THOUGHTS: A SAD GOODBYE TO MY TEAM ALTON FRIEND CRISTIE SCHOEN

I don't often write about daily life... I mostly write to try to help with your plans for a get-together, a holiday, a celebration, or even just dinner with the family. I occasionally write about travel and bigger life events, like weddings. My end goal is to help you celebrate life with those you love.

Tragically, one of my Food Network Star friends and her little family will never be able to do that again. So today, I'm writing about Cristie Schoen so you might know her and remember her as a passionate Southerner, healthy living and eating advocate, athlete, outdoorswoman, caring friend, daughter, sister, chef, wife, and mother-to-be. Rest in peace, Cristie. You will live on in the hearts of all of those you've blessed, fed, and touched with your kindness and love.

Cristie had recently married her boyfirend J.t. Codd, was living on her dream farm and expecting their first baby, a girl to be named Skylar. The very last thing I expected to hear from or about my Food Network Star cast mate Cristie was that she was missing. I certainly never expected to learn that she had been murdered.

A neighbor Cristie and J.t. befriended is charged with their murder and the murder of their unborn child. Robert Jason Owens is a contractor and lived less than a mile from them. They not only hired Owens to help with projects around the farm, Cristie opened her home to this monster, inviting him to their wedding. She had also cooked Thanksgiving dinner for him and others in the area; she rented the local community center to feed everyone in her new hometown who had no place to go. Typical Cristie. She loved to love everyone through her food. I saw her post on Facebook and her open invitation for Thanksgiving. And she didn't just cook, she decorated the room in her signature yellow and went the extra mile to make the day really special with a menu that reflected her Mississippi roots.

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I first met Cristie in Alton Brown's Atlanta studio in early November 2011. We were both there to audition for Food Network Star and were vying for one of only five spots on Alton's team from the fifty or so people assembled. I knew she would be in the cast... she was absolutely stunning, had a great work ethic, and sparkling crystal blue eyes that flashed... "I want this.... I really want this." So it was not a big surprise to see her there on the first day of filming. WATCH CRISTIE'S CASTING VIDEO

Our Food Network Star Season 8 teammates had this to say about Cristie: 

Food Network Star winner Justin Warner reflected on his first memory of Cristie saying: "I stepped out of the casting shoot to get some fresh air. Cristie soon joined me, only with the intent of introducing herself and offering me company. That's who she was. Bright, sunny, incredibly friendly and kind... a breath of fresh air indeed."

"Cristie was one of the first people I met during the Atlanta auditioning process! What wasn't to love about her striking appearance, but those big blue eyes and her southern drawl warmed my heart.  We shared a bond with our spiritual connection and roots to New Orleans. During the show, Cristie saw positive in everything!  She was a fearless firecracker'" remembers Judson Todd Allen.

Says Emily Ellyn: "I remember when I first saw Cristie Schoen. We were in Atlanta for our interview with Alton Brown.  She had beautiful blue eyes and a smile that shined between her positive pep talks, helping EVERYONE in that room feel more at ease, That positive encouragement, love, and joie de vivre was present in every conversation we shared. Cristie was like sunshine; a positive radiant woman, that warmed the hearts of everyone she met."

Cristie quickly became our Team Alton cheerleader. She was high-energy, highly competitive, and positive- all rolled up into a pint-sized but very powerful package. She was a true team player. I hated she was the first to be eliminated during the restaurant competition because she worked hard to help most of us with our dishes in spite of the fact she wasn't very happy about her own course. It hurt her feelings so badly that the judges misread her passion for healthy eating as anger. She was frustrated that she didn't communicate her point of view clearly because she truly wanted to help people live better lives through a healthier diet. WATCH CRISTIE'S FOOD NETWORK STAR BIO VIDEO

In her final challenge, Cristie raced around the kitchen like the Roadrunner, not scared, not intimidated, nor worried. She confidently told the story of her brother and cooking eggs for him upon his return home from the military. I thought she did a great job and was impressed with her calm in the face of elimination. I'm not sure I could have handled that pressure like she did. It was painful to watch her walk through those big doors leading out of the studio after her they let her go. She had given it her all.

I feel very sure that Cristie gave it her all in her final moments, too. I imagine that she gave that monster who killed her quite a fight, trying to protect her baby, her husband and her own life. As a former cop, my hope is the detectives are carefully compiling the evidence necessary to put Robert Jason Owens in prison for the murder of Cristie Schoen, J.t. Codds, and baby Skylar until the State of North Carolina executes him in punishment for his crimes. Until then, I hope the prison inmates give him a welcome party he won't ever forget and that his life ends so that he may never be able to hurt another human on this earth.

FYI-Owens is also a suspect in the cold case disappearance of Zebb Quinn, an Asheville teen missing since 2000.

To Cristie's family and closest friends: My prayers are with you as you struggle to comprehend what has happened.

Farewell, Cristie. We will all miss your beauty, passion, energy, positive attitude, and your kind heart. Rest in peace with J.t. and Skylar by your side. Gone too soon, gone way too soon.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. -John 3:16

HOW-TO TIPS: BEST WAY TO MAKE AND PEEL A HARD BOILED EGG

I’ve seen lots of posts on social media discussing how to make a perfect hard-boiled egg. None of them are the same. Most are similar but they all have their own twist or timing. I decided to do a hard-boiled egg study from some of the more prominent offerings on the Internet to see which hard-boiled egg is the best egg for those yummy deviled eggs.

I compared hard-boiled egg cooking instructions from Julia Child, Alton Brown, Food Network, the Deen family, and the old school method of adding vinegar to the water to my own tried and true hard-boiled egg method. I also watched videos from Jacques Pepin and Food & Wine. The test was based on three criteria: texture of white, texture of yolk and ease of peeling. DISCLAIMER: This was not a blind taste test as I was the only person in the kitchen.

Hard boiled egg recipes: Which one is best? See tips and results below from five different methods.

HERE'S WHAT I FOUND OUT: TIPS FOR COOKING THE PERFECT HARD-BOILED EGG

• Farm eggs are harder to peel after boiling. Save your farm eggs for baking or ice cream. Fresh eggs from the store have thinner membranes which do peel easier so hard-boil super fresh eggs.

• Don't use a non-stick pan for boiling eggs.

• Do not cram too many eggs into a pot. You want to cover the eggs with one inch of water and leave room in the pot so you can stir the eggs around as they cook.

• Stirring the eggs occasionally during the cooking process helps yolks stay centered and the whites have two sides which are equally thick; better for stuffing and not lopsided.

• Use room temperature eggs and water or cold water and cold eggs. The result is about the same but eggs will crack more often if you add cold eggs to hot water.

• You can peel the eggs easier if you run them under cool water or put them in an ice bath for 2-3 minutes only. Alton suggests 5 minutes in the ice bath but those were slightly harder to peel. I prefer to quickly rinse in cool water just until you can handle them. Crack and put back in the water; peel quickly by popping the large end with the air pocket on the counter-it seems to make the peel come off in larger pieces.

• Some people suggest rolling the egg on the counter using the palm of your hand to crack the peel but I found all of those little pieces harder to peel. I used to do this but now prefer the "pop the air pocket" method.

• Adding salt, vinegar or baking soda in the water does not make the peeling process easier and when you boil the eggs with vinegar, the whole house stinks.

• The egg whites will become tough and rubbery if you cook more than the recommended time- you will not want to eat rubbery eggs ever again once you’ve had a properly cooked egg.

• The ucky green ring around the outside is truly caused by overcooking and no other reason. The longer you cook the egg, the darker that outer ring becomes.

• A soft or medium boiled egg yolk does not work as well for deviled eggs. The yolk was a little gummy when mixed with mayonnaise, etc. for the filling. However, the medium boiled egg (Alton Brown’s egg) was very delicious with just salt and pepper.

THE RESULTS: The Food Network method for hard-boiled eggs seemed to work the best because they peeled easier and had a better texture than the other versions but only slightly better than my own method. The instructions did not say how long to keep the egg in the ice bath so I left it in for 2 minutes. Follow the cooking instructions for the hard-boiled egg if you want to make deviled eggs. Here's the link...

My own cooking method worked just fine… tried and true. It was the runner-up to the Food Network method, but only because their method did peel slightly easier. Here's what I do:

Start with cold eggs; add tepid/lukewarm water to the pot, covering eggs by one inch. Stirring the water occasionally, bring the water to a just to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium high. Set your timer and boil for 5 minutes for large eggs, 4 minutes for medium eggs and 6 minutes for extra large eggs. Continue to stir them occasionally to keep the yolk centered.

When your timer goes off, remove from the heat and let them stand. Set a timer for 4-5-6 minutes- the same time you boiled the egg.

Once the timer goes off, immediately rinse in cold water until the eggs are just cool enough to handle. Pop each one- the larger side where the air pocket is- on the counter and put back in the water, working quickly to peel the eggs while they are still warm. Here's my deviled egg recipe. You'll love it.

Alton Brown’s method for hard-boiled eggs resulted in a medium/slightly undercooked yolk which tasted good but were not great for making deviled eggs. I could not find a link online but here's what Alton said about hard-boiled eggs on Twitter...

Alton Brown's hard boiled egg tips plus his method for oven cooked eggs.

THIS JUST IN: ALTON BROWN'S GONE CRAY-CRAY. His words, not mine. Just hours after I posted this comparison, my former mentor has upped the ante and posted a game-changer... he's now suggesting that baking the eggs in the oven is more reliable and easier than "the harsh environment of a pot of boiling water" - SO I had to test that for myself. I found the technique to be more difficult as I had two escapee eggs jump off the towel and onto my floor. However, the result is equally delicious as his boiled version above but again, a little underdone for my preference for hard-boiled eggs for stuffing. Additionally, the egg yolks settle to the bottom of the egg making a very thin cup, not so great for stuffing. There was a video with instructions but he pulled it down.

UPDATE 2: Now, AB says you should cook your eggs in a pressure cooker! I'm going to skip that one but if you are curious, here's the link to Alton Brown's Eggs Under Pressure blog post.

Jamie Deen's method resulted in the worst results. They tasted fine but were harder to peel and egg white came away with the peel creating big “potholes” in the egg white; pretty unattractive for deviled eggs. So many people looked at the video today that they crashed the site. I'll add a link for you to see it later but basically Jamie said to bring the room temperature eggs to a boil in salted water. Remove from the heat and add a lid and wait 13 minutes. Put in an ice bath. Here's a link to Paula's site with their own test kitchen results. Read more... Paula's method is the same as Jamie's but she lets the eggs sit for 20 minutes which I found way too long and produced rubbery egg whites.

The Julia Child hard-boiled egg method took too long compared to the others and didn’t taste better so I scratched it from the test. Her former assistant and one of my favorite chefs, the legendary Jacques Pepin suggests to prick the egg with a pin before boiling. Watch Jacque's charming how-to properly boil and peel a hard boiled egg video here...

PEELING A HARD BOILED EGG: I did find something completely new when it comes to peeling a hard-boiled egg: using a teaspoon between the membrane skin and the egg as shown in this Food & Wine video from Justin Chapple from their test kitchen. I tried it and found it harder than just peeling it the classic way. Sorry, Justin. What is it with these quirky guys named Justin?

20 QUESTIONS FOR FOOD NETWORK'S CHEF MICHELE RAGUSSIS

Today is National New England Clam Chowder Day and so of course, I asked my friend Michele Ragussis for her recipe. She is an authority on New England cuisine. Michele is not only the queen of clam chowder, but likely has been on more competition cooking shows than any other chef. You might recognize her from Food Network's Chopped, 24 Hour Restaurant Battle, Beat Bobby Flay, Season 8 of Food Network Star, Food Fighters on NBC, and most recently, Midnight Feast on the FYI Network.

I first saw Michele Ragussis when I walked into the audition for Food Network Star in New York. She wasn't hard to spot...  she and a few of the other restaurant chefs were standing together, arms crossed, extremely confident that they were the bad---es to be reckoned with in the competition. Michele ended up on Bobby Flay's team, his first selection during that audition process. If you watch her audition video, it is easy to see why.

Michele has a huge heart and is generous. She always shows up ready to work when I've asked her for a favor... and she always gives it 100%. I love her food- which is as warm and homey as her personality.

Michele, like me, attributes her love of cooking to her mother, Phyllis. I've not met Phyllis but feel like I know her. I heard Michele talk about her everyday during our Food Network Star taping. In fact, Michele taught me her mom's Arancini recipe and it has become one of my favorites.

Michele has recently moved to Boston and will take over the restaurant at Central House Crown & Anchor in Provincetown, Massachusetts in the coming weeks. 

Get to know more about Michele in our Q & A with her below:

GET TO KNOW CHEF MICHELE RAGUSSIS  

@chefmichele on Instagram,  @MRagussis on Twitter, Michele Ragussis on Facebook

Where you’re from: Derby, CT

Current city of residence: I recently moved to Boston, Mass and have just accepted a job in P-Town... Provincetown, MA which is on the New England coast.

Where you’d love to live someday: Greece. I’m half Greek so I’d love to live the life of my ancestors.

Family: My immediate family is my mom Phyllis, my sisters Barbara and Chris, and of course, my dog, Maximus, the most beautiful cocker spaniel in the world plus my three nieces, and my nephew.

Mentor: Phyllis. My mom. When it comes to food, Phyllis inspired and taught me almost everything I know about cooking the food I grew up with. I like to cook it with my own spin on it but I got everything I know from Phyllis.

Favorite kitchen tool? Tongs. They are my third hand. I always have a pair of tongs in my hand in the kitchen.

What ingredient can you not live without? Olive oil.

What do you hate to cook? Casseroles.

What is your favorite recipe? Phyllis' rice balls. Note: I had to ask her who makes them better- she replied, "oh, snap... Phyllis, of course. Moms make everything better!" I could not agree more. I have my own version of Phyllis' rice balls posted on my blog. Get the recipe.. Michele serves it with a creamy Bechamel sauce. Decadent and divine.

Favorite book? Things I Know for Sure by Oprah Winfrey.

Michele's ultimate dinner party guest list would include these four: Jennifer Anniston, Oprah Winfrey, Bobby Flay, and Ellen DeGeneres.

And if you had to cook for them, what would you make? Something Greek because Jennifer’s Greek and I’m Greek- besides, who doesn’t love Greek food? I’d start with Spanakopita, and we’d have a beautiful, roasted Greek style leg of lamb. I’d stick with the Mediterranean thing ….. Baklava for dessert.

What are you listening to right now? Dave Matthews. Always.

Favorite cookbook of all time: One from Lidia Bastianich. Any one of them.

Latest accomplishment? I’ve just been named Executive Chef of the Central House at the Crown and Anchor in Provincetown. It’s awesome. There’s Cabaret Theater, Bernadette Peters is playing there soon…. An 18 room hotel and a pool bar. It is right on the ocean. I’m planning an all New England seafood menu with a Mediterranean twist.

Guilty pleasure? White Castle cheeseburgers.

Like so many chefs, you have a ton of tattoos. What was your first tattoo and what is your favorite? My first tattoo was a hummingbird. My favorite is my New England tattoo.

Favorite travel destination: Every summer, I go to Provincetown with my friends but now that I’m going to be working there, I’m going to say New York City. I used to live there and I go when I can to see friends, check out new restaurant trends, and get my favorite soup dumplings at Joe’s Shanghai. Oh and I go to Saltie’s in Williamsburg for the best sandwich in the entire world, the Balmy. It is ham, chicken liver pate and jalapenos with mayo and pickled vegetables… it is heaven on focaccia bread.

Where do you want to go you haven’t been yet?  Sicily. I’m Sicilian and I want to see where my family came from.  

Must have travel accessory: Headphones.

Best advice, tool, or equipment for the home cook: Get good pans. Crappy pans make for crappy food. They radiate heat so much better and will keep the heat evenly distributed.

Get Michele's New England Clam Chowder recipe!