What Came First: The Chicken Or The Egg?

Last month’s recipes were all about different ways to cook chicken. This month’s recipes are all about different ways to cook eggs.

Given that, I would like to address the question of what came first: the chicken or the egg? We all know the debate of, “How did the egg get here if there was not a chicken?” My research says the egg came first. So where did the egg come from? That has been traced back to the dinosaur days. Birds evolved from feathered dinosaurs. Dinosaurs came from reptiles. Reptiles came from the ocean, and so forth.

Back to the question; about 150 million years ago, small, feathered dinosaurs existed and evolved into birds. Two birds that were not chickens created the chicken egg. So, there you have it, the egg came first!

In addition to my bird theory, here is another tidbit of information about birds. A group of chickens is called a flock; a group of hens is called a brood; a group of chicks is called a clutch; a group of geese is called a gaggle; a group of quail is called a covey; a group of turkeys is called a rafter; and a group of crows is called a murder. Wow, I never knew that about crows! 

 Now that we got that cleared up, let’s try out these amazing recipes! These fried deviled eggs are fantastic. Who would have thought of deep-frying deviled eggs? The smoked sausage and spinach frittata is a change of pace from the normal egg casserole.

Fried Deviled Eggs (top photo)

Egg Filling Ingredients:

8 large eggs boiled 

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon hot sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

8 pepperoni slices

Bread Coating Ingredients:

½ cup flour

½ cup corn meal

½ cup finely ground parmesan cheese

1 cup milk

1 (additional) cup flour

Topping:

Chives

Oil for deep fryer

Directions:

 After you have boiled your eggs, cool in ice water. Peel eggs and cut in half lengthwise. Carefully scoop out yolks and place into a small mixing bowl. Mash yolks really good with a fork. Add mayonnaise, mustard and hot sauce. Mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set yolk mixture aside. 

 Prepare your bread coating by mixing the ½ cup flour, ½ cup corn meal and ½ cup parmesan cheese together. Now for the tricky part. Very gently dredge each egg white in remaining cup of flour. Next, gently dip floured egg whites into the cup of milk. Again, very gently dredge the wet egg whites into the bread coating. If there is a lot of breading in egg well, scoop some out. You may also experience some of your egg whites breaking. If that happens, still fry the broken ones.

Once your oil is hot, with a slotted metal spoon, gently place your breaded egg white into hot grease and fry until golden brown. With your slotted spoon, remove fried egg whites and let cool. 

 To fill your fried eggs, first add one slice pepperoni into each fried egg. Next add a teaspoon of the egg filling. Top with chives.

Spinach and Smoked Sausage Frittata

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

½ small onion, chopped

½ red pepper

14 ounces smoked sausage, chopped to bite size

1 teaspoon minced garlic (may substitute with garlic powder)

8 eggs

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauceSalt and pepper to taste

1 tomato, thinly sliced

10 ounces fresh spinach

Fresh mushrooms (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Melt butter in a 10-inch, oven-safe skillet.

Sautee onions, peppers, smoked sausage and minced garlic. Turn off heat and set aside. 

In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, add parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.

Pour egg mixture in with sautéed onions, peppers and sausage. Mix.

Evenly distribute tomatoes and fresh spinach on top of egg mixture in skillet. 

Use a fork to press spinach and tomatoes slightly down into eggs, and then top with (optional) mushrooms.

Carefully place skillet in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. Test with fork to ensure eggs are completely cooked before removing from oven. Let frittata rest 5-10 minutes before cutting into pie slices.

Egg Facts

1. A large egg contains 70 calories and 5 grams of fat.

2. Egg yolks and whites have the same amount of protein.

3. Chicken earlobes will indicate the color of egg they will lay.

4. Richer color egg yolks are more nutritious.

5. If the egg floats in water, dispose of it. It is an old egg.

6. Brown eggs are more expensive because these hens are larger and require more food.

7. New studies show that the dietary cholesterol found in eggs only has a modest effect on blood cholesterol.

8. You can safely eat three eggs a day.

9. Wash your eggs! Salmonella is known to be on the outside of the egg. Eggs are laid from the same passage from which the feces is excreted.

10. Blue eggs resulted from a virus found in eggs 500 years ago. This changed the pigment.

(Egg Facts 1-10, Olivia Tarantino, Healthy Eating November 17, 2020)

11. Bring eggs to room temperature lying on their side. Boil eggs lying on their side. This will center the yolks.

 12. If you can spin your egg, it is hard boiled. If it does not spin, it is not hard boiled.

Top photo: Fried Deviled Eggs.

MaryAnn Kuper is a cook on an American Commercial Barge Line towboat.