Cottage at High Hampton Inn by Mark File

      

We have received some very good entries in our Winter Photo contest but I would sure like to see more.  Share your pictures and earn a Gift Certificate.  

• The photo should depict one of the many things to do in western N.C. during the winter.  If it is an indoor activity or the scenery does not indicate it is winter, please include the name and date of the event.  The photo does not have to be from the current year.  
• Entering the contest indicates your permission to use the photo in our newsletter or website. Be sure to have the permission of anyone in the photo as well.  (people make interesting photos)
• Photos must be sent to us digitally, by email, dropbox or thumbdrive.  Photos must be received by  the first day of Spring, March 20th.  
• First prize is a $145 gift certificate, Second $80 gift certificate, Third $50 gift certificate.  All are good for one year from notification of winners.  
• The Bent Creek Lodge staff will judge the photos and select the winners.  

    ....on Video.  Margi and David Wolff returned for a visit this month with a video they shot from our back deck last August.  We could hardly believe how nonchalant he was as he came right up to the deck.  Fortunately he wandered on off and hasn't been seen since.  I must admit I still get a thrill when we see them pass thru here.  Click on the picture to see the video posted on our Facebook page.    

     Breakfast pretty much means eggs, so since Jodee put me in charge of the egg

	Spinach Cakes with Scrambled Eggs

cooking at the Bed and Breakfast I've scrambled, poached, sunny side upped and over-easy-ed enough eggs to learn a thing or two about eggs.  After several guests ask me how I got my scrambled eggs so fluffy, I started to think there was something special about my frying pan skills.  Then one morning I decided to be more of a mentor and explained all my secret techniques to Tonia, one of our kitchen helpers, and handed the spatula over to her.  After breakfast, I complimented her on her excellent scrambled eggs to which she replied, "it's just eggs, if you can't do eggs I'd worry about you".  So to speak, that left a little egg on my face and humpty-dumptied my sense of pride.  

    But truthfully, not everyone agrees on what is a good egg.  I once witnessed a Waffle House customer threaten the cook with a good beating because he refused to accept his definition of an over medium egg.  But my favorite egg story happened recently when Jodee and I stopped for breakfast at a little road side diner on HWY 98 north of Lakeland. When we started to order our eggs over easy the young waitress in her most sophisticated voice warned us, "you might want to make that over medium, our cook makes his over easy eggs kinda snotty".  

    So this is what I know about eggs.   I learned the best way to break eggs from a guest looking over the counter. He said  the best way to crack an egg was hitting it with another egg.  He also said that it  gives you the opportunity to play a guessing game about which is the strongest egg in the carton. I've cracked eggs that way ever since. 

     For scrambled eggs, start with a hot pan.  I like to cook them in butter that has started to sizzle a little but don't let it brown.  Pour the eggs in and let them sit for awhile!  Then gently fold the eggs over and around.  When they are still a little moist turn off the heat.  For fried eggs, use a good non-stick pan and forget the spatula. Throwing the eggs up and flipping them with the pan doesn't make them taste any better but it makes you look good.  Slide the eggs forward and then drop the pan down.  It is easier that it looks.  Use a clear lid on sunny side up eggs and cook them slow on low heat. When someone orders a well done fried egg, I cook it for what seems like forever then  bust the yolk and cook it some more.  It's like cooking steaks well done, it is almost sacrilegious for me.  

       Happy egg cooking,  -  just don't make them snotty.