Perfect Egg Timer

Two or three years ago, my Mother-in-law gave me something calls an "Egg-Perfect Timer." She had picked one up for herself at one of those fancy kitchen stores and liked it. Remembering that knocking hard boiled eggs is a favorite family tradition in my family, the next time she came across some, she picked one up for me. And I love it.

It just sits in the pot with the other eggs, like one of the gang. As things start heating up, the timer begins turning black from the outside in. Once it turns black all the way to the "hard" mark, you turn off the heat and run cold water over the eggs. Viola! Perfectly boiled eggs; no overdone green yolks; no underdone watery yolks.

Oh, and I read in a magazine recently that if you put a little oil in the water with the eggs, they are easier to peal. I have found this to be generally true. Also, using older eggs helps with the peeling factor.