Martin's Mother-In-Law's Deviled Eggs

The recently-referenced Atlanta Journal-Constitution column (http://www.accessatlanta.com/living/content/shared-blogs/ajc/tabletalk/entries/2008/04/29/devilish_eggs.html?cxntnid=din043008e) on deviled eggs was interesting in a few ways. First, it showed that deviled eggs are sort of a trend in the vein of culinary kitsch, memoribilia, and "staycations." People are actually sort of into deviled eggs, even though they are hardly new!

But also interesting was that the AJC column also included a series of user-generated comments. Some of these comments went so far as to attempt to describe recipes that the reader himself, or a friend or relative of the reader, had been using for deviled eggs for years. I will try to duplicate some of these recipes as well, testing and grading them here.

An AJC reader named "Martin" described the "wonderful" recipe his Tennessee-bred mother-in-law made. Lots has been said about mothers-in-law, much of it negative, but Martin's mother-in-law's deviled egg recipe doesn't really warrant any negative comments. Unfortunately, with just a couple of exceptions, it doesn't warrant any glowing positive comments either.

Martin's mother-in-law makes a very simple deviled egg recipe. Interestingly, she uses both mayonnaise AND Miracle Whip, which I guess should give the recipe a little bite. Further, she uses some butter, which stiffens up the filling and really does help with the texture. But beyond that, it's just a little yellow mustard, a dash of white vinegar, and she's done. Nothing really unique, nothing to make the eggs special, and absolutely no garnish that would have made the eggs much more visually appealing.

I thought about adding a garnish to this recipe myself. Often, I do slightly change a recipe - add something here or there to step up a recipe, or even combine suggested elements of multiple recipes to create something I think is really special. In fact, the highest-scoring deviled egg recipe ever tried on this blog (the Crispy-Fried Prosciutto Deviled Eggs) came about from a combination of two deviled egg ideas. But I didn't want to mess with Martin's mother-in-law's recipe. I suspect that, like her recipe, Martin's mother-in-law is a sturdy woman, strong in her convictions, but not gussied up at all. I'm thinking a more masculine version of Janet Huckabee, although a more masculine version of Janet Huckabee is basically Hugh Downs. So maybe Janet Reno.

Anyway, here is the recipe:

6 hard-boiled eggs
1 heaping tablespoon mayonnaise
1 heaping tablespoon Miracle Whip
1/2 stick butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
1/8 teaspoon white vinegar

1. Crumble egg yolks.
2. Add mayonnaise, Miracle Whip, butter, mustard, and vinegar.
3. Combine well and fill egg white halves.
4. Allow eggs to chill for at least an hour before serving.

Here are the pictures:

Above: adding the mayonnaise, Miracle Whip, and softened butter


Above: adding the mustard and vinegar


Above: the finished product.

As you can tell, these eggs don't LOOK very good. The flavor is alright, good even, but nothing spectacular. Using BOTH mayonnaise and Miracle Whip gives a slight tang to the flavor, but there isn't anything here to stand out. The butter in the filling gives the eggs a sturdier texture, but on the second day, the reviewers said the texture was TOO thick. The lesson is: a little butter adds some sturdiness if you are serving your eggs that day, but later on they are too thick.

Here are the scores:

Overall: 65 out of 100
Texture: 18 out of 20 (I like the butter even if the second-day reviewers didn't)
Flavor: 10 out of 20
Uniqueness: 12 out of 100 (gets 4 more points for both mayo and Miracle Whip)
Appearance: 7 out of 100 (really needs a garnish - badly)
Ease of preparation: 18 out of 100

Comments?

Michael's Genuine Food & Drink Deviled Eggs

This recipe threw me off in about half a dozen ways. It appeared in a recent Chicago Tribune column that a reader sent to me, but, according to the column, it's a recipe from Michael Schwartz from Michael's Genuine Food & Drink in Miami, FL (http://www.michaelsgenuine.com/). Not sure why the Chicago Tribune is printing a recipe from a Miami restaurant, but that's what it did. (A google search couldn't determine if the story originally appeared in another paper first).

There was one unique aspect to this recipe, and it referred to a two-word phrase I heard long ago: "proportion control." Or something like that. This recipe specifically states to hard-boil eight eggs, then use the yolks of all eight eggs in the filling... but fill only six of the egg white cups. I've noticed that a lot of the recipes I've tried are sort of skimpy when you fill all the eggs, and this idea addresses that issue. Further, if you have a hard-boiled egg or two that don't have the yolk in the center, or break when peeling, or anything else... well those become one of the two discard yolks. In fact, in the future, I might try hard-boiling seven or eight eggs at a time when trying to make only six eggs (12 deviled eggs).

I also have developed a renewed appreciation of paprika as a deviled egg garnish. I was making a conscious effort to try recipes that did NOT use paprika as a garnish because I was thinking that paprika was sort of a lazy garnish - it's easy, cheap, and ultimately very simple. However, after trying this recipe, I have a new appreciation for paprika. It IS easy, it IS cheap, and it IS simple... but it also looks cool and provides a unique flavor aspect. I want to try some recipes that incorporate different types of paprika - maybe a hot Hungarian paprika or a smoky paprika.

But that's about where the coolness of this recipe ends. After that, it's pretty boring.

Here is the recipe:

8 hard-boiled eggs

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1. Peel and slice eggs in half.

2. Scoop out the egg yolks and place only 12 egg white halves on a tray. (I recommend using the 6 eggs or 12 egg white halves that look the best, with the yolks centered, etc.).

3. Mash yolks and add mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

4. Fill the 12 egg white halves (from 6 eggs) with the filling of all 8 eggs.

5. Sprinkle with parsley and paprika.

6. Allow eggs to refrigerate for at least an hour so flavors may blend.

Above: adding the mayonnaise and lemon juice

Above: adding the coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

Above: the finished product, garnished with both parsley and paprika

So here's where I was DOUBLY thrown off. The end of this recipe has what should be a simple note. However, the note says that the "yolk mixture may be seasoned with 1 teaspoon minced thyme, parsley, chives, or dill; 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard; 1 1/2 teaspoons sherry vinegar and/or, for a more 'deviled' flavor, 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper."

What the hell? What do they serve at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink? Does their recipe have any or all of those herbs? Or mustard? Or vinegar? And/or ground red pepper? I guess you can make it to your preference, but then it's hard to grade. This just totally threw me off. If YOU have been to Michael's Genuine Food & Drink in Miami, and YOU know what they put in their deviled eggs, please let me know!

Here are the scores:

Overall: 69 out of 100

Texture: 15 out of 20

Flavor: 10 out of 20 (might be better with some of those alternate ingredients)

Uniqueness: 10 out of 20

Appearance: 17 out of 20 (I like both the parsley and paprika as garnishes)

Ease of preparation: 17 out of 20

Comments?

Deviled Eggs with Capers

This recipe made me change my mind about a few things.

1. In previous blog entries, I've bashed butter as a deviled egg ingredient.http://thebestdeviledeggs.blogspot.com/2007/08/decadent-deviled-eggs.html and http://thebestdeviledeggs.blogspot.com/2008/04/beckys-deviled-eggs.html However, when used correctly, butter works - less as a flavoring agent and more as a textural ingredient that thickens up a deviled egg filling. In this recipe, it definitely works.

2. I've also been critical of recipes that don't have any "heft" to them, and I define heft as some sort of meat. Doesn't matter if it's chicken, bacon, prosciutto, whatever... I like recipes with meat and have been critical of recipes that tend to rely on herbs for the flavoring. But after the disaster that was the deviled ham in the filling (http://thebestdeviledeggs.blogspot.com/2008/05/double-deviled-eggs.html), I guess I was ready for something new. And this one delivers.

3. Lastly, I've been open about wanting to try a series of recipes that use something other than paprika as a garnish. It started here - http://thebestdeviledeggs.blogspot.com/2008/02/hells-eggs.html. So I've tried recipes that use parsley, herbs, all sorts of stuff, as a garnish. This recipe suggested either parsley or parsley sprigs as a garnish, and I went half and half. The parsley really didn't add much except visual appeal, but frankly, I really liked the paprika! It looked kind of cool, it added a bit of bite, and it was very easy. So... a new appeciation of paprika as a deviled egg garnish has been developed, and I'm going to try to test a few recipes that use DIFFERENT types of paprika. To be continued...

But back to this recipe. A reader sent me this recipe, which is credited to the classic magazine Southern Living, and it worked well on a warm spring day. In fact it worked so well, I made it TWICE - once for testing, and once just to enjoy. When you write a deviled egg blog and have a backlog of about 75 recipes to try, it's a rare occurance to make a deviled egg recipe just for your own personal enjoyment. That says a lot about the quality of this recipe. The capers added a nice crunch, but didn't dominate the flavor. And again, I like the fact that I can use the fresh chives out of my herb garden.

Here is the recipe:

6 hard-boiled eggs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon butter, softened
2 teaspoon drained capers
1 teaspoon fresh chives, chopped
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste
paprika (optional)
fresh parsley sprigs (optional)

1. Mash egg yolks.
2. Sit in mayonnaise, butter, capers, chives, and mustard.
3. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Fill egg whites with yolk mixture.
5. Garnish with paprika or parsley.
6. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or until ready to serve.


Above: adding the mayonnaise, butter, and capers


Above: adding the chives and dry mustard

Above: the finished product, half with paprika as a garnish and half with the parsley

This recipe surprised me with how good it was. The butter made the texture sort of thick and manageable, a problem I've had in other recipes where the flavoring is basically herbs. The capers were crunchy and flavorful, but not dominant, and the chives were a nice seasonal hint. Also, the mustard was just BARELY there, but was very good. This recipe really combines and uses all of its ingredients well in every way.

Here are the scores:

Overall: 77 out of 100 (a very good score for an herb-based recipe)
Texture: 18 out of 20
Flavor: 15 out of 20
Uniqueness: 15 out of 20
Appearance: 13 out of 20
Ease of preparation: 16 out of 20

Comments?

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Likes Deviled Eggs, Too

A reader recently sent me a link to a story that appeared in the Food section of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The article (http://www.accessatlanta.com/living/content/shared-blogs/ajc/tabletalk/entries/2008/04/29/devilish_eggs.html?cxntnid=din043008e) is linked here.

AJC food writer Meridith Ford makes a bold statement in a brief deviled egg primer. Ford states, "There are few things on the planet as good as a deviled egg." Well we couldn't agree more! In fact, it's an important enough axiom in this blog's household that, as you know, an ENTIRE blog is dedicated to the art of creating the BEST deviled egg.

But here's where it gets interesting. In January, we reviewed the EXACT SAME deviled egg that Meridith Ford discussed and pictured in the AJC column. That entry (http://thebestdeviledeggs.blogspot.com/2008/01/bricktops-deviled-eggs.html) is linked here.

Ford's column is, of course, slightly different than our bit about Bricktop's. We squirreled the Bricktop's recipe out of an officious Bricktop's server on our visit (our adaptation of it is posted in our blog). Also, we sliced the applewood smoked bacon into single serving sizes, and we ignored the giant parsley garnish that Bricktop's uses because we just focus on the eggs and not the presentation. Lastly, Ford appreciates Bricktop's "towering" deviled egg filling, something we didn't note on our visit (to a Nashville Bricktop's).

The most interesting part of Ford's column is the suggestion of a couple of additional Atlanta deviled egg outlets: Maxim Prime in downtown Atlanta and Cakes & Ale in Decatur. In the comments section, AJC readers also suggest JCT Kitchen and the S & S Cafeteria. As an aside, the DeviledEggBlogger had a meal planned at the JCT Kitchen for a March trip to Atlanta, but that damned tornado put a stop to that.

You will also notice that there are several recipes suggested in the comments section. Maybe someday those will also be reviewed on this blog!

Comments?

Double Deviled Eggs

Well, I guess it was bound to happen. This is the first recipe I've tried - and hopefully the last - that I actually could not eat. I didn't know what "deviled ham" was, and I wish I had never found out. Opening that can of ham allowed to sit and fester in its own juices reminded me so much of a childhood horror. Each morning before school, I would open a can of wet cat food to feed the cat - at least until my mom ran over the cat in the driveway and crushed its head into a pulp right outside the kitchen window.

And that's what deviled ham is. Stinky, horrendous, cat food allegedly fit for human consumption. It looks gross. It smells awful. And its texture is simply not edible. Look below, and you will see.

Here is the recipe:

6 hard-boiled eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon grated onion
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
1/2 teaspoon A-1 sauce
1 2 1/4 ounce can deviled ham
1/8 teaspoon pepper
parsley, for garnish

1. Mash egg yolks until they are the consistency of coarse corn meal.
2. Add the mayonnaise, onion, mustard, and A-1 sauce.
3. Mix all well and then add the deviled ham and the pepper.
4. Mix again and fill egg white halves with mixture.
5. Garnish each deviled egg with a sprig of parsley.


Above: adding the mayonnaise, onion, and mustard.

Not a bad start, to be honest. A simply deviled egg base, with a little onion thrown in for character.


Above: adding the A-1 sauce, the deviled ham, and the pepper

Here is where it all went wrong. First of all, I like a little meat in a deviled egg. Maybe some bacon, maybe some chicken, but not the vomitous concoction known as deviled ham. Further, adding A-1 sauce to anything other than a tough steak is just offensive.


Above: the finished product, which doesn't look that bad.

So the irony is that my tasting panel, which never saw the deviled ham in its grotesque natural state, actually enjoyed these eggs. They didn't rave over them, but they didn't eschew eating them like usually happens when I present a sugary dessert-inspired deviled egg.

But I couldn't eat them, at all. So the score reflects my gag reflex, which was truly tested during the test of this recipe.

Here are the scores:

Overall - 44 out of 100
Texture - 5 out of 20 - the deviled ham is just a gritty awful texture that cannot be masked
Flavor - 2 out of 100 - just couldn't stand it. I guess a "0" is reserved for the deviled egg recipe containing human stool.
Uniqueness: 12 out of 100
Appearance: 11 out of 100 - the finished product, with the parsley, looks OK.
Ease of preparation: 14 out of 20

Not the worst score yet, but truly horrible.

Comments?

Chive-Tarragon Deviled Eggs

As the weather warms up, so must the style of deviled eggs. Spring herbs have sprung, so I was glad to use a couple in this recipe. Plus, it was good to get the taste of Becky's Nasty Deviled Eggs out of my mouth, even if it was just a simple, light recipe. There was a lot of stuff going on in this recipe, some interesting ingredients, and I really liked that I could use some fresh chives from my herb garden.

I prefer that deviled eggs be more substantive. I like bacon in them, maybe some other meat as heft. And these eggs are definitely light, almost refreshing. I didn't think they would be particularly well-received, but my tasting panel gobbled them up pretty quickly.

Here is the recipe:

6 hard-boiled eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
few drops hot sauce
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
additional chives for garnish

1. Mash egg yolks.
2. Stir in mayonnaise, lemon juice, hot sauce, herbs, salt, and mustard.
3. Fill egg white halves with yolk mixture.
4. Garnish with additional finely chopped chives
5. Allow to chill for at least 1 hour before serving.


Above: adding the mayonnaise, lemon juice, and hot sauce

Above: adding the chives, tarragon, salt, and dry mustard


Above: the finished product, with chives as garnish

So, in the end, this was a pretty good recipe. The lemon juice gave the eggs a little bit of a refreshing flavor. The herbs worked well in this season. The slight hot sauce was there for just a LITTLE bite. And the mustard made the flavor just a little more complex. These aren't the best recipe I've tried, but they are pretty good.

Here are the scores:

Overall: 65 out of 100
Texture: 14 out of 100
Flavor: 14 out of 100
Uniqueness: 12 out of 100
Appearance: 11 out of 100
Ease of preparation: 14 out of 100

Comments?