Monday, October 18, 2010

Creepy Quail Eggs Bento

I used Martha Stewart's special Halloween magazine as inspiration for this creepy quail egg bento. In her magazine Martha (or rather, Martha's minions) illustrates how to make marbled hard boiled eggs. They are fresh, but look like they have been moldering around the bottom of the basement for a while. The effect is quite easy to produce, and is stunning!

In this bento: Pillsbury garlic stick "fingers" with almond slice "fingernails" hold on to creepy hard boiled quail eggs. They rest on a bed of penne pasta with fresh mozzarella pieces and delicious marinara sauce from Sonoma County's Pasta Etc. In the upper compartment: steamed edamame, baby carrots, slices of white/purple radish from the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market, cucumber slices, and cherry tomatoes.

Here's a closeup of the creepy quail egg. It actually had more pronounced crackles on it, but I kept in in the fridge for a day before I used it, so the cracks started to fade.

Recipe for Creepy Quail Eggs
quail eggs
vinegar
blueberry juice or red and blue food coloring

Fill a small pot with cold water, then add about 1 or 2 tablespoons of vinegar. The vinegar will make it easier to peel the shells from the eggs. Add the quail eggs to the pot, then place on the stove. Turn the stove on to high heat and wait for the water to boil. Once the water boils, cover the pan and turn off the heat. Let the eggs sit in the covered pot for 7 minutes. Gently pour out the cooking water and pour cold water into the pan.  Remove quail eggs and tap their shells to create cracks all around the surface of the eggs. Put the eggs back in the pan with the cool water. Add blue berry juice or food coloring to create a purplish brew. Let the eggs sit in the colored water for at least 2 hours to get colored effect. Remove eggs from water and gently peel. Use eggs within 24 hours for best effect.

33 comments:

  1. I love the blueberry juice for coloring, great idea!

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  2. I like the marble effect on the quail eggs..

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  3. Wow, the marble eggs look really good and especially is with natural food colouring! The fingers look creepy, but this is a great bento for Halloween!

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  4. Those fingers are TOO awesome; they look SO REAL!!
    You can also make tea eggs this way too.

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  5. Thanks Mrs. Ed! I can't take credit though, Martha suggested it. :)

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  6. Thanks Bobo! Give it a try, it's really easy.

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  7. Hi Kids Dream Work! They're evil breadstick fingers, super creepy!

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  8. Thanks sheri! I just used a knife to score little wrinkles on the knuckles. Not hard to do, especially with premade Pillsbury dough.

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  9. Wow, those are totally awesome!!! :) Those are the best fingers ever. :)

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  10. Oh those fingers are freaking me out! Ah! I can't stop looking at them! Too cool!

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  11. yikes! Those breadstick fingers are super freaky! good job! I wonder if i make this for my little one's class if they'll get freaked out? LOL

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  12. WOW .. it is really creepy!!! the fingers are freaking me out!! AWESOME!!!

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  13. Those are so cool! I love the creepy fingers and "spoiled" eggs! How fun!

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  14. They are so cool!! My 3yo wouldn´t eat them at all, so creepy! XD she would be too scared to do so!
    Great job with the bento!!

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  15. Oh my! Those fingers are so creepy and marbled quail egg is awesome which make this bento super cool! You are so creative :)

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  16. The fingers are so creepy. It would surely be fun to show this around during lunch *g*

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  17. OMG! Your garlic stick fingers are SOOO creepy! I have to cover my eyes with my palms hehehe :D

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  18. the fingers are really creeping me out, and i don't know if i could eat that. :P i think i'll stick with the cute bento!

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  19. Thanks Susan! My step daughter was kind of freaked out by them and just rolled her eyes at me. "Mom, you are crazy."

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  20. Thanks Ohayobento! They are kind of fascinating. :)

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  21. Ha ha, Mrs. P! They may be a tad too gruesome for little kids. :)

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  22. Thanks Lina! This bento was really fun to make!

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  23. Hee hee! Thanks Lyndsey. The wrinkles on the knuckles added that realistic touch.

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  24. That top finger in particular is very realistic...looks like the poor monster had arthritis. The eggs are too pretty to be creepy.

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  25. Thanks karaimame! It is a bit too scary for little kids.

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  26. Thank you Lia! You are so kind with your compliments. :)

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  27. Ha ha, thanks Flicksi, I am sure you could get a few screams showing off this lunch.

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  28. Sorry tatabonita! I hope you don't have nightmares! :)

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  29. Yup, pretty creepy to eat, suki. :) But they did taste good!

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  30. Thanks dragonmamma! The fingers that came out somewhat misshapen were my favorites. This would be fun as appetizers with a bowl of "bloody" marinara for dipping. Eeeeek!

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  31. OMG, this is SO creepy-creative SB! Spooky idea beautifully...executed (heh)...excellent Halloween bento!

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  32. Ha ha! Thanks bentobird! Execution is right. Moo hoo ha ha ha!

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  33. It's great, but I have to say, I find the eggs more beautiful than creepy.

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