Dalai Mama Dishes

by Catherine Newman

Catherine Newman cooks for the family

Dalai Mama Dishes

Catherine Newman cooks for the family

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Devilish Eggs

Posted April 05, 2010
Find more about easter , eggs , deviled eggs
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Deviled eggs!

Those are actually last year's dyed eggs, when we hollowed them out and got a Ukrainian wax kit. Wowza. This year we're back to Paas. Assuming we actually ever deal.

Before boiling.

After boiling. No, I'm kidding. That's the same picture.

I was 4 for 6 with peeling these; 2 of them were a little messy, which didn't seem so bad, considering. I think the ice really helps.

See the 2 messy ones? No? That's because I put them in the back.

That is a perfect egg, right?

This is a fun job for a child who doesn't run screaming from the room.

As is this.

And this. Though the "fine dusting" eluded Birdy somewhat.

Our chives are up, so we couldn't resist. Though I actually think they look more classic without them. Or "classical," as my children always say, like we're talking about a Bach cantata.

Although the chives really are quite snazzy.

Birdy loves deviled eggs almost as fiercely as Ben doesn't.

Ben will happily eat a fried egg, a poached egg, or a scrambled egg--but a hard-boiled egg nearly forces him from the room in revulsion. We still like to reminisce about one time when he was a baby, sitting in his high chair at a friend's house. "Shouldn't we feed him one of these eggs?" she said, and we said, "Oh, don't. He hates hard-boiled eggs. And she said, "Really? What kind of baby doesn't like boiled eggs? Here, Ben." And she held a sphere of yolk out to him, and he opened his mouth gamely like the trusting little bird that he was, and she popped the egg into it, and his entire face crumpled in horror. His tongue shot back out like a rejected vending-machine dollar bill, the yolk still sitting on it. We had to wipe out his mouth with a napkin while he literally shuddered and our friend shook her head and said, "Wow, you were sure right about that!"

Now Ben will nibble a microscopic edge of boiled white and he will move his hand side to side in the air: eh. But the yolk still gives him the willies--likes it's an orb of pure moistened sulfur. Or maybe I'm just imagining what it's like for him, given that until quite recently I myself was not a fan of hard-boiled eggs. That eggy smell! That strange shade of off-green! That weird texture--half rubber, half damp talcum powder. But after friends of ours got chickens, my life changed. Maybe I had never had a truly delicious boiled egg before? I'm not sure. Our friends cooked the eggs until they were just set--with rich, deeply golden yolks--and I could not get enough of them. "I hate hard-boiled eggs," I'd say, my mouth stuffed full of hard-boiled eggs, and they'd laugh and nod.

Of course, I'm running this recipe today because of Easter, with the idea being that you have a fridge full of hard-boiled eggs and you should use them. But really? I think you should throw those eggs away and boil fresh ones. Because once they've been boiled and dyed and hidden and left under the couch overnight before sitting in a basket on the counter all day? They've done their earthly duty. Also, you probably boiled the heck out of them to make sure they wouldn't crack, right? That's what we did for our egg dying. Not that we've actually dyed them yet. In fact, we have a dozen boiled white eggs still sitting in the fridge, exhaling their eggy smell every time I open it to get milk for my endless Monday morning cups of coffee. "When can we dye them?" the kids want to know, and this is a good question, given that Easter has now come and gone. "Soon," I say, and mean it.

Instead, we went for a picnic and took our famous deviled eggs: they are so zingy and delicious, so old-fashioned and filling and economical and wholesome, that they have become one of my favorite things to bring to a party. Everybody laughs when they see them--"Oh! I haven't had deviled eggs since my grandma died!"--but then everybody gobbles them down excitedly. Well, not everybody. Ben's disgust? It really puts the "devil" back in deviled eggs. Maybe we should rename them.

Devilish Eggs
Makes 12
Total time: 30 minutes

This recipe is, of course, easily multiplied.

6 Perfect Hard-Boiled eggs (see below), peeled
¼ cup Hellman's or Best Foods real mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon curry powder (I use Madras brand, from the supermarket)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt--or more to taste--depending on whether there's salt in your curry powder (or half as much table salt).
½ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
Paprika and snipped chives for garnish

Slice the eggs in half and flex the whites a bit to pop the yolks into a small bowl. Mash the yolks with a fork, then mash them again with the mayo, curry powder, salt, sugar, and vinegar. When they're nice and fluffily mixed, taste them: since this mixture will be all that seasons the bland whites, it should taste very lively. Now scoop the yolks into the very corner of a Ziploc bag. Use scissors to cut about a half inch off the bag's corner, and pipe the filling back into the egg whites; a paper towel underneath keeps them from sliding around and blots excess moisture. Top with the obligatory sprinkle of paprika and, if you like, chives, then eat them as soon as possibly--ideally before they need to be refrigerated.

Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs
I used to think I didn't like hard-boiled eggs, but it turned out I just didn't like badly hard-boiled eggs--the kind with rubbery whites separated from chalky yolks by a creepy green ring. These, however, come out perfect every time (unless you're at a high altitude, and then I think you need to boil them).

Put some number of eggs in a pot where they fit in a single layer, then cover them with water by an inch or so. Bring them to a boil over high heat (I put a stone or glass marble in the pot if I'm likely to forget them; it will rattle when the water starts to boil), then cover the pot, turn off the burner, and let the eggs sit for exactly 10 minutes. Now dump the eggs into a colander and run cold water over them until they are no longer warm to the touch--this prevents that green ring from forming--then, if you're planning to use them right away, peel them. Very fresh eggs are notoriously difficult to peel: if yours are, then try cracking them all over and returning them to a bowl full of ice and cold water for a few minutes before peeling.

If I'm not making deviled eggs, then I leave them in the water for only 7 or 8 minutes. This makes for an egg with a very moist yolk, which is how I love them in salads. But the longer time makes a yolk that mashes into a creamier mixture for deviled eggs.

 

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About Catherine Newman

Catherine Newman is the author of the memoir, Waiting for Birdy: A Year of Frantic Tedium, Neurotic Angst, and the Wild Magic of Growing a Family, available online and in bookstores nationwide.

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