eggs

Guacamole Deviled Eggs

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Splurge-Worthy Goodness: Guacamole Deviled Eggs! Tired of the same old thing? For years deviled eggs were served two ways: with real mayonnaise or without. Oh, sometimes you might’ve sprinkled a little paprika on top or added an olive slice. But not without criticism from the loudmouth brother-in-law who made sure everyone thought he was the know-it-all on every subject. I see you nodding your head. But now things are different. We have the freedom to be as creative in our cooking as we do in our lifestyle. If you are an avocado-lover, and could devour an entire bowl of guacamole in one sitting, then bookmark this recipe for now and for later. It’s worth it.

GUACAMOLE DEVILED EGGS

Ingredients:

6 large eggs, hard-boiled

1 ripe avocado, cut in half, put removed

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Cilantro leaves, for garnish

Crushed tortilla chips, for garnish

Instructions:

Peel the eggs; cut in half horizontally; remove yolks. Set aside. Scoop the flesh of the avocado into a bowl. Add lime juice, sea salt, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Mash together with a fork. Add crumbled egg yolks and mayonnaise. Mix until smooth. Scoop a spoonful of the avocado filling into the well of each hard-boiled egg white. Top with fresh cilantro. Garnish with crushed tortilla chips. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yellow & White Cake Mix Cookies

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Uplifting Aromas: Yellow & White Cake Mix Cookies! I never want to live in a world where there are no cookies. I’m one of those people who insist on tasting a freshly baked cookie, still warm from the oven. My kitchen, my rules. I also like the idea of choices. By taking a simple cake mix and ramping up the extra ingredients, I was able to offer my family plain, powdered sugar, and turbinado sugar cookies. Does that mean I needed three taste-tests? I’ll never tell.

YELLOW & WHITE CAKE MIX COOKIES

Ingredients:

15-ounce box yellow cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

Powdered sugar, for rolling

Turbinado sugar, for rolling

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Combine the yellow cake mix, eggs, and oil together in a large bowl; stir. The batter will be thick. Fold in the white chocolate chips and chopped macadamia nuts. Use a cookie scoop to form the cookies. Place them two inches apart on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes until the cookies appear slightly brown on the edges. Allow them to cool slightly before rolling in powdered sugar or turbinado sugar. Cool on a wire rack. Repeat baking steps until all the cookie dough has been used.

Peruvian Cheese Potatoes

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Uplifting Aromas: Peruvian Cheese Potatoes! My friend, Gian, encouraged me to try a dish from his native land, Peru. He described it as a traditional appetizer so popular it has become the national dish: Papa a là Huancaína. Because it’s basically boiled potatoes covered in a spicy cheese sauce, he explained it as chile-warm, delicious, creamy, and satisfying. Strangely enough, this appetizer is served cold, similar to the American Potato Salad. It taste nothing like it, though. The jury is still out on whether I will make it at home again. I’m thinking the next step is to order it in an authentic Peruvian restaurant. Perhaps they’ll share a secret or two.

PERUVIAN CHEESE POTATOES

Ingredients:

8 yellow potatoes, whole

4 lettuce leaves

Huancaína Sauce (see recipe below)*

2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered

Mixed olives, pitted

Instructions for Potatoes:

Heat a pot of salted water to boiling. Add the potatoes. Boil the potatoes until tender when pierced with a fork, approximately 20 minutes. Drain the water and allow potatoes to cool. Arrange lettuce leaves on a platter. Halve the potatoes and place on top of the lettuce. Pour Huancaína sauce over the potatoes. Garnish with hard-boiled eggs and pitted olives.

*Ingredients for Huancaína Sauce:

1/2 cup aji amarillo paste

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 cup evaporated milk

2 cups white queso fresco cheese

4 saltine crackers

Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

*Instructions for Huancaína Sauce:

Warm oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the aji amarillo paste, chopped onion, and minced garlic. Sauté approximately 3 minutes, or until the onions have softened. Remove pan from heat and set aside to cool. In a food processor, combine the chile/onion mixture, and evaporated milk. Blend well. Add the queso fresco cheese and saltine crackers; blend until smooth. The sauce should be thick. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Devil’s Food Cake Mix Brownies

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Uplifting Aromas: Devil’s Food Cake Mix Brownies! Most of us began a love affair with chocolate long before we were ever old enough to date. First there was the anticipation of climbing onto the kitchen counter to grab the coveted candy bar in a chubby little fist, out of sight from mother’s watchful eye. Then came the rich aroma of seduction as it was being unwrapped layer by layer. The lure of delicious expectation became a natural mood enhancer, which required quick-thinking. Never mind that baby sister was starting to fuss and attract attention, wanting her fair share. Long before she began a full-blown wail of rebellion, the entire chocolate bar was stuffed in brother’s mouth, chewed up like a dog treat, and swallowed with greedy satisfaction. Until…….. mother leapt into the room as graceful as a gazelle and gasped! She quickly deducted from the melted goo around his mouth that he had just consumed her entire supply of chocolate-flavored laxative guaranteed to work effectively on a constipated child. What can I say? My brother ate the whole thing and I never did get a single bite. Thankfully so, Chocolate is still my friend today.

DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE MIX BROWNIES

Ingredients:

15-ounce box Devil’s Food Cake Mix

1/2 cup olive oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons espresso powder

1 cup semi-sweet miniature chocolate chips, divided

Vanilla Ice Cream, for serving

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray an 8”x8” baking pan with nonstick oil. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix, olive oil, lightly beaten eggs, vanilla extract, and espresso powder. Stir until smooth. Fold in 3/4 cup of miniature chocolate chips. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup miniature chocolate chips on top. Bake 25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow brownies to cool completely before cutting. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Sour Cream ‘n Onion Deviled Eggs

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Elevated Edibles: Sour Cream ‘n Onion Deviled Eggs! Every once in awhile I crave something a little bit salty. To satisfy that urge, I whip up a batch of egg salad to scoop with potato chips or crackers. It’s pretty tasty, too. But what happens if all you have on hand are the crumbs at the bottom of the potato chip bag, hmmm? I’ve got an idea. Go one step further and make deviled eggs. By adding crumbled onion straws to the filling, it adds zing. Then sprinkle the potato chip crumbs on top for a salty finish. It works.

SOUR CREAM ‘N ONION DEVILED EGGS

Ingredients:

6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

2 tablespoons ranch salad dressing

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 tablespoon sour cream

2 tablespoons onion straw pieces

1 tablespoon chives, chopped

2 tablespoons sour cream and onion potato chips, crushed

Fresh chives, for garnish

Instructions:

Slice eggs in half horizontally and carefully transfer yolks to a bowl. Place the empty whites on a platter. Mix ranch salad dressing, mayonnaise, and sour cream with the egg yolks. Stir until smooth. Fold in onion straw pieces and chopped chives. Fill the egg whites. Garnish with crushed sour cream and onion potato chips sprinkled with fresh chives.

Ramping Up Breakfast

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Elevated Edibles: Ramping Up Breakfast! For a hearty and satisfying way to jumpstart your morning, think outside the box with sautéed ramps. Prepared in minutes with hardly anytime at the stove, you’ll be serving up a “green” feast fit for a king. If you live in the country where farm fresh eggs are as plentiful as the next roadside produce stand, even better. Treat yourself to a scrumptious weekend meal on the back porch in true farmhouse style.

RAMPING UP BREAKFAST

Ingredients:

1/4 pound wild ramps

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2 eggs

2 smoked sausage links

2 pieces artisan bread, toasted

Crushed oregano, for garnish

Instructions:

Wash thoroughly every crevice and leaf stem of each ramp. Cut off and discard bulb roots. Rinse again. Gently pat dry with paper towels. Set aside. Warm olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat. Transfer ramps to the skillet. Cook until tender and crispy, gently turning. After 10 minutes, divide ramps between two plates. Cook eggs according to personal preference. Add to each plate. Heat smoked sausage, slicing open to sear. Arrange on plates. Butter toast to complete each breakfast plate. Garnish ramps and eggs with crushed oregano. Serve immediately.

April’s Potato Salad

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Elevated Edibles: April’s Potato Salad! For years whenever I made a six-hour road trip to visit my best friend, April, I would request her famous potato salad. Upon arrival, between hugs and laughter, we’d eventually meander to the front porch with a couple of ham sandwiches and a plate of homemade potato salad. As we’d sit there gazing out over cornfields at sunset, I’d inhale the intoxicating scent of juicy sweet corn, the pleasant odor of dewy stalks, humid green earth, and maybe even a touch of honey from waning wildflowers. I probably said the same thing over and over every year, “Life doesn’t get any better than this.”

APRIL’S POTATO SALAD

Ingredients:

7 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered

5 eggs, hard-boiled and chopped

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup celery, chopped

1/2 cup onion, chopped

Instructions:

Boil potatoes in salted water for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain. Set aside. Combine mayonnaise, vinegar, yellow mustard, sea salt, and black pepper. Mix well. In a large bowl, add cooked potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, chopped celery, and chopped onions. Toss to combine. Pour mayonnaise mixture over all. Coat well. Refrigerate one hour before serving.

Zucchini Brownies

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Table Food: Zucchini Brownies! There’s only one reason you ever need to mention the title of this dessert, and that is to avoid a food allergy to zucchini. Honestly, most people will raise their nose and never give it a chance if they know it’s in there. You cannot taste it. To prove it, I served this sweet treat to adults as well as kids. I heard comments like, “That fudge is super amazing!” These brownies are truly rich and fudgy, not to mention packed with healthy nutrients. Go for it.

ZUCCHINI BROWNIES

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter

2 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 eggs

1/3 cup flour

1 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon espresso powder

2 cups zucchini, peeled and grated

Powdered Sugar, for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9”x9” baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. In a large bowl, mix the melted butter, sugar, sea salt, and vanilla extract. Beat in the eggs, one at a time for one minute each, until the mixture is light and creamy. Gently stir in the flour, cocoa powder, and espresso powder until just blended together. Fold in the grated zucchini. Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Bake 45-50 minutes. Brownies are done when center is set and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out with tiny crumbs attached. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Lift out of pan and cut into squares. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Za’atar Quail Eggs

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Graze or Gobble: Za’atar Quail Eggs! This isn’t just another hard-boiled egg post that makes you go “meh”. It’s one that will take you on an adventure; an adventure for the tastebuds. Everyone has figured out that eggs keep midday food cravings at bay. Imagine bringing your lunch to work, let’s say a half a dozen quail eggs, rolled in a crown of za’atar seasoning and sea salt. Already people are gathering around the refrigerator to see what makes them so special. You could tell them quail eggs provide more protein, have a rich taste, are hypoallergenic, and can boost the metabolism. But don’t get carried away. Otherwise come break time you may discover only 3 quail eggs in your lunchbox and suddenly everyone is too busy to chat.

ZA’ATAR QUAIL EGGS

Ingredients:

12 quail eggs, natural farm raised

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons za’atar seasoning

Instructions:

Gently place quail eggs in a medium pan of cold water. Bring to a boil for 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. Immediately transfer eggs to a bowl of water filled with ice to completely cool. In a shallow dish, combine sea salt and za’atar seasoning. Carefully peel each quail egg, removing tiny bits of shell and membrane. Roll each egg in the za’atar mixture to coat. Set upright on a platter or place eggs on a bed of mixed greens to serve.