Deviled Eggs for Lunch

I don’t know why it has never occurred to me to have deviled eggs for lunch. I was trying to think of something funny to say after that but I couldn’t. Deviled eggs aren’t that funny I guess, but they’re good. And it seems they have acquired a certain glamour. Rather like  macaroni & cheese which you find in all sorts of high places now, sometimes with lobster.

Deviled Eggs for Lunch
Deviled Eggs for Lunch at the Morgan Library Cafe. These are garnished with pimento and chives.

Last Saturday was the most beautiful day in New York, and I treated myself to the wonderful drawings on exhibit at the Morgan Library. And then I sat in the Renzo Piano-designed atrium to have a bite. And there they were on the menu: deviled eggs. Like an (ironic) angel sent them. Just the perfect thing. Even had a glass of wine and a coffee afterward. It felt like the biggest splurge – and vaguely French, somehow, sitting at the little table in the indoor-outdoor cafe watching the people go by. I grew a beret. I said merci to the waiter.

I am crazy about the Morgan. So accessible and interesting and sometimes just slightly obscure–until you understand what the exhibit’s about and then you can’t believe you didn’t know all along about the influence of Hudson River School artists and Japanese landscape drawings on the work of artist and collector Dan Flavin. Or what a rich artistic flourishing there was in 17th century Holland, when the Dutch were seriously rocking, in  Rembrandt’s World-Dutch Drawings from the Clement C. Moore Collection.

But back to the eggs and the brilliance of them and nothing else for a light lunch. The other day I picked up the April issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray. She has such a twinkle. In it was a feature on “Deviled Eggs 10 Ways.” Rachael is something of a connoisseur of stuffed eggs, apparently, and this entire post has turned into a sort of culinary kismet. Here are Rachael’s recipes and wisdom for deviled eggs.

I haven’t tried Rachel’s yet, but I have tried Ina Garten’s with smoked salmon and salmon caviar on top, and they are yum de la yum (French). Here’s a 5-minute video of Ina making her smoked salmon deviled eggs, including a primer on how to boil them properly. Spoiler alert: place in pan and cover with cold water. Bring to boil. Turn off and let stand for 5 minutes. Then rinse and immerse in cold water for 2 minutes. Boom.

Ina Garten making deviled eggs
Ina Garten smoked salmon deviled eggs are the best I've ever had, and they're pretty, too. (This Scripps Networks screen shot does not link to video - click on link in text above.)

I’m just remembering my godmother gave me an entire cookbook about deviled eggs, and it’s fab: Deviled Eggs: 50 Recipes From Simple to Sassy, by Debbie Moose.

The next day I met a friend for lunch at Bergdorf’s, and guess what they had on the menu. Um-hmm. But I was more in the mood for a burger and fries. No joy. They did, however, have mac & cheese, with lobster.

 

 

11 comments

  1. Hi Frances, My Husband and I were in the audience at the Nate Berkus show last Oct. when you made an appearance….I am now a huge fan, and am so enjoying your daily blogs, particuraly today’s featuring deviled eggs! Many thanks for your inspiration(s)! Dianne Martin

    1. Well thank you dear Dianne, you made my day! All good wishes to you and your darlin’ husband. I know he’s darlin’ because he went with you to see Nate Berkus when he could have gone to a Yankees game–or something like that. 😉

  2. Even more fun with so many people raising chickens and having available vastly more interesting local eggs with their yokes of brilliant colors and fabulous flavor.

  3. Hi Frances, I am sitting at my computer at Atlantic Beach,NC (bet you know it well!) and reading about your deviled-egg lunch. Sometimes when I’m down here, I put shrimp in my deviled eggs. Yummy! I love, love, love your blog!

  4. Who doesn’t love deviled eggs? If you ever happen to visit the Santa Barbara Museum of Art- they have a wonderful and relaxing spot called, belive it or not- “Museum Cafe”…the chef is Brenda Simon- wonderful small plates of YUM!

  5. my latest is to top deviled eggs with capers!! Very savory addition. Also sometimes pickled beets on top! You can hardly mess up a deviled egg (unless you put sweet pickles in them) or go wrong eating them!!

  6. When my mother, Carolyn Ragsdale, was manufacturing RAGGY-O CHUTNEY with her business partner, Sue Overton, she put their green tomato chutney in her deviled eggs…simply divine…they became included in the cocktail party fare of many! It just added an elegance to them! P.S. Mom and Sue sold RAGGY-O several years ago, but the same recipes and jar-label artwork are still being used by the new owner’s business, Thomas Gourmet Foods in Greensboro, NC…Dwight Thomas, owner.

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