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.