1. Place eggs in a medium saucepan; cover with cold water.
2. Heat over medium heat to boiling.
3. Reducei heat to low; simmer, uncovered, about 15 minutes.
4. Remove from heat; run cold water into pan until cool.
5. Let eggs cool in cold water.
6. Drain.
7. Lightly tap shells all over with back of spoon; do not crack so hard that shells actually come loose.
8. return eggs to saucepan; add remaining ingredients.
9. Add cold water to cover egg; heat over medium heat to boiling.
10. Reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, about 1-½ hours.
11. * remove from heat.
12. Let cool to room temperature in cooking liquid.
13. refrigerate eggs, in cooking liquid, until serving time**.
14. At serving time, drain eggs, discarding liquid; shell eggs and leave whole or cut in half.
15. * heat may be turned off at any time and cooking resumed later ** the longer the eggs soak, at least several hours, the better flavor they will have.
16. They can be done several days in advance.