What’s Cooking By Kathy Harrison

Photo: Girmantas urbonas

Kathy Harrison is a Barrington Hills resident who teaches the fine art of cooking. For more information, call 847-381-4828. Photo: : i S tock p hoto.com

perfect boiled egg. And all the instructions are Keep Your Sunny Side Up different. Some start with cold water, some do not. Some start with eggs directly from the refrig- erator. Others have eggs brought to room temper- n 1929, Johnny Hamp wrote and Look at all the omelets we missed! ature. My friend pokes a hole in the bottom of the recorded this tune. It caught on at a time When you think about it, an egg is the most egg before boiling it. Why? I’ve not figured it out. Iwhen the populace needed a lift of spirits. perfect food. It’s a great source of protein, having So we argue this point. Vehemently. I simmer my After our record setting cold, our populace 6 grams packed into just one egg. Shell shocking, eggs for 10 minutes, which gives me a perfectly needed a lift as well. It came in the call of geese isn’t it? And speaking of shells, the shell of a chick- moist, creamy yolk. She covers her eggs with cold as they headed back from their winter retreats, en’s egg is a scientific wonder. Made of calcium water, brings the water to a boil over high heat, and from the robins hopping around the piles of carbonate, it has 17,000 tiny pores on its surface, then removes the pot from the heat and lets the snow remaining on our lawns. Surely these birds letting air and moisture in, but letting nothing out. eggs sit for 18 minutes. Her yolks, she says, are were harbingers of warmer days. We were lucky This magic allows you to store a truffle in your egg perfectly cooked. We’re at a stand-off. We’ve been that despite the cold, we had days upon days of crate, if you’re feeling extravagant, and enjoy per- there for years. sunshine. Since the days were brighter, I was fectly infused truffle eggs in just a day or two. Recently I made deviled eggs. I boiled 6 eggs, ready for some lighter food. Still, it had to be The egg white, or albumen, contains 40 differ- peeled them and split them lengthwise. I took my loaded with flavor. Unctuous, not mean and lean. ent proteins. The yolk has even more, in addition perfectly cooked yolks and mashed them with a There was new life popping up from the to iron and vitamins A and D. All this…and it little mayo, a small amount of Dijon mustard, a ground. Crocus, with its brilliant purple and tastes good, too. dab of lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Then I yellow hues, defied the imagination as it poked For most people in this country, the egg has added a pinch of smoked paprika to give them a its head through the frozen ground. Asparagus been thought of as breakfast food. Really… for- smoky taste. My deviled eggs did not wear Prada. and rhubarb followed suit. There was new birth get this notion! Chefs around the country and Instead, they got topped with some bacon that I wherever you looked. Throughout history and home cooks alike are turning to the egg for ap- cooked until crisp, then crumbled over the tops throughout literature, new life was symbolized by petizers, main courses, and late night snacks. This of the eggs. Bacon and eggs. Breakfast for dinner. the egg. That beautiful orb has had philosophers tiny wonder can be fried, poached, or scrambled. They flew off the plate to twelve smiling guests. waxing poetic for centuries. It can be whipped into meringue, or coddled in I’ve roasted asparagus and garnished it with Egyptian records show fowl laying eggs for Caesar salads. Some like their eggs hot, some cold. sieved, hard boiled eggs. I liked the play of tastes, man as far back as 1400 B.C. Our introduction Rocky ate his raw, and just look what he did to and the contrast of colors was stunning. Why not to this marvel came much later. It’s believed that Apollo Creed. use these same ingredients on a dish of pasta, my Columbus brought chickens to America in 1493. Instruction abounds on how to boil an egg. A guilty pleasure. The result was swooningly good.

106 • Quintessential Barrington | QBarrington.com Pappardelle with Bagna Càuda, Asparagus, and a Fried Egg

DIRECTIONS 1.) Make the bagna càuda: Heat the butter, garlic, anchovies, and ¼ cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring and breaking up the anchovies with a wooden spoon. Do not let the garlic brown. Reduce the heat to low, and cook for a minute or two to let the fla- vors meld. Remove from heat and add the chopped parsley, lemon

Photo: : iStockphoto.com zest, and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside. Bagna Càuda (Warm Bath) 2.) Cook the asparagus: Break off -4 tablespoons unsalted the tough ends of the asparagus, butter then cup the spears diagonally into 1 inch pieces. Heat 2 tablespoons -3 cloves garlic, minced olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallot -12 anchovy fillets in olive and cook, stirring, until the shallot oil, drained and chopped is soft and translucent. Add the as- paragus, turn the heat to high, and -½ cup olive oil, divided cook the asparagus for 2 minutes until it is a crisp tender. Season -¼ cup chopped flat leaf with salt and pepper to taste. Add parsley, plus additional for the asparagus to the skillet with the bagna càuda. garnishing the plates 3.) Bring a large pot of salted water -2 teaspoons grated to a boil. Cook the pappardelle ac- cording to package directions until lemon zest al dente. Lift the dripping pasta out -Juice of ½ lemon of the water with tongs and add to the skillet with asparagus and bagna -Kosher salt and freshly cauda, stirring to coat. Keep warm while frying the eggs. ground black pepper 4.) Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick skillet over high heat -1 pound pencil thin for a minute until the oil is almost smoking. Break 1 egg into a small asparagus spears bowl, then slip it into the pan. Con- PAINTER KAREN HEUTON tinue with the remaining 3 eggs. -2 shallots, minced Cook for about 1 ½ minutes until the whites are set and the yolks still MAY 24-25 • 10AM-5PM runny. -8 ounces pappardelle Cook & E. Station Streets • Downtown Barrington 5.) Divide the pasta among 4 -4 eggs warmed bowls. Grate the Parme- FREE ADMISSION • ART • MUSIC • FOOD san over each serving and top each -4 tablespoons freshly dish with a fried egg. Sprinkle with

salt and pepper, a dusting of Par- CELEBRATING grated Parmigiano- 31 YEARS OF ART mesan, and a scattering of chopped 847-926-4300 Amdur Productions Reggiano cheese parsley. Serve immediately. BarringtonArtFestival.com

QBarrington.com | Quintessential Barrington • 107