Eggs all day on Mother's Day, featuring Nellie's Free Range Eggs

Eggs are not just for breakfast anymore! More and more, eggs are making their way into lunch and dinner menus - and on top of burgers. But we found some great recipes that take your egg dishes to the next level, and Nicole Triebe, The Windy City Dinner Fairy stopped by WCL to show us.

The best way to start a great egg dish - is with the best eggs, and Nellie's Free Range Eggs are the answer. Nellie's eggs are from small family farms where chickens truly roam free and are certified humane - that means:

-No cages, anywhere.

-Ample space and shelter, in clean, well ventilated barns.

-Gentle handling to limit stress.

-Freedom to do what comes naturally, like roosting, scratching, and dust bathing.

-Ready access to the outdoors and grass when the season and safety permit (which is to say, most of the time)

-Nutritious, high-quality feed free of antibiotics or hormones.

-Fresh, pure water whenever they want it.

So for a wholesome truly "free range" egg with no hormones or antibiotics at a reasonable price - look for Nellie's!

For more about Nellie's Free Range Eggs, visit: http://nelliesfreerange.com/

Find Nellie's Free Range Eggs at the following locations: Jewel, Meijer and Strack Van Til

NICOLE'S RECIPES:

GRUYRE AND SPINACH QUICHE

1 9-inch deep dish frozen pie crust

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots

4 large eggs

1-1/4 cups heavy cream

Pinch ground nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup grated Gruyre

1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove pie crust from freezer and thaw until just soft enough to easily prick with a fork, about 10 minutes. Prick bottom and sides all over with a fork. Bake on center rack until fully cooked and lightly golden, between 10-15 minutes depending on the brand. (Keep an eye on it...if it puffs up while cooking, gently prick it with a fork so it will deflate.) Set aside and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

2. Heat butter in a small saute pan over medium-low heat. Cook shallots until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Do not brown. Set aside to cool.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, heavy cream, nutmeg, salt and cayenne pepper.

4. Place cooked pie shell on a baking sheet (this makes it easy to move in and out of oven). Spread shallots over bottom of cooked crust, then sprinkle grated Gruyere over top. Scatter spinach evenly over cheese (breaking up clumps as best you can), then pour egg mixture over top.

5. Bake at 325 degrees for 50-55 minutes until custard is set and top is lightly golden. Serve hot or warm.

TRUFFLED EGG TOAST WITH ASPARAGUS

4 (1 1/2-inch slices) thickly sliced brioche

8 egg yolks

8 ounces Fontina cheese, Swiss cheese, or Gruyere cheese (or other mild semi-hard cheese), sliced thinly

1/4 cup grated best-quality Parmesan Cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano)

1 to 2 tablespoons truffle oil

Asparagus spears, cooked and sliced

Lightly toast the bread.

Separate the eggs carefully so as not to break the yolks.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly spray baking sheet with olive oil.

Hollow out an indentation in each toasted bread slice large enough to hold two egg yolks. Leave a sufficient cushion of bread surrounding the indentation to avoid leakage. Place the bread on prepared baking sheet.

Carefully place two egg yolks in each bread indentation. Place the slices of the cheese over the entire slice of bread (to its edges).

Place the bread in the oven and bake for 12 minutes. During the last 2 minutes of baking, place grated Parmesan cheese on top of each toast. Remove from oven and, using a spatula, place each bread slice on an individual serving plate. Lightly drizzle the top with the truffle oil in a diagonal stream.

Serve immediately with salt and pepper at table and pass additional truffle oil, if desired. Sprinkle sliced asparagus spears on the place around the toast.

SPAGHETTI WITH CARBONARA SAUCE

1 pound dried spaghetti

1/2 cup pancetta

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 whole large eggs plus 6 yolks

1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano plus more for serving

1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus more for serving

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more for serving

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook, stirring, until al dente.

Meanwhile, combine pancetta with 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet and cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat, until fat has rendered and pancetta is crisp, about 7 minutes. In a large metal heatproof mixing bowl, whisk together whole eggs and yolks, Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and black pepper.

Using tongs and/or a strainer, transfer pasta to skillet with crisped pancetta and its fat; be sure not to drain boiling pasta water. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to pasta and stir to combine; let cool slightly. Scrape pasta, pork, and all the fat into the egg mixture. Measure 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water and add to pasta and egg mixture. Stir well to combine.

Set mixing bowl over pot of boiling pasta water like a double boiler (make sure bottom of bowl does not touch the water) and cook, stirring quickly with tongs, until sauce thickens to a creamy, silky consistency and leaves trails as you stir. Remove from heat, season with salt if needed, and divide into bowls. Serve right away, topping with more grated cheese and freshly ground pepper as desired.