Posted on July 27, 2010 by Wendi Hiebert
So this is different!
Instead of the traditional round shape, how about a rectangular frying pan designed especially for making omelettes or grilled cheese sandwiches?
The Egg Pan is made by Paderno, a Canadian company based on Prince Edward Island.
With its stainless steel body and handle, this approximately 5″ x 6-1/2″ (13 x 16 cm) frying pan can go from stove top into the oven. The non-stick surface means little or no oil is needed for cooking, and there’s less chance of food sticking (making cleaning the pan a breeze!). And, with a slightly sloped edge on one end, omelettes or fried eggs should slip out of the pan and onto a plate with ease.
While a pan of this shape is hardly necessary for making omelettes, or fried or scrambled eggs (the conventionally-shaped round frying pan works very well for making all these and more, thank you very much!), cooking-in-the-rectangular instead of cooking-in-the-round is a nice change of pace shape. Most likely though, this is a pan for the true egg lover, or someone who really loves to cook and has room in her kitchen for the non-essentials!
I recently discovered the Egg Pan pan at a Home Hardware store in Kitchener. It was regularly priced at $79.99, but marked down to $29.99! No, Paderno isn’t cheap. Yes, the high quality of this cookware and its 25 year warranty does put it ahead of many other brands, but I still couldn’t see paying nearly $80 for a specialty pan such as this one. I wonder if the discounted price means Paderno is clearing out its stock of Egg Pans.
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Filed under: Egg Cooking Equipment, For Egg Lovers, Frying pans/skillets | Tagged: frying pans, omelettes, Paderno | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 21, 2010 by Wendi Hiebert
I wasn’t sure I’d heard right.
A golf pro was giving golf tips during the sports report on the evening news the other night. I’m not a golfer so I wasn’t really listening. Not until I thought I heard him say something about fried eggs lying on the golf course. Huh? What did he say??
It was hot enough to fry eggs out on the course?? I’d believe that! But I don’t think he said that.
You should eat fried eggs for breakfast or lunch before you go onto the course?? Why yes! Eggs contain excellent protein that will give you the stamina you need to make it through 9 or 18 holes. Although good advice, I’m pretty sure he didn’t say this.
You should take a course on making fried eggs??? Nah, I’m quite sure that’s not what he said either!
He had my attention so I turned to the television where I saw a guy standing in a sand puddle swinging his golf club. “And that’s how to get out of a fried egg lie,” he said triumphantly as his golf ball soared out of view. WHAT?
The golf tip segment was over, and I was left puzzling over what I’d just heard.
I checked things out later with the golfer in the family and sure enough, there is an egg reference in golf. Although apparently not a positive one.
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Filed under: Fried eggs | Tagged: fried egg lie, golf tips, how to cook a fried egg | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 18, 2010 by Wendi Hiebert
It’s the question that has puzzled humankind since the dawn of time. Or at least for quite a while.
Which came first – the chicken or the egg?
If I had a dollar toonie for every time I’ve been asked that question as I’ve staffed displays at various egg events over the 15 years I’ve worked for Egg Farmers of Ontario, I’d be a wealthy woman!
I don’t think most people actually expect an intelligent answer. (Of course I always say eggs! Surely that’s the most intelligent response! LOL) They just find it an amusing question to ask someone who works with eggs!
Well, it appears this puzzling mystery may have just been cracked. And the yolk’s on me!
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Filed under: Egg Research, Egg Science | Tagged: Which came first?, chicken, egg | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 15, 2010 by Wendi Hiebert
Just added my blog to Beer and Buttertarts – a site that compiles Canadian food and drink blogs in one place so it’s easier to find out what Canuck bloggers are writing about every day.
In honour of the affiliation, I’d like to say I’m going out to do something really Canadian like eat a butter tart and toss back a bottle of beer, but since I just don’t like the taste of beer (I know! Very un-Canadian!), I’ll just have to content myself with the butter tart part of that Canadian equation.
One of my favourite places to buy great butter tarts is at Shakespeare Pies. If you’re passing through Shakespeare (on Hwy 7/8 between Stratford and Kitchener), it’s on the north side of the highway. Stop in and pick up a six-pack of butter tarts, and some pies and other goodies.
I could also bake my own. 
There must easily be at least a gazillion recipes for Butter Tarts in the universe already. Here’s yet another one to add to the mix.
This one contains chocolate (that is my signature flavour after all!). Butter tart traditionalists may want to opt for the mainstream version made with raisins and/or nuts instead of chocolate. This filling is more custard-like than ‘drip-down-your-chin’-like.
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Filed under: Cookies and Squares, Egg Recipes | Tagged: Beer and Buttertarts, butter tart squares, butter tarts, chocolate butter tarts, Shakespeare Pies | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 10, 2010 by Wendi Hiebert
Wondering what beverage to serve with Eggs Benedict and frittatas at your upcoming wedding brunch?
Or maybe you’re planning a light lunch with the girls this weekend and you’d like to pair a bottle of something special with quiche and salad?
Matching egg dishes and wine can be a challenge according to Charlotte Raab, an instructor at Johnson & Wales University and correspondent for The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina. But it’s not impossible!
Raab shares some tips and suggestions for successfully pairing egg-based dishes with drinks in her article – Don’t be married to one choice.
Raab’s picks are mostly American wines. No doubt there are great pairings also with eggs and Canadian wines. Anyone have any suggestions or favourite combinations?
Filed under: Breakfasts, Frequently Asked Questions About Eggs | Tagged: brunch beverages, wine pairing, eggs and wine | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 7, 2010 by Wendi Hiebert
Not sure if this is how Tom Cruise makes his Spaghetti Carbonara, but if not, it should be.
It’s a good recipe!
Then again, how could it not be? Anything that contains eggs, Parmesan, fresh herbs, butter, whipping cream and bacon has got more than enough good things going for it that pretty well guarantee its success as a winning combination of flavours!
Pasta Carbonara
(Makes 4 servings)
1 lb (450 g) uncooked spaghetti or fettucine
5 eggs
3/4 cup (175 mL) grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp (30 mL) butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup (125 mL) whipping cream
2 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
In boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package directions.
While pasta is cooking, whisk together eggs, cheese and parsley until blended.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add garlic; saute until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add cream; bring to a simmer. Add drained pasta (do not rinse), egg-and-cheese mixture and bacon. Over medium-low heat, toss until mixture thickens and coats pasta, about 2 or 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Filed under: Egg Recipes, Entrees | Tagged: pasta, Pasta Carbonara, Tom Cruise | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 4, 2010 by Wendi Hiebert
Saw the high-action movie Knight and Day with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz this weekend. Between the high-speed chases and narrow escapes, there was even a reference to eggs!
At one point, Cruise’s character leaves Diaz’s character a note telling her to be sure to eat breakfast, then (**spoiler alert** LOL!) she finds he’s cooked an omelette and left it for her in a frying pan on the stove. (Ah, what a nice guy! In spite of his heavy-handed use of an unending stash of weaponry!)
In his publicity tour for the movie, Cruise appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show - to demonstrate how to cook Spaghetti Carbonara, no less. In the segment, Cruise walks Kimmel through the ingredients needed to make the dish, then realizes the eggs are store-bought. Apparently that won’t do. Obviously Cruise doesn’t realize that eggs go from farm to store in just a few days so the eggs at the grocery store are very fresh indeed!
But back to the sketch.
Conveniently, Cruise had spotted an egg farmer selling eggs just outside the studio when he arrived to do the show, so he and Kimmel decide to go see if they can get some eggs from him. Naturally, the most convenient way to get outside happens to be via a zipline atop the roof of the building they’re in!
Here are some video clips…..
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Filed under: Egg Recipes, Entrees | Tagged: egg recipe, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Pasta Carbonara, Spaghetti Carbonara, Tom Cruise | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 1, 2010 by Wendi Hiebert
Canadian cookbook author, food writer and newspaper food columnist Elizabeth Baird predicts that egg salad will be the next iconic filling in the sandwich world.
Find out why, and get her recipes for……
She’s also included directions for hard-cooking and peeling eggs to make egg salad.
Filed under: Egg Cooking Techniques, Egg Recipes, For Kids, Hard-cooked eggs, Lunches, Sandwiches | Tagged: egg salad sandwiches, Elizabeth Baird | Leave a Comment »
Posted on June 30, 2010 by Wendi Hiebert
Can you see the hard-cooked egg garnish in this Sunny with a Chance of Clamato Caesar? (Photo from www.ctv.com/canadaam)
I love Caesars. The drink. (OK, the salad too!)
Apparently lots of Canadians love Caesars. We drink so many of them that there is currently a promotion to make it Canada’s national cocktail (albeit sponsored by the folks behind Mott’s Clamato juice, the spicy tomato juice and clam broth beverage the majority of Canadians use to make our Caesars!).
The cocktail was invented in Calgary in 1969 by bartender Walter Chell in honour of the opening of Marco’s, a new restaurant.
A signature feature of the Caesar is its garnish. Usually the glass is rimmed with lemon or lime juice and celery salt or seasoning salt. Then either in the drink, hung over the side of the drink, or skewered over top of the drink is one or more of the following: rib of celery, lemon or lime wedge or slice, pickled green bean or asparagus, slice or stick of cucumber, cherry tomatoes, pickle, shrimp or scampi, or……..
I’d never seen a hard-cooked (hard-boiled) egg used as a Caesar garnish – until this Monday when Len Fragomeni, dean of Caesar School and head of the Toronto Institute of Bartending was a guest on Canada AM.
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Filed under: Beverages, Egg Fun, Egg Recipes, Special Occasions | Tagged: Canada Am, Caesar, Motts Clamato Juice, Len Fragomeni | Leave a Comment »
Posted on June 28, 2010 by Wendi Hiebert
I came across this Friday 5 post about breakfast today and yeah, I know it’s Monday, but I figured I’d participate anyway. The idea behind Friday 5 is to consider the five questions that are posed (five new ones are asked every Friday) and answer them in a post on your blog.
So, here goes……
1. Oh my goodness! You have to run out the door right now and you haven’t eaten! Before dashing out, what do you grab to wolf down on your way?
Hmmmm. Can’t start the day without eating breakfast or I am starving by 10 a.m. I’d probably grab a granola or protein bar or a peeled hard-cooked egg (I’ve always got those in my fridge), a banana and a single-serve yogurt.
I’d eat the granola bar or egg and banana in my vehicle on the way to work (I keep lots of napkings and wet wipes in the glove compartment!), and save the yogurt for when I got to the office an hour later and can find a spoon. I used to always keep a granola bar in my briefcase for eating on the run, but my dog discovered it one day and the results weren’t pretty.
2. What’s a popular breakfast you dislike?
Coffee and pastry. Don’t get me wrong. I ♥ sweet things, but an apple fritter, danishor yeast donut dripping with glaze or filled with jelly or custard just doesn’t spell b-r-e-a-k-f-a-s-t for me. As for coffee, I’ve tried to like it. Tried really really hard actually. Drank it every day for 3 months a few years ago, willing myself to think it tasted good okay. Without success.
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Filed under: Breakfasts, Breakfasts/Brunches, Egg Cooking Equipment, Egg Recipes, Microwave Egg Cookers, Omelettes and Frittatas | Tagged: Friday 5 | Leave a Comment »
