posted by Mai 03-28-103 8:21 AM
Easter Eggs
Early Christians adopted the egg as a symbol for Easter, and for centuries, artisans from many countries have lovingly crafted and decorated beautiful eggs to celebrate the holiday. You, too, can flex your creative muscles and design wonderful decorated eggs. Host a decorating party and organize workers into an assembly line to blow, boil, and dye a big batch. Then gather everyone around the table with the dyed eggs, glue, glitter, ribbons, stickers, sequins, beads, buttons, and bows and let the artistry begin. Here are tips for boiling, blowing, and dyeing eggs as well as fun decorating ideas that produce festive results.
The Perfect Hard Boiled Egg
1 dozen eggs
1 teaspoon salt
Boiling the perfect egg isn't difficult, but it does take patience. Cooking the eggs at a low simmer will make them easier to peel and help prevent cracks. Cool immediately after cooking to eliminate the unattractive grayish green circle that can form around the yolk. These hard-boiled eggs can be used immediately, or dyed and decorated and featured first in your Easter egg hunt and later as deviled eggs.
Place the eggs in a single layer, without crowding, in a 2- or 3-quart saucepan. Add water to cover by 2 inches and then the salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
Immediately remove the eggs from the hot water and plunge them into a basin of very cold water to cool down, or rinse under cold running water for about 5 minutes.
To peel, roll the large end of the egg on a countertop to crack the shell. Hold the egg under cold running water, and peel away the shell. Store unpeeled hard-boiled eggs in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Blowing the Contents Out of Eggs
Pierce the fat end of a raw egg with a large needle, such as a quilting needle. Wiggle the needle to create a slightly larger hole. Pierce a hole in the opposite end of the egg. Insert the needle to pierce the yolk; this makes it easier to remove the egg. Use a baby's nose aspirator to "blow" the contents of the egg into a large bowl. When the egg is empty, run water into the eggshell, shake it to rinse the insides well, and pour it out.
Dyeing Eggs
1/8 teaspoon paste food coloring
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1 cup boiling water
To make each dye bath, stir together the paste food coloring and vinegar in a small bowl or nonporous coffee cup. Add the boiling water and stir to dissolve the food coloring fully.
Add 1 egg to each dye bath. A blown egg will float at first, but as you gently press it into the dye bath with a spoon, it will take on liquid and begin to sink. Allow the egg to sit in the dye bath for about 10 minutes for the most intense color.
Remove the egg (drain any liquid inside the egg back into the dye bath). Repeat this process with the remaining eggs. Allow to dry completely before decorating.