For dinner, too, eggs are a reliable comfort food

They're baaaack! Eggs that is. Denigrated for being high in cholesterol, eggs seem to be regaining their Grade A status. Sunnyside up or down, there is no more throwing away the yolk and making that pale substitute: an egg-white omelet. Diets like Atkins and South Beach tout protein, protein, and more protein.
We all know eggs are a good source of protein, but did you know the yolk is also an excellent source of lutein? Lutein is a caratenoid, often found in plants (carrots and tomatoes), and is famous for helping us maintain healthy eyes.

Scrambled, fried, and poached eggs are old friends at breakfast and brunch. Sometimes they show up for lunch as a salad -- or in a salad -- or at a party, deviled. But dinner?
For those of us who never fell out of love with eggs, there is nothing more comforting than a plate of scrambled eggs, day or night. When you just can't face making another meal, or when the cupboards are almost bare, how about having a backward day? Breakfast for dinner. You can elevate a humble plate of scrambled eggs to dinner fare by adding just a few ingredients.

In my Jewish family when I grew up, there was always a big, fat Hebrew National Kosher salami in the fridge -- and on Sunday mornings, a half-pound of lox wrapped in deli paper for the bagels. When my mother needed a break during the week, my dad would make my brothers and me salami and eggs, or lox, eggs, and onions for dinner. Shaking the pan back and forth over the heat, he loosened the half-cooked mixture and flipped it in the air, delighting us as it fell back in the pan perfectly whole.
Served with deli mustard and seeded rye toast, it was a real treat. It still is.


Eggs with lox and onions
Serves 4


1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 pound smoked salmon slices
6-8 eggs
1/4 cup milk
Pepper to taste

1. In a large frying pan, melt the butter. Add the diced onions and saute for 5 minutes, until onions begin to get translucent.
2. Cut the lox into thread-like pieces, though not too thin. Add to the onion mixture and fry for about one minute, stirring constantly. The lox will begin to turn pale.
3. Beat eggs in a bowl and add pepper. Pour over lox mixture.
4. Here is where personal preference comes in: You can either toss the eggs about as though you are making scrambled eggs, or let the eggs set over the salmon mixture like a pancake and flip to just set the other side.
4. Serve with rye toast.



Salami and eggs
Serves 4.
Add a salad and you have a complete meal.

8-12 quarter-inch-thick slices of kosher salami, or any salami you like (preferably cut directly from the individual logs). Use as many slices as you need to fit them comfortably in a single layer in a large frying pan
6-8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk (optional)
Salt and pepper
Scant tablespoon of oil

1. Beat 6 eggs in a bowl. Sprinkle in a little salt and pepper. To make the eggs fluffier, add the quarter cup of milk (omit the milk if you are kosher).
2. Drizzle oil into a large frying pan and heat for about 30 seconds.
3. Add the salami slices to the pan in concentric circles with the last piece in dead center.
4. Fry the salami for about one minute on each side until brown.
5. Pour the eggs over the salami slices, tilting the pan in circles until all the spaces are filled in with the eggs.
6. Cook the eggs until they begin to set. Run a metal spatula around the edges of the eggs and toward the center, loosening the round.
7. Carefully turn the salami and eggs over. If you don't think you can do it in one piece, cut it into quarters and turn each individually. Cook for an additional minute or two, depending on how firm you like your eggs.
8. Serve with deli mustard and rye toast.