Friday, April 22, 2011

5 Tried And True Recipes for Leftover Easter Eggs

Ah Leftover Easter Eggs - We All Got 'Em - Whaddawe Do With 'Em?


SusieT and the whole dern Gibbs clan - Easter 1965

So many of us have our family traditions for feast days and they often relate to childhood and what our folks made. And we make the same things year in and year out as part of tradition! Easter at our house was always a brunch and almost always involved ham or some charred offering from the barbeque, if Daddy was cooking. Daddy was a fan of brown food too, just like me! Maybe I inherited that gene – the brown gene!

I'm not even gonna try to compete with your family memories and traditions. Nope. "Not gonnah," in the words of 41. (He and Bar live here in Houston btw, if you will allow me to name drop, and my BIL saw him at the drugstore one night - I think they were both there for the Nyquil. It was cold n flu season after all.)



Instead, let’s talk Easter Eggs. If you have kids, I bet you’ve got almost a million of these pesky little varmints! Yep, we all need ideas about how to use the one million leftover, dye-stained, well-worn, child-loved, hard boiled eggs you will have sittin’ in your fridge (or ice box as we grew up callin’ the refrigerator).

We have five family favorite, tried and true recipes to get through, so let’s get started.

Hey, just a disclaimer here. I didn’t have time to get these recipes photographed for you and since I’m reachin’ into the Susie Files, the following recipes exist either in my head from memories of how Mama, Daddy, WaWa, Khaki, Annie or I made ‘em for the last 48 years, or they actually exist on a scribbled piece of paper in the originator’s own hand.

But none of these recipes ever came complete with a photo guide. You see, back in those days, we still knew how to read and didn’t depend on picture book guides for literacy. (No offense meant if you are one of the illiterati!) Yeah, yeah, I hear ya.  A picture’s worth a thousand words…at least that’s their story and they’re stickin’ to it!

Also, I make no statements regarding the safety of leftover Easter Eggs, nor do I or indeed, do any Fluffy Chix - anywhere in the universe - give any implicit or implied warranty on said Easter Eggs (just a little note from our Fluffy Lawyers)!

So use your own judgement regarding how long it's safe for an Easter Egg to sit out unrefrigerated. Use your own judgement about how long they are safe to eat after being held, loved, licked, and dropped by adorable, grubby little paws!

Eat Leftover Easter Eggs At Your Own Risk!!!



Easter Egg Leftover – Recipe 1

Mama’s Deviled Eggs
(How can you be from the South and not love these?)
Mama's Deviled Eggs sprinkled with Paprika
Serves 6 (in most families)
Serves 2 (in our family)
Difficulty – Our dog, Beauregard (but you can call him Boo), can make this one!
Prep – How quick can you peel 12 eggs?
Cook Time – ABC (Already Been Cooked)


1 Doz Leftover Easter Eggs
1/3 – 1/2c Hellman’s Mayo or Duke’s Mayo or preferably HM (homemade)!
1 Large Pinch Dry Mustard Powder (Coleman’s is fine)
1 tsp French’s Yellow Mustard (rounded)
Kosher Salt
White Pepper
Cayenne or Paprika

Carefully peel eggs to remove all shells. Rinse egg in cold water to be sure all shell is removed. Dry eggs.

Split down the center lengthwise and pop egg yolk into separate bowl. Don’t break the whites! Repeat until all eggs have been split.

Mash yolks with the tines of a fork or with a pastry cutter until finely minced. Stir in all other ingredients and mix well. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust seasoning.

Spoon or pipe into the wells of the egg whites. Yes, it's a little known fact that membership into the DFSWs is predicated on your ability to use a star tip and a piping bag to place the deviled yolk mixture cleanly and neatly into an egg white - so we can make Mama proud! Sprinkle deviled yolk mounds with cayenne or paprika for color and serve. (Try to leave the whites without any sprinkles!)

SusieT’s Notes:
Hey if you are afraid of a little mayo overload, I sometimes split the mayo between plain, whole milk yogurt and mayonnaise. It will reduce your polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs). Few will know you’ve 21st Centuried the family deviled egg recipe!



Easter Egg Leftover – Recipe 2

SusieT’s Gentrified Deviled Eggs


SusieT's Gentrified Deviled Eggs with capers and caviar.

Serves 6 (in most families)
Serves 2 (in our family)
Difficulty – Our dog Beauregard (but you can call him Boo), can almost make this one!
Prep – Maybe about 15 minutes if he's feelin' lazy
Cook Time – ABC (Already Been Cooked)


1 Doz Leftover Easter Eggs
1/3 – 1/2c Hellman’s Mayo or Duke’s Mayo or preferably HM (homemade)!
1 Large Pinch Dry Mustard Powder (Coleman’s is fine)
1 Tbsp Chives or Green Onions, chopped finely
1 Tbsp Capers, drained
2oz Jar Black Lumpfish Caviar, Romanoff brand
Kosher Salt
White Pepper

Carefully peel eggs to remove all shells. Rinse egg in cold water to be sure all shell is removed. Dry eggs.

Split down the center lengthwise and pop egg yolk into separate bowl. Don’t break the whites! Repeat until all eggs have been split.

Gently spoon caviar into a small fine strainer and submerge caviar into a bowl of cold, filtered water. Submerge the strainer into the cold water bath 3-4 times until the black ink coming from the strainer disappears. Place strainer onto a bed of paper towels and let caviar drain while completing the other prep steps. (This simple step of washing the caviar without breaking the eggs elevates the taste of this roe from semi-nauseating to delicious. People won’t know it’s the cheap stuff!!!)

Strain and finely chop capers and finely chop chives or green onion.

Mash yolks with the tines of a fork or with a pastry cutter until finely minced. Stir in mayo, spices, capers and chives. Season with salt and pepper to taste - remember caviar is salty.

Spoon or pipe into the wells of the egg whites. Top with a dollop of caviar and serve chilled. See DFSW note about piping in Mama's Deviled Eggs recipe!

SusieT’s Notes:
Hey if you are afraid of a little mayo, I sometimes split the mayo between plain, whole milk yogurt and mayonnaise. It will reduce your polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs). Few will know you’ve 21st Centuried the family deviled egg recipe!

You can make the eggs up to the point of topping with caviar. You can wash and drain the caviar up to an hour or two before service, but don’t top the eggs with the caviar until you are ready to serve them. You don’t want the caviar to bleed into the egg yolk color.

These are an awesome brunch or appetizer recipe. Makes a fun Tapas dish! People are always blown away and little do they know how cheap it is to make. (Oh and most importantly, only strain the amount of caviar you are gonna use for that sitting. Put the cap back on the jar and put the caviar back into the ice box until you use it. It’s great leftover on scrambled eggs or served with purple onion, capers, chopped eggs, and low carb crackers or low carb pita chips.



Easter Egg Leftover – Recipe 3

Caviar on Toast Points and Crackers

Cheap black lumpfish caviar transformed into GREATness!
Serves 4 (in most families)
Serves2 (in our family)
Difficulty – We don’t trust old Boo with the fish eggs. It makes him a little crazy with excitement. But if you ask him, Old Boo will still claim it's pretty easy!
Prep – Bout 10 Minutes
Cook Time – ABC (Already Been Cooked)

2 Leftover Easter Eggs, peeled, finely chopped
1/3 Purple Onion, finely chopped
1/4c Capers, drained
1/2c Sour Cream
2oz Leftover Jar Black Lumpfish Caviar, Romanoff Brand

LC Crackers (recipe to come)
RR Focaccia split and toasted in a pan with a little Olive Oil

This isn’t so much a recipe as it is instructions for assembly. You make a tray with these ingredients and let everyone serve themselves.

Rinse caviar as described in the Gentrified Deviled Egg recipe and let it drain well on paper towels until you’ve finished the other prep. Place caviar in pretty bowl.

Finely chop onion, and place in a decorative bowl. Peel, wash, dry and finely chop leftover Easter Eggs and give them a fancy bowl too. Drain the capers and place them in a swanky bowl as well. Scoop out sour cream into its own swanky bowl and you will have a tray holding 5 swanked-out bowls (caviar, sour cream, egg, purple onion, capers) of "parts."

Serve parts with LC crackers or make this pretty Focaccia toast points and let everyone assemble their own canape.

It's easy to assemble! Smear cracker or toast point with sour cream. Layer with some chopped egg, onion, capers and a dollop of caviar. Eat it up yum!

Focaccia Toast Points

1 9x9 Pan Focaccia (LC)
Olive Oil
1 Clove Garlic

Cut Focaccia into quarters. Cut each quarter in half horizontally into 2 sandwich slices. Cut each sandwich slice in half diagonally. Cut each triangle in half down the center to make 2 right angle triangles. So in other words, from one slice of Focaccia, you get 4 toast points. Careful with the cutting, make them look pretty!

Peel and smash 1 clove garlic with the flat of your chef knife.  Place in large non-stick skillet with about 1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil. Over med high heat, gently fry Focaccia in the garlic infused oil until each point is brown and crisp. Fry them on both sides. Pretend you are making unstuffed grilled cheese.

Remove from pan and place on paper towels to blot off some of the olive oil. Let toast points cool, then use to serve with caviar and salmon dips.

SusieT’s Notes:
Well, I swanny! This is another recipe sure to fool your best friend! Your fellow DFSW will think you’ve won the lottery instead of spending $6-7 bucks on a jar of cheapo caviar. This caviar recipe is a great way to use up more leftover Easter Eggs along with the leftover caviar you have in the ice box from the Gentrified Deviled Egg recipe.

It’s a family favorite and we have our little ones, “the bitsies,” request it at every family gathering. Imagine!



Easter Egg Leftover – Recipe 4

Texas Egg Salad


Texas Egg Salad with onions and pickled jalapenos.

Serves 4 (in most families)
Serves 3 (in our family)
Difficulty – Yep, old Beauregard (Boo for short) makes this un for us all the time!
Prep – Takes him ‘bout 10 Minutes
Cook Time – ABC (Already Been Cooked)

8 Leftover Easter Eggs
1/3 – 1/2c Hellman’s Mayo or Duke’s Mayo or preferably HM (homemade)!
1 Large Pinch Dry Mustard Powder (Coleman’s is fine)
1 Tablespoon French’s Yellow Mustard
1 Tbsp Sweet Yellow Onion, chopped finely
1-2 Tbsp Pickled Jalapenos, drained and chopped finely (Depends on how hot ya like it!)
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper

Carefully peel eggs to remove all shells. Rinse egg in cold water to be sure all shell is removed. Dry eggs.

Roughly chop the eggs with a knife, then use a pastry cutter to mince the eggs up, finely.

Stir in mayo, spices, onions and jalapenos. This is better when it’s allowed to sit for a couple of hours.

Scoop a huge dollop out of the bowl and place it on top of a square of focaccia bread. Don’t forget to split the bread and turn the split slices inside out. That way it looks and eats like an old fashioned egg salad sandwich!

SusieT’s Notes:
Hey if you are afraid of a little mayo, I sometimes split the mayo between plain, whole milk yogurt and mayonnaise. It will reduce your polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs). Few will know you’ve 21st Centuried the family egg salad recipe!

We love this as either a sandwich fillin’ or to use as a dip for anything from carrots and celery to sliced jicama. We also love it with HM (Homemade) Low Carb Crackers. Also, pan grilling the sliced focaccia bread with a little olive oil and topping with the egg salad is TDF! (To Die For!)


Easter Egg Leftover – Recipe 5

Scotch Eggs


Scotch Egg with pork rind, pamesan, coconut
flour breading.

Serves 6 (in most families)
Difficulty – Too advanced for Boo!
Prep – 30 Minutes
Cook Time - 35-40 Minutes

1 lb Jimmy Dean or Owen’s Country Sausage, Hot Flavor (turkey sausage works too)
6 Leftover Easter Eggs
2 Tbsp Yellow Onion, minced
1 Fresh Habanero, skinned and minced (sub Serrano or Jalapeno), fresh
½ tsp Granulated Garlic Powder
Black Pepper
1/2c Parmesan Cheese
1/2c Pork Rinds
1/8c Coconut Flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill Brand)

Preheat oven to 400°.

Process pork rinds in food processor into fine crumbs like breadcrumbs. Combine pork rind crumbs with parmesan cheese, coconut flour and garlic powder. Mix well and set aside.

Finely mince onion and chili. You can use the food processor if you’d prefer – I do, it’s already dirty from the pork rinds! Combine veggies with crumbled, raw bulk sausage and add spices.

Divide sausage mixture into 6 equal portions and roll into meatballs.

Here’s where we get tricky! Cut off two portions of plastic wrap and wrap two dinner plates with the plastic wrap. One of the plate gets the plastic wrapped on the front side of the plate and the other one gets the plastic wrapped on the back!

Place one ball of meat onto the center of one plate and top with the back of the plastic wrapped second plate. Now smoosh the top plate down on top of the sausage ball and press until it’s about 1/8” big. You will have to use a bit of pressure for this.

Peel off the top layer of plastic if it stuck to the smooshed sausage. You now have a round disc of raw meat. Place egg in center of disc and use the bottom layer of plastic to wrap the meat up around the egg. Press meat together to form one smooth cohesive sheath of meat around the egg. Repeat on remaining 5 eggs.

Sprinkle pork rind, cheese, coconut flour mixture onto a dry plastic or foil wrapped surface. Roll each sausage-egg ball around on the sprinkled surface to coat it well with the crumb mixture. Repeat on remaining 5 sausage-eggs.

Place eggs on foil lined baking sheet and bake at 400° for 35-40 minutes or until sausage is cooked through and breading is golden. You may have to watch the temperature and turn them a time a time or two during cooking. If they look like they are browning too quickly, reduce heat to 325 or 350°.

Serve this with HM (Homemade) Ranch Dip or Jalapeno Cilantro Ranch - unless you make the version with the maple syrup!

SusieT’s Notes:
You can prepare these up to the night before and store them in the ice box. Cook them just before serving. Serve these hot!  We love to eat them as part of a festive brunch. But they can also be cooked, chilled and rewarmed for breakfast on the run! Stick a wooden skewer in them and call it a sausage pop! MMMmmmmm!

Tastes like Candy too! Well they don’t actually taste like candy, unless you add an optional tablespoon or two of sugar free maple syrup to the sausage mixture. Hey! Don’t criticize me. I’m just sayin’…maybe you should spread your wings a little!

OK Nutritional Values for all these leftover chickadee recipes will have to come later. Wish I had time to discuss the recipe for the Mother and Child Reunion, but that will have to be for another Easter!

Happy Easter and never forget! Our Savior lives! Allelujah! He is risen and we are saved!

2 comments:

  1. Thanks, Jenn! We're the Squinty McSquinter family for sure! Do you see almost all our noses are crinkled up with smiling. We smiled so much our cheeks ate our eyes all gone.

    It's funny about pictures and memories. I can still feel the sun on my face from that morning! Good times. Time flies so quickly.

    ReplyDelete

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