(Family Features) The focus for home chefs hosting during the holidays is often centered around the big feast, but if you’re welcoming guests for an extended period or just looking to fuel your immediate family for the festivities, eggs are the perfect partner for cracking holiday cooking and entertaining.

Breakfasts, brunches, lunches, snacks, desserts and more offer delicious opportunities to enjoy flavorful foods with those you love. While preparing a variety of meals may feel overwhelming, you can simplify the season by leaning on eggs to elevate all types of recipes.

This holiday season, home cooks seeking hacks to crack the code of creating memorable, enjoyable, affordable holiday recipes can turn to a versatile ingredient like eggs. An important ingredient of globally influenced dishes honoring different cultures and religions around the globe, eggs can help you tap into celebrations regardless of your own traditions. Plus, eggs make entertaining easy and cost-effective in favorite dishes prepared year after year or when getting creative in the kitchen with something new.

Whether you’re cooking for a crowd or simply spending precious moments with your nearest and dearest, there’s no need to compromise easy, affordable indulgence. Add a touch of delicious decadence to brunch with this Sunchokes and Potato Quiche by New York Times best-selling cookbook author and founder of @PreppyKitchen, John Kanell, a flavor-forward way to bring everyone together and make entertaining eggstra special. You can have it all with a homemade crust and veggie-loaded filling by starting with the simple crack of an egg.

Transform your holiday celebrations and make this year one to remember by sharing your creations using #CracktheHolidayswithEggs, and find more recipe inspiration at IncredibleEgg.org.

Sunchokes and Potato Quiche

Recipe courtesy of John Kanell (@PreppyKitchen) on behalf of the American Egg Board
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 55 minutes
Servings: 10

Crust:

• 1 lemon, zest and juice only
• 1 egg
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 9 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Quiche:

• 1/3 cup Yukon gold potatoes, cut into1/2-inch cubes
• 3/4 cup sunchokes, sliced 1/2-inch thick
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups Swiss chard, chopped with stock removed

Custard:

• 6 eggs
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup grated gouda
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped

1. To make crust: In small bowl, whisk lemon juice with egg.
2. In large bowl, mix flour, butter and salt. Mix using hands. Drizzle in lemon mixture. Add lemon zest.
3. Using fingers, knead dough to break down butter. Cover dough with plastic wrap and roll into disc while at room temperature then refrigerate until firm.
4. To make quiche filling: Preheat oven to 425 F.
5. Toss potatoes and sunchokes with olive oil, salt and pepper then spread out on baking sheet.
6. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until fork tender, tossing pieces halfway through.
7. Add onion to well-buttered pan and cook over medium heat about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until caramel colored. Add Swiss chard and continue cooking until wilted, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool.
8. Roll out dough on pastry mat or well-floured surface. Prick with fork. Carefully transfer dough to quiche pan, fold edges under and crimp then transfer to freezer.
9. To make custard: Reduce oven temperature to 375 F.
10. In large bowl, whisk eggs, cheeses, heavy cream, parsley and thyme.
11. Add caramelized onions and vegetables then mix. Add mixture to crust.
12. Tent with foil and bake about 20 minutes.
13. Reduce oven temperature to 350 F and bake about 40 minutes.
14. For food safety, casseroles containing eggs should always be cooked at a minimum of 160 F.

Notes: Bake times depend on size of quiche. Deeper quiches may require additional bake time. As quiche cools, filling continues to set; it may wobble when removed from oven.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images (mother and daughter baking)

Source: American Egg Board

(Family Features) Add a special touch this holiday season with simple yet stunning small plates that add beauty and flavor to gatherings with friends and family.

Available into January, California grapes offer a way to make the season special as an ingredient in your favorite recipes or as decoration for a festive centerpiece. Pops of red, green and black provide a seasonal touch and they’re perfect as an easy, fresh, healthy snack.

Plus, you can dip grapes in nut butter and finish with coatings of coconut, dark chocolate and almonds to make these Peanut Butter Grape Bites for a holiday treat that’s simply divine – without spending hours in the kitchen.

Visit grapesfromcalifornia.com to find more holiday recipe inspiration.

Watch video to see how to make this recipe!

Peanut Butter Grape Bites

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Yield: 12 pieces

12        California grapes, chilled
1/3       cup natural peanut or almond butter
1/4       cup shredded coconut
1/4       cup chopped dark chocolate
1/4       cup chopped almonds

Place sheet of wax paper on baking sheet. Dip each grape in nut butter to coat half then dip in either coconut, dark chocolate or chopped almonds. Transfer to sheet then chill until ready to serve.

Nutritional analysis per serving: 70 calories; 2 g protein; 4 g carbohydrates; 5 g fat (64% calories from fat); 1.5 g saturated fat (19% calories from saturated fat); 0 mg cholesterol; 25 mg sodium; 1 g fiber.

Source: California Table Grape Commission

(Family Features) Among the decorations, gifts and gatherings of loved ones, there’s perhaps nothing quite like family favorite foods that call to mind the joy of the holidays. Whether your loved ones relish building gingerbread houses or dining on an all-in feast, looking forward to annual traditions is part of what makes the season so special.

This year, you can add to the fun with a new annual activity by creating a delightful dessert with the help of little ones and adults alike. With an easy recipe like Peanut Butter Saltine Candy that calls for just a handful of ingredients, you can get the whole family involved in the kitchen.

Ask your little helpers to measure out ingredients while a grownup prepares the pan and uses the stove. Once the base is finished baking, call the kids back to sprinkle chocolate chips and peanut butter chips over the top.

After your candy creation is cooled, just break it into pieces meant to be shared with the entire family. An added benefit: all can enjoy the nutrient-rich flavor of peanuts, which rise to superfood status by delivering 19 vitamins and minerals and 7 grams of protein per serving.

Find more holiday recipes at gapeanuts.com .

Watch video to see how to make this recipe!

Peanut Butter Saltine Candy

Yield: 45 pieces

•             Nonstick cooking spray (butter flavor)
• 1          sleeve (4 ounces) regular saltine crackers
• 1/2       cup butter
• 3/4       cup creamy peanut butter
• 1          cup granulated sugar
• 2          cups milk chocolate chips
• 1/2       cup peanut butter chips
• 1/2       cup rough chopped, dry roasted peanuts

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line 10-by-15-by-1-inch pan with aluminum foil. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray then lay saltines flat in single layer on prepared pan. Set aside.
2. In heavy duty, 1-quart saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, peanut butter and sugar. Stir constantly until butter and sugar are melted, bringing mixture to boil. Boil 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour cooked mixture over saltines and bake 5 minutes.
3. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over saltines. Let cool 3 minutes then spread melted chocolate completely over saltines.
4. Sprinkle peanut butter chips evenly over chocolate. Return pan to oven 1 minute to soften chips. Pull pointed tines of fork through softened peanut butter chips to partially cover chocolate. Sprinkle chopped peanuts on top, gently pressing into candy.
5. Let cool on rack about 15 minutes then place in freezer 3 minutes. Remove from freezer and break into pieces. Store in airtight container.

Source:  Georgia Peanut Commission