The Incredible Edible Egg

Uncle Tim's favorite

A beautiful, nutritious appetizer at any gathering or meal.



To hard-boil: place eggs in single layer in saucepan. Add enough tap water to come at least 1 inch above eggs. Cover. Quickly bring just to boiling. Turn off heat. If necessary, remove pan from burner to prevent further boiling.

Let eggs stand, covered, in the hot water, 15 minutes for Large eggs
(about 18 minutes for Extra Large eggs and about 12 minutes for Medium). Immediately run cold water over eggs or place them in ice water until completely cooled.

To remove shell: crackle it by tapping gently all over. Roll egg between hands to loosen shell. Then peel, starting at large end. Hold egg under running cold water or dip in bowl of water to help ease off shell.




Recipe ONE
6 hard-cooked eggs
1/3 cup (2.66 oz.) reduced-fat sour cream
1/3 cup (1.33 oz.) reduced-fat shredded cheese with taco seasoning
3 tablespoons minced green onions with tops
Garnish: green onions, pimiento strips and/or parsley leaves. Yields 12

Recipe TWO (classic)
1 Dozen hard cooked eggs, peeled and chilled
1/2 Cup mayonnaise
2 Teaspoons cider vinegar
2 Teaspoons prepared mustard
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 Teaspoon salt & Dash pepper
Garnish with a pinch of paprika, thinly sliced green stuffed olives
or a small spring of parsley. Yield: 24




Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks. Set whites aside. Place yolks in 1-quart plastic food storage bag. Add ingredients from recipe one or recipe two. Press out air. Close bag. Knead until yolk mixture is thoroughly blended. Push yolk mixture toward corner of bag. Snip off about 1/2 inch of bag corner. Squeezing bag gently, fill reserved whites with yolk mixture. Garnish and chill.

VEGGIE WREATH

At Christmas make it into a wreath.
INGREDIENTS:
2 packages refrigerator crescent rolls
2 8 oz pkgs cream cheese
3/4 cup sour cream
1 package Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dressing mix
4 to 6 cups assorted chopped vegetables - chop in a food processor
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Remove crescent dough from packaging (do not unroll).
Cut each tube into eight slices.
Arrange in an 11-in. circle on an ungreased 14-in. pizza pan.
Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing to a serving platter; cool completely.
In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, dill and garlic powder until smooth.
Spread over wreath; top with broccoli, celery, carrots, cauliflower and red pepper, any firm veggy you love.

Form a bow garnish with celery leaves. Yield: 16 servings.



The rest of the year press the crescent roll dough onto a large non-stick baking sheet. Stretch and flatten to form a single rectangular shape on the baking sheet sealing all perforations. Follow all other directions above and cut into small squares to serve.

Cheesy Corn Bites

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 large egg
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
48 scoop-shaped tortilla chips (one 10-ounce bag)
Chopped chives or cilantro, for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, pepper jack cheese, egg and corn.

2. Arrange the chips on a large rimmed baking sheet and place 1 teaspoon corn mixture in each.
Bake until the filling sets, about 20 minutes.

3. Sprinkle the corn bites with the chives; serve warm.

Party Hors D oeuvre

FRIED RAVIOLI

Ingredients
• Olive oil, for frying
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups Italian-style bread crumbs
• 1 box store-bought cheese ravioli (about 24 ravioli)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 jar store bought marinara sauce, heated, for dipping

Directions
Pour enough olive oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 325 degrees F.

While the oil is heating, put the buttermilk and the bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Working in batches, dip ravioli in buttermilk to coat completely. Allow the excess buttermilk to drip back into the bowl. Dredge ravioli in the bread crumbs. Place the ravioli on a baking sheet, and continue with the remaining ravioli.

When the oil is hot, fry the ravioli in batches, turning occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried ravioli to paper towels to drain.
Sprinkle the fried ravioli with Parmesan and serve with a bowl of warmed marinara sauce for dipping. Yields 4 to 6 servings.


Mexi Dip

3 Italian sausages, casings removed
1 Tbsp spicy paprika
cup aduki beans (optional)
1 cup Asiago cheese, cubed
½ cup Fontina (or Gruyere), cubed
corn chips or flour tortillas quartered and heated

In a medium skillet, sauté the sausage breaking it into small pieces as it cooks for about 10 minutes. Add the paprika and remove from heat. Add the beans.

Fill a small casserole dish (5x7) with the cubed cheese and spread the sausage mixture on top.
Bake in a preheated 400F oven until the cheese has melted and is bubbling, about 12 minutes.
Serve with the tortilla chips.

Shrimp Cocktail with Avocado

Serves 6

1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 generous pound raw, unpeeled small shrimp (41/50 count)
1 jar (16 ounces) Salsa
1 tablespoon olive oil, preferably extra virgin
1 cup diced peeled cucumber or jícama
1 small ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed
Salt to taste
Chopped cilantro for garnish
Several lime slices for garnish
Sea Salt & Lime Tortilla Chips for serving

1. Bring 1 quart of salted water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons of the lime juice. Scoop in the shrimp, cover, and let the water return to the boil. Immediately remove from the heat, set the lid askew and drain off all the liquid. Replace the cover and let the shrimp steam off the heat for 10 minutes. Spread out the shrimp in a large glass or stainless steel bowl to cool completely.

2. Peel and devein the shrimp. Toss the shrimp with the remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice, cover and refrigerate for about an hour.

3. Add the salsa, olive oil, cucumber or jícama and avocado to the shrimp. Taste and season with salt, usually about ½ teaspoon. Cover and refrigerate if not serving immediately.

4. Spoon the shrimp cocktail into sundae glasses, martini glasses or small bowls; garnish with sprigs of cilantro and slices of lime. Serve with chips to enjoy alongside.

Call the Butler they are ready to serve.

Fried Olives, a great Italian appetizer

Note: Make sure to really coat the olives in the breadcrumbs before frying them. And try to stuff as much cheese as you can in the inside!

Ingredients
- 2 cups medium-large green olives, pitted
- about 1/2 cup smoked mozzarella bits
(about 1/4"x1/2" in size or as big a piece you can fit into the hole of the olive)
- about 1/2 cup flour
- about 1/2 cup milk
- about 1 cup fine breadcrumbs or Panko
Note: Panko breadcrumbs are as different from regular breadcrumbs as snowflakes are from sand. Made of specially baked wheat bread that's been crumbled into big flakes and then toasted, they are and have a lighter texture than your typical can of bread crumbs. When used in fried or baked foods, they are crisp and light.
- 1 toothpick
- oil for frying

Directions
- Heat oil in a fryer or a large saucepan with about 3 inches of oil to 370 degrees
- Stuff each olive with a piece of mozzarella.
- Place flour, milk and breadcrumbs in 3 separate small bowls.
- Using a toothpick, coat olive in flour. Tap off the excess flour.
Dip olive in the milk.
Coat olive thoroughly in the breadcrumbs.
Set on a plate and repeat for remaining olives.

- Dip a flat sieve in the hot oil so that the breadcrumbs won't stick to it.
Transfer about 1/3 of the olives to the hot oil using the sieve and fry for about 30-45 seconds.
Drain on a plate covered with a paper towel.
Repeat for remaining olives.
Serve hot.
- Serves 4.


Ooops - all gone!