Fresh sheet: Several steps for egg-nificent results

Give the Easter bunny a hand this year.

First, you’ll need to know how to make the perfect hard-cooked egg. Start with room temperature eggs if you can, say Julee Rosso and Shiela Lukins in “The New Basics” cookbook.

Cover eggs with enough cold water that they’re submerged by an inch and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for 12 minutes or cover the pan, remove from the heat and wait 15 to 20 minutes.

When the time is up for whichever method you choose, immediately run the eggs under cool water.

Hardcooked eggs will keep in the refrigerator for seven days.

Here some fun ideas for dyeing eggs:

The editors at Family Fun magazine suggest Leaf Print Eggs in their March 2008 edition.

They gathered small, flat leaves – such as fern, cilantro, dill, thyme and mint – to reverse-stencil patterns onto the eggs.

To make them, lay a leaf on a hard-cooked egg and cover it with a section of nylon stocking to hold it in place. Pull together both open ends of stocking and secure with a rubber band.

Place the egg into a dye bath: 1/2 cup warm water, 1 teaspoon vinegar and 10 to 20 drops food coloring. Submerge the nylon-wrapped egg for 4 minutes.

Use a spoon to remove the egg and set on a covered work surface. Remove the rubber band, nylon and leaf. Allow it to dry before further handling the egg, editors say.

In the March 2008 edition of Cooking Light, editors suggest using rubber bands to make a pattern on eggs. Wrap rubber bands of different widths around an egg before putting it into the dye bath. Wait until the egg is dry before removing the rubber bands.

Or, try making marbled eggs. Stir one to three teaspoons of canola into a dye bath – Cooking Light’s recipe is one cup hot water, 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar and six to eight drops liquid food coloring – and dip an egg in the dye several times.

Oil will repel dye in places, creating a marbled effect. Wait until the egg is dry to wipe off excess oil.

Egg safety

If the bunny hides real eggs for your family this year, remember some basic food safety advice from the folks at the USDA’s food safety and inspection service.

Two hours is the magic number:

“Dye and return eggs to the fridge within two hours.

“Hunt and return eggs to the refrigerator within two hours.

“Take care not to crack eggs during the hunt. Cracks could allow bacteria to get inside.