Royal Eggs

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            FOOD FUNNY
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Thanks to Judy Wright in Wisconsin for 'fessing up with this true
food funny:

When I got married I hadn't done a lot of cooking. My mother was
a wonderful cook and baked wonderful desserts, cookies and cakes,
so there was no need for me to learn how. However, when I got
married I found out that my new mother-in-law also baked wonderful
cakes, cookies, etc. Not wanting my new husband to think I
couldn't bake with the best of them - I used to go to the bakery
while he was at work and buy 2 dozen chocolate chip cookies and
put them on a cookie sheet and just "happen to pull them out of a
warm oven" as he walked in the door. He thought my chocolate
chip cookies were just wonderful!

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            TODAY'S RECIPE
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There is a long tradition of sweets made from egg yolks in Spain
and Portugal. Egg whites are used to clarify casks of wine, leaving
the wine makers with an embarrassment of leftover egg yolks. These
were traditionally donated to the local nunnery where the nuns
made them into sweets for sale to the public. Even though wine
production in Mexico is limited, the tradition of yolk-based sweets
introduced by the Spanish was happily adopted my the locals.

Royal Eggs (Huevos Reales)

2 Tbs (30 ml) raisins
1/2 cup (125 ml) dry sherry
12 egg yolks
2 cups (500 ml) sugar
1 cup (250 ml) water
1 cinnamon stick
2 Tbs (30 ml) toasted pine nuts (pignoli)

Combine the raisins and the sherry in a small cup and allow to
steep for at least 30 minutes. Beat the egg yolks until they make
a ribbon. Pour into a shallow greased pan which is set in a larger
pan partially filled with hot water. Bake in a preheated 350F (180C)
oven until the eggs are set, about 20 minutes. Cool to room
temperature and cut into cubes or diamond shapes. Meanwhile
combine the sugar, water, and cinnamon stick in a pot and bring
to a boil over high heat. Boil for 5 minutes, remove the cinnamon
stick, add the egg cubes, and simmer over very low heat until the
egg cubes are saturated with the syrup. Stir in the raisins and
sherry and serve garnished with pine nuts. Serves 4 to 6.
Received on Fri May 5 18:25:24 2006