What came first, the chicken, or the egg?

That is an age old question, for sure, that nobody really knows the answer to. The chicken, or the egg? I have often pondered about this, myself. Then I thought about this from a culinary student's perspective, and the one answer I can give from experience is that eggs come first... Breakfast!

Omelet with Marinara

Not only are eggs one of the easiest things to work with when you are just starting out (though in some instances, are not), they are versatile, they are healthy (in moderation), and they are tasty. Eggs are complex, yet simple, oxymorons indeed.

There are quite a few egg recipes out there, or recipes that require eggs (such as cakes), and six basic methods to cook them.

• Shired (Baked)
• Scrambled
• Boiled (Hard and soft)
• Fried
• Poached
• Steamed

I haven't tried shired eggs, but I have heard wonderful things. As far as the rest, the most difficult method up there is a poached egg. I happen to prefer scrambled because I don't have to worry about the yolks breaking, and I often make those into omelets because I love cheese and broccoli or spinach with my eggs. I don't like poaching very much, but I now know how to do it without making a mess.

To be honest, though, there was a time I hated eggs. I mean, I didn't hate eating them, but I hated making them because my first eight weeks of culinary school centered around mostly the chicken and the egg. I understand why this is, eggs are cheap and whole chickens are too. I dreaded my final exam because I had to flip an egg right in the pan, and that was always a disaster! I cannot begin to tell you how much egg goop I had to clean up off of the range. The other thing I dreaded was Hollandaise sauce because it wasn't easy to get it to turn out how it was supposed to. I hated having to stand there over a double boiler and trying to make sure my sauce didn't get scramble lumps! I never understood how something so simple became so complicated... But over the years since my culinary schooling, I have grown to appreciate that hard work and it has taught me patience... Don't rush goodness, nurture it.

For those of you who love to cook, but don't have an in depth understanding about cooking, I suggest you forget about the chicken and start with the egg. Pick it up, crack it into a dish, and really look at it. What does it look like? Is it large? Small? Think about what you can do with it, think about what it is going to taste like when you use it. And then cook it.

The reason I bring up this topic today is that I want to challenge you, the reader and group member. I want you to come up with a recipe, cook it, taste it, tweak it until you have it perfect... Then I want you to cook it again, take a picture, submit with a story and a recipe. I am going to take the submissions and create an entire post featuring everyone. When you write your story, I want to know what you feel about your creation, why you came up with it besides this challenge, how it tastes and smells, and of course, the recipe, and the picture. I would like for you to be creative.

If you don't want to participate in the challenge, that is ok. I am not requiring any participation, I merely wanted to present an opportunity for you to have a hand in the creation of this blog, and to give you an opportunity to demonstrate your talent.

The Egg Came First Challenge

Requirements

1. Of course, the required ingredient is the egg.
2. You do not have to make it as a breakfast food, but you must treat it as the star of the dish.
3. You may use any method, basic or advanced, to cook your eggs.
4. You must have a picture, a recipe, and a story with the minimum of 50 words.
5. Please submit your entries via email or private message because I want it to be fresh for the blog (kimworden28@hotmail.com).
6. Deadline for this challenge is June 6, 2012

If you have any questions, you can send me a note and I will answer them if I can.

Good Luck!

Happy Eating,

Kimmie