Creative Cooks

The BEST Deviled Eggs
Total Time: 30 mins Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:
12 hard-boiled eggs (made on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot)
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt (or mayonnaise)
1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice (or vinegar)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
toppings: smoked paprika and chopped fresh chives

Directions:
Slice the hard-boiled eggs in half lengthwise. Scoop out the egg yolks and transfer them to a small mixing bowl*.
Using a fork, mash the egg yolks completely until they form a fine powder. Add in the Greek yogurt (or mayo), lemon juice, Dijon, garlic powder, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper and stir until completely combined. Taste the mixture and season with extra salt and pepper, if needed. Or if the mixture seems too thick, just add in some more Greek yogurt or a tiny splash of water.
Either using a spoon or a small cookie scoop or a piping bag, fill the inside of the egg whites with the yolk mixture. Sprinkle each deviled egg with a pinch of paprika and chives, and serve immediately.

*For a super-smooth egg yolk filling, you can alternately add the yolks, Greek yogurt (or mayo), lemon juice, Dijon, garlic, salt and pepper to a food processor and pulse until completely smooth.

Deviled Egg Recipe Variations:
Add avocado: To make avocado deviled eggs, just sub in well-mashed avocado in place of the mayo.
Add some pickles: It’s often traditional in the South to make deviled eggs with relish or pickle juice.
Add some sauce: A dash of Worcestershire can really liven up the filling.
Add some heat: Such as a pinch of cayenne, Sriracha, fresh or pickled jalapeños.
Add some cheese: Soft crumbled cheeses (such as feta or goat cheese) work well. Or grated sharp cheddar or smoked gouda would also be delicious.
Add some seasonings: Curry powder, blackening powder, or Italian seasonings are some favorite seasonings to add.
Add fresh herbs: Alternately, you can also chop and add in your favorite fresh herbs.
Add some bacon

Spicy Deviled Eggs with Crispy Bagoong Breadcrumbs
Serves 4 Preparation Time 45 min Cooking Time30 min

Ingredients

For the eggs:
6 eggs
2 tablespoons Garlic Bagoong Aioli or store-bought mayonnaise
2 teaspoons fresh calamansi juice or lemon juice
1 to 2 teaspoons Green Mango Hot Sauce or store-bought sambal oelek chili paste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Smoked paprika, for garnish

For the topping:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon fermented shrimp paste (bagoong)
3 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste

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Bacon Cream Cheese Deviled Eggs
Prep time 5 mins Total time 5 mins Serves: 20

Ingredients

10 hard-boiled eggs
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp Dijon mustard or plain yellow mustard
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper or white pepper
4 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 tbsp chopped chives

Instructions

Cut the eggs in half and remove the yolks.
Beat the cream cheese and mayonnaise together until fluffy. Add in the egg yolks, mustard, salt and pepper.
Beat until nice and smooth. (Test for seasoning at this point and add more if needed.)
Stir in bacon and chopped chives, reserving some for garnish.
Spoon or pipe the filling back into the egg whites and sprinkle with bacon and chives, if desired.
Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Deviled egg trays make this easy!

Notes
If you are using larger eggs, you will need to add a little more mayonnaise.

Grilled Pineapple Caprese Eggs Benedict with Coconut-Almond Hollandaise.
Prep time: 20 MINUTES cook time: 10 MINUTES total time: 30 MINUTES yields: MAKES 4

Ingredients

Coconut-Almond Hollandaise
¼ cup blanched almonds
¾ cups unsweetened flaked coconut
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Zest + juice of lemon
1 ¼ cups Coconut-Almond Milk
¼-1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

Pineapple Caprese Benedict
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 slices thick cut grainy sourdough bread (use a gluten-free bread if needed)
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
½ ripe pineapple, sliced in half circle slices
1 cup fresh basil leaves
4 poached eggs
Salt, pepper and crushed red pepper, for sprinkling

Instructions

Hollandaise
Add the blanched almonds, coconut, Dijon mustard, zest + juice of 1 lemon and the coconut almond milk to a high-powered blender or food processor. Process for about 3 minutes until the mixture is well blended. With the blender running, stream in the olive oil. Blend another 5 minutes. The longer you blend the sauce for, the smoother and creamier it will be. I let mine go a full 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the basil. If the sauce seems too thick at any point, just add more coconut almond milk to thin. Store in the fridge.

Pineapple Benedict
Preheat the grill, a grill pan or a cast iron skillet to medium high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil. Rub the bread and pineapple with olive oil. Once the grill is hot, add both the bread and pineapple (do this in batches if your grill is not large enough). Cook until lightly charred on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Remove from the grill, keep the grill warm. Place the grilled pieces of bread on a serving platter or plate. Divide the basil among the pieces of bread. Working quickly, take the slices of mozzarella and place them on the hot grill. Cook 15 seconds and then flip and cook another 15 seconds. Place the cheese on top of the basil and bread. Add the grilled pineapple. Poach the eggs and place them on top of the pineapple. Drizzle with hollandaise and sprinkle with crushed red pepper, salt and pepper.

How To Make Vegetable-Dyed Eggs

Keep in mind the effect of the dyes varies depending on how concentrated the dye is, what color egg you use, and how long the eggs are immersed in the dye. I used half a purple cabbage, shredded, to dye four eggs. Err on the side of more rather than less when creating your dye.

Hard Boiled Eggs, room temperature, or white and brown eggs, preferably not super-fresh
Purple Cabbage (makes blue on white eggs, green on brown eggs)
Red Onion Skins (makes lavender or red)
Yellow Onion Skins (makes orange on white eggs, rusty red on brown eggs)
Ground Turmeric (makes yellow)
Red Zinger Tea Bags (makes lavender)
Beets (makes pink on white eggs, maroon on brown eggs)
Oil (canola or olive)

Clean the eggs so there are no particles sticking to their shells.

To prepare a colored dye, first chop the cabbage, chip or peel away the dry skins from the onions, or shred the beets. In a stainless steel saucepan, boil enough water to generously cover the number of eggs you’ll be dyeing. Add the dye matter and bring to a boil, turn heat down to low and simmer, covered, for 15-30 minutes. Dye is ready when it reaches a hue a few shades darker than you want for your egg. Examine a sample in a white dish. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature (I put the pot on my fire escape and it cooled off in about 20 minutes).

Pour mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into another stainless saucepan, or into a bowl then back into the original pan if that’s all you have. Stir in the vinegar. For the dyeing, it’s best to use a pan with a flat bottom, like a Dutch oven, or a large jar as pictured above. Arrange the room-temperature eggs in the pan in one layer and carefully pour the cooled dye over them.

Place in refrigerator until desired color is reached. Massage in a little oil to each, then polish with a paper towel. Keep in refrigerator until time to eat (or hide.)

Note: You can also start with raw eggs and cook them in the dye bath as described in the previous post about onion-skin eggs. I found with dyes like the Zinger tea and beets, the color was more concentrated with the refrigerator method. Of course, this method requires clearing out some space in the refrigerator.

Egg Foo Yung

For the sauce:
2 Tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil
1/4 lb (100 g) mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 cups (500 ml) boiling chicken stock, fresh or canned
1 Tbsp (15 ml) soy sauce
1 Tbsp (15 ml) tomato ketchup
2 Tbsp (30 ml) cornstarch (corn flour), dissolved in
2 Tbsp (30 ml) water

For the pancakes:
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) canned or fresh bean sprouts
1 medium sized onion, halved and cut lengthwise
into 1/16 in (2 mm) wide strips
1 stalk celery, cut into 2 in (5 cm) lengths then cut
lengthwise into 1/16 in (2 mm) wide strips
1/2 lb (225 g) thinly sliced boiled ham, cut into 2 by
1/16 inch (5 cm x 2 mm) strips
8 eggs
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 Tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil for frying

Beginning with the sauce, heat the oil in a heavy skillet over
moderate heat and cook the mushrooms until they are soft and
slightly colored. Add the chicken stock, soy sauce, and ketchup
and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir the cornstarch and water
mixture to recombine it, then stir it into the boiling sauce. Lower
the heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, or until it is no longer
milky. Partially cover the pan and keep the sauce warm over the
lowest possible heat.

Combine the bean sprouts (drained and patted dry if using canned),
the onion, celery, and ham in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl
beat the eggs lightly and stir in the salt and pepper. Heat the
vegetable oil in a large skillet over high heat. Stir the bean sprout
mixture into the beaten eggs and, using about 1/4 cup (60 ml)
of the batter per pancake, cook three or four pancakes at a time
over high heat. Turn the pancakes after 30 seconds and fry an
additional 30 seconds, until they are puffy and golden brown.
Serve immediately, accompanied by the hot mushroom sauce
in a bowl or sauce boat. Makes 12 pancakes, to serve 4 to 6.