"Easter eggs" news and stories

He is the Egg Man -- New Orleans artist John Lamouranne has been making egg sculptures for more than 30 years. (And yes, he made one of the Beatles.) Starting with hollowed goose eggs and adding bits of modeling glue and other crafty materials, Lamouranne creates little people (mostly little famous people) that range from Kate Middleton and Prince William (above) to a bobble-head Elvis, a grinning Ellen DeGeneres, and a whole cast of Alice in Wonderland characters. And you thought dipping a hard-boiled egg in food coloring was hard.

See a slideshow of Lamouranne's eggs at The Telegraph.

Easter-egg time is not the time to mess up the hard-boiled eggs. And, sure, you may think you've got it down pat. But here's the thing: If you cook those eggs beautifully now, after Easter has come and gone, you'll have perfect hard-cooked eggs to simply salt and eat or make into egg salad, potato salad, or a bunch of other delicious dishes. (Get a dozen recipes for leftover Easter eggs here.)

Hard-Boiled Eggs
Brown shells are thicker than white shells, and thus more crack-resistant, making them ideal for hard-boiling. There's no other differences between white and brown eggs -- they just come from different breeds of hen.

Cover the eggs with an inch of water, and then remove the eggs. Bring the water to a boil, and lower the eggs into the water with a spoon or tongs. The boil will die down, but when it resumes, lower the heat and simmer the eggs to your desired doneness (about 10 minutes). Experiment with timing to find what works best for you (you can cook them up to 15 minutes).

A pinhole in the tip of the egg will keep the shell from cracking due to trapped air.

Drain hot water and fill pan with cold water. Allow eggs to sit in cold water in order to stop the cooking process.

Watch a video on how to cook eggs.

Find out all about eggs: how to soft boil, hard boil, fry, scramble, bake and more in KitchenDaily's "How to Cook Eggs."

One of the year's most festive meals features the same components that make up perhaps the most standard plate in the American repertoire: eggs, bread and pork – commonly recognized as the nation's breakfast triumvirate – are the defining ingredients of Easter celebrations the world over.

Of course, few holiday observers plan to serve up scrambled eggs, bacon and toast on Easter Sunday: Diners will instead indulge in stout pink hams, hot cross buns, sweet yeast cakes, currant biscuits, cream-filled chocolate eggs, smoked kielbasas and gaudily decorated hard boiled eggs, paying homage to traditions forged in medieval Europe. While Americans have modified many of their inherited menus, the essential elements have changed little since the first Christians devised their holiday meals.

Beige hummus, be gone. And borscht, there's a new player in Beetville. Using beets instead of chickpeas makes this Middle Eastern dish intensely purple-red, and the best eye candy of an appetizer we've seen in a long time. Plus, it's earthy and delicious, according to beet lover and blogger elanaspantry, who photographed this hummus, and simplyrecipes, whose recipe calls for the usual suspects -- tahini, lemon juice and zest, garlic and cumin.

One word of advice when it comes to peeling roasted beets: Wear rubber gloves unless you want your fingers to look as if you've dipped them in a vat of red dye. However (fun fact alert), you can use the beet juice to dye Easter eggs (let them sit in the juice overnight).

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot of having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

• Beautiful Latvian Easter eggs are created by reusing ingredients you already have in your kitchen.
• Passover's a week away! Hint: Don't focus on what you can't eat; focus on all the foods you can.
• Whether the holiday is Passover or Easter, a nice piece of fish might be just the ticket.
• What, it needs a a bit more flavor? Try a little vinegar.
• Springtime calls out for weekend brunches. Here are five hot spots to try.