Hello, Friends! I hope that all of you have had a happy Easter with enough chocolate rabbits, jelly beans and marshmallow peeps to satisfy your inner child until next year. This year I decided to help out some real children and participate in a local egg hunt. Yours Truly helped to boil and color some 30 dozen eggs for the neighborhood kiddies to find amongst the new green of awakening trees and sunny pastels of sprouting bulbs.

Faced with the prospect of figuring out what to do with 30 dozen found eggs and unwilling to reenact that famous gastronomic scene from "Cool Hand Luke" over the next week, I concocted what I thought to be a novel idea.

Yours Truly attempted to foster the culinary development of the youngsters by hosting a cooking contest with the now suddenly plentiful ingredient. I thought to run an egg salad contest to celebrate its main ingredient.

Since the main ingredient was already cooked in us battalion-feeding proportions and all that was really required was some minor, supervised chopping and a lot of mixing, I thought this was perfect for the Junior Escoffier set.

Let me also mention that I have a basic need for this most simple food. I find it to be a wonderful example of the flexible potential of a single ingredient.

The silky, boiled whites offer a yielding softness. The cooked yolk supplies stout body and creamy taste. The mayonnaise that bind the ingredients together, also made from an emulsion of eggs, spices and rich oils, provides the luxuriant medium upon which all is present for our delight.

Served on toast points, whipped and piped into vegetable cups or served as filling for deviled eggs, this dish represents the diverse possibilities of cooking. I greatly anticipated the outcome of our youthful entrants.

Much to my delight, nearly all of the children wished to compete which meant the each would have 6 eggs from which to make their masterpiece.

Let me share with you the award winners of that day. The competition was fierce I tell you. I am proud of them all.

Honorable Mention goes to Lindsay's Sweet Potato Egg Salad! This wonderful salad captivated the eye with the vibrant orange of the sweet potato mixed into a classic egg salad base. The sweetness of the potato provided an interesting counterpoint to the slight tang of the sweet relish also incorporated into the dish.

Fifth Place goes to Marcus' Bacon and Egg Salad! This was a bold reinterpretation of the breakfast standard. Plenty of thick cut bacon was added to the egg salad to give this salad some heartiness. Marcus served this on rafts of thick, crisp rafts of Texas toast. This is sure to be a Mother's Day hit.

Fourth Place goes to Yolanda's Spring Crunch Egg Salad! She fortified her salad with the crunchiest of spring produce to punch up the ordinary. Red and green peppers, scallions, and a surprise appearance of Jicama made this a simple yet entertaining Easter treat! The awesome addition of fresh jalapenos also added great kick to this creation.

Third Place is awarded to Justin's Greeky Egg Salad! Bits of marinated feta and fresh torn basil found its way into the salad along with some nice olives and red onion. A creamy dill dressing substituted artfully for the mayonaise. Warm up the pitas and I'm in heaven!

Runner-Up went to Christy for her Chinese Egg Salad. This truly stretched the limits of egg salad. Five spice, barbecued roast pork were minced into red tidbits and folded with green onions. A hint of fish sauce and honey-sweetened soy and lots of freshly grated ginger went into this masterpiece. It impressed me so much, I've invited myself to dinner. Tuesday's great for me, Christy!

The Winner of Marion First Annual Egg Salad Days Contest goes to Terry. Her Curried Egg Salad was a sophisticated, yet hearty combo. She boldly combined a large amount of curry power and folded in roasted onions. A dollop of sweet and salty chutney controlled the flavour of the curry and surprisingly worked well with the hardboiled egg.

Congratulations to all the participants who show this cook new variants on a classic theme. And a Special Thanks to their wonderful parents for supporting their marvelous efforts!

Until Next Time,

Love to All,
Marion.