Just as April showers bring May flowers, so do the hard-boiled eggs that arrive via Passover seder or an Easter egg hunt bring us, well, a lot of hard-boiled eggs. What to do with them all?

Many of those who celebrate Easter open a lunch box the first Monday thereafter to be confronted with a big scoop of egg salad. And while that's always an option -- as is the Cobb Salad that centers many an April luncheon -- there are recipes out there beyond the standards. So hide your eggs and eat them too.

First, though, safety is critical. According to the USDA, Easter eggs are safe to eat after the hunt provided you follow a few basic guidelines: Use food-safe coloring to dye the eggs and refrigerate them within two hours of boiling them. Boiling an egg removes a protective coating that occurs naturally on the shell, which leaves the shell vulnerable to bacteria. After the hunt, discard any eggs whose shells have cracked or that nestled in a bacteria-friendly environment such as dirt, hay or anywhere accessible to pets. Don't keep hard-boiled eggs away from the fridge for longer than two hours and use them within seven days of boiling them.

Beyond the jump is a delicious recipe for using those safely-handled eggs. (Hint: It's a salad, but it's not egg salad).

Last Thursday, I came home from work with absolutely no plan as to what to make for dinner. Most nights I have at least a semblance of a plan, whether it be 1). Eat leftovers from weekend cooking, 2). Turkey burgers and salad or 3). Gather the boyfriend and go out. There weren't any leftovers, nothing was defrosted and Scott was working late, which ruled out option three.

Taking stock of the fridge, my eyes hit upon the teeny farmers market eggs I had picked up the previous weekend. Egg salad it would be, made with finely chopped green pepper (I was out of celery and needed something for crunch), grated onion and a tiny bit of fresh dill. After the eggs finished cooking and were cooling down, my eyes found the pastry blender resting in the dish drainer. Normally I'll just chop the heck out of the peeled eggs on my cutting board and then scrape them into the bowl, but this time inspiration (and a bit of laziness) led me to use the pastry blender instead. It worked perfectly, created less mess and gave a nice variable texture to the eggs.

I ate some of the salad open-face on a piece of toasted whole grain bread, sliced tomatoes standing in for the second piece bread. It was a quick dinner that was fresh tasting and left the kitchen cool and not too messed.

What is your go-to dinner sandwich?

An enterprising Seattle waiter with a Foodsaver snatched up leftovers from Britney Spears and Kevin Federline and has put them up for auction on eBay.

Hard as it is to believe, as of this writing there have been only 40 bids. The top one thus far exceeds $200. I myself may purchase these items, before some evil scientist grabs them and clones the celebrity couple.

The seller claims to have acquired Britney's half eaten egg salad sandwich and K-Fed's corn dog at a music industry party he worked a few months ago. I wouldn't plan on eating these items though, the seller notes they're strictly for memorabilia purposes not consumption.

Update: The winning bid was for $520 from Golden Palace Casino, the same guys that bought the Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwich and other weird food things.

If there's one thing I learned from this list of best sandwiches from Boston magazine, it's this: I really have to get out more.

I've heard of all of these restaurants, but I haven't had any of the sandwiches. God, between this and my other recent admission, you'd think I didn't eat anything but pizza and candy. That's not a bad guess, but it's just that I haven't tried these establishments yet. But having a list like this makes you say "hey, I want to try that!", so it has accomplished one of its goals.

Deluca's on Newbury Street wins for Best Roast Beef; the Union Bar and Grille wins for Best Reuben; Darwin's wins the award for Best Egg Salad; the Flour Bakery + Cafe gets the nod for B.L.T.; the Appleton Bakery + Cafe gets Best Ham and Cheese; Best Meatloaf goes to Solas; Pemberton Farms wins for Best Traditional Turkey; and the Parish Cafe gets the award for Best Tuna Salad.

This is part one, by the way. In the next issue will be sandwiches they call "The New Classics." Which will probably be even more sandwiches I haven't tried yet.

Do you have a couple of hard-boiled eggs sitting around? Instead of throwing them out, assuming that you kept them refrigerated or, at least did not cook them more than a day or two ago, peel the eggs and put them to good use. Hard boiled eggs do not keep as long as their uncooked counterparts, so don't try cooking with the ones you used in an Easter egg hunt that might have been in the sun.  A large egg has about 70 calories and is an excellent source of protein, with about 6 grams per egg. There are approximately 5 grams of fat in an egg, with 3.5 of them unsaturated, and they are all contained in the yolk. For more information on eggs, look here, but if you're just looking for a recipe or two, food blogs are a great place to look.

• Deviled Eggs 
• Egg Salad Sandwich 
• Hard Cooked Egg Cookies 
• Vegetarian Scotch Eggs 
• Son-in-law Eggs

[Photo by Nicole Weston]