So Eggciting!

Any home you go to in Tennessee is going to have food. One of two things are guaranteed to be on the table and most likely both. A cheese ball is a sure bet. Sometimes sweet, sometimes herby, almost always rolled in nuts and served with crackers. It is a crowd pleaser here and I didn't know I liked cheese balls until I moved here. The other item is deviled eggs. They come in many varieties, some piped with a star tip and others sprinkled with paprika to hide the lack of detail in making them. I can be a snob because it's so easy to make food beautiful and sometimes people just don't know how easy it is.

A few months ago I came across a website that had instructions for making heart shaped hard boiled eggs. I was obsessed. I tried to make them and found working with hot eggs to be a challenge. Then my mother sent me a Williams-Sonoma gift card. Bless her heart she is always thinking of me. I also believe she does it for herself because I'm likely to buy something to make and send home. Either way she's awesome.

I found egg molds! $10 and I can't even describe how eggcited I was! I am easily amused but to come across a mold for something I had tried making recently was just fate stepping in and giving me a project to blog about. My father didn't share the same enthusiasm until I told him he will be having bunnies and bears for breakfast. He couldn't help but laugh at me.

This is easy and fun! I make my hard boiled eggs the same way I learned years ago. Cold water to cover the eggs, brought to a boil and covered, removed from heat for 9 min then drain and shock in cold water. When you see hard boiled eggs that have that greenish-grey layer around the yolk, it just means they were cooked a bit too long. It doesn't harm anything but the look of the finished product.

When using the molds the eggs need to remain hot. The easiest way to peel them is to have cold running water just so you can handle them without losing your fingerprints. Immediately place the peeled egg into the mold and snap shut. Place the molds into an ice bath until chilled. I inverted the lid of my pot to keep them submerged as they cooled. Remove from the mold and smile! You now have the cutest eggs ever!

A note on the eggs, the instructions call for extra large eggs. It's definitely necessary for the heart and star molds. Being a pastry chef I only had large eggs and they worked but I will be buying XL eggs when I make this for company :)

The hearts and stars are great for making deviled eggs. I suggest you ask your mother or grandmother for a recipe.