What's Cookin' - Egg Salad Sandwiches

Egg Salad is one of those things that seem to evoke strong emotions in people. You either LOVE it or you HATE it. I happen to absolutely LOVE Egg Salad. I've ordered it in a lot of different delis, diners and restaurants and am usually left unsatisfied with their renditions. I've only found one sandwich place that makes it just the way I like it.

I was thinking about Easter (which falls on April 24th this year - seems really late) a few days ago and got this strong hankerin' for Egg Salad. I guess all those boiled eggs popped into my head and just wouldn't go away. Hubby, being the sweetheart that he is, offered to make a grocery store run for me since I only had about eight eggs in the fridge.

I wonder if everyone has their own method for boiling eggs. Our Youngest Daughter still calls me nearly every time she boils eggs because she just can't remember how. Here's my tried and true method.

Place your eggs in a pan and put just enough water so they're almost covered, but not quite.

Heat the water to boiling, then turn down to low, cover with a lid and set the timer for 15 minutes.

Once the timer goes off, move the pan to the sink, fill with cold water and throw in some ice cubes for good measure. Cools the water down faster.

I like to make Egg Salad while the eggs are still warm. Mixes up nicely and tastes so good.

I don't use exact measurements -- just drop things in by spoonful.

Egg Salad

1 dozen boiled, peeled eggs
A scoop of butter (probably a couple of Tablespoons)
A scoop of mayonnaise (probably 1/2 cup)
A squirt of yellow mustard (probably 1 Tablespoon)
Salt and pepper

I use a potato masher to smash the eggs into large chunks.

Stir it all together well and pile on buttered toast.

Our family has always loved having boiled eggs on hand in the fridge. The way I kept the kids from breaking raw eggs by mistake is by penciling an X on the end. Better safe than sorry ...

So are there any other Egg Salad lovers out there?

If you haven't entered my CNS Stores Giveaway, do it now -- it ends Saturday, March 12th!

What's Cookin' - Microwave Potato Salad

Okay, so this is a weird time of year to be talking about potato salad but we had a little thank you barbeque for our tile crew and I made some to serve with burgers and brats, Hawaiian salad, pico de gallo and chips. And the reason this dish is unusual is that I microwave the potatoes instead of boiling them. Fast and easy!

Microwave Potato Salad

8 red potatoes
small bunch of green onions, chopped
1/4 cup mustard
3/4 cup mayonnaise
salt
6 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
20 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

crop circle a la potatoes

Scrub the potatoes and leave the skins on -- that's where all the good vitamins are. Arrange in a circle around the edge of a plate and microwave for 6 or 7 minutes. Flip each potato over and pierce with a fork 3 times to let the steam escape. Microwave for another 6 or 7 minutes or until fork tender. Let cool for about 15 minutes. Then rough chop them.

In a large bowl, mix the mustard, mayonnaise, onions and salt. Add the potatoes, eggs and tomatoes. Mix well and chill. This makes about 12 servings and really tastes great!

rough chop the cooked potatoes

If you're having a mini potato salad craving during the winter months, you can just microwave a couple of potatoes and reduce the amount of all other ingredients to make a few servings.

mr. potato head is such a spud!