180 eggs. The Easter bunny’s dream, I tell you.
Being classically trained in French cuisine meant we needed to master the supposed 111 ways of cooking eggs, then have a hands on proficiency of the skill. I think I figured out a dozen of them, possibly fewer. Scrambled, frittatas, over-easy, omelets, shirred, Benedict … oh boy, after this class, I couldn’t look at an egg for at least a month.
So, I figured eggs would be more of an appropriate topic this week instead of something like, I don’t know, rabbit?
Growing up, most of us were told how bad eggs were for you. I was rationed two a week because my mother feared my cholesterol would skyrocket through the roof. And yet, my dad ate four in a sitting without her even batting an eye.
If you’re a college student, you probably limit your egg indulgences to omelets from Temple Rainbow or fried and scrambled on a bagel, toast or kaiser roll. That’s OK, because I can’t picture my supposedly trained self chasing a delicately poached egg around before my 8:40 a.m. class. But who’s to say that you have to eat eggs at breakfast time, anyway? Don’t deny those late night Denny’s runs at 2 a.m.
Can’t get to Denny’s to fulfill that egg craving? Whip up a batch of egg salad and toss in some Thousand Island or Russian dressing, chopped red pepper and sweet relish for something really off the beaten path. Slop it into a bowl and dip in pita triangles that have been toasted until crispy on an oven sheet.
A note about hard boiling eggs, though: Once they’re finished cooking, cool them off right away in ice water, unless you like green and grey tinted egg yolks. Save that for Dr. Seuss.
Not a fan of eggs as a main course? Soak a few drumsticks in milk or buttermilk overnight, then coat each with egg wash (beaten eggs in a shallow pan). After the egg wash, roll in some Italian bread crumbs before getting them nice and crispy in a frying pan. It’s an easy way to use up the last eggs in the carton.
On the other hand, a vibrant omelet filled with loads of veggies and cheese is a tasty and even digestive-happy way to make a meal. A dash of milk in the scrambled raw eggs makes the omelet fluffy. Just be sure to heat up whatever you’re folding, flipping or rolling inside.
And, you can’t ignore chiffon, angel food and sponge cakes. The light and fluffy cakes are filled with egg whites. Beating them up is a great stress reliever, but watch that you don’t get a speck of yolks in the mix, or they won’t rise. And once baked, a serrated knife won’t smash the cake into oblivion.
So, while you’re explaining to a young child why trekking through someone’s lawn searching for colored eggs hidden by a furry rabbit makes sense, get excited about the leftovers.
Brianna Barry can be reached at bbarry@temple.edu.
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