Le’ncredible Egg

“I like a cook who smiles out loud when he tastes his own work. Let God worry about your modesty, I want to see your enthusiasm” -Robert Farrer Capon

American Indians say a gigantic golden egg beheld the Great Spirit, whom exploded out of its shell and created the world. Ancient Egyptians believed that eggs came from the god Ptah, who created them from the sun and the moon. Early Phoenicians thought that an egg split open to form the heavens and the earth. Flagstaffians could say that our eggs at the Clay Casa are created from all of us bursting forth with love, organic oats and dumpstered vegetables.

The creamy yellow yolks are a great source of protein, iron, vitamins A and D, choline and phosphorus. The yolk is also where all the fat and cholesterol are, but no one here could give two shakes of a hen’s tale about eating too much cholesterol. The egg whites are a great source of protein themselves, and even behold beneficial amounts of riboflavin.

The color of an egg’s shell depends on the breed of the laying hen. As you can see ours are brown from our Orbington hens. A good way to tell the freshness of an egg is by it’s chalazae, the little white twisted cords you can see at the ends of the yolk. The fresher the egg, the more prominent the chalazae.

Not only are eggs wonderful as the obvious WINNER’S breakfast: sunny side up on a piece of buttered *gluten free* toast topped with sautéed onions and chard, a slide of heirloom tomato, some grated cheese (do it while the egg is in the pan so it melts!), avocado, and of course drizzled with srirracha; they are also used as a leavener in desserts like cakes, breads and soufflés, as a base in custards, ice creams, and mousse, emulsified with oil for all the aioli/dipping pleasure you could conjure. They also clarify stocks in classical french cooking and can be digested in a half hour or less!

I wish you the best, in finding how you love your eggs. I savor each morning as I check on our lovely ladies in the coop,  grabbing a still warm, deep orange, creamy melt in my mouth egg while thanking the gals for their eggtastic work and worm eating abilities.

Forever yours,

Chef Dallas

P.S.

You should probably listen to this song now:

Sources:

Drummond, Karen Eich., and Lisa M. Brefere. Nutrition for Foodservice and Culinary Professionals. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley, 2007. Print.

Herbst, Sharon Tyler. Food Lover’s Companion: Comprehensive Definitions of over 3000 Food, Wine, and Culinary Terms. New York: Barron’s, 2007. Print.