Yesterday was my mother-in-law Barb’s birthday. We had her over to celebrate; the girls and I prepared an English tea, which was SO fun! There were cream biscuits with jams and lemon curd, fresh local cherries, cucumber sandwiches and egg salad sandwiches with crusts cut off and cut into little squares.

Mara, Millie, birthday-girl-Barb, and me.

Everything was lovely and yummy, and the egg salad was so good that I had to make it again today! Egg salad is pretty easy to make, so you might be wondering why I am writing about it. Well, here are a few reasons: do you dread making hard boiled eggs because sometimes they are chalky or they get that weird dark color between the yolks and the whites? Do you also dread peeling hard boiled eggs? Hopefully I’ve got some tricks to share that will make it easier.

Pretend like there is slowly simmering water in the pot!

This recipe calls for six hard boiled eggs. Here’s how I do the boiling part: bring a pot of water to a slow simmer. Place six extra large eggs (inspect them first to make sure none of them are cracked) in a vegetable steamer and slowly insert the steamer into the pot of simmering water. There should be enough water to cover the eggs. When the water comes back to a very slow simmer – this should happen quickly – set your timer for 16 minutes. The slow simmer should look like a bubble here or there coming to the surface of the water. You want to avoid a full boil, which will overcook the eggs and leave them rubbery. At the 16 minute mark, remove the steamer and eggs and plunge the whole thing into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and chill the eggs. You can let them sit there for a long time, but I’d say at least fifteen minutes. Longer is better.

Yes, I’m gloating about these perfectly peeled hard boiled eggs!

When you are ready to get started with the peeling, take one of the eggs and crack it against a counter at the large end of the egg – that is where there is an air pocket, so you will crack the shell without cracking the egg inside. Take the egg and peel it under cold running water. This makes everything a lot easier. The shell hopefully will come off easily in large-ish pieces. Place the peeled eggs in a medium sized bowl.

This is chopped finely enough.

To make the chopping part easier, I just hold the egg in my hand directly over the bowl that contains all of the eggs. Using a small paring knife, I cut the egg into quarters lengthwise, then slice it directly into the bowl. Repeat with all the eggs. Then you can take the knife and cut up any larger remaining pieces of egg that you see in the bowl. This is just a lot easier than trying to chop up a hard boiled egg on a cutting board. And no, I don’t have an egg slicer. I am the egg slicer.

This is all you need!

Add 1/3 cup of Hellman’s or Best mayonnaise and stir to coat the egg. Then add a pinch of kosher salt (the larger grains are much nicer than using table salt) and some freshly ground pepper, and several dashes of curry powder. We use curry a lot around here, so it has a place of honor on our table next to the salt and pepper.

I like a little crunch in my egg salad; a bit of celery does the trick.

Celery is optional, and if you choose to use it, use one of the tender inner ribs for milder flavor. I used one very small rib diced as finely as possible.

Egg Salad

(Adapted from the Joy of Cooking)

• 6 extra large hard boiled eggs, chilled in ice water (read the post!)
• 1/3 cup Hellman’s or Best mayonnaise
• 1 pinch kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Several dashes curry powder (optional)
• 1 inner rib of celery, finely diced (optional)

1. Peel the eggs under cold running water, then finely chop into a medium bowl.
2. Add the mayonnaise, salt, pepper, curry and celery (if using) and stir to combine.
3. Serve right away as a sandwich on high quality soft white bread, such as potato bread or buttermilk bread. Don’t add anything else to the sandwich: just bread and egg salad. You don’t want anything to interfere with this perfect combination. My friend Deb says she likes to serve it on a toasted bagel, which sounds amazing. I think the flavor of the egg salad is best at room temperature, or only slightly chilled. If you make this in advance, store in the fridge, but allow to come almost to room temperature before serving. Makes enough for two to three sandwiches. Enjoy!