Deviled Eggs Fit for a Queen + #Giveaway!

Please give a warm welcome to Peggy Ehrhart who writes the Knit & Nibble Mysteries. Her latest book, Knit One, Die Two, is the third book in the series and involves a litter of kittens!

Don't miss her giveaway at the end of this post!

Besides her knitting hobby, my sleuth Pamela Paterson loves to cook—thus the tagline of the series in which she stars: Knit & Nibble. In the Knit & Nibble books she’s often baking sweet goodies to serve with coffee and tea when her knitting club meets at her house—and each book includes a recipe for a goody baked in that book.

Besides the goodies, however, deviled eggs are a specialty of hers. Pamela collects deviled-egg platters, as do I—from thrift stores, tag sales, and flea markets—and she often makes deviled eggs for the pleasure of showcasing one of her vintage platters. Deviled-egg platters are usually made of pottery and decorated with motifs like proud chickens watching over their eggs. But some are more elegant.

Inspired by the cut-glass deviled-egg platter in my collection, which seemed to demand a more elegant version of a usually humble recipe, I invented Deviled Eggs Fit for a Queen. The pairing of hard-boiled eggs and caviar made sense because connoisseurs of caviar often accompany it with chopped hard-boiled egg.

What you’ll need:

6 hard-boiled eggs

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon salt

A few grinds black pepper

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard

1/8 teaspoon Tabasco—optional

About 2 tablespoons caviar (1 ounce)

 

A note on the caviar: I used a small jar of inexpensive caviar from the supermarket—and I had a lot left over. It was labeled “Black Capelin Caviar,” it was from Iceland, and it was right there with the anchovies and canned tuna. But if you are feeling extravagant, you can buy a bit of the fancy fresh kind from a gourmet shop. You only need a tiny dab for each egg half.

Here’s an easy method to end up with hard-boiled eggs cooked just right. Starting at least a few hours in advance, or the night before, put the eggs in a saucepan large enough to accommodate them in one layer. Cover them with water and add an additional inch. Put the lid on the pan and bring the water to a rolling boil—you can hear when it reaches this stage. Lift the lid to make sure the water is really boiling well, then put the lid back on and turn off the heat. Leave the covered pan on the same burner until the water cools completely or until the next morning.

What to do:

Peel the eggs and cut each one in half lengthwise.

Pop the yolks out by holding the halves over a bowl cut side down and squeezing gently. Set the empty whites aside.

Mash the yolks with a fork.

Add the mayonnaise, salt, pepper, powdered mustard, and the Tabasco if you are using it.

Mix everything well.

To fill the whites, you can simply spoon the filling in, trying to make it look smooth and nice. If you have a cookie press, you can use that for a professional look.

 

Here are the almost finished eggs in the cut-glass platter.

Top each egg half with half a teaspoon of caviar.

Deviled eggs can be topped with many other things besides caviar. The classic look is a sprinkle of paprika, but I sometimes use capers (3 or so), or green or black olives cut in half. If the green olives have pimentos all the better. Cut them crosswise instead of lengthwise so you have a green circle with a red center. If you like the fishy idea but not caviar, you can use bits of anchovy.

A big thank-you to my husband Norm Smith for taking these photos!

Peggy is giving away a copy of her book, Knit One, Die Two! To enter, please leave a comment with your email address so we can find you! Sorry, US only, please.

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