From The Oregonian Sandwiches solve that Easter egg glut 04/20/03 SARA PERRY A bout now, you must be wondering what to do with all those hard-boiled eggs the Easter Bunny left behind. Theo Taylor, the Sandwich Man, has a solution. "Egg-salad sandwiches, of course," says the guy who gets cracking every morning to create all the tasty sandwiches for Ken's Artisan Bakery in Northwest Portland. He ought to know; he's been making them since the first day he came to work with Ken Forkish and decided on the spot to expand the menu of sandwich fillings. Then, as any wise cook would do, Taylor looked around the kitchen to see what fresh ingredients he could put to good use. There, in good supply, was one of the world's most perfect foods: the egg. Taylor, a guy whose cooking talents have been enjoyed throughout the years at restaurants such as Brasserie Montmartre and RiverPlace, knew exactly where to start with this edible oval. He whisked together a few to make fresh, creamy mayonnaise and hard-cooked some others for his egg-salad filling. Simply seasoned, then laid to rest between slices of the bakery's flavorful pain rustique, the filling created a sandwich that had an instant following. Not surprising, when you know the kind of practice Taylor has had making lunchtime sandwiches on the home front. Six years ago, the gentle giant took on the duties of a single parent raising 9- and 10-year-old daughters and 2- and 5-year-old sons. "Actually, it was the big pile of laundry that made me realize, 'Oh, I'm a single parent,' " says Taylor, 36. "The fear lasted about 10 minutes, then I realized I'd better get the laundry done." The life and hours of a line cook aren't exactly conducive to raising four kids alone, but with the help of understanding bosses and his mother and sister, Taylor made it work, and made it work well. "I've got great kids who want to do a good job and be successful. Together, we do just fine." In fact, his elder daughter, Cody Anne, is a good cook like her dad. "She just took a culinary arts class in high school and now she's giving me the shopping list," he says with parental pride. Taylor's need to find a job that would give him steady hours when his children were in school and let him be home at night led him to Ken's Artisan Bakery, where he's a jack-of-all-trades and a master of many, including making a great egg-salad sandwich. Although eggs are in just about every refrigerator in America, they still seem to bewilder people when it comes to using them raw to make an emulsion and hard-cooking them to perfection (after all, there's no way to see inside an egg or insert a thermometer for doneness). So follow Taylor's simple instructions and remember what Oscar Wilde once said: "An egg is always an adventure." Ken's Artisan Bakery is at 338 N.W. 21st Ave.; 503-248-2202; www.kensartisan.com. Sara Perry: sara@saraperry.com; The Oregonian, 1320 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201