A More Egg-citing Spread

Lobster Egg Wrap by Ni’Kesia Pannell

4 Surprising, Egg-Centric Recipes for Entertaining 

After over a year of alone time, most of us are ready to put our host hats back on and invite our close friends and family over for some long overdue human-on-human contact. And yet, months of cooking for ourselves has taken its toll on our culinary creativity. That’s why we thought we’d ask four of our favorite cooks about their go-to plates for entertaining pals. Whether you’ve invited friends over for tea, brunch, or dinner — these unique recipes are sure to leave your guests feeling satiated and, dare we say, impressed.

Lobster Egg Wrap by Ni’Kesia Pannell (@kesi_p)

“I love this recipe because it's super simple to make and most of the ingredients are usually things that I keep in my house on the regular. Though I used lobster for this one, the best thing about this recipe is that it can be eaten with any meat you have handy! It's also perfect for any meal of the day. I especially like this recipe for guests because it's low cost, but can seem luxe depending on what meat you use or how you present it. Plus, since you usually have most of the ingredients handy, it's super easy to whip up at any time—even if your guests happen to be last-minute!” - Ni’Kesia

RECIPE

Yield: 2 wraps

Ingredients: 

• Two scrambled eggs
• Two flour tortillas
• One half cup of fresh parsley
• One half cup of diced tomatoes (and any other veggies that you'd like!)
• One whole lobster tail (or meat of your preference)
• Shredded parmesan cheese

 Instructions: 

1. Butter a small saucepan and throw your tortillas in there until both sides are brown
2. Dice your cooked lobster tail (or other cooked meat of preference)After removing your tortillas, place your 
3. eggs into the pan to scramble
4. Once they are cooked, remove them from the pan and spread them along your now slightly crispy tortilla shell
5. Add diced lobster and tomatoes
6. Add shredded parmesan cheese
7. Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy!

*Ni'Kesia's pro tip: add a dollop of sour cream and hot sauce to take to the next level!

Tamagoyaki (Japanese Rolled Omelet) by Liz Barclay (@lizbarclay_)

Tamagoyaki is a traditional Japanese dish, a childhood classic served usually for breakfast. As a southerner myself, I like to remix the recipe a little bit by having it with rice and a little bit of maple syrup and soy sauce drizzled on top (perhaps add some sautéed collard greens / swiss chard and garlic on the side as well!) My boyfriend, Chad Robertson, @tartinebaker, helped inspire this particular recipe and has overall influenced the ways I cook and how we share and eat food! Tamagoyaki is also great to pack into bento boxes or have with nori & rice later in the day! (HBF note: the perfect group picnic fare!) - Liz

RECIPE

Yield: 1 omelet

Ingredients:

• Egg Mixture:
• 3 eggs
• 2 Tbs neutral oil, plus more as needed (I like sesame oil) 

Seasonings:

• 3 Tbsp dashi (Japanese soup stock; click to learn more) (use Kombu Dashi for vegetarian)
• 2 tsp coconut sugar
• 1 tsp soy sauce 
• 1 tsp mirin
• 2 pinch kosher/sea salt 

Toppings: 

• Scallion, radish, etc 

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, combine eggs & whisk. If you have chopsticks, I recommend cutting the eggs. 
2. Mix together the dashi and seasonings together in a separate bowl. 
3. Pour the seasonings into the egg mixture and whisk gently. Then pour the mixture into a measuring cup so you can easily pour layers.
4. Take your 9” skillet or Tamagoyaki Pan In Heat the pan over medium heat, dip a folded paper towel in oil and apply to the pan. Put a little bit of egg mixture to see if the pan is hot. 
5. When it sizzles, pour a small layer of egg mixture in. Tilting to cover bottom of the plan. 
6. After the layer is cooked, about 1 minute, using chopsticks or a rubber spatula, gently lift the egg edges. Poke the air bubbles to release the air. After the bottom of the egg has set but still soft on top, start rolling into a log shape towards you. 
7. Move the rolled omelette to the side where you started to roll, apply oil to the pan with a paper towel again.... and make sure it’s coated under the omelette. 
8. Repeat step 6. Pour egg mixture to cover pan and make sure while you’re tilting the pan around, you use a spatula to lift the first omelette gently up so the egg mixture goes under it. 
9. When the new layer of egg has set and is still soft on top, start rolling from one side to the other — rolling the omelette away from you.
10. Repeat Steps 4-9 with remaining three layers, greasing the pan before each additional layer. The number of flips will decrease as the omelet grows in size with each additional layer. Usually you can do 5-6 rounds. 
11. Transfer omelet to a cutting board or a plate when done. You can shape it with a bamboo sushi mat & let it cool for 5 minutes 
12. Cut crosswise into four pieces and rotate, cut side up, to show egg layers. (If using a nonstick 8-inch skillet, you can trim both ends of the omelet to make them even.) Serve immediately or chill for later. You can serve scallions on tops, radish, hot sauce, etc. 

Lemon Curd by Anne (@realhensofoc)

Yield: about 3 to 4 cups

I love making lemon curd whenever I have guests, or for any occasion, especially during lemon season. Lemon curd is delicious on muffins, pancakes, cake, scones, ice cream, fruit or just by itself! Its versatility and ability to transform anything I serve with it makes it one of my favorite recipes for entertaining.

Lemon curd is best used within one week, or if stored in a freezer, it will keep for about 2-3 months or a little more. If you don’t plan to make a lot, half this recipe. I use this recipe so that I can make more, and often I even double it sometimes. Because, if I’m going through the trouble of messing up my kitchen, why not just make more? I store them in the freezer for the next time I have guests or just feel like indulging myself. 

Having some extra in the freezer is great for unexpected guests. I can serve them some tea, and bread or fruit with some lemon curd, or just offer them their own mini jar of lemon curd to eat like a decadent pudding. I also like packaging small jars of the curd to send home with guests. I often also change up the flavors and substitute orange juice and zest, or do a combination of various citrus. - Anne

RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 8-10 egg yolks (can use a combo of yolks plus whole eggs too, but always do more yolk than whole eggs; the more yolks, the richer the curd)
• 1 cup to 2 cups sugar (adjust to your preference)
• Zest of 4-6  lemons on a microplane, or finely chop zest if you use a zester.
• ⅔  to 1  cup lemon juice
• 2 sticks (16 tbsp) butter, cut into squares

Instructions:

1. Prepare double boiler by bringing a pot filled with about 2” of water to a quick boil, then reduce it to a simmer.
2. Whisk yolks and sugar in large glass bowl until smooth. Add juice and zest. (Note: I always use a glass bowl to reduce the possibility of a “tinny” metallic taste due to potential chemical reactions the eggs and acid can have with metal vessels.)
3. Simmer on double boiler by placing your bowl over the pot until thickened, whisking the whole time. Do NOT walk away from your curd. This could end in disaster for you and you could end up with curdled or burned curds.
4. Remove from heat and stir in butter, one piece at a time. 
5. Cover bowl with a plate or bee wrap while it cools to prevent a skin from developing. Some recipe will tell you to cover the top of the curd with plastic wrap (touching the plastic to the curd) to avoid skin from forming, but I’ve never had this problem using a plate or bee wrap cover over my bowl. Once cooled, transfer to clean jars or containers.
6. Refrigerate up to 2 weeks. Or freeze for 2-3 months.

Additional notes: It is possible to water-bath can lemon curd for shelf-stability (where you don’t have to refrigerate or freeze), but they are not shelf stable long term, like other canning items. AND, this recipe is not meant for canning, so please don’t try to water-bathe can this recipe. Just freeze it if you want longer term storage. (Or, eat faster!)

Bimpy's Pizza by Daniel Pelosi (@grossypelosi)

I grew up eating my grandfather Bimpy's pizza. It's a classic grandpa pizza made with a thick crust and in a sheet pan. Bimpy is a smart guy and insists on using store bought dough to make his pizza, making it an easy go-to for family gatherings. He also makes his pizza sauce in a blender, no heat required. I have since taken Bimpy's pizza method and used it for my own gatherings, playing around with all kinds of variations. My favorite for summer brunches at my place is making Bimpy's Pizza on the grill outside using all of the gorgeous produce that summer provides as toppings. The recipe requires extremely high heat, so the grill works perfectly. I throw a few eggs on top of the pizza at the end and let them sizzle away. It's summer brunch perfection. - Dan

RECIPE

Yield: 1 pizza

Ingredients: 

• Sauce:
• 24 ounces tomato puree or crushed tomatoes
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• A handful of fresh basil
• 4 anchovies (not optional)
• Pizza:
• Dough from your local pizzeria, ask for the largest ball they have
• Olive oil
• Shredded mozzarella
• Grated pecorino romano
• Fresh basil
• Red pepper flakes
• Pork sausage (optional)
• Broccolini or Broccoli Rabe (optional)

Instructions: 

1. Blend sauce ingredients in a blender until smooth.
2. Spread olive oil around in a 12x18” pan, then spread pizza dough out as much as possible in the pan (use your paws!). Place the pan in a warm spot for about an hour to let it rise. After an hour, the dough should spread to cover the whole bottom of the pan.
3. Add shredded mozzarella then sauce then more mozzarella and grated pecorino on top of the dough. Top it all with basil and red pepper flakes. If you dare, add chunks of raw sausage and raw broccolini, but the topping options are limitless so have fun with it!
4. Preheat the oven to its highest possible temperature and bake for 20-30 minutes, and keep a close eye on it to see when it’s perfectly browned on top and bottom. 
5. Serve directly from the oven with extra red pepper flakes and grated cheese.