The Big Egg, Portland, Oregon

Speaking of eggs.....

I have been meaning to write about The Big Egg for a long, long time. The Big Egg is one of around 500 food carts (fabulous, I must say, food carts) in Portland, OR.

The Big Egg is a breakfast food cart at 4233 N. Mississippi Ave, at Skidmore. Denise and Gail are the owners and have a limited, but wonderful, menu.

My favorite item on the menu is the The Big Egg Monte Cristo Sandwich. They take one egg, grilled black forest ham, gorgonzola cheese, drizzled with pure maple syrup and stacked between two slices of crunchy vanilla cardamom brioche French toast and dusted with powdered sugar. OMG! It is so good.

My son and grandson live in Portland and we ALWAYS go to The Big Egg. You can follow them yourself at: www.twitter.com/thebigegg(@thebigegg) or search for them on Facebook. Yum Yum. Wish I had a Monte Cristo right now!!!!

Boiled Egg Updates

BREAKING NEWS !!! Ha! Just a little egg humor there. I have had such a reaction to the "To Boil Or Not To Boil...." post that I thought an update was necessary.

L. in Richmond, VA says "I learned to put the egg right from the refrigerator into COLD water, over medium heat, when water comes to a boil, put lid on pan and turn off heat. Leave on burner until water is cool, dump water and cover eggs with ice. Peel immediately or put in refrigerator. You can "rattle" all the eggs around in the pan to loosen shells or crack the shell until the membrane between shell and egg is separated. Shell will peel right off! She also adds, regarding the different ways to boil an egg: "They say there is more than one way to skin a cat, I guess that applies to boiled eggs too." I guess she is right!

M and B from Wichita, KS say "We have to put our two cents worth in too! Start eggs in cold water and boil exactly 20 minutes." Then they peel and make deviled eggs.

In Libby Bondurant and the late Betty Skeens' cookbook, "Grazing Along the Crooked Road," (a wonderful cookbook, by the way) this is what they wrote for the Perfect Boiled Egg: "Place eggs in saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to boil over medium heat. When the eggs come to a boil turn off heat and let sit for 20 minutes." This seems to be the preferred way with most folks. They also say to crack the eggs and let them sit in cold water a minute and the shells with slide off easily, which is the way I do it.

I have had people tell me that every time they boil an egg now, they think of this conversation. And the debate continues. More later on this subject, I am sure.

The View From Our Deck- Blowing Rock, NC

The GSO Girls Invade Blowing Rock, NC

As Helen and I drove across the North Carolina mountain toward Blowing Rock, the fog was so thick that we could only see a few feet ahead. As we pulled up to the real estate management company to get the key to our weekend mountain cabin, I saw, through the fog, the black SUV that held our friends Janet, Tricia, Marie and Becky. They had driven right by.

"There they go!" I said to Helen as I pulled out my cell phone. "No service- wouldn't you know."

We got the key, hot tub chemicals and rules of the house. I tried the phone again. Still no service. Nothing. Finally a signal. "Where are you?" I asked. "Trying to find a place to turn around." Said Janet. "We will be there in a few minutes."

15 minutes later, we stood looking through the fog and, again, saw the black SUV drive right by. "You drove by again." I said into the phone. "We know and we are looking for a safe place to turn around- again."

Good grief! What a way to start our weekend.

Together at last we drove our little caravan literally "out of the fog" and into the bright, (but cold) sunny view of Boone, NC and after a quick stop at the local grocery store for supplies, we were on our way to the house in Blowing Rock. As we drove up the mountain we saw our home away from home. It was a gorgeous three story wooden beauty with a deck that stretched all around the house. 4 of us had our own bedroom,while two shared a room with two queen sized beds. There was a hot tub, pool table and three full bathrooms. There were plenty of comfy sofas, rocking chairs, a fully equipped kitchen and big dining table. We ate in, we ate out, played card games and drank wine. Some watched basketball on TV, while others played pool or read. There were lots of laughs and then, of course, SHOPPING!

Blowing Rock is a lovely little village full of wonderful boutiques, gift shops, art and cafes. The snow didn't stop us from "shopping 'till we dropped" on day one or the next day at the outlet mall. We bought cheese graters, Coach handbags, clothes for grandchildren, lingerie and other bargains.

At Mast General Store in Valle Crucis, we found hundreds of kinds of old-fashioned candy, clothes, outdoor gear, soaps, walking sticks, country ham and you name it- they had it.

Blowing Rock is an outdoorsy person's paradise. You can hike, bike, canoe, trout fish, ski and climb all in the same area. From horseback riding to fine dining- this vacation destination has it all.

On our fourth and final day in Blowing Rock, we headed home, stopping for brunch at the Daniel Boone Inn in Boone, NC. Appalachian State University calls Boone home and it too, is a cool little town.

It was fun being with friends in such a lovely spot. I miss the view and relaxing in front of the fire watching the snow fall outside on the mountain. It was nice arriving home and seeing the pastures on our farm turn green and the trees blossom. When we left Blowing Rock,It was snowing and in the 30s in the mountains. It was 70 degrees at home. It is amazing to drive a few hours west and be in the snowy mountains and drive a few hours to the east and be at the beach. We are blessed here in Virginia and North Carolina. What a life!

To Boil Or Not To Boil, That Is The Question

Remember the old Paul Simon song, "Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover?" Well, substitute "boil an egg" for "the words "leave your lover," sing the song and that is my subject for today- eggs!

Last weekend, while in the mountains with five other youngish, old gals like me, we made a salad to go with the fabulous pork loin cooked by Helen. There were two eggs left over from breakfast and I decided to boil them for the salad. I found the smallest pan in the kitchen, filled it with enough cold water to cover the eggs and turned on the gas burner. I boil my eggs from 15 minutes, plunge them into icy water, crack the shells and let them sit for a few minutes in the water. The shells peel off easily.

One friend said I was doing it wrong. "The eggs should be brought to a boil, removed from the heat, covered and let sit for 5 minutes." Fine! She did it her way, while I adjusted my nose which had come out of joint during the conversation. The eggs were fine, the salad was yummy and the pork loin- perfect.

During dinner we discussed the many ways to boil an egg. I think it was the wine talking because otherwise, who would care? Someone said "You poke a hole in the shell before you boil it." Another said to boil salted water to prevent breaking, add the egg and cook for 10 minutes. (Paula Deen does it this way.) Another friend was sure that you start the egg in cold water. It seemed that everyone had a different way to boil an egg.

I did some research after coming home and several people online said never use a fresh egg. They insisted that a week old egg peels better. Who knew?

One website said to put room temperature eggs in a single layer, cover with water and over medium heat, boil for 4 minutes and rinse under cold water. Test for doneness by spinning the egg. An uncooked egg will wobble. Again, who knew?

One comment from a reader said she cooks eggs until the water runs dry and the pan catches on fire. Of course, she added LOL. Dare I say it again? WHO KNEW?

Seriously, another reader suggested just cooking the eggs all day in a crock pot. My sister has an electric egg cooker and just pushes a button. She gets perfect soft, medium or hard boiled eggs every time. Now that's the ticket! A "Chef" website said this: "Use only room temperature eggs. Carefully place eggs in boiling water and reduce to a simmer. Cook 3-4 minutes for soft boiled, 5-7 minutes for medium boiled and 12-15 minutes for hard boiled." He added that cooking time would vary, depending on the size of the egg and amount of water used. He simmers a very large egg for 17 minutes. (A man after my own heart.) He then chills them in cold water, cracks and starts peeling at the large end of the egg where the air sac is located.

I was overwhelmed by so much egg information so I called my cooking source, my son Travis, who is a Chef. He said with a slotted spoon, he carefully lowers the egg into boiling water, and cooks for 12 minutes. He chills them in the refrigerator and when ready to use, rolls the egg on a flat surface and the shell falls off. Then Travis told me an interesting little fact. It seems the tall traditional Chef hat, also called a toque-blanche, has 100 pleats. It is said that a Master Chef knows 100 different ways to prepare eggs, as many ways as there are pleats in his hat.

So, I guess it "boils" down to this: If you like your hard boiled eggs cooked for 4 minutes or 40 minutes, it is up to you. My mother taught me to boil and egg and I have done it the same way for 50 years. I say "whatever works!" One thing I do know is that an egg (or anything else) always tastes better with a good glass of wine!