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    Make Perfect Hard-Cooked Eggs

    By | Shine Food – Wed, Apr 13, 2011 5:05 PM EDT

    Whether you celebrate Easter or Passover, eggs are bound to be part of the festivities. Is there any Easter basket that doesn't have at least a few pretty pastel-colored eggs tucked in among the jelly beans? And just what are your kids hunting for on Easter morning?

    A hard-cooked egg is one of the 5 ritual foods on the Seder plate and, while in truth, custom calls for a "roasted" egg, at most Seders I've been to the egg's been hard-boiled. Growing up, a hard-boiled egg in a bowl of salt water was always the first of the many courses served at the Passover feast.

    Even though they seem to be everywhere at this time of year, and simple as they are, cooking hard-boiled eggs seems to confound people. So in the spirit of the season, I'm going to share my own personal fail-proof method for absolutely perfect results - no special equipment needed!

    Here's how:

    1. Put up a pot of water to boil; you'll need one big enough for water to flow freely around the number of eggs you'll be cooking.
    2. Once the water's boiling, use a large spoon to gently lower the eggs into the water.
    3. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer and set a timer for 12 minutes. Now don't stress...sometimes I let the water boil a little too much or drop below a simmer and sometimes it's closer to 14 minutes before I drop what I'm doing and tend to the eggs.
    4. Then, take the pot off the heat, place it in the sink and run cold water over the eggs until the shells are cold to the touch.

    I have never, ever turned out an undercooked egg or even worse, one with a dreadful green ring around the yolk. If you're going to be dyeing the eggs, you'll be leaving them in the shell but if you'll be serving them whole out of the shell, tap them gently against the pot once they're cool and the shells will shatter, and slip right off. I recommend that as a treat for yourself, you cook one or two extra to eat right away with a sprinkle of salt while they're still warm and soft inside - nothing tastes better in my humble opinion.

    Once you've cooked your eggs, be sure to check out our Easter egg decorating ideas.

    Wishing you all an "egg"-sellent holiday!

    -By Sharon Franke

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    Reprinted with Permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.

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