Easter is coming up, so I thought I’d share my very easy method for cooking hard-boiled eggs.

There is nothing like a perfectly hard-boiled egg, so great on their own, or taken to new level when topped with a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper. One thing that turns me off, though, is that unsightly green-gray ring around the yolk and when the whites are rubbery, a sure sign of over-cooking.

Plenty of words have been written about how to achieve a perfectly cooked boiled egg. My way is short, sweet, and produces a perfectly-cooked egg. All I have to do is remember “10 minutes” and it works every time. I don’t have to pierce shells or prepare ice baths or boil eggs twice. I don’t have to remember complicated instructions. Cooking it my way, the white is firm but not rubbery, and the yolk is yellow with just the barest hint of shiny center. Fresh eggs are harder to peel than older eggs, so for best results use not-so-fresh eggs. If you are getting your eggs from a supermarket, you probably don’t have to worry about that.

10 Minute Hard-boiled Eggs

1. Put eggs in pan of water so that water covers eggs by 1-2 inches and bring to a boil.
2. As soon as eggs boil, turn off flame, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes exactly. (set a timer)
3. Add plenty of cold water to pan to stop cooking.

At this point you can drain and peel them for eating or recipes, pack them in lunches, or put them into the fridge for later use. Enjoy eggs! 

Bon appétit

Chef Carl

The chef as rock star. We’re all familiar with this image from the not-too-distant past, where the culinary artist had to prepare something that was expressive, creative, and had never been done.

The world has changed since then. Our customers are more traveled and savvy; they‘ve come to expect a variety of world flavors, whether they’re dining out or shopping at the supermarket. And so we as foodservice professionals need to add the world’s time-honored ingredients, cuisines, and cooking methods to our tool kits. The challenge for chefs today is not to only be aware of authentic cuisines but to truly understand them.  To invite you to deepen your understanding of world cuisines.

Rather than climbing the culinary pop charts, today’s chef is more of a classical musician who strives to recreate, as close to perfection as possible, something that’s been around for a long time. Composing each dish with respect and paying tribute to each note of flavor is the best way I know to create beautiful music in the kitchen.

Bon appétit

Chef Carl

I had the pleasure of being the culinary presenter at Pheasant Fest in Des Moines, IA, on February 26-28, 2010.  The crowds were great and the seminars went well. Signature Lodge presented 4 recipes (Smoked Pheasant Dip, Black Mission Pheasant, Pheasant Chowder, and Smoked Pheasant Tortellini), we handed out 5,000 recipe cards and answered thousands of questions.  We addressed cooking techniques, food safety, wine pairing of wild game, and plate presentation.

Feel free to contact myself at chawkinson@signaturelodge.com with any questions about pheasant recipes or wine pairings.

Bon Appétit!

Chef Carl