Lions and tigers and leftover eggs, oh my!

Cooking with Cathie

By Cathie Campbell

(Updated: Friday, March 28, 2008, 4:22 PM)

When there is no wizard to help us deal with too many hard-boiled eggs left over from Easter egg hunts, we have lots of great recipes at the rescue. Since I have covered pickled eggs in the past (my favorite way of using hard-cooked eggs), I thought it was time for something new. And if your kids or grandkids, nieces or nephews brought home only plastic eggs, you are on your own. If you come up with any good recipes for those, send them in! Of course, these days, community Easter egg hunts use only plastic eggs, but perhaps there are still people who hide real ones around the house or yard. I used to get up very early in order to hide eggs before my kids hopped out of bed. Sometimes they would find eggs that the ants had already discovered. That's just how it goes, what with Easter and ant colonies both being springtime traditions. Next year, if you hide any real eggs in the house, be sure you count eggs-actly how many you started with. You will eventually find the unclaimed, lost ones, but not by sight. You will smell them! Okay, I am getting out of control here, so on to the recipes before you lose your appetite!

Crab, grapefruit and avocado salad

• 4 ripe avocados
• 1 pound crab meat, picked through and diced
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tsps. ketchup
• Dash of Worcestershire sauce
• Lettuce
• 1 cup grapefruit sections
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• Black olives

1. Cut the avocados in half and remove the seeds. Combine the crab meat with the next four ingredients and spoon into the avocados.

2. Serve on a bed of crisp lettuce surrounded by grapefruit sections and garnished with chopped eggs and black olives.

Vegetarian egg spread sandwich

• Alfalfa or other crisp sprouts go well with this spread.
• 3 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and chopped
• 2 ounces medium-firm tofu, drained and diced
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 tblsp. chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 tsp. dried whole dill weed or 1 tblsp. chopped fresh dill weed
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tblsps. mayonnaise
• 2 tblsps. plain low-fat yogurt
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed and drained

1. Combine eggs, tofu, celery, onion, parsley, dill, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise and yogurt in a medium bowl; mix well.

2. Add peas, mix gently. Cover and chill until ready to serve with your favorite bread or rolls.

Tangy mustard potato salad

• 6 medium red potatoes, boiled in skins until tender, and cooled
• 1/2 large sweet onion, diced
• 2 large stalks of celery, diced
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• 1 tsp. celery seed
• 1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
• 1 tsp. salt, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup mustard
• 1 tblsp. white vinegar or pickle juice
• 1 hard-boiled egg, cut into eight wedges for garnish
• 8 cherry tomatoes for garnish
• Parsley for garnish
• Paprika for garnish, optional

1. Cut cooked potatoes into cubes with skin on or scrape off the skin with a butter knife before cubing. Place in a large mixing bowl with sweet onion, celery, chopped eggs, celery seed, pickle relish, salt and pepper. Toss gently.

2. Whisk together mayonnaise, mustard and vinegar or pickle juice.

Mix into potatoes and vegetables until combined. Decorate with hard-boiled egg wedges, tomatoes and parsley.

Sprinkle with paprika.

Cover and refrigerate at least four hours before serving.