Psanky Brunch

We have talked for years about making Psanky (otherwise known as Ukranian) eggs. This year we finally did it! If you have not heard of Psanky, it is the craft of layering wax onto eggs,  often in intricate designs. After each layer of wax the egg is dipped into dye baths. Each layer of wax and color builds up to create what is sometimes a fantastic design! Our friend Sarah was a motivating force behind this event as she has made them in the past.

Eggs were definitely the theme for the day and my chickens just happened to lay a little surprise for me that week…a teeny, tiny egg!

I am always trying to create new exciting egg dishes, especially when friends are joining me for brunch. I just so happened to get some fabulous freshly smoked bacon from a friend. When somebody says they would like to trade fresh homemade smoked bacon for your eggs, the undeniable answer is always, “Hell, YES!”

I rarely work from recipes, so all I can say is I baked thick slices of bacon in the oven, glazed the inside of some cupcake pans with bacon grease and then pressed mashed sweet potato into them. I baked these for 10 minutes then cracked an egg into each cup and baked for an additional 10 minutes. Topped with fresh herbs (oregeno, chives and thyme) a little parmesan and a smoky sweet slab of bacon. They were delicious!!

And it is a good thing we powered up with breakfast! What followed was a 5 hour Psanky and Prosecco pow wow! Sarah guided us through the steps and warned us “You’ll probably want to quit after your first egg”. I have never heard this group of girls be so quiet!

Everyone, with the exception of Sarah, was a beginner but we muscled through with some awesome results! There were definitely highs and lows (5 broken eggs in all)  but we all learned a lot and I think next year we will see a lot more successes!

Check out Sarah’s great Psanky tutorial and Rake and Make debut here!!