Easter Egg Appetizer

Planning:

Hard-cook and refrigerate the eggs up to 2 days ahead. Assemble appetizer up to 1 day ahead; decorate up to 8 hours ahead.

Ingredients:

13 large eggs
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter or margarine (not spread), softened
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
1 cup (8 oz) reduced-fat sour cream
4 oz (1/2 an 8-oz brick) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), softened
Decorations: orange and yellow bell peppers, chives, flat-leaf Italian parsley
Assorted crackers

Method:

Place eggs in a single layer in a pot. Add cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, cover and let stand 15 to 17 minutes. Place pot under running cold water 1 minute to halt cooking. Drain, then shake pot side to side until eggshells are well cracked. Cover with cold water and let stand 5 minutes. Hold eggs under running cool water and peel off shells.

Egg-shaped mold: Fold a 25 x 18-inch sheet of heavy-duty foil in half lengthwise. Repeat, folding lengthwise twice until about 2 1/4 inch wide. Tape ends together, overlapping by about 1 inch. Coat inside with nonstick spray. Place on serving platter and form into a 9 x 5 1/2-inch egg-shaped ring. Remove yolk from 1 hard-cooked egg. Press through a sieve into a small cup; cover and refrigerate to use for decoration.

Finely chop remaining egg white and eggs in a food processor (or mash in a bowl). Add butter and salt and process (or mash) until well blended. Spoon into prepared foil mold, spread in an even layer, cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour until firm.

Sprinkle with chopped scallions. Mix sour cream and cream cheese until well blended (it doesn’t have to be completely smooth). Spoon over scallions, then spread evenly without disturbing scallions. Cover and chill at least 4 hours.

Up to 8 hours before serving: Cut tape on foil mold; remove mold. With tiny cookie cutters, cut out chicks and tulips from the bell peppers. Use chives for tulip stems and leaves, and bits of parsley leaf for the chicks’ tail feathers. Spoon reserved sieved yolk on top. Refrigerate uncovered until ready to serve. Serve with crackers and a small knife or two for spreading.