Classic Deviled Eggs

As stated in my previous blog, I plan to work my way through some of the 2000 recipes in Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook. I checked the book out at my local library and fell in love with it. I ordered my own copy so I can use it on a regular basis!

My daughter and I decided deviled eggs would be a great start. Simple, and our family loves them. We would have started sooner, but couldn’t get whole grain mustard at our local small-town grocery! We traveled a bit further this weekend and did find some stone ground mustard that would suffice.

Here’s the recipe. Parts in quotation marks are directly from the book.

7 large eggs (cold), 3 T. mayonnaise, 1 1/2 t. cider vinegar (or vinegar of your choice), 3/4 t. whole grain mustard, 1/4 t. Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper to taste

Cover the eggs with cold water. Recipe says to “cover with 1 inch of water.” Ada learned that there needs to be more than one inch of water coming up the side of the pan — that the key word was “cover.” She has made deviled eggs before, so I thought, left to boil eggs herself with guidance from the book, she would be perfectly fine. Mom also learned a lesson. We had 7 cooked eggs, partially soupy when ATTEMPTING to peel. (We also learned well-cooked eggs peel more easily.)

Anyway, in case you’re not an egg-cooker, you put them in cold water, cover, bring the water to a boil on the stove, remove the pan from heat, and let sit for about 10 minutes. We usually just drain the water off and cover with cold water. Cook’s recommends filling a bowl “with 1 quart cold water and about 14 ice cubes,” transferring the cooked eggs to cold water with a slotted spoon, and letting them sit there for about 5 minutes. We found this to be easier, with fewer cracked eggs. 🙂

Peel the eggs.

Class — raise of hands — how many of you have ever mutilated an egg trying to peel it bit by broken bit?

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

I learned a trick on Barefoot Contessa (Food Network) a couple of weeks ago: Gently crack the egg ALL OVER, give it a roll on the counter (under your hand — firmly but still gently) to loosen that thin membrane under the shell. It may take a little practice, but you should eventually be able to peel off the shell in decent sized strips. It’s nice! Little, if no, marred egg whites.

“Slice each egg in half lengthwise with a paring knife. Remove the yolks to a small bowl. Arrange whites on serving platter, discarding 2 worst-looking halves.” (Cook’s recommends this so you have beautiful heaping filling.) “Mash yolks with fork until no large lumps remain. Add mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix with rubber spatula, mashing mixture against side of bowl until smooth.”

They recommend filling a pastry bag with a large open-star tip and piping the mixture into the eggs. This makes beautiful eggs. You can also spoon it into a zipper baggie, cut the corner with scissors and have success filling your eggs. Or, like we’ve done for years, use a spoon. 🙂

Cook’s also gives “make ahead” tips for those preparing for guests. The book is full of helpful hints like this.

You can order it at Amazon. I was scared to do it. It’s a 2-inch thick hardcover book with 2000 recipes. I used to work in a college bookstore. I was anticipating a $50-80 book. I got it for less than $25. Order here.

The verdict? The kids weren’t crazy about them, but they were decent. My family usually sweetens the filling with some sugar. I used white balsamic vinegar as my vinegar of choice to try to add some sweetness to the eggs. They were good, but when it comes down to it, you cook for your own family’s tastes.

 

Finally, an idea!!!

Hello, everyone! I’m sorry I’ve taken so long to blog. Again.

I recently read Julie and Julia by Julie Powell. She was witty and it was well-written, but there was plenty of foul language in it. Didn’t exactly enhance the story line, in my opinion. However, I still enjoyed the story itself. She dove into the world of blogging in the early 2000s (2002, I believe). She decided to go through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, preparing every single recipe in the book in one year’s time. I think there were 524 recipes in the book. No big deal, right? Many of us cook at least one meal a day, that would surely clear a couple of recipes… wouldn’t it?

NO.

They were FRENCH recipes. Have easy access to calf bone marrow? If you happen to, do you know how to open the bone to retrieve the marrow???

I don’t have time for that kind of stuff. Besides, I have three small children. I’m all for encouraging more sophisticated palates, but come on, let’s get real here. (Besides, I don’t think I would have liked my eggs poached in wine.)

Anyway, my purpose for writing this evening. I’m going to do that. I don’t plan on Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but I do plan to go through many of the 2000 recipes in Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook. I’ve seen Cook’s Country on television many times. I love the show. They have test kitchens where they perfect recipes like potato salad, fried chicken, making smoked pork that isn’t really smoked in a smoker… Lots of recipes the average person wouldn’t mind trying!

So, my goal for the new year is to make my way through many of the 890 pages of this book. I say “many” because I have no intention of making every single recipe. I plan to make recipes I think my family and friends would be willing to eat with me. I also plan to try a few new foods I haven’t tried yet. For instance, fennel. I know, how can I have not tried it yet? I have had fennel seed. I hate the stuff. However, every show I watch on Food Network has prepared fennel in some form or another. And my cousin Chris has cooked with it. If he can, so can I. (Love you, Chris!)

I will not be posting every single day. I still have a life. I also still plan to post things my kids do or say and what happens on our farm/ranch.

I will try to take some pictures as I go, but will not promise to do so with every recipe.

I hope this finds you all healthy and off to a good start for the new year.