Blue Devils

Well, I hate the name. So would Aminu Timberlake, I imagine. Or anyone else with any class. It's hard to imagine that anything with the words "Blue Devil" in the title would be anything other than an arrogant, amoral, holier-than-thou basketball program. But this recipe is REALLY REALLY good.

The first time I made this recipe, I thought I might class it up a little by using pancetta rather than bacon bits. Mistake. No need to class up these - they are great on their own.

It's stunning how simple this recipe is - and it has a unique ingredient, blue cheese. Three ingredients, one garnish, and BOOM you're done. The proportion is great (an odd amount of mayonnaise, but it works), the flavor is unique, and they look good, too. You don't even have to cook the bacon, just use Hormel bacon bits. It's certatinly not haute cuisine, but what deviled egg recipe is? It's quick, easy, delicious, and unique.

Here is the recipe:

6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut in half
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
salt and pepper to taste
about 3 tablespoons bacon bits

1. Crumble egg yolks.
2. Add mayonnaise, mustard, and blue cheese and mix well.
3. Fill egg whites with yolk mixture.
4. Garnish with bacon bits.

Here are the pictures:

Above: adding the mayonnaise, mustard, and blue cheese

Above: the finished product, garnished with bacon bits

Here are the scores:

Overall: 82 out of 100

Texture: 17 out of 100

Flavor: 15 out of 100

Uniqueness: 16 out of 100

Appearance: 15 out of 100

Ease of preparation: 19 out of 10

Comments?

Deviled Eggs with Blue Cheese

I was ALL OVER THE PLACE on this recipe. Before I made it, I was sure it wouldn't be good because of too much bite from the blue cheese; then once it was made, I thought it was surprisingly good and would score very well; yet after sampling a couple, I ended up with extra deviled eggs that no one would eat. Down, then up, then down again. I guess this recipe is what it is - easy-to-make, somewhat unique, but totally average.

The blue cheese, clearly, is the dominant flavor. And the texture of the blue cheese with the mayonnaise worked out nicely. But there is nothing else to these. Yet somehow, it just was totally average.

Here is the recipe:

6 hard-boiled eggs
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup blue cheese (about 4 ounces)
paprika for garnish

Mix all ingredients with mashed egg yolks. Pile yolk mixture into whites and sprinkle with paprika. Cover, and chill before serving.


Above: adding the mustard and the salt

Above: adding the mayonnaise and the blue cheese

Above: the finished product, garnished with paprika

Here is the rating:

Overall: 65 out of 100
Texture: 17 out of 20
Flavor: 8 out of 20
Uniqueness: 10 out of 20
Appearance: 12 out of 20
Ease of preparation: 18 out of 20

Comments?

Bacon and Cheese Deviled Eggs

Sometimes, it just all comes together. This blog is called "In Search Of The Best Deviled Eggs" and so far, these are the best. By far. The proportion was perfect. The texture was excellent. And, of course, everything is better with bacon. And everything with bacon is even better with cheese. This recipe even has that unique characteristic that so many recipes lack - in this case, vinegar.

There are some caveats to this recipe, however. It's labor-intensive, since it involves frying bacon. And it's very important that the bacon is cooked very crisp - I cooked twice as many slices as necessary, then used the crispiest parts of each strip. And in order for the texture to turn out right, the cheddar cheese must be grated VERY finely.

Recipe:

6 hard-boiled eggs
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 slices bacon, cooked crisp, crumbled
2 teaspoons vinegar
1/4 cup finely grated Cheddar cheese
1/8 teaspoon salt


Above: adding the mayonnaise, bacon, and vinegar to the crumbled egg yolks.

Above: adding the Cheddar cheese and salt, just a pinch

Above: the finished product - The Best Deviled Eggs (so far)

This is why I created this blog. I won't stop now, but I will be surprised if very many deviled egg recipes surpass this one.

Overall: 83 out of 100

Texture: 19 out of 20

Flavor: 19 out of 20

Uniqueness: 17 out of 20

Appearance: 16 out of 20

Ease of preparation: 12 out of 20 (because of the need to fry bacon)

Comments?