Confetti eggs for Easter

We introduced cascarones, or confetti eggs, at our family Easter festivities two years ago and they immediately gave the treat-filled baskets and morning egg hunt stiff competition for the best part of the day. They're simple to make and an absolute blast to enjoy, but they require a little advance preparation.

I happened across a mention of cascarones somewhere online, and thought: "Yeah, my kids would love cracking confetti-filled eggs on each other's heads!" Boom: instant family tradition.

To make one, you carefully open an egg at one end, empty out the contents, wash and dry it, decorate, then fill with confetti and seal with tissue paper. You can gather cascarones in a special basket or include them in an egg hunt for a special treat.

Last year, we didn't even decorate them. I ran out of time and energy, but the kids didn't mind a bit. Just be sure to make more than you think you'd ever need!

Here's how to do it:

Using a spoon or butter knife, gently tap a hole in the bottom of the egg. Chip away a small opening, as carefully as you can, and dump the egg white and yolk into a bowl. You might need to pierce the yolk with a skewer or knife tip.

I don't always see this step mentioned, but it's important: Remove the membrane lining the inside of the egg shell. That’s the translucent white film that sometimes clings to bits of shell. If you don’t get most of it out, your eggs will resist cracking — you’ll end up with sore heads. (I know this from painful experience.) Stick a finger inside the egg and carefully scrape away at the membrane. You don’t need to get it all out — just most of it.

Next, rinse your egg well with warm, soapy water and let it dry. I stick a chopstick in each egg and plant it in a glass for a day or two — ready to go!

You can decorate these just like other Easter eggs: dye them, paint with watercolors, put some stickers on them, color with markers. They are fragile, so be careful. Again, it’s a good idea to prepare a few extra so the kids don’t get too worked up over the occasional — and inevitable — crushed egg.

To finish them, gather up tissue paper, glue, and confetti. I use cheap tissue-paper confetti from a dollar store. It gets everywhere, and I wanted something more biodegradable than glitter.

Cut the tissue paper into squares big enough to cover the openings in your eggs. Fill each egg with confetti (a funnel helps), then glue a tissue paper square over the opening. Let dry, and you’re done!

A few more suggestions:

• Try coloring your cascarones with Anna's natural dyes — paprika, spinach, red cabbage, beets, sage made gorgeous eggs!
• Use the egg whites and yolks to make Scrambled Eggs with Maple Syrup and Onion Bits, Spanish Omega 3 Omelets, or a Moroccan Creole Frittata. 
• For an alternative to sweets-laden baskets, turn your focus to spring. Our baskets always feature a few sugary treats, but the Easter bunny brings flying discs, bug-catchers, bubbles, and outdoor toys to welcome warm spring weather.

Eggs almost Benedict

History says that one day a certain Benedict was bored with her usual breakfast and then decided to create something new. The other  version also involved a Benedict, but the story is slightly different, as you can read here. Both have something in common: creativity and New York.

My oldest son, who was born in New York, is the one who asks me to prepare Eggs Benedict when everything else on the weekend breakfast menu sounds boring to his 7-year-old ears: cereal, smoothies, cereal bars, yogurt, pancakes and waffles somedays just won't make it to his plate.

It all started when we were meeting with friends at the California Village Cafe, and he was interested in what I've ordered and not his kids' blueberry pancakes. Since then, brunch means eating Eggs Benedict. And since then I've had to find my way on poaching eggs to the perfect texture and carefully piling it up over Canadian bacon, the round bottom of a burger bun and maybe something else on the top. You can use any bread, the traditional English muffin, or brioche. I've even seen eggs over a round nest of puff pastry.

Happy Sunday!

Eggs Almost Benedict

I just use free-range eggs from vegetarian-fed hens, and I use every opportunity to advertise the benefits of a great quality of life for the chickens. Hollandaise sauce is optional. There are plenty of easy recipes online, like this one by Alton Brown that I might use if I have plenty of time.  I am searching for one that takes something other than eggs, like tofu. There are tons of recipes of how to poach an egg around cookbooks and the web. For me, this is the one which worked better.

free-range eggs
water
white wine vinegar or lemon juice
Canadian bacon or Smoked Nova Salmon Slices
halves of whole wheat hamburger bun
kosher salt to taste
favorite fresh herb to sprinkle

Slowly grill Canadian bacon in a skillet and toast bottom of a burger bun.

In the meantime, fill a medium skillet with water. When the water is boiling, add some drops of vinegar or lemon juice. Vinegar will help the egg white hold together, giving a firm texture to the egg. Lemon juice will not have the same results, but it makes the white softer.

Carefully crack the egg into a small dish and transfer it at once to the water. Lower the heat to medium-high. It takes 1 1/2 to 2 minutes for the egg to be ready, with a soft yolk. Take the egg with the help of a slotted spoon or a ladle and pour off the excess water, then transfer it to a plate lined with a kitchen towel.

Compose the plate with the bun, Canadian bacon and the poached egg. Very important: Do everything fast so to taste the egg while it's still very hot! Sprinkle herbs on top, if desired.

Sweets for St. Patrick's Day

We're not just about green veggies around St. Patrick's Day: This trio of lightly sweet treats features brightly flavored mint.

First up is one of my favorites: the Shamrock-ish Shake, a homespun variation on a certain fast-food restaurant's seasonal offering. Creamy milk, vanilla ice cream, and all-natural mint flavoring — plus a bit of spinach — make this a treat you can feel pretty good about. (I used to have a soft spot for the Official Major Chain's version, but the current incarnation looks — and tastes — like radioactive sludge. Even my sugar-crazed son pushed it away in disgust.)

The minty meringues pictured at top — we call them Leprechaun Cookies — are simple to make. They're mostly egg whites and sugar, an irresistible fat-free sweet.

Fresh mint is also spotlighted in smooth, silky Mint Chocolate Panna Cotta. You need to make it at least 8 hours ahead of time, and it's worth the wait.

And there's Anna's whimsical Leprechaun Cakes, a surprisingly delicious combination of avocado and kiwi in a baked treat perfect for lunch bags.