Classic Deviled Eggs

Cheap Eat Challenge: Watch as our family of 6 struggles to eat on $6/day without giving up an excessive chocolate habit (wish us luck).

I'm not really an egg person. I mean, we eat them fairly regulary--usually in scrambled or over easy form--they're easy, fast, and a good source of cheap protien. Occasionally, I'll even get a hankering for them, meaning that every once in a while I'll see someone eating a pretty little egg and get a wee craving. But generally, they're just not something I get that excited about. In fact, the last several years after Easter, I haven't even been able to choke down a single egg salad sanwich (the green and blue blotchiness left over from dying them, not helping at all) and although Kip has done his part, we've still managed to waste several eggs. This is not something I like to do, but when a food seems gross to you, a food seems gross to you. It's best not to fight those urges. Apparently, I prefer to eat my eggs in brownies. Oh dear.

However. Lately, I've been craving deviled eggs. Not kind of wanting, not thinking it sounds okay for dinner, but pining after, longing for, and preparing even when inconvenient.

One of the fun things about deviled eggs is that you can start with a basic recipe and dress them up in a bunch of ways. People use bacon, cheese, capers, olives, basil, dill, chives, tuna, onions, and even anchovies to accomplish such fancy schmancy-ness.

And the other great thing about deviled eggs is how well they go with spring salad greens. Spring perfection in every way.

Hopefully I don't burn myself out before Easter.

Classic Deviled Eggs
adapted from The New Best Recipe
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 14 minutes
Cost: .80
(eggs: .70, condiments--oh, let's say .10)

Note on boiling eggs: I admit I just did mine the boring way and boiled them for 10 minutes, but The New Best Recipe (Cooks' Illustrated) claims that the very very best are done by bringing the water to a boil, then covering the pot, turning off the heat, and letting it sit for 10 minutes. I believe them and plan to do this next time. Besides it being, per the amazing Christopher Kimball and crew, the best hard boiled eggs, it's also an energy saving technique.

Note on mustard: The higher quality, Dijon-ish mustards you have, the better. However, if you just have crappy generic mustard this recipe still turns out just great. Yes, I know that from experience.

Note on mayo/Mircale Whip: Which to use? Which did you grow up on (if you liked what you grew up on, that is)? Whichever you grew up on is probably the one you'll prefer. Or live dangerously and mix the two. It's like Romeo and Juliet only more dramatic.

Note on vinegar: I liked the cider, but I'm confident that any vinegar you've got or love will do.

7 eggs, hard boiled
3/4 tsp mustard
3 Tbsp mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
1/4 tsp something else (here's the part where you get to improvise. The New Best Recipe suggests Worcestershire sauce and that's yummy, but you could also use dill, basil, chives, a dash of cayenne, or a combination of things--go wild, people)
salt and pepper to taste
paprika, for garnish

Boil eggs. Then, you can throw them in the fridge to cool them if you're the type of person to think ahead (or if you're trying to plow through the Easter eggs). Or you can run cold water on them for a few minutes (of course this will negate any energy saving techniques you used in boiling them without the heat on).

Cut them in half the long way. Pop out the yellow parts. Mash them up. Add the remaining ingredients and mix it all together.

Put the yolk mixture back in the empty egg whites. The New Best Recipe suggests using a pastry bag to do this to perfection. I think that Martha Stewart must have snuck something into their coffees before they wrote that part because it's clinically insane. If you are not Martha Stewart or clinically insane and if you drink coffee that hasn't been tampered with or better yet, no coffee at all, you will take a small spoon and simply scoop little blobs of yolk mixture back into the egg whites. And then you will eat them with salad greens. Because it is spring. On a plate.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread

Cheap Eat Challenge: Watch as our family of 6 learns to eat on $6/day. Menu and shopping list up. Also my sister-in-law wanted a record of what we eat each day, so you'll find more on what the whole family eats this month in Jean's Food Journal.

A recipe of my own (or at least an adaptation of my own) has finally worked for me this week. Halleluiah. The only problem is that it's another bread recipe. We will all soon perish of carbohydrate overload. At least we will die happy.

For a yeast bread, this is surprisingly easy and quick to make. It took me only a few minutes to mix and knead while regular loaf breads take me probably twice as long.

It's also infinitely adaptable. Whatever fillings you usually like in cinnamon rolls (apples, chocolate chips, brown sugar, etc.) will work wonderfully in this bread.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread
Adapted from sweet-as-sugar-cookies
Makes 1 loaf
Prep time: 10 minutes
Rise time: 2 hours
Cook time: 30 minutes

1/4 C butter, melted
1/3 C milk
1/4 C warm water
1/4 C sugar
1 Tbsp yeast
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
2 3/4 C flour

Filling:
1/4 C butter, melted
1/2 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Heat milk and butter in microwave or on the stove until the butter melts (30-45 seconds in the microwave.) Add water (if the milk/butter is very hot, use cooler water; if not, use warm water--you want it to be about 110 degrees when the liquids are all added).

Mix in sugar, then yeast. Add eggs (it's helpful if you've beaten them before you add them). Add vanilla.

Stir in 1 C flour. Then add the second cup. I turned mine out here to knead. If yours needs a little more flour to be firm enough, add a little more flour. Add about 1/2 C flour and knead it in. Your dough will be slightly different than regular bread dough due to the high butter content of the rolls. When it's ready you'll be able to make a nice impression with your hands in the dough and your fingers won't get dough stuck to them when you pull it out. It'll be a nice soft, slightly oily ball of dough.

Put it in a bowl and let it rise till doubled, about an hour.

Once it's risen, pull it out, punch it down and then put it on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to about 12x20 inches.

It should end up a few milimeters thick.

Now add your 1/2 C of melted butter and smear it around evenly with your fingertips. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it about evenly. If you'd like add several tablespoons of brown sugar as well. I will not tell your dentist.

Then you're going to cut it into five 12x4 inch strips.

Stack these strips on top of one another.

Mine kind of stretched this time (they didn't last time) I think because I didn't flour my surface and because I let the bread rise too long while I ran errands this morning. I just squished and patched as necessary and all was well. 

Then cut your log of strips into 6 equal chunks.



And place these in a greased 8x5 inch bread pan with the cut sides up.



Let rise till doubled--40 minutes or so. The slices will get nice and cozy and touch all the sides (sorry I forgot this picture--too eager to get mine in the oven I guess.)

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Let cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out on a serving platter and frost the top. You can also frost the individual hunks as though your frosting were butter, but I'm not sure I can recommend that in good conscience. I used maple frosting a la pioneer woman, though a cream cheese one would be awesome too, or whatever is your favorite. 

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Need any more inspiration for sweet treats this weekend, check out sweet-as-sugar-cookies Sweets for a Saturday. There are LOTS to choose from. Need inspiration for bread, check out Cupcake Apothecary.

Yes, it's been a long, been a long, been a long day...

...Care to name the musical anyone? I've got a lollipop in my pocket if you can.

Today has been the worst day we've had in a while, and it started out so beautifully. Sigh. As if that weren't bad enough I haven't had a whole lot of great new foods working out. I burned the carrots yesterday. The savory bread pudding was only so so bread pudding.

So tonight you get a few great links for a few great muffins. Hope you enjoy them.

Zucchini Coconut Bread. Zuchinni season; she is a comin'. Best to be prepared ahead of time. I usually make this with at least half whole wheat flour and I've cut the sugar down as well, though I'm not usually feeling that virtuous since I really really love it as it is.

One Bowl Oatmeal Muffins. I've made these with peanut butter instead of the butter to try to get a healthier fat. They were good, though the batter was quite thick. I actually think they would have been perfect with the peanut butter plus several tablespoons of carrot puree, but I haven't tried that. Also, these are the lowest sugar of the lot, and I know that turns some kids or kid-like grown-ups off.

All-Bran Muffins. Slogan: It's not your grandma's bran muffin. Or maybe I'm just like your grandma (I've always been suspicious of this myself; I was born overly mature, you see.)