‘Eggceptional’ eggs for Eastertide
Regina Murphy
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
April Crain lives north of Emporia, and sometimes she brings me a dozen beautiful fresh eggs. April used to work here at the Gazette and she still spoils us all!
These eggs are brown, green and even a pale beige. Their yolks are such a deep orange color, and the flavor is just fantastic. It’s “special treat” day when I get to have April’s eggs!
I usually do them up poached on toast or in a quiche. Now, I have been needing to cut back on the old cholesterol, so I’ve been learning quite a lot about egg substitutes. I haven’t had any trouble replacing Egg Beaters for the required eggs in any of my recipes, thus far. They have no fat, half the calories and are “nutrified”.
There was this old all-night diner in Memphis (complete with Elvis shrine) where the King would go after midnight for a fried egg sandwich on toast. Being the young college kid I was at the time, my friends and I had no qualms whatsoever doing the same! Ever since I have dearly loved a good egg sandwich, although I prefer scrambled. This recipe is even better, low in fat and cholesterol, and makes a great lunch or breakfast.
CAJUN EGG SANDWICH
Use Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup Healthy Choice smoked sausage
1/4 cup sliced green onion
1 large clove garlic, minced
1-1/2 cups Egg Beaters
3 Tbsp. skim milk
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
dash ground red pepper
1 can (10 oz.) Ro-Tel, drained
3 English muffins, split, toasted
Tabasco
Spray a skillet with cooking spray. Chop up the sausage and cook over medium heat about three minutes, or until lightly browned. Add onions and garlic; cook one or two minutes more. Whisk the Egg Beaters, milk, and peppers in medium bowl until well blended; pour into skillet. Add sausage and cook until Egg Beaters reach the desired doneness, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, heat the Ro-Tel tomatoes in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally.
Spoon about 1/3 of a cup of the egg mixture over each muffin half; top with about 1 tablespoon tomatoes and serve with all the Tabasco sauce you like. Yum, yum!
I bet you’ve seen some of the articles in the news lately about how unhealthy Chinese restaurant food can be. How depressing! I think you can be really judicious about what you order and maybe not do too badly. Or you could cook at home, where you can track the ingredients a little better. Nothing’s tastier than a big bowl of fried rice. You can add any cooked meat you’d like to this recipe to “beef” it up.
VEGETABLE FRIED RICE
Use Non-Stick Cooking Spray
3 eggs, beaten, or 3/4 cup Egg Beaters
1 bag (16-oz.) frozen stir-fry vegetables, thawed
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 cups cooked brown rice
3 Tbsp. light soy sauce
1/4 tsp. ground or 1/2 tsp. fresh grated ginger
Spray a large nonstick wok or skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add eggs and cook without stirring until edges and bottom begin to set. Lift uncooked portion and gently turn to finish cooking. Remove from skillet, cover and keep warm.
Re-coat the wok with cooking spray. Add vegetables and garlic; cook and stir until vegetables are crisp-tender (about six minutes). Stir in the rice, soy sauce and ginger; cook until heated through. Slice up the eggs into little ribbons, add to the stir fry, heat through again and serve immediately.
If I’m using the www.calorieking.com site correctly, and you use the Egg Beaters, this should add up to 170 calories per one cup serving, 1 g fat, 510 mg sodium, 3 g fiber, 9 g protein, and zero cholesterol. Yay!
But enough of that! There’s one dish that is just egg, egg, egg and that’s a soufflé. Light and creamy, soufflés can be savory or sweet, a meal or dessert. Next time you feel like a cheese omelet, try this four-cheese soufflé instead.
QUATRO FORMAGGI SOUFFLÉ
1 onion, diced
4 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack
1/4 cup shredded Muenster
Salt and pepper
5 eggs, separated
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter (or nonstick spray) a one and a half quart casserole.
Sauté the onion in butter until translucent. Whisk in flour to form a white roux. Gradually whisk in the milk until it thickens. Stir in the cheeses and season with salt and pepper (and maybe some cayenne) to taste. Remove from heat and beat in the egg yolks all at once. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, beat the egg whites to stiff peak stage. Gently fold the whites into the cheese mixture. Pour this in the casserole dish and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, keeping any heavy-treaders out of the kitchen.
When its ready, you’ll have a beautiful, lightly browned pillow of cheese and eggs. Serve immediately with some hot wheat rolls and steamed vegetables.
I hope you have a delightful Easter. Dye a few eggs, sing a little Handel, eat some chocolate. Next week we’ll get ourselves in food-shape for disasters: It’s Apocalypse Chow!
Your challenge, and I do encourage you to participate, is for a food recently cast into aspersion. Mr. Goober, the ground pea, all time favorite baseball snack: What do you do with peanuts or peanut butter? I’m waiting for your best recipe at murphysmenu@yahoo.com or The Emporia Gazette, P.O. Box C, Emporia, KS. 66801. Let’s get cooking!