Wordless Wednesday - Ramen.... Italian Style

Mangia!!
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Devilishly Delicious - Grandma's Deviled Eggs

There are many, many, many recipes for Deviled Eggs.  In fact, I have about 7 different iterations in my repertoire that I have made for various occasions.  (Tarragon Mustard is REALLY good) But 'tis the season for celebrating family foods.  Thus I am presenting to you, one of our Thanksgiving staples....   Grandma's recipe for deviled eggs.  (Yes, I am aware that they kind of look like eyes)  LOL  But they are still tasty.

Grandma's Deviled Eggs

As many large Eggs as you are willing to boil.....
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
Best Foods (Hellman's) Sandwich Spread
Sweet Paprika
Manzanilla Green Olives (the little ones)

First you need to boil and peel eggs... This, in and of itself, can be a pain in the proverbial booty.
This is how I boil eggs to ensure that a) they peel correctly without the membrane sticking and b) that I don't end up with green sulfurous yolks.

Place eggs in a stock pot and cover with cold water.

Place over medium-high flame and bring to a boil.

Cover and remove from the flame, letting them sit in the hot water for 10 minutes. (only 10 minutes)

While they are hangin' out in the hot water it is time to prepare an ice bath.

Using a spider or a slotted spoon, move the eggs from the hot water to the ice bath.  This will shock the eggs and do two things...

It will stop the cooking immediately (this is good in 2 respects as it ensures that your whites will not be rubbery and your yolks will not turn green with sulfur compounds)

It shocks the interior membrane between the shell and the white, making releasing of the shell a much more pleasant eggs-perience. :)

Once the eggs have completely chilled, it's time to crack and peel.  I personally am a tap and roll kind of guy.  Meaning, I tap them on the counter, all the way around the egg, then kind of roll it with a little pressure to break the shell into tiny bits.

Once I start peeling, because the shocked membrane adheres to the shell and not the white, I usually find that most of the shell comes off in 1 piece.

Continue in this way until you have a whole slew of beautifully peels eggs.
Now the fun part.
When it comes time to split the eggs in half, I grab the sharpest knife I own...  My filleting knife. (with an edge as fine as frog hair)

Slice each egg down the center, lengthwise, and pop the yolks out into a bowl and set the whites in an "deviled egg" container, or on a plate. (I forgot to shake the eggs and center the yolks before boiling)

Once you have halved all the eggs and removed all the yolks, go ahead and smash the yolks with a fork into a fine "meal".

Now it's time to add the secret ingredient... Best Foods sandwich spread (it saves a step, cause the pickle relish is already in it)

This is the bad part, there is no set amount... But to give you a ball park figure, I boiled 19 eggs and used 1/2 of the 15 oz jar.

Mix everything together well along with Kosher Salt and Black pepper, then transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip.

Fill each egg....

Sprinkle with Sweet Paprika

Slice manzanilla green olives in half.

Top each egg with a green olive half.

Voila!

Mangia!!
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A Jab at Jell-O - Ouefs en Gelees

There is a saying...  "Real men don't eat quiche."

This little tidbit of supposed wisdom has never made sense to me.  I have always assumed it was coined by someone with certain amount of prejudice.   After all, quiche is nothing more than scrambled eggs (albeit with cream) that have been baked in a pastry shell in the oven.  In essence, it is a scrambled egg pie.

News Flash!! Guys like pie.

With Chicken pot pie, Shepherds pie and Apple pie usually being the top picks by men the world over.

That being taken into account, scrambled egg pie (quiche) usually contains some form of meat... Not always, but I would say over 50% of the time the recipes include things like Sausage, Bacon, Ham, Clams or any combination of the a fore mentioned delights of the carnivore's diet. 

News Flash!!   Guys like meat.

Especially those having been preserved via copious quantities of nitrates & nitrites. (Oh yea!)

Thus, following this thought process, I am sure you can understand my confusion over the somewhat ludicrous statement that "Real men don't eat quiche"

There is, however, a "food" that I believe would have been a better fit in the "Real men don't eat...." concept.

Aspic!

This is where my own prejudices come into play.  I, personally, have never been overly fond of Jell-O or other gelatin based desserts.  Not even as a child attending Church potlucks.  I always avoided the pink and green CoolWhip/Jell-O salads along with the three tiered gleaming red mound with grapes suspended in the center... and don't get me started on the proverbial Lime Jell-O Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise... (shudder)  If I am not going to eat sweetened fruit flavored Jell-O then why; Oh WHY would I want to eat meat flavored Jell-O?

Yes, it' sort of tastes like meat, and I DO like meat; but it's not really "meat".  It's more of a "delicate suggestion" of meat; the very essence of bridge parties, tea parties and "luncheon"; not lunch, not brunch... luncheon.  What the heck is a luncheon?  I am not really sure, but obviously there ain't no meat bein' served.

Be that as it may...  Real men face their fears head on.

Thus, after much soul searching, I resigned myself to face my own fear of said aspic by biting the bullet and making Ouefs en Gelee, which is a fancy French way of saying "Eggs suspended in meat flavored Jell-O" (it sounds more appetizing in French)  So, armed with a little left over consommé, a little fortitude and a tweeked Laura Calder recipe, the Gelatinous Journey began.

Ouefs en Gelees

2 Large Eggs, boiled or poached
1 3/4 cups Chicken Consommé (you can use stock, Laura Calder did on her show)
1 TB Unflavored Gelatin
1 TB Armagnac or Cognac
Fresh Tarragon leaves

Place 2 eggs (I did 4 cause I wanted to make a little egg salad too) in a saucepan and cover with cold water.

Place over medium flame and bring to a boil.

Remove from the heat and cover; allowing the eggs to sit for 20 minutes. Then drain and refrigerate.

This is why I held back a little of the consommé I made the other night.

Sprinkle gelatin over the consommé and allow it to bloom for 10 minutes. (I should have just done it in the saucepan)

Pour the consommé/gelatin mixture in a saucepan and set over medium low heat.

Add Cognac and stir the mixture until you can no longer see any gelatin granules (the mixture will be clear again)

Spoon a thin layer of gelatin into 4 ramekins and refrigerate them until it becomes slightly tacky but not completely set, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel your boiled eggs.

and cut them in half.

When the gelatin is partially set, remove the ramekins from the refrigerator and lay tarragon leaves in the "bottom" (remember, the bottom will be the top when they are unmolded, so lay the leaves vein side up)

Place 1 half of a boiled egg in each ramekin, over the tarragon, yolk side down.

Divide the remaining consommé/gelatin mixture between the ramekins, pouring gently over the backside of the egg half.

Return to the refrigerator for 45 minutes to 1 hour until completely set.
Run a small knife or small frosting spatula around the edge of the ramekin and unmold onto a bed of greens.

Serve.

On the whole, it really wasn't THAT bad.  I have always loved egg and tarragon together, and the aspic had really delicate chicken/cognac flavor.  It's a texture thing though.  I mean, it didn't kill me to eat it.  I made it, so I ate it.  But it's not something I am going to be salivating for, any time soon.  My Aunt and Mother, however, were unequivocally enraptured.  LOL

So I reiterate....  Real men don't eat aspic.  But, for the record, one should at least be brave enough to try it.   LOL

Mangia!!
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