Our church had a brunch between Bible Study and Worship on Easter Sunday. The lady who was planning it told me she had an oversupply of desserts, so I said I would bring stuffed eggs. That was a challenge, because sometimes my hard boiled eggs turn out perfect, but sometimes I can’t get the shell off without tearing the egg to pieces.

I went to the internet, read at least 10 recipes, and watched several You Tube videos. Each said theirs was the perfect way to cook hard boiled eggs, but each was different. I was cooking eggs for my church – I had wanted a consensus.

First I looked for points of agreement. They all agreed that using old eggs was better than using fresh eggs. I didn’t know that. I had 8 eggs in the fridge that were 2 weeks old, and a dozen that I had just bought. The statement about old eggs being easier to peel was true. I could identify the 8 old eggs as I was peeling them. Two sites said that adding a teaspoon of baking soda to the water changed the ph and made eggs easier to peel. I did this, and I think it helped, because even the fresh eggs peeled better than I expected.

Most sites said to put the eggs in tap water, and then turn on the heat. Two sites said put the eggs in boiling water. I went with the majority opinion. The temperature and cooking time varied a lot. I followed the recipe that said not to bring the eggs to a rolling boil, but to keep the temperature at a simmer where little bubbles were steadily coming up from the bottom of the pan. I cooked my eggs uncovered for 12 minutes after they started to boil.

Some sites said rinse the eggs in cold water; some said immerse them in ice water. I usually rinse in cold water, so this time I lifted the eggs out with a slotted spoon and quickly put them in ice water.

The most intriguing way to peel eggs was to take off a little bit of shell on both ends, and blow the egg out of the shell. I did not try this. I was preparing food for a church brunch, and I expected other cooks to use safe and sanitary methods. Blowing eggs will have to wait for a time when I’m cooking them only for myself.

The most common way to peel eggs was to roll them on the counter. I watched You Tube cooks get perfect eggs this way. It didn’t work for me. The eggs were peeling better than usual, but enough shell was sticking to leave indentations in the eggs. Still intrigued by the egg blowing technique, I removed a little bit of shell from both ends, and then held the egg under cool running water. There wasn’t enough pressure to push the egg out of the shell, but the water did seem to run under the membrane, and peeling was much easier.

Whether it was the 12 minute cooking time or the ice water bath, I don’t know, but there wasn’t a hint of gray or green on the yolks. They were a beautiful yellow. Pre-BTD I used a prepared dressing for stuffed eggs. This time I used half mayonnaise, half mustard, both made from neutral ingredients.

I liked the way they turned out – but would the church members? Indeed they did. I hardly brought any left overs home.

An Easter brunch is a great time of fellowship, but an Easter sermon should point us to the Savior. Here is a taste of what I heard last week – People will say some nice things about God. They may even show up in a church service and go through pious platitudes. They are comfortable talking about our culture, our country and our world. Everything will be ok as long as God doesn’t get pushy. As long as God doesn’t demand ownership, everything will be fine. Man would rather worship nature, a moral code, or himself (I can be a god) than face the all powerful creator-father God.