SPINACH and MUSHROOM FRITTATAS

Although we normally cook this in muffin tins, when we are looking for a different shape for the hors d' oeuvre tray, we will bake this recipe in a pie plate and cut it into thin wedges. In this shape it can also be served as a first course with a light garnish of hollandaise sauce.

10 tablespoons butter
3/4 pound mushrooms, cleaned and minced
5 medium shallots, minced
4 large cloves garlic, minced
20 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1 1/4 teaspoons salt {amount depends on saltiness of the Parmesan cheese}
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Melt 6 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet. Add the mushrooms, shallots, and garlic. Saute over medium-high heat until the liquid is nearly evaporated. Reduce the heat, add the spinach, and saute another 2 minutes, being careful not to let the spinach brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Combine the beaten eggs and 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Add the spinach mixture, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and heavily coat muffin tins that have 1/4 cup capacity. Fill, using 2 tablespoons of filling for each frittata. Bake 15-20 minutes in a 400 degree oven. *
Makes 24-30 appetizers.

* When using a 10" pie plate, bake 30-35 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Cut in large wedges. Serves 6-8 as a first course.

Come Out Of Your Shell In The Kitchen.

You can fry them, shir them, scramble or roll them up. Is there a more versatile food at your fingertips? It's that incredible egg, long on the upswing after its battering on the health front.

But everyday eggs can be so, well, everyday, always pleasant and comforting, with a predictability and demeanor that might as well whisper, "It's time to wake up."

But when morning takes on grander importance, for those celebrations when you want to shout, "Welcome!" to the day-whether it's a regular morning or any of the spring gatherings where guests gather around the table-the egg can be dressed for company.

Consider the roulade, a curlicue of egg, cheese and vegetables. Made from a batter that cooks in a jellyroll pan, the eggs become nearly as firm as a crepe, with a topping of good stuff that's added before it's rolled up. The roulade is a bit time-consuming, but it's definitely worth the effort for the "wow" factor alone. And if it's the only dish on the menu that needs some last-minute attention, you are set.

Or think simple but dressed up, on the order of scrambled eggs on bruschetta  The key is in the scrambling {don't do much of it}. Oh, and the cream cheese in the mixture. Add your choice of topping-shrimp, salmon, a bit of lobster-and this will look as good as it tastes.

Whatever the option, morning couldn't taste better.

Bruschetta With Eggs And Lobster.

Serves 8

Note: Bruschetta {broo-SKEH-tah} is a traditional toasted bread topped with something tasty. If you cut the bread on the diagonal, you will get more surface. You can toast the bread an hour or so in advance, but the egg and lobster need to be cooked right before serving. Each 5-ounce lobster tail will provide 4 ounces of meat. There are many alternatives to lobster {see below}. Boursin is a creamy soft cheese with the texture of cream cheese, and it comes flavored with herbs. It's a tasty alternative to cream cheese. For large soft curds of eggs, keep stirring to a minimum.

1 baguette, cut in 16 {1/2-inch} slices
1 garlic clove, peeled
Butter
2 or more {5 ounces each} lobster tails {defrosted, if frozen}
14 eggs, beaten until yolks and whites are well-combined
4 ounces cream cheese, cut into small cubes {or Boursin cheese, see Note}
Fresh chives, chopped
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
Truffle oil, optional

Toast bread in oven or in toaster. Rub one side of each slice with garlic {if you don't like garlic, omit this}. Butter and set aside.
Prepare the lobster: Do this before you start the eggs so there isn't too much going on at the same time. To remove meat from shell, use kitchen shears to make two cuts along the underside of tail {the softer side} and break away the shell. Once the meat is out of shell {before or after it is cooked}. remove the black vein that runs along the tail {pull it out or make a cut along the meat, as you would devein shrimp, and pull the vein out}.

Choice of options for cooking lobster:
*Remove meat from shell and saute whole in 2 tablespoons butter, basting it often, for about 5 to 8 minutes, until cooked through, then chop or slice for the eggs, or..
*Remove uncooked meat from shell and chop into chunks and saute in 2 tablespoons butter before adding to the eggs, or..
*Poach meat in the shell for about 3 minutes in water to which some white wine, carrot, celery, onion, chile flakes, fennel seed, mustard seed, peppercorns, bay leaf, thyme, kosher salt and lemon and oranges have been added. {Bring the water to a simmer before adding the tail.}

To prepare eggs:
In each of two nonstick pans {or one large pan}, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add eggs and turn heat to medium-low. For the largest curds, cook eggs with little stirring, instead pushing cooked part aside with a spatula and allowing uncooked eggs to move into place. When almost done, add cream cheese and stir.
Remove from heat. {Eggs will continue to cook.}

To serve:
On each plate, overlap two slices of toasted bread. Divide eggs and place on toast. Top with lobster and sprinkle with chives, a little salt and pepper. Drizzle a bit of truffle oil over eggs, if using.

Variations {instead of lobster}:
*Smoked salmon, topped with fresh dill instead of chives.
*Cooked crab meat {not the fake stuff, please!}.
*Small or medium-size cooked shrimp.
*Cooked whitefish.

EGG ROULADE

Serves 6 to 7

Note: This calls for a 10-by 15-inch jellyroll pan {a baking sheet with edges}. If you have a different size, just shape the batter on the pan accordingly. I've made two of these at a time, for a group of 12 diners, and I made the batter individually for each. With two roulades, it's a little extra last-minute pressure, but if the rest of the meal is simple, this is doable. Keep in mind that you'll need the full oven if you're making two of these.

5 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons, flour
1 1/4 cups milk
4 eggs, separated
Freshly ground black pepper
Filling {see below}

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the 10-by 15-inch jellyroll pan with parchment paper; either butter or spray it with cooking oil.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Increase heat to high, whisk in the milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often.
Transfer  flour mixture to a large bowl. Whisk in the egg yolks one at a time. Season with pepper.
Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Stir a third of the whites into yolk mixture and fold in the rest.
 Pour the batter onto the parchment paper and smooth out. Bake for 15 minutes, or until firm to the touch.
Meanwhile, prepare any filling that needs to be warmed. Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees.
Cover the egg surface with another oiled or buttered piece of parchment. Invert onto counter, and peel off the parchment on the top.
Sprinkle the egg surface with whatever filling is to be used. Starting on the long side of the egg surface, and using the parchment on the bottom to help, roll up the egg, jellyroll fashion. Place the roulade back on the jellyroll pan, with parchment underneath, and return it to the oven. Bake until any cheese in the filling has melted, about 10 minutes.
To serve, cut into 1/2-inch slices.

Filling Variations:
The filling must be prepared and hot [except for cheese} before it is placed on the cooked egg surface.
Make sure any moisture in the vegetable is gone; heat in a saute pan to assure it.
*Diced tomatoes or roasted red peppers and grated Cheddar cheese.
*Diced sauteed

 mushrooms and Gruyere cheese.
*Cooked, chopped spinach {make sure it's thoroughly dry} and Parmesan cheese.
*Slices of prosciutto and any grated cheese.
*Black beans and diced roasted red peppers.
*Diced ham and grated Cheddar cheese.
*Smoked salmon {lox}, whipped cream cheese {so it's easy to spread}, chives or capers.
*cooked and crumbled bacon or sausage.

Topping Variations:
*Grated cheese or fresh, minced herbs.
*Salsa
*Green chili sauce
*Hollandaise sauce

The Post-Easter Salad Days!

Easter still makes me think of vinegar. A clear wax crayon, drawn onto the white shell, not able to see the childish designs, hoping for the best. Dipping into the colored, vinegary dye with a flimsy wisp of wire shaped like a stop sign. Who decided a hexagon was best suited for Easter egg fishing?

Never worked very well for me. I always ended up with orange and blue fingers.

I loved the colors, though. The bright, almost turquoise blue, the grassy green, the tangerine, and pink the color of flamingos.

We always dyed dozens of hard-boiled eggs for Easter. The next day, my brother and I would race around the backyard, plucking the eggs out of monkey grass, off of fence railings, and in flower pots, filling up our baskets as fast as we could. Easter was the ultimate competition. The prize? I don't even remember. The fun was the race around the yard.

Afterwards, we had all of those eggs, which Mom had to do something with. Deviled eggs were her default, but she often made egg salad, too, which we took to our grandparent's house in Wyoming for a picnic lunch later that day.

Which got me to thinking about egg salad and how homey-and easy-it is. And the perfect way to use the decorated, hunted, and gathered eggs.

In France, where the love of the egg is unsurpassed-you find eggs on sandwiches {Croque Madame], on and in salads, on burgers and mixed into steak tartare, and in the many different types of quiches available at the boulangeries-I've yet to see anything like an egg salad, which seems strange, given, to,  the Frenchies' mayo and mustard-centric culture. How did they miss this eggy fun, I wonder?

But living here has opened me up to the possibilities of combining eggs with just about anything, which is how I came up with these four new takes on egg salad, below. A great way to enjoy your Easter eggs, or a half-dozen hard-boiled eggs any other day of the year.

EGG SALAD TEX-MEX.

Makes enough for 4 tostadas.

6 eggs
1 avocado, chopped
Small handful of cilantro {plus additional for serving}
1 chipotle chile {in adobo} finely chopped
Sea salt
4 corn tortillas
1 lime, cut into wedges {for serving}

1. Cook eggs according to the recipe The Perfect Boiled Egg {page} or utilize 6 hard-boiled Easter eggs, roughly chop the eggs and put them in a bowl.
2. Add the avocado, cilantro, chopped chipotle, and salt to taste. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
3. To serve, preheat the oven to broil. When the oven's hot, toast your tortillas by putting them directly on the rack, making sure to flip them to the other side after about a minute. Be sure to watch them carefully so they don't burn. Spoon one-fourth of the egg salad on each.

Egg Salad Mediterraneo.

Makes enough for 4 sandwiches.

6 eggs
6 cherry tomatoes, chopped
10 artichoke heart quarters {in oil}, chopped
6 fresh basil leaves, chopped {with additional for serving}
8 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 heaping tablespoon mayonnaise
Sea salt and pepper

1. Cook eggs per recipe The Perfect Boiled Egg {page} or utilize 6 already hard-boiled Easter eggs. Roughly chop the eggs and put them in a bowl.
2. Add the cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, basil, kalamata olives, mayo, salt and pepper to taste. Let rest in the fridge for 2 hours before serving. I like to serve this on toasted grainy bread, open-faced, like a French tartine, with a bit more chopped basil on top.

Egg Salad Frenchy.

Makes enough for 2 large or 4 regular-size sandwiches.

6 large eggs
10 French cornichons, chopped
1 heaping tablespoon mayonnaise
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
A pinch piment d'Espelette {optional; see note}
Sea salt and pepper
1 baguette, sliced

1. Follow the recipe to hard-boiled eggs under the page; The Perfect Boiled Egg. Or utilize 6 leftover Easter eggs. Chop the eggs and put them in a bowl.
2. Add the cornichons, mayo, mustard, piment d'Espelette, and salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. Serve on a baguette {I like mine toasted} with an additional sprinkle of piment d'Espelette for color-voila!

Note: Piment d'Espelette is a French chile pepper from the Southwest of France, milder than cayenne and without the smokiness of, say, chipotle or Spanish paprika. It can be found in specialty stores. As there is not an American equivalent, if you can't find it, simply leave it out, and the egg salad will still be delicious.

Egg Salad Fancy Schmancy.

Makes enough for about 2 dozen hors d'oeuvres-size toasts.

6 eggs
A small handful of fresh dill, chopped {plus more for serving}
1 tablespoon capers, chopped
1 heaping tablespoon mayonnaise
Sea salt and pepper
5.29-ounce box of tiny toasts
3.5 ounces of smoked salmon, sliced into small pieces.

1. Follow the recipe for hard-boiling eggs in the pages under The Perfect Boiled Egg. When they are peeled, grate the eggs and put them in a bowl.
2. Add the dill, capers, mayonnaise, salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
3. When ready to serve, spoon some of the egg salad on your tiny toasts, top with a piece of salmon and sprinkle a bit more dill on top.

Note: You can use your already hard-boiled Easter eggs for this to utilize leftover eggs.