A couple weeks ago I personally visited the test kitchen staffs of three women’s magazines: Woman’s Day, Family Circle and Everyday with Rachael Ray. The reason was because the magazines are already thinking about their January issues and that means diets and/or breakfast. Diets are a January consideration in an attempt by the magazines to sustain America’s favorite New Year’s resolution, losing weight. Breakfast is a consideration for no particular reason other than the fact that historically, January has been breakfast month on magazine food pages even though no “Official Breakfast Month” exists.

One of the most pleasant aspects of my job with the American Egg Board is keeping eggs top-of-mind with the press in New York. That’s because women’s and food magazines are where many families go for new recipe ideas. The three magazines I chose to visit have the highest circulations, though I stay in constant touch with more than 30 editors to make certain that they never forget to include eggs in their recipe plans! What makes it so pleasant is that these people — and those who man their test kitchens — are so food savvy that there’s never a lull in any conversation with them.

The conversation I was bent on having during my recent meetings was about a recent body of research showing that eggs have such a high satiety (i.e. fullness) value that people who eat them for breakfast end up eating less during the rest of the day, helping them stay energized and lose weight. “Eureka!” I thought. This covers both January food page considerations at one time: breakfast and weight loss!

Everyone knows that eggs are so rich in nutrients that they can help ward off things like macular degeneration in older folks (thanks to their lutein and zeaxanthin) and help brain development in infants during pregnancy (thanks to choline), never mind they contain such high-quality protein, are so very versatile and so economical to boot. Whew.

And if that’s not enough, we know that their satiety value (how much they satisfy the appetite) is great enough to allow for less food consumption throughout the day. That translates to eggs having all of the right things going for it and helping you keep your New Years resolution to eat right and eat less. It’s America’s favorite New Years resolution, you know.

Here’s one of my favorite quick and easy egg breakfast recipes from the American Egg Board’s new recipe section. In fact, there are a ton of delicious new recipes there – please check it out!

Easy Egg Breakfast Quesadilla

What You Need
½ cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
2 whole wheat OR flour tortillas (7-inch)
4 slices Canadian-style bacon
4 EGGS, beaten
Salsa

Here’s How
SPRINKLE 1/4 cup cheese on one side of each tortilla. TOP each with 2 bacon slices.

COAT large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat until hot.

POUR IN eggs. As eggs begin to set, GENTLY PULL the eggs across the pan with an inverted turner, forming large soft curds. CONTINUE cooking - pulling, lifting and folding eggs - until thickened and no visible liquid egg remains. Do not stir constantly.

SPOON eggs on top of bacon, dividing evenly. FOLD tortillas over filling to cover, pressing gently.

CLEAN skillet. COAT with cooking spray; heat over medium-low heat until hot. TOAST quesadillas just until cheese is melted, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. CUT into wedges; serve with salsa.

In a recent post I talked about hosting my food editor friends for 4 days at New York’s most popular restaurant (according to Zagat), Gramercy Tavern. The restaurant is part of the Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG), which includes five more of the city’s most acclaimed restaurants. Danny Meyer, owner of USHG and an acclaimed NYC restaurateur, launched a program among his six restaurants to raise money for City Harvest, an organization that delivers food to those in need.

Danny has challenged the chefs in each of his restaurants to create a winning dish with eggs as the star ingredient. He chose eggs because they are the universal symbol of spring – rebirth, renewal and hope. And, they’re of course delicious. For each of these egg dishes served in the restaurants thru June 20th, USHG will donate $2 to City Harvest. Here’s what the chefs came up with:

Gramercy Tavern:  Chef Mike Anthony
Egg crepe with grilled ramps and crab ($12)

Union Square Café:  Chef Carmen Quagliata
Tagliatelle with sunnyside up egg and greenmarket vegetables ($15)

Eleven Madison Park:  Chef Daniel Humm
Slow poached egg with green asparagus and Parmigiano Reggiano ($16)

Tabla:  Chef Floyd Cardoz
Sunnyside spiced-up egg with arugula, bacon & black pepper-ginger  chicken livers ($13)

Blue Smoke:  Chef Ken Callaghan
Fried egg and pea shoot salad with candied bacon and pickled ramps ($12.95)

The Modern Bar Room:  Chef Gabriel Kreuther
Slow poached egg “in a jar” with Maine lobster, sunchokes & sea urchin broth ($20)

More about the program is here.

I’m well acquainted with the creativity of Chef Mike Anthony at Gramercy Tavern where eggs are concerned. When I had my food editor friends there, I asked him to create an egg-based amuse-bouche to start each of the 4 days of lunches there.  An amuse-bouche is a single bite-size hors d’oeuvre different from an appetizer in that it is served as an “excitement of the taste buds” in a single bite. Here’s what the chef came up with:

Day 1 – Celery root custard. It was the smoothest and silkiest custard I’d ever tasted. Everyone at the table agreed! The custard was flavored with celery root and had bits of it incorporated into each luxurious spoonful. “Heavenly” was the word most of the guests used.

Day 2 – Tomago-yaki with fried oyster on top. A Tomago Roll is like a Japanese crepe flavored with sake and traditionally served rolled around nari (seaweed) paper. I demonstrate an Americanized version of it when I do my omelet demonstrations. This Tomago Roll was thicker than usual and the flavor complimented the fried oyster it was served with.

Day 3 – An egg-rich crepe stuffed with smoked haddock salad that was so delicate it was close to just eating the smoky flavored aroma that surrounded it. Loved it!

Day 4 – Ham, egg and cheddar on brioche, which is a French bread very rich in eggs. This was as delicious as ham, egg and cheddar cheese gets.

I learned from watching the television program “Top Chef” that an amuse-bouche must be designed to be eaten in one mouthful. I think you can tell from the photos that these “amuses” were a bit oversized. The better to savor them, if you ask me.

Tip o’ the hat to Danny Meyer and his Union Square Hospitality Group for his creativity and generosity