If you’ve checked out the mayonnaise section at your neighborhood supermarket lately, you’ve probably noticed a few additions to the usual lineup of Hellman’s, Kraft and the generic store brands.

One is Duke’s Real Mayonnaise, which has been a favorite in the South for years. The word “real” means that it is made with eggs, something you don’t find in every mayonnaise on the shelf. What Duke’s doesn’t have is sugar, something you’ll find in too many other commercial mayonnaises.

Sugar-free does not mean low-calorie, mind you. There is a low-calorie version, which you can differentiate by label color. The regular version has a yellow label, while the low-cal’s is blue.

Of all the commercial mayonnaises I’ve tried, I prefer Duke’s. It’s got a more natural egg flavor without the ghastly acrid taste sugar often gives to mayonnaise and salad dressings. I used to have to drive across town to pick up Duke’s, so I’m real happy to be able to find this around the corner from me.

The price is about $2.75 for an 18-ounce jar. For recipes and tips on using Duke’s, click here.

Baconnaise is for a more targeted audience, to be sure.

Bacon lovers Justin and Dave took their winnings from “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and created an eponymous food company in which all of the products taste like bacon, according to the label.

They started with Bacon Salt, which comes in four flavors and is, believe it or not, a vegan product. Now J&D’s offers bacon-flavored mayonnaise in a recipe that is certified kosher (!?!).

Baconnaise also comes in a regular and light version that’s made with real eggs. It has a touch of sugar in it, but not enough to produce 1 gram in a tablespoon-sized serving.

If you taste it by itself, you may find the natural smoke flavor to be a little too pronounced. But that seems to balance out on a sandwich. In fact, the flavor on sourdough with lettuce makes me long for the fresh tomatoes coming in a few weeks.

J&D’s lineup doesn’t stop here. It also produces bacon-flavored popcorn and envelopes among other products.

The price is about $4.50 for a 15-ounce jar. Click here for more information on J&D’s and recipes.

Because both of these mayonnaises are made with egg, it is recommended that you refrigerate them after opening.

Eggs are a symbol of spring and fertility.  Early Christians adopted eggs to symbolize the resurrection of Jesus Christ, celebrated at Easter. But centuries before that, Wikipedia tells us, the ancient Zoroastrians used eggs in their New Year celebration, which falls on the spring equinox.

It may be an ancient tradition, but don’t tell that to kids. They love the traditional Sunday morning Easter egg hunt. Adults, meanwhile, take more pleasure in a few well-prepared egg dishes — and a sumptuous brunch is a great time to serve them.

We’ll share three recipes linked to this article, but if you generally just eat eggs in your breakfast tacos, think again. Here are a few suggestions for thinking outside the carton:

• Breakfast for dinner: When you can’t think of anything to make for dinner, don’t automatically send someone out for a bag of burgers. Scramble some eggs, make toast, make pancakes, waffles or bacon. It’s satisfying and kids like it.
• Eggs are appearing more and more as toppers to sandwiches, salads or hot dishes. Put a fried egg on top of cheese enchiladas, a burger, a rice and vegetable stir fry.  Stir a raw egg into steaming hot pasta, add chopped bacon, cream and Parmesan cheese and you have a classic pasta alla carbonara. (So rich, but so good.)
• Deviled eggs will never go out of style. But we offer a recipe, Smoked Salmon-stuffed Eggs, from the ever -stylish Martha Stewart. Smoked salmon and sour cream make the difference.
• You might never buy an egg salad sandwich from a vending machine, but made fresh at home this is a short route to a good meal. Hard cook two eggs, let them cool, peel them and chop them up finely. Add mayo, a dash of Tabasco, a half-teaspoon of Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Dill is good in egg salad, too. Use it in a sandwich filling for lunch or put a mound of egg salad on top of lightly dressed greens, sliced tomatoes, avocado and other veggies.
• Frittata of Ham and Spring Vegetables is colorful, easy to make and delicious.  You can’t go wrong here (unless someone just doesn’t like eggs).  If it’s good as an omelet (ham, cheese, spinach, etc.) it’ll be good in a frittata.
• Finally, here’s an egg dish from Mexico that doesn’t use any exotic ingredients (at least not to us in San Antonio). But the Tortitas de Huevo con Chile Verde has a difference — find out why.

If you have any leftover eggnog in the punch bowl, you can make this treat on Christmas morning.

Eggnog French Toast

2 cups homemade eggnog (see note)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons rum or 1 teaspoon rum extract
12 slices day-old cinnamon raisin bread
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
Nutmeg, for garnish
Cinnamon, for garnish
Maple syrup, for serving (optional)

In a medium bowl, beat eggnog with the eggs and rum.  Put mixture in a  flat pan. Soak bread in eggnog mixture about 5 minutes, turning to be sure all of the bread is soaked.

In a skillet, melt some of the butter until it begins to sizzle. Then add 2 slices of bread, cooking on both sides until toasted. Sprinkle nutmeg and cinnamon on top before serving. Pass the maple syrup.

Note:  If using store-bought eggnog, use 2 cups eggnog. Whisk in 3 eggs and add rum and/or bourbon (or rum extract) to taste.

Makes 6-8 servings.

From John Griffin and Bonnie Walker

(Photo: Mathilda Tan)

“Eggs Sardou was created at Antoine’s, named after French playwright Victorien Sardou, and remains one of the grandest of the grand New Orleans egg dishes, of which there are many,” according to NOLACuisine.com. “I boiled fresh artichokes for this recipe, but it would certainly be all right to use good quality canned artichoke bottoms; in fact, I wish I had, it wasn’t worth the extra effort and cost.”

Eggs Sardou

4 poached eggs (see below)
1 recipe creamed spinach (see below)
1 recipe Hollandaise sauce (see below)
Slices of prosciutto, optional
4 artichoke bottoms
Paprika for sprinkling

Poached eggs:

Fill a dutch oven with 1 inch of water, heat until just below a simmer. Add a few dashes of white vinegar. Crack the eggs and gently drop them into the water, keeping the shell as close to the water as possible when dropping them in. With a slotted spoon, gently move the ghost like strands of white back to the yolk. The eggs are done when the whites are no longer transparent, and the yolks are still runny. Remove with a slotted spoon and gently dry off with a towel.

Creamed spinach:

1 cup cooked and chopped spinach, squeezed in a kitchen towel to remove excess water
1 pint heavy cream, reduced by 3/4 of its volume
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of cayenne
1 teaspoon Crystal Hot Sauce
Drops of Worcestershire sauce
Kosher salt, to taste

In a saucepan over low heat, add spinach. Stir in cream. Add nutmeg, cayenne, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Adjust seasonings to taste and cook until flavors are melded.

Hollandaise sauce:

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup clarified butter, warm
Kosher salt, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Dash of Crystal Hot Sauce
Drops of Worcestershire sauce

Place the vinegar, lemon juice, and egg yolks in the top deck of a double boiler. The water in the lower deck should be hot but not boiling.

Whisk slowly until you see the yolks start to coagulate on the sides. If the pan gets too hot, remove it from the heat for a minute, whisking constantly.

Whisk while cooking, minding the bowl temperature, until the yolks are lighter in color and do not leave yellow streaks when the whisk goes through them. If you see any signs of scrambling, remove the bowl from the heat.

When the yolk/acid mixture is good and thick, remove from the heat and slowly drizzle in the clarified butter, whisking constantly, until incorporated.

Add the hot and Worcestershire sauces, and season to taste with the salt and cayenne.

If the sauce is a little too thick, you can thin it down with a few splashes of hot water.

Makes about 2/3 cup.

To assemble: Divide the creamed spinach in the center of two heated plates, nest two artichoke bottoms per plate on the spinach. Place prosciutto on each artichoke bottom, if using, followed by a poached egg. Top with a generous portion of Hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle with paprika. Serve.

Makes 2 servings.

Adapted from NOLACuisine.com.

For some, the Christmas dinner is the family meal of the year. For the past few years, the breakfast on that day has become the main event.

Chalk it up to people’s schedules, which extend late into Christmas Eve. By the time I get to my colleague Bonnie’s house, it’s late in the morning. No one has any church services left to play for (Bonnie and her husband are organists, I play in a bell choir), and no one has anything on their minds but a strong cup of coffee and a desire to relax as late as possible. The work of the holiday is done. Now comes the time to snuggle up with a cat (there are enough to go around) and let the ease of the day envelop you.

It’s the perfect setting to make a meal in as leisurely a manner as possible.

It’s also a great time to experiment. So, one year we made Eggnog French Toast, in which the cinnamon-raisin bread was drenched in an eggy sauce before being fried. A touch of rum, a sprinkle of nutmeg, a little more cinnamon, and we were all set. A few jalapeño-cheddar links from our favorite Texas sausage maker completed the meal in style.

Another Christmas morning was planned to within an inch of its life because of the time it took to prepare. That was the year of the Truffled Eggs. I had never cooked with an actual truffle before (my wallet had a little more elasticity then), but I had tasted a dish in which you flavored the eggs for a week with the black truffle. You just place eggs and truffle shavings in an air-tight jar and let them set for a week; the aroma of the truffle is so strong it will permeate the shell.

When it’s time to scramble the eggs, you chop up a bit of the truffle and add a touch of truffle oil to make sure your lily has been appropriately gilded. Serve with copious amounts of Champagne to cut through the richness of the dish.

I had also made a flourless chocolate cake with grappa-soaked dried cherries and toasted pine nuts as a dessert. It, too, was so rich that we waited awhile before giving it the full attention it deserved.

Last year, it was pancakes, but with a subtle lift from applesauce. Perfect, of course, with sausage or bacon or any other pork product you have on hand.

How should we expand the repertoire this year? Bonnie has suggested something with a New Orleans touch this year, specifically beignets and Eggs Sardou. Sounds perfect. You shouldn’t be rushed when making a hollandaise sauce. And those in the kitchen can munch on the beignets along with the rest of the gathering while preparing the eggs.

Just the right unhurried feel before settling into the thrill of exchanging presents, another part of the schedule that’s been shuffled about a bit, and no one seems to mind.

Being together is what matters. If you keep that mind, your holiday meal, no matter what you serve, will be special.

Recipe: Eggs Sardou Offer a Taste of New Orleans

Recipe: Sweeten Your Pancakes With Applesauce

Recipe: Truffled Eggs Make for an Extravagant Breakfast

(Top photo: Kasey Albano)

These frightful-looking treats are basically just nachos, resembling the famous Shypoke Eggs made at Timbo’s burger restaurant in San Antonio.

Scary Hairy Eyeball Nachos

Oil for frying
6 small corn tortillas
6 slices cheddar cheese
4-6 slices Jack or provolone cheese
6 pitted green olives
Red food coloring
Salsa, if desired

Heat oil in large skillet. Fry small tortillas in oil until crisp, drain on paper towels.

Line the tortillas up on a bake sheet. Turn the oven on “broil”. With a jar lid or rim of a drinking glass just a little smaller in diameter than the tortilla, cut 6 rounds of white cheese from the slices. Use a smaller rim, cookie cutter to cut the smaller rounds of cheese from the cheddar slices. (I used the top of a spice jar to cut these.)

Put a round of white cheese on each tortilla. Top each with the round of Cheddar. Slice up the pitted green olives to make the center of the eyeballs. If desired, you can use a toothpick to “paint” on the bloodshot eyes.

Put the nachos under the broiler until the cheese is just melted. Serve with salsa, if desired.

Makes 6 appetizers.

From Bonnie Walker

My work space would drive my mother crazy. It’s a card table with the laptop on it, and it’s filled to overflowing with all manner of cookbooks, references, notebooks, business cards, calendar, etc. None of it is in what you might call order. In fact, to the untrained eye, it looks like Hurricane Ike blew through once again.

I try to keep it as neat as possible, hoping that the anal retentive gene that I have in other areas will someday mutate to this one. But it doesn’t happen. Should I attempt to clean it, I end up getting lost.

I tried that last week and still haven’t found the thank-you notes that I had written but have yet to address, stamp and post. (Sorry, friends; believe me, I’m truly grateful for your kindnesses. The notes are just going to have to wait a few more days.)

Maybe they’re under the DVD cases in the mix, movies from the library that I like to play while I work. That stack is over with the unemployment information that I also keep on hand since I have a tendency to search for jobs at any hour.

There’s a fine filter of bird dander, a few feathers and several kernels of dried corn from my pet cockatoo, who generally sits on my shoulder as I stare at the screen while waiting for inspiration. He’s sitting there now, hoping I’ll go get a snack that he can share with me. (That means more crumbs of some sort, as J.B. is probably a sloppier eater than I am.)

In recent weeks, the collection has spread to the chairs around me. I can see a stack of books, including “101 Sangria & Pitcher Drinks” and the Frugal Gourmet’s tome on Italian cooking on one, a pair of James Beard’s on another. Escoffier is in the chair at my left, along with a book on sake rice wine and an 80-year-old volume on what to do with apples.

Again, no rhyme or reason, yet I know where they all are. So, if a friend asks a question about capers, I can just pick up Gerogeanne Brennan’s “Olives, Anchovies and Capers” on my right and send back a reply. The answer: Fennel, Orange and Caper Salad with your choice of how much of each to include with a simple dressing of olive oil, sherry vinegar and a sprinkling of minced flat-leaf parsley.

The main thrust of my cookbook collection is scattered through the rest of the house, even the bedroom, but as unclassified as they are, I almost always know where to find the volumes on Southern cooking or the volumes devoted to all manner of Spanish cuisine.

You’d never believe any of this if you were invited to the house. The AR party-giver gene takes over, and things are arranged more neatly. I even dust on occasion. There may still be stacks of theater books lining the hall (recently displaced from their home in a shakeup that has yet to be settled), but they’re out of the way and they do let you know that a die-hard bibliophile lives here.

In parting, I’ll leave you with a tasty morsel from the mess, a recipe from Janet Mendel’s “Tapas and More Great Dishes from Spain,” an invaluable little book I picked up more than 10 years ago while visiting the Costa del Sol. It’s a great dish for those of us who love eggs at dinner as well as breakfast.

Baked Eggs, Flamenco Style (Huevos a lo Flamenco)

Olive oil
11 ounces (1 1/3 cups) tomato sauce
3 1/2 ounces ham, chopped
8 eggs
2 tablespoons cooked peas
Strips of roasted red pepper
Slices of Spanish chorizo sausage
8 asparagus tips
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Oil four (or individual oven-proof ramekins and divide the tomato sauce among them. Sprinkle a little chopped ham into each. Break 1 or 2 of the eggs into each ramekin. Sprinkle on a few cooked peas, criss-cross the top with red pepper strips and set a chorizo slice next to the egg. Top with asparagus tips. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and parsley. Bake until whites are set but yolks still liquid, about 8 minutes.

Makes 4 supper servings or 8 tapas servings.

Adapted from “Tapas and More Great Dishes from Spain” by Janet Mendel

This chocolate ice cream is one that I make frequently.  It is great as is or with the addition of cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg.  Since it has a custard base, it is very rich and can stand alone as a simple dessert.  For a little more drama, sprinkle chopped almonds and mini-marshmallows on top.

Chocolate Ice Cream

1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup cocoa powder (Ghirardelli recommended)
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place the sugar, eggs, cocoa and salt in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy medium saucepan.  With the food processor running, slowly pour the hot milk into the chocolate mixture through the feed tube.  Process until well blended.  Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place over low heat.  Stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon until the custard thickens slightly.  Be careful not to let the mixture boil or the eggs will scramble.  Remove from the heat and pour the hot chocolate custard through a strainer into a large, clean bowl.  Allow the custard to cool slightly, then stir in the cream and vanilla.  Cover and refrigerate until cold or overnight.

Stir the chilled custard, then freeze in 1 or 2 batches in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  When finished, the ice cream will be soft but ready to eat.  For firmer ice cream, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze at least 2 hours.

Makes about 1 quart.

Adapted from “The Ultimate Ice Cream Book” by Bruce Weinstein

Last Saturday morning, I took a cruise up I-10 to Boerne Stage Road and dropped by the farmers market at the Leon Springs Baptist Church parking lot. On a sunny morning it was easy to park and not yet steamy hot, so I could enjoy making the rounds of vendors.

Even at a distance, the plants and flowers displayed were a welcome eyeful of color in our currently dusty landscape. There were two tents with beautiful, healthy looking herbs, Hibiscus, and an intriguing flowering plant named a Rangoon Creeper.

I met Mario Obledo as I photographed some of the produce. He is the vice president of the Hill Country Farmers Market Association, the organization that promotes this market and three other markets in the area (see below for details). I learned that the Leon Springs market is year-round, 2 1/2 years into its growth and development, still with room for new additions and new ideas.

Every day you hear about “going green,” and at The Green Brownie company they are doing green in brownies! No, this isn’t a St. Patrick’s Day gimmick; these are delicious treats made with all-organic ingredients so you can feel good about indulging. Owner Tracy Carlson told me that they even used packaging that is eco-friendly. If you are in a more playful mood, the stand also has Brownies-on-a-stick (they are cute) as well as gluten-free brownies.

But the vision that most of us hold about a farmers market includes lots of fresh vegetables and fruit. As it should be, there were three well-stocked displays of bright, fresh, produce. I saw some good looking squash that were named Sunburst and White Scalloped, very much like a pattypan squash, at Bob Mishler’s Uncertain Farms. Lots of people were buying peaches and tomatoes, cucumbers and okra, potatoes and green beans, plums, bell peppers, jam, wow!

But there were baked breads, pecans (even pecan oils at Circle H Orchards), and some super yummy granola at Cowgirl Granola. Heather Hunter, the Head Cowgirl, has been making her toasty, oaty, nutty, tasty, amazing granola for about 8 years. She is out at Leon Springs every week, as well as the other three markets in the association. You can also contact her at cowgirlenterprises@gmail.com.

There is usually a grass-fed beef dealer, but he was out-of-town that morning. He’s expected back soon; meanwhile, there are other vendors with free-range eggs and various goodies to keep you busy until then.

I have been to a few farmers markets in our area and in other states — and even other countries. Leon Springs is not the biggest, but it has a good variety, easy to get service, and just a friendly, can-do, attitude. Go see for yourself and try something new!

Saturdays, 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Leon Springs Baptist Church
24133 Boerne Stage Road (behind the H-E-B)

The other markets affiliated are:

• Boerne, Kendall County Fairgrounds, 1307 River Road, Boerne TX  Wednesdays 2-6 p.m., now through Nov. 18
• Bulverde-Spring Branch, The Branches Church, 4594 Highway 281 North, Bulverde, TX  Saturdays, 2:30-5:30 p.m., year-round.
• Helotes-Grey Forest, Helotes Hills United Methodist Church, 13222 Bandera Road, Helotes, TX  2nd & 4th Fridays, 3-6 p.m., now through Nov. 13

As soon as I entered the kitchen I could tell there was unfinished business.  The pot was bubbling and the aroma was still of abused water.  Scorched, reduced, leaving a ring.

But there was time.

I grabbed the pot handle and had the same feeling that you get when you walk into a dark room and know you should’ve checked your southbound.  You know that your head will feel like a cabbage dropped from the top of the truck, but it’s too late.  I practiced a few dance steps while waving my hand to improve the circulation in the room.   I even sang a few lines of a tribal rhythm from central Africa. After exercising my hand by squeezing a few ice cubes, I got a towel and reached for the pot again.

The eggs were trailing bubbles like a deep-sea diver hunting for treasure and the breath from the bubbles was still sweet like a baby’s.  But I had to get moving now, before things went too far.  I took the pot to the sink and poured off the boiling sea around those calcium-crusted pearls, sending a message to the coffee grounds stuck in the trap to move on down the line.  I put what was left of the crushed ice in my hand in the pot and upped the ante with another handful.  After I ran a little water to chase the ice, I let the matter rest.

But I knew there was more to do.   It would have been easy to follow the crowd, not lead with my chin, and just contribute to harmony by integrating the salt and pepper.  But why go easy when it’s so much harder not to go easy.   Someday I’ll figure that one out. I lined up the mayo, Tabasco, mustard, and garlic like a DI preparing to fillet recruits.  I had to cut the mustard; it just didn’t travel in the same cadence.  The rest would work, if I got the garlic in the right frame of mind.  I smacked it with my knife before it could size up the situation and pulled the paper skin off like the cello from a pack of smokes.  I chopped it and dumped it into a bowl, used the mayo to hide the carnage, and the Tabasco on top was like a reminder that the garlic had been treated rough.  While stirring it together I walked back to the now firmly cold eggs. I set the mixture down and plunged my good hand into the icy depths.  Rapping and turning the egg in one hand, imitating a nervous dealer waiting with a new deck, I saw the white armor flex like the rough skin of a lizard and I took the pelt right off.  I gave more of the same to the other three, scooped the foursome up with the good hand and used my fingertips on the other to grab the bowl.   I sat at my desk and plunged one of the rubber cue balls into the soft pocket of goo.   Twisting the egg, like a painter with too full a brush, I got some of the sauce to ride along with the egg to the corner pocket waiting below my nose.  Wishing I had a beer, I reflected that I had done a good job.   I might not mean much in the big picture, but I never liked being photographed anyway.