So...whats for dinner?

april485

I also do it the same as Special does but I only boil my eggs for 11 minutes like my Mom taught me...lol. Works every time!

MinusTwo

Hi Serenity & welcome. Please feel free to jump in at any time.

Yup - I do the same with the cold water start & running cold water after & sitting in cold water. And yes, I use old eggs. But I've have had no luck with rolling the eggs on the cupboard so I'll try Special & April's method of shaking the pan. In fact maybe I'll make deviled eggs for our dominoes game tomorrow.

Kattysmith

My mom taught me to boil the eggs for 10 minutes or turn off the heat when the water began boiling, cover the pan, and let the eggs sit for 20 minutes. I try to use older eggs, but that doesn't always work out, either. I make deviled eggs a lot; they were my father's specialty. I am required by law to take them to any gathering.

SpecialK

katty - your method of egg boiling sounds similar to the one the Pioneer Woman uses - I tried it but had trouble, so reverted back to my usual method. I just found the cutest pic of deviled eggs that look like little pumpkins - so cute. They have little vertical lines in the filling, a lot of paprika, and a little piece of scallion as a stem.

carolehalston

I love deviled eggs. Other folks must like them, too, because there are never any left uneaten at a potluck spread.

I plan to go back to boiling my eggs instead of letting them sit in the boiled water as I've been doing. Ironically the bargain priced eggs peal easily. I have been buying brown organic and the shells require a good rap to crack them.

A pork tenderloin is thawing for tonight's dinner. I have choices for a side. Red cabbage for a sweet/sour skillet dish. A butternut squash. Both go with pork.

Anonymous

I used to boil the eggs like SpecialK and april (I learned from Alton Brown), but without peeling immediately unless I was ready to eat one. That was my method of choice until recently.With the pressure cooker, the eggs are steamed instead of boiled. The peel comes off much more easily and in fewer pieces. In this picture, the last piece is almost half of the shell. So, if you have a pressure cooker, try it.

I love deviled eggs, but I've never made it. I usually eat them with a little pink salt.

eric95us

Hi Serenity.

Kathy, I like that "by law" on the deviled eggs. :-)

april485

Serenity, one of the easiest things in the world to make are deviled eggs! Hardest part is boiling and peeling the eggs. It is just mixing the yolks up with whatever you personally like really. Pick a recipe you like and have at it and enjoy!

MinusTwo

My mom was a purist with deviled eggs - just some mayo, a bit of French's mustard and S&P. Most people I know add pickle relish. I don't like pickles included or the pickle juice, however I do add lots of dill weed. Go figure since I don't like dill pickles.

Reading Carole's post jogged my memory that I too plan to go back to boiling the eggs instead of letting them sit. It will be a good test.

I'm about to have dunch. It will be left over shrimp scampi and I'll be adding several Campari tomatoes. That's to mitigate the damage from the two left over Olive Garden bread sticks, which I fully intend to eat with added butter.

ChiSandy

I used to put the eggs in cold water (completely submerged) and then turn off the heat & cover the pan as soon as the water began to boil. 5 min. for soft-cooked, 8-10 for hard. If you let the eggs actually boil, that’s how that ugly greenish ring around the yolks forms. But I recently switched to the ATK method of placing them into 1/2” of already simmering water, covering them, and letting them steam for the same amount of time.

SpecialK

chisandy - congrats on the Cubs big W! We miss Joe Maddon here in Tampa Bay!

I turn the water down to a simmer as soon as it comes up to a boil and don't seem to get the ring around the yolk.

Kattysmith

I boil mine for 10 mins, then cool them off in cold tap water. My late Dad always made his deviled eggs -my 92 yr old MIL from TN calls them "stuffed eggs" - with Miracle Whip, yellow mustard, sweet pickle relish, and pepper. I'm a purist, too, and make them like he did. After you stuff the eggs, you must sprinkle them with paprika. Yes, you must. It is written.

MinusTwo

Katty - opps, guess I'll have to buy some more paprika. Wouldn't want to break the rule.

Special - I agree. Great news that the Cubbies finally made it. Congrats to all Chicago folks & Cubs fans. I was surprised that our Houston Chronicle newspaper (part of the Hearst family) did not mention it anywhere on the front page. Only the sports section.

Speaking of peeling, I know I'm behind the curve and probably everyone else already knows, but recently learned how to peel (commercial) tomatoes. I don't think it was here, so... Remove the entire stem. Cut a small "X" in the opposite end. Stick a fork into the stem end and hold over the flame of a gas burner until the skin shrivels or turns kind of narly. The skin slips right off.

ChiSandy

Miracle Whip? Blecch. Not in this house! (No yellow mustard either—deli brown is the mildest stuff we buy). Real mayo (Hellman’s), sweet relish (which I grudgingly keep on hand for my son’s hot dogs), and the hottest Dijon mustard I can find. And I use smoked Spanish paprika or maybe a tiny bit of cayenne for the sprinkle. Otherwise, it’s something short of “deviled.”

Found an unopened package of raw sauerkraut and chicken bratwursts. So I’ll make a choucroute garni tonight.

Anonymous

We hardly ever have mayo of any kind. Plus, no one else in the house loves eggs like me. We always have smoked paprika, so I'll add that to some of my solo egg lunches.

MinusTwo - I'm glad you shared an interesting technique on peeling tomatoes. I'll keep it in mind. I've decided recently to be more of a cook. My knife skills are weak, so I've been working on onions. Baby steps. Good thing everyone likes onion soup.

Had to get my port flushed tonight. Picked up rotisserie chicken on the way home.

MinusTwo

Serenity - hooray for pick up meals on treatment or appointment days.

Joyce - thanks for posting about the anniversary of Michelle's death. Seems impossible that it was so long ago. Many of us still remember & really miss her. Yes, she was such a joy and inspiration, AND she was a trouper. How are you doing?

MinusTwo

Egg report. Rolling boil for 12-14 minutes. Cold running water in the pan in the sink for 2 minutes. Cold water & ice cubes standing for 10 minutes. Put on the lid & shook the pan. Oh my word. How come I never knew about this before? It's really magic. Thanks Special & April. And I'm definitely back to boiling instead of standing, Martha Stewart or Ina Garten not withstanding (pun intended)

Sandy - I think we're all conditioned by how we were raised. My Mother never had Miracle Whip in the house. But she didn't have Mayo either (which I grew up to love). She maybe used 3oz of mayo a year but only in casseroles. Her 'go to' was butter. As for mustard - I use Grey Poupon & Russian Brown and Wasabi mustard & etc regularly, but for some reason I want French's in my deviled eggs. And for that matter on my cheap Oscar Mayer hot dogs with the cheap store buns. Just part of my childhood, so I don't worry about how pedestrian it might look.

ChiSandy

Yeah, childhood upbringing has a powerful influence on our tastes as adults. Growing up in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, we never had French’s mustard—and the only hot dogs we ate were all-beef Hebrew Nationals or Sabrett’s, with nothing on them but Gulden’s brown deli mustard and sauerkraut (because that’s how the delis did them). OTOH, we did have white bread (usually Silvercup), and my mom drank only Maxim instant freeze-dried coffee. (The percolator and the can of Maxwell House came out only for company). Certain foods from childhood trigger powerful aversions: my mom took great pride in serving us meat, fish or poultry for every dinner; hot dogs were for cookouts, ball games and lunch at the corner deli (or sometimes at Coney Island Joe’s on Linden Blvd, two grilled dogs with brown mustard & kraut on French bread). Very early on, I developed a powerful aversion to baked beans (or what I knew as baked beans at the time). Nobody we knew ate any brand other than Heinz’ Vegetarian, because it was kosher. But as the basis for “franks & beans” or “beanie weenie” they were served at our grade school cafeteria—where only the kids on welfare got hot lunches (which were free). I very quickly associated the smell of Heinz beans, canned tomato soup, room-temperature milk in paper cartons and PB&J sandwiches with poverty, and to this day can abide none of them. It wasn’t until I was in my 20s that I first tasted actual baked beans—brown sugar & molasses or BBQ (with or w/o pork or brisket burnt ends), and I really like them--rather than Heinz', which to me still smell like tomatoes farted.

Kattysmith

ChiSandy, I think Miracle Whip is a southern/Texas thang. Other than in my Dad's deviled eggs & my mom's pimento cheese, I use real mayo - Duke's - and always have Dijon and horseradish around, too.

carolehalston

Mayo is one of our basic food groups. Running out of mayo is an emergency. I think of miracle whip as a Midwestern preference. My Illinois SIL and BIL use miracle whip instead of mayo. It has a sweet flavor that I don't like. We usually have Dijon mustard and a mustard with horse radish but I like French yellow mustard on occasion. My mother bought only yellow mustard and added it to potato salad and deviled eggs in addition to the mayo. I do the same. The color indicates the desired taste!

Joyce, so good to have you pop in and remind us of Michelle. She is still much missed.

I made the red cabbage dish last night and dh and I enjoyed it along with slices of pork tenderloin, flattened and quickly browned in butter. The red cabbage recipe is from an old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and is called German cabbage. The ingredients are sliced red cabbage, diced unpeeled apple, brown sugar, vinegar, water, and carroway seeds. Very easy dish. I tried to make a sour cream and mustard sauce but it flopped. Dh ate apple sauce with his pork.

I may give in to an urge for chicken enchiladas tonight instead of a less calorie laden chicken preparation.

queenmomcat

ChiSandy: laughed out loud at the "tomatoes farted" description of those ghastly baked beans. Memories of grade-school cafeterias must be ingrained--my father still has vivid memories of his, decades afterward.

As for the Great Mayo Debate, it's perhaps telling that I prefer Hellman's....but think of it still as "Best Western" despite twenty-five years in Indiana and Michigan.

carolehalston

My school cafeteria memories are good for grades 1-9. The school was a small country school and the cafeteria workers were women I knew. One named Mrs. Inez made yeast rolls which like the ones she made for her own large family. The food was pretty much typical home-cooked fare. I remember the beef stew with good dark brown gravy, undoubtedly made with a roux. The stew was served over white rice.

My favorite mayo is also Hellman's but I buy the Light. The most popular brand may be regional. It's called Blue Plate and I buy it, too. Most of my family think Blue Plate is the only acceptable brand.

Today I blew my buy-for-one-or-two-days plan which had already gone by the boards. I found meat selections I couldn't pass up, including meaty soup bones with the round bones, lamb chops and ground lamb.

Tonight we will have baked chicken breasts with lemon juice, rosemary and parsley. It's a WW recipe. The side is a brown rice and broccoli dish with curry powder, sour cream and mayo, both light. It's already made and ready to be heated.

MinusTwo

Queen - I think it's Best Foods in the CA that is the same product at Hellmans. That's what I buy too.

We never ate in the cafeteria in grade school. We either walked home for lunch or took a lunch box. I usually still packed a sack lunch in junior high, but boy did I love to add the creamy chocolate milkshakes that the booster club sold.

The dominoes players today showed up with major food: Muffulettas (ham and turkey), deviled eggs, chocolate brownies w/choc syrup inside, choc cookies with white choc chips, pepper jack & cheddar cheese w/crackers, fresh blackberries (which went surprisingly enough with), lemon pudding cake. I'm sure I've forgotten something. I don't think I'll eat for a week.

auntienance

Always mayo here, homemade or Hellmans (or both.) Miracle whip -- no way. Despise the abominable stuff. The best deviled eggs I make is a cooks illustrated recipe. Love those, but I will scarf any available ones.

Ha ha Sandy, I laughed at the farting tomatoes too. Great description. I'm fairly picky about baked beans, often too much ketchup and brown sugar for me. I generally prefer my own.

Manicotti and canneloni for dinner. Manicotti for dh, canneloni for me. I picked them up at an Italian market that I just discovered not far from me. They were not nearly as tasty as the ones I get from The Hill, but they were good enough. The sauce supply from the freezer was depleted, so I had to whip some up -- in the pressure cooker this time. It turned out very good but thinner than I like. I may cook it down some tomorrow.

Thinking about Michelle and Apple and others we're missing.

SpecialK

I grew up eating Best Foods in California, now eat Hellman's in Florida. Same product, different names divided geographically by the Rockies. I also eat Just Mayo which is made without soybean oil and eggs

MinusTwo

Special - thinking about your FIL. Hope things are not desperate and your DH is holding up OK.

SpecialK

minus - can I just come to dominoes and eat? I like everything on that list! I have no idea how to play dominoes, lol! FIL is ok, but he is a doctor and they make the worst patients, he is 91, and frankly - just can't be bothered at this point. His main symptom is fatigue because he can't maintain his hemoglobin - so his QOL is not great, but he has no pain, a reduced appetite is the only other thing for him. DH has been very lucky to have his dad for this long - we all have been, so we are sad, but accepting. Thanks for inquiring.

MinusTwo

Special - Glad FIL has no pain.

I had never played dominoes either until I started chemo and several ladies in the neighborhood decided I needed some easy distraction. We play one block away and sometimes we cook or sometimes we bring chips & dip - no rules. This is a game called Chickenfoot where you draw tiles, start with the double nine in the center & have to match numbers in your own line. If you don't have a number, you have to draw. The winner has played all her tiles & losers pay a penny a point for what's left in their hands. It doesn't require a huge amount of thought but was a wonderful way to force me out of the house & give me something else to think about besides BC. Not to mention getting to know some neighbors in a different way now that all our kids are gone. Oh - and maybe adding numbers in my head will help keep away Alzheimers.

Off to see Mercury Baroque play Bach's Goldberg Variations scored for strings. Wish Susan or Bedo were here to go with me.

ChiSandy

Wish we could get Blue Plate here in IL—ATK top-rated it—but it’s strictly southern. Might smuggle some home next time I drive below the Mason-Dixon line.

eric95us

I too am glad your father in law, Special, is comfortable.

Michelle's blog is still up--I went back and read some of it. Three days earlier, Halloween (1983) was when Mickey's doctor gave us "the talk" and I remember exactly where I was at when I read about Apple....damn cancer......

For Sharon and I, a little mayo goes a long way. I get the smallest jar possible so that the smallest amount goes bad...we just don't use it that much. BestFoods brand is the one we get here in Arizona.

As for deviled eggs, Sharon's mom is our local expert on those..and when we manage to get some, we have to smuggle them past DD. :-)

I have some chicken in the refrigerator, soaking in brine. I've never done this before . I decided it try it after a friend suggested it for the "dry chicken blues". I went with their suggestion of "2/3 cup of brown sugar, 2/3 cup of salt per gallon of water and soak overnight". So, tomorrow, I'll see how it turns out.

I fixed mom's dryer today. It only took a few minutes to find the problem and the part was inexpensive...BUT while checking to see if anything else needed attention, I noticed that some (insert lots of bad words here) idiot had bypassed BOTH "keep the dryer from overheating and catching fire" safety devices!!!!! Fortunately the dryer quit heating. The other would have been very bad. The dryer came with the house and I guess it's been that way since they moved in at the beginning of 2000. Yikes.