HOW TO “BOIL” AN EGG.

First we turn on the burner, place a pan of water on the stove, throw in an egg or two let them boil until the white emerges through a crack and remove from the stove. That from the bachelors book on cooking and etiquette. Of course there is much more to it than that. Although most of us equate the hard boiled egg with the Easter bunny, it is one of natures more perfect sources of protein. Containing just seventy calories, you’ll find them in use in sandwichs, salads and a host of other dishes.

To correctly cook an egg in the first place, one doesn’t boil them. Rather set them carefully uncracked into a pan of cold water, covered by about 1 ½” of cold water, and bring them to a boil. Then remove from the heat source. Cover pan and leave for up to fifteen or twenty minutes.( Use chart below as a guide for the desired firmness for the yolk of each egg size- the whites will be firm) The soft cooked egg will have a runny yolk, a medium egg a firmer yolk and the hard cooked a hard yolk. It should be added that ideally the eggs should be at room temperature, or gently warmed under flowing hot tap water before they are put in the cold water. This takes about a minute off the cooking time. In the event of a cracked egg a couple tablespoons of salt will help eliminate the egg white exiting the egg. After cooking it’s a good idea to place the eggs in a pan of cold water. This makes the egg much easier to peel and keeps the white pliable. It is not advised to microwave an egg, as it will probably explode, however it can be placed in a microwave if not quite hard enough. Although farmers living in the Midwest would regularly eat a dozen eggs for breakfast and enjoyed long healthy lives, those of us with a more sedentary lifestyle are advised by doctors to limit eggs to four or five a week.

We all owe our existence to the egg because in some form that is the state in which all life begins. Although eggs from fish, turtles, turkeys ostriches and birds etc. can certainly nourish us, most come from the chicken. The production of eggs in the poultry industry is by far it’s most exploited.

Egg Size	Degree of Doneness	Time Required
Medium	Soft-cooked yolk	3 minutes
	Medium-cooked yolk	5 minutes
	Hard-cooked yolk	10 to 12 minutes
Large	Soft-cooked yolk	4 to 5 minutes
	Medium-cooked yolk	6 minutes
	Hard-cooked yolk	12 to 15 minutes
Extra Large	Soft-cooked yolk	5 minutes
	Medium-cooked yolk	7 to 8 minutes
	Hard-cooked yolk	18 minutes

Want a great Holiday, non alcoholic, punch for any party?
Take 2 large bottles of 7-up( 2 liter size and can be diet if you wish)
and 1/2 Gallon of lime sherbet ( or any flavor you like).  Just put the sherbet
in the 7-up and allow to melt.    Ladle out and enjoy!
Consider using Orange sherbet and orange soda for a Halloween party.
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Make several pie crusts an once after Thanksgiving. 
Put in aluminum pie plates and make sure to stack them with a piece of waxed paper between each one. 
Freeze in a freezer baggie.
  When you are ready to make pies just pull our the number you need and fill and bake.  
Wonderful time saver!
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If you don't make your own pies, don't forget to order
them in advance.  That will assure you
you will have your pie as needed. 
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Cookie Dough, or even baked cookies, can be baked and frozen
ahead of time.   After Thanksgiving is a good time to
start thinking of Christmas cookies.  For cookie dough,
just roll into log and wrap with plastic wrap.  Freeze in
freezer bags.   When you want cookies just remove from
freezer and cut and bake.   ( oh my, I can smell the
chocolate chip cookies in the oven Now)
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