In a supremely encouraging bit of Internet news, the online campaign to convince Smashmouth frontman Steve Harwell to eat 24 eggs in public is officially a success. The campaign started as an absurdist joke on the SomethingAwful forums and evolved into Harwell's bid to raise money for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. He set the bar at $10,000 and the fundraising effort reached $11,000 within one week. True to his word, Mr. Harwell will be visiting the new restaurant of his friend, renowned TV chef Guy Fieri, called Johnny Garlic's on October 10th. Seeing as 24 eggs in one sitting is a formidable meal, I've decided to put together a menu to help Harwell not only finish his challenge, but enjoy it. The key is to mix up the cooking methods and use a little culinary trickery to get around this heavy eating experience.
First Course: 6 Deviled Eggs
The benefit of splitting up the eggs into different dishes is to make the challenge more like a meal instead of an eating contest. It'll help Steve Harwell get into the right mindset. It's hard enough to consume 24 eggs that he shouldn't have to eat 24 of the same thing, counting as he goes. The first course should be something light, something cold and something fun. Deviled eggs are an excellent choice. They're finger food, they rely on non-egg flavors in the foreground and they're not all that filling. Most importantly, they have very little in them other than eggs themselves. As a bonus, the mixing process for the filling is bound to result in some waste, which combined with other mass-loss methods can really add up over the course of the entire meal.
Second Course: 4 Servings of Artichoke Florentine (8 Eggs)
The Eggs Benedict family is a collection of some of the best recipes for eggs in history. They're tasty without being too heavy and they're easy to modify. The classic recipe for Eggs Benedict is ill-suited for Harwell's challenge because it involves an English muffin. Steve's gonna want to steer clear of heavy stuff like bread in his meal. That's why I'm going for a double variation on the classic. Eggs Florentine substitutes the standard slice of ham of the Benedict (another too-heavy factor) with spinach and the Artichoke Benedict places the egg in a hollowed-out artichoke instead of on the muffin. These two variations will turn a filling dish into a refreshing second course, especially since Harwell isn't obligated to finish the artichokes or spinach.
Third Course: Portobello Quiche (6 Eggs)
At this point, Steve Harwell will start to get tired of egg flavors, however we've tried to augment them. This is why we're letting the eggs in the third course share the stage with a very different flavor. Quiche, when made properly, is fluffy and delightfully inconsequential. Unfortunately, a classic quiche lives in pie crust and we need to avoid bread to keep from weighing our challenger down. Baking the scrambled eggs in Portobello mushroom caps allows them to keep some form without being heavy and the mushrooms themselves will impart flavor and texture to the dish, especially if drizzled with white wine.
Fourth Course: Vanilla Amaretto Custard (4 Eggs)
Look no further than custard for the perfect egg-centric dessert. It's creamy, it's soft and it involves no solid components to trouble Mr. Harwell in the final stretch. Flavored with fresh vanilla bean and a spot of amaretto liqueur, this dessert will put a sweet, elegant finish on the 24 egg challenge.
I hope Steve Harwell enjoys his eggs, however he has them prepared, and I commend him for turning a silly Internet joke into an accomplishment of charity.