Easter week is in full swing, and if you haven’t already boiled and dyed eggs, it’s more than likely on your agenda in the next couple of days. Dyed eggs are the centerpiece of many families’ Easter celebrations, so we want to share knowledge today about all things Easter egg. Tell us:

Do you have tips for perfect Easter eggs?

Whether it’s cooking, dyeing or using the leftover eggs in a recipe, we want to hear your tricks.

First, the cooking. We all have our favorite method for achieving the perfect hard-boiled egg. Some of us add vinegar to the water before it boils. Others skip this step. Some boil rapidly for a set period and then remove and add cold water to cool. Another method is to bring water to a boil with the eggs in the pot and then remove from heat, cover and let sit for several minutes to complete the cooking. We know folks who swear by using an ice bath to stop the cooking. How about you? What are your best hard-boiled egg tricks? Since we’ll be boiling at least a dozen eggs, we want to make sure they come out right. We’ll eventually eat these babies, after all.

Now for the dyeing. Always a fun (though sometimes messy) undertaking, we’ve seen some really fun variations on the typical approach and some clever uses of natural ingredients to dye eggs. TK Member Patricia from ButterYum shares a neat method from Le Creuset for dyeing eggs purple using grape juice. We also adore these crackled eggs from Stephanie of Girl Versus Dough. Tell us your tips for the best dyed eggs. How do you get the most vivid colors, and/or what natural ingredients have you found success with for dyeing?

After the hunt, we’ll be ready to crack open our eggs and use them for deviled eggs, a great egg salad or maybe perfect potato salad for Easter dinner. I always love a good Cobb or Nicoise salad, and both call for a hard-boiled egg or two. Then at least one or two eggs will end up in school lunches around here. I’m thinking I need to have another dozen eggs on hand! Let us know your favorite uses for your leftover Easter eggs. We’re ready for some fresh ideas!

We wish you wonderful celebrations with family and friends and hope your eggs turn out lovely and tasty!

Well, it’s that lovey dovey time of year again. Time for chocolates, flowers and hounding the children to finish their valentine cards. Some of us go all out with fancy meals and gifts for this holiday, and others just keep it simple with a card and maybe a small treat. Some people reject the whole darn thing. And that’s okay!

We keep it pretty low key around here. This year I’m thinking since it falls on Saturday, a nice, big breakfast sounds good. Then the pressure’s off for the rest of the day.

What about you? How do you like to celebrate Valentine’s Day with food? If you have special traditions, make favorite meals or treats for your kids or honey, or get treated to something yummy yourself, we’d love to hear about it!

We’re planning to make Ree’s heart cookies you see in the photo above. It’s fun to spell out a friend’s name or just do the first initial if you want to give out a bunch. They satisfy the chocolate craving, and they’re so fun to decorate.

So tell us your cooking/baking/eating plans! We know the food love is flowing with all of you every day of the year. Thanks for sharing it with us!

XO!