Deviled Eggs are a perfect example of simple eggs made fancy. These favorite party treats are easy to make ahead. Relatively inexpensive nutrition-and-flavor-packed mouthfuls can be made ahead of time, and are easy and fun to experiment with.
It’s so hard to choose just one style of deviled egg, here are four of our favorite fillings. All of these variations can be made up to 2 days in advance, except for the avocado variation, which should be served immediately. Fill the eggs and store them on a platter, wrapped tightly with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator. Serve chilled.
Tip: To get super smooth deviled egg filling, use an immersion blender to blend the mixture.
Ingredients
8 eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
White pepper
Salt to taste
1 medium beet
1/2 avocado
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 Tbsp sriracha
1 tsp paprika
1 radish, sliced thin
Directions
Place eggs in saucepan and cover with two inches of water. Bring to boil, then turn the heat to low and cook for another minute. Turn off heat, cover and leave for 10 minutes. Place eggs in bowl of cold water until chilled. Preheat the oven to 375°. Peel the beet, wrap in foil and roast about 45 minutes until the beet is tender and can be poked easily with a fork. Let it cool completely. Cut the beet into small pieces. Peel the eggs and slice them in half lengthwise and remove the yolks. Beat the yolks and mayonnaise until smooth. Divide into four equal bowls.
For the original:
Add white pepper to taste. Scoop or place mixture in a piping bag and pipe filling into 4 egg halves. Top with radish slice.
For the sriracha:
Stir in sriracha. Scoop or place mixture in a piping bag and pipe filling into 4 egg halves. Sprinkle halves with paprika.
For the avocado:
Beat avocado into mixture until blended. Scoop or place mixture in a piping bag and pipe filling into 4 egg halves.
For the beet:
Beat beets into mixture until blended. Scoop or place mixture in a piping bag and pipe filling into 4 egg halves. Serve immediately. You’ll have extra filling. Use as sandwich filling or as a spread with baguette slices.
Spiral hams are a real treat since a lot of the work is already done and there are usually lots of leftovers to enjoy in the days after cooking one. This recipe takes the spiral ham to a new level!
Ingredients
10 lb spiral sliced bone-in ham
½ each orange, lemon and small white onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 fresh thyme sprigs, cut into 1/3’s
6 1-inch lengths rosemary sprigs
2 Tbsp each orange marmalade, orange juice and brown sugar
2 tsp lemon zest
½ tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp Dijon or grainy mustard
Freshly-ground black pepper
Optional: Thinly sliced pineapple, about ½ cup, to insert into ham slices
Directions
Preheat oven to 325°. Line a roasting pan with foil.
Insert thinly sliced fruit along with thyme and rosemary sprigs in the spiral layers of ham.
Place ham flat side down in roasting pan and cover with foil.
Make the glaze: In a small bowl, mix marmalade, orange juice, brown sugar, lemon zest, garlic powder, mustard and a few grinds black pepper.
Bake 2 hours. Uncover, brush with glaze and bake another 45 minutes until browned and internal temp is 140°.
Remove rosemary sprigs and transfer ham to a platter for serving. Optional: remove onion slices, roughly chop and add to Spring Veggie Mashers.
Lamb’s bold flavor works in so many different dishes. The key is accentuating and highlighting it while keeping things simple. Cultures around the world have their take on traditional lamb stew as well as chops, shanks and ground lamb.
Here’s a recipe shared by our General Manager, Chris Maher, who enjoys cooking lamb. Credit goes to Bobby Flay, “why try and reinvent something this good?”
Ingredients
½ cup Greek olive oil, plus 2 Tbsp for lemons
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
¼ cup thyme leaves, roughly chopped
2 racks of lamb, 8 chops each, trimmed
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8 lemons, halved crosswise
Sprigs oregano and dill, for garnish
Directions
Whisk together oil, garlic and thyme in a shallow large baking dish. Add the chops and turn to coat. Cover and marinate for 1 to 1 1/2 hours in the refrigerator.
Remove the chops from the refrigerator 20 minutes before grilling. Heat grill to 700 °.
Grill the chops for 5 to 6 minutes per side to sear. Reduce heat to medium by turning one burner off. Move lamb to that side of the grill and close cover.
Cook until meat is 135°. in the center for medium doneness. Remove and rest for 2 minutes. Slice into individual chops.
Brush the cut side of the lemons with the oil and grill, cut side down on high for 1 minute. Turn lemons 45°. to make hatch marks and remove.
Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the platter of chops. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with fresh sprigs of oregano and dill. Serve the remaining grilled lemons on the platter with the chops.
Lamb’s bold flavor works in so many different dishes. The key is accentuating and highlighting it while keeping things simple. Cultures around the world have their take on traditional lamb stew as well as chops, shanks and ground lamb.
Here’s a go-to recipe from our General Manager, Chris Maher, from Nagi Maehashi of Recipe Tin Eats.
Ingredients
4 lamb shanks, around 13 oz each
1 tsp EACH cooking/kosher salt and pepper
2 – 3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 onion, finely diced (brown, yellow or white)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup carrot, peeled, finely diced
1 cup celery, finely diced
2 ½ cups red wine (full bodied good value wine, not expensive!)
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cups chicken stock, low sodium (or water)
5 sprigs of thyme (preferably tied together), or 2 tsp dried thyme
2 dried bay leaves (or 4 fresh)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°.
Pat lamb with paper towel to dry, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat 2 Tbsp oil on high heat in a large oven-safe pot on the stove. Get it hot before adding meat.
Sear lamb until brown on all sides – about 3-5 minutes each side. Set aside. Lower heat to medium and wait a moment. Add remaining olive oil. Add diced onion and garlic. Stir.
Cook for 5 minutes. Add seasonings. Add carrot and celery. Cook 5 minutes more until carrot begins to soften.
Add red wine and scrape any brown bits from the sauce pan up with the liquid. MMMM Tasty stuff!
Add stock, paste and tomatoes. Stir until heated through. Add shanks back to the pot.
Cover the pot and transfer to preheated oven for 2 ½ hours. Remove pot from oven. Take lamb out and set aside.
Strain veggies out of the sauce into a bowl. (Reserve veggies for other tasty things like pasta.)
Put strained sauce on the stove back in the pot and cook for 10 minutes more over medium high heat to reduce and thicken. Taste, add salt if needed.
Serve shanks on a grain or potatoes, covered with sauce. Peas are good too.
Here’s a great recipe that’s easy enough for dinner any night of the week, and fancy enough that you’ll get rave reviews on a special occasion.
Saltimbocca is a traditional Roman dish featuring prosciutto wrapped around veal and sage leaves, cooked in butter and white wine. We’re using chicken as the main protein since it’s easier to find. “Saltimbocca” comes from the Italian phrase saltare in bocca, meaning “to jump into your mouth.” One bite and you’ll know why.
Ingredients
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, butterflied and lightly pounded – about 6 oz each
8 large sage leaves
4 thin slices prosciutto, cut in half lengthwise
1/3 cup all-purpose flour, for dusting
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
¼ cup dry white wine – like pinot grigio
¾ cup chicken stock
4 smashed cloves garlic
1 small shallot, minced
Salt and pepper
Fresh lemon slices for garnish
Directions
Season chicken breast halves with a little salt and pepper (go easy – prosciutto will give the dish plenty of salt). Put two sages leaves on each one and carefully wrap prosciutto slices around, pressing as you go and using toothpicks to make sure the prosciutto stays in place.
Place flour on a plate and dredge chicken. Set dredged chicken aside on another plate.
In a large skillet over medium-high high heat, add olive oil and 2 Tbsp butter. Add two wrapped breasts, turning as prosciutto gets crispy. Cook until nearly cooked through, turning as prosciutto shrinks and gets crispy – about 4-6 minutes.
Transfer chicken to a plate and repeat with remaining pieces.
Pour off excess fat. Add garlic and shallot, cook 2 minutes. Add wine, deglazing pan by scraping off the bits. Reduce wine by half, about 2-3 minutes. Add stock and bring to a boil. Cook/reduce by half – about 3-4 minutes. Add in butter and stir/swirl to emulsify sauce. Remove garlic.
Add chicken back to skillet and simmer over moderate heat until chicken is fully cooked through, about 2-3 minutes more or as needed to reach 165° internal temperature. Adjust salt and pepper. Transfer chicken to plates and pour sauce on and around before serving. Garnish with lemon slices and serve with your choice of side.
Guasacaca (pronounced “wah-sah-cah-cah”) is the Venezuelan version of guacamole that includes vinegar along with the zing of citrus.
Smooth and creamy, this could be your new go-to dip or even salad dressing! And it’s oh-so-satisfying and ready in minutes using familiar ingredients.
Yes, eating healthy can be all these things.
Ingredients
3 ripe avocados, peeled and cut into pieces
3 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ cup white onion, chopped
1/3 green bell pepper, seeded/cut in large chunks
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded/deveined/chopped (or sub more green pepper to make ½ cup total)
¼ cup cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley
1-2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
½ cup neutral-flavored oil, like grapeseed
1-2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional garnishes: cayenne/crushed chili flakes/nutritional yeast flakes
Directions
To a blender or food processor, add avocado, garlic, onion, peppers, herbs. With machine on, add oil in a small stream, followed by smaller amounts of lime juice and vinegar.
Add pinches of salt/pepper and adjust acid level to taste. Process further to evenly incorporate all ingredients and ensure a smooth texture.
Put in serving bowl and garnish. Serve with chips, crackers (seed-based or other favorite) or crudités.
