Can you tell us more about your partnership with The Incredible Egg?
I was so excited to partner with America’s Egg Farmers, because eggs are one of the most versatile ingredients I use every day in the kitchen. They can do everything from making an amazing, and very easy, egg casserole or savory bread pudding for the morning, to the most amazing silky frosting, or a creamy custard, perfect for your guests.
What are some of your favorite holiday recipes that you make using eggs?
Every single recipe I make for the holidays uses eggs, but I love creamy things that will melt on your tongue. Eggs are the one ingredient that can give you that consistency. I created a holiday flan that has dulce de leche, my favorite spices, and of course, that caramel topping that we all love. The secret ingredients there are the five eggs that I’m using, which create this lattice of proteins that holds things together enough to get into your mouth and dissolve on your tongue.
My personal favorite recipe would have to be an éclair. I can eat an entire batch. [It’s] an éclair made with a choux pastry, which is eggs mixed with flour and butter, and it creates a wonderful silky pastry that you can make anything from churros to eclairs with, and it puffs up in the oven and once cooled, you fill it with the most amazing crème pâtissier, which is an amazing combination of vanilla, cream, eggs, and sugar. It is a dazzling concoction.
Can using eggs instead of other proteins be an affordable alternative for those looking to save money?
Eggs are so versatile, but they’re also giving you a value for your money and per unit. Each egg has 6 grams of protein, and adding that to your recipes is adding protein in, as well as adding all the other amazing things that eggs do, like give you that wonderful consistency, or puff things up, or make things silky, or create beautiful, rich flavors. They are definitely a wonderful protein to use.
What’s the best way for busy parents to prep ahead for making big holiday meals this season?
Come into the holidays with a plan. Decide on a menu and know what you want to make, and then start putting on your calendar when things could be made. I, for example, will make a biscuit recipe a week or two ahead of time and will have that in my freezer. When my guests come over, they bake straight from frozen, so there’s no worrying. They’re going to come out of the oven fresh, golden, and amazing.
A lot of pie crusts can be made up to a week in advance, too. It could be either in the freezer or it could be baked and ready for the filling. Then, I will do any little bit of prep that I can as far in advance as possible, so the day of, all I’m really worrying about is setting the table, being a kind and considerate host, and getting things into and out of the oven without doing a lot of work.
Dining and Cooking