Thank you, Julia!!

That's all I can say... Julia Child has made my day! For years, I have tried to figure out how to boil and peel the perfect hard-cooked egg, and today I did it!!! I realize this may not be exciting to the general public, but if you're anything like me, you'll understand the excitement about this simple task.

I've mentioned this book before, but I absolutely recommend it for these types of cooking tasks that may seem impossible yet should be simple. Everyone has their "perfect" method for boiling an egg, but for me, I've found Julia to have the right method.


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So, here are the steps I took (paraphrasing from her book):

1. With a small pin, poke a hole into the fatter end of the egg. This allows the air to come out. Do this with 12 eggs.
2. Place 12 eggs in a deep pot and fill with cold water to cover eggs approx. an inch.
3. Turn heat to high and bring to a rolling boil. Then take pan off the heat and cover. Let sit for exactly 17 minutes.
4. Get a bowl full of ice water ready.
5. Place cooked eggs in ice water and let sit for 2 minutes. In the meantime, reheat water in pot to boiling.
   
6. After 2 minutes in ice water, place 3 eggs at a time into the boiling water for exactly 10 seconds. Do this with all the eggs and chill for 20 minutes.

I know this might sound very involved, but if you follow these steps exactly, you'll find your eggs to be perfectly cooked on the inside and easy to peel leaving a smooth surface great for deviled eggs. (Oh, if you peel your eggs under cold running water, your fingers will slide under the shell easier to make peeling easier.)