How to boil an egg

Yesterday I had to make egg salad for a spring party at Little Guy's school. Because we're in this temporary apartment I decided to save myself the trouble and stopped in a local gourmet shop to pick some up, but they were out. No problem, I picked up two dozen eggs and googled an easy recipe.

I know what you're thinking. Egg salad has got to be one of the simplest things to make, but I rarely boil an egg, so I wanted to make sure I got them right. Here's a confession: I don't do colored eggs at Easter. I know, I have to be the worst mother ever, right? Anyway, I found some directions, followed them exactly, and guess what? Eighteen eggs with runny whites and drippy middles.

Turns out, the recipe called for medium eggs and I had large ones. The large ones needed more time on the stove. Another trip to the store to pick up another two dozen eggs.

The second time I got it right.

But isn't that always the case? The simple things, like boiling a damn egg, trip us up. The hard stuff we slog through somehow. I can whip out an omelette like nobody's business. But boiling an egg?

Anyway, in case you're wondering, here's how you hard boil eighteen eggs:

Fill a pot with eggs and cold water. Bring the pot to a full rolling boil. Cover and simmer on lowest setting for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the eggs to sit covered another 2-3 minutes. Rinse, then soak the eggs in cool water. Once the eggs are cool, they are ready to peel.

Tune in tomorrow where I tell you how to make a slice of buttered toast.