We all have our favorite something…
from our favorite pair of shoes, to our favorite comfy t-shirt, our favorite time of day, favorite movie, favorite song, favorite thing to do on a day off…but what about our favorite deviled egg?
Sound silly?
With deviled eggs, there is little gray area: you either love them or loathe them. I can live with that. But since I love eggs, particularly the devilish kind, I thought I’d share a few thoughts on why these colorful beauties have become the object of my culinary affection:
- Deviled eggs are the perfect appetizer: savory, self-contained, easy to handle and able to be eaten in a single bite (or two), they are ideal for serving guests who love to mingle.
- Deviled eggs are striking in appearance. They look good resting on a paper plate or silver platter; are equally at home being served at a buffet, picnic, holiday dinner or luncheon; and are tasty whether piped or spooned into place. You have to admire that kind of flexibility in a food.
- Deviled eggs are deceptively adaptable. From playing it safe with traditional flavorings, you can also explore your wild side and liven up even the most standard of spreads.
Creating a successful Tour de Deviled Egg is more about the thought behind the idea and its unique presentation, rather than the quartet of recipes I’ve included here. If you don’t fancy what I’ve chosen to serve, no worries. Let these ideas inspire you to create a quartet that reflects your own personal tastes and preferences. The possibilities need only be limited by your creativity and/or access to ingredients.
To design a Tour de Deviled Egg, begin by choosing your favorite savory flavors. While the quartet as a whole should work to complement any other dishes you are serving, don’t be afraid to let the quartet itself show contrast. In fact it is the internal contrast of this appetizer that creates interest among your guests, family or friends.
Ideas on Creating a Harmonious Quartet – Choose ingredients that represent specific flavors of various geographic regions, or highlight flavors from your own herb garden. Feature your favorite vegetables, seafood, cheeses or spices. Strive to design a collection in line with the other foods you are presenting. Since a Tour de Deviled Egg can be served morning, noon or night, it should be fine tuned to your specific occasion.
For the spread depicted here, I chose a contrasting quartet based upon a range of flavors. Served to friends in a tasting club, I specifically needed each group of deviled eggs to contrast in flavor, texture and to some degree, consistency. With the wide swath of flavors presented, it was interesting to see which eggs were preferred by whom.
Overall, the Spicy Hummus Deviled Eggs, Blue Cheese ‘n’ Chive and Kickin’ Garden varieties were a hit…poor Capers & Tarragon came in last with all participants but one. I encourage you to play with the ideas presented here, as well as the recipes. Fine tuning a Tour de Deviled Egg can be as fun as serving it, so turn on your favorite music, even pour yourself a glass of your favorite wine, but most of all, enjoy the creative process. This is one time your taste buds can reap the flavorful rewards.
The recipes presented below may be adapted to taste or desired consistency. The fillings are based on using 3 hard-boiled eggs yolks per variation, i.e. 6 whole eggs in total, 12 halves encompassing 4 flavors, 3 deviled-egg halves per flavor.
Spicy Hummus Deviled Egg Filling – 3 hard-boiled egg yolks, 2 teaspoons prepared hummus, 2 teaspoons plain low-fat yogurt, 1/4 teaspoon prepared horseradish (fresh ground not creamy) and the tiniest bit of freshly ground black pepper to taste (plus more to garnish).
Blue Cheese ‘n’ Chive Deviled Egg Filling - 3 hard-boiled egg yolks, 1 teaspoon packed Blue cheese, 3 teaspoons sour cream, 1/4 teaspoon chives (plus more to garnish).
Kickin’ Garden Deviled Egg Filling – 3 hard-boiled egg yolks, 1/4 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon finely minced red onion, 1 teaspoon finely minced red pepper, 1 teaspoon finely minced celery (plus more to garnish), 2 teaspoons mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard and 2 dashes of Tabasco.
Capers & Tarragon Deviled Egg Filling - 3 hard-boiled egg yolks, 1/2 teaspoon capers (lightly drained), 1/4 teaspoon tarragon (plus more to garnish), 2 teaspoons plain low-fat yogurt, 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard.
Mix fillings in individual bowls or ramekins and pipe or spoon into hard-boiled egg whites. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
Serving Tip – Using the font of your choice, print labels for each variety of filling and cut to size. Using double-sided Scotch tape, wrap labels around the tops of picks and insert into groupings of deviled eggs for easy identification. Viola! Your Tour de Deviled Egg is complete!
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{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
What a great idea! I absolutely LOVE deviled eggs, but I have only had the traditional kind. You had some yummy ideas here. Thanks for sharing!
Those are too fun! My dad and grandma would love these!
I have never had deviled eggs. These all sound really good!
YUM! I love deviled eggs! These look great!!
This is an awesome idea. I bet if I served this to guests they would be equally intrigued, and it seems that people haven’t really explored other types of deviled eggs. Thank you for the inspiration!
These are wonderful! And now I want some deviled eggs. At 10:35 pm. Yikes.
I think the blue cheese would be my favorite..but they all look great.
This is just lovely…..just perfect!!! I cater a lot and this is such a clever way of changing people’s perception of deviled eggs….my favorite will also have to be the Blue Cheese one!!!!
Great ideas for a new twist on the deviled egg! On card club night the usual deviled egg is always there and these will make a nice surprise for a change with a great presentation. Yummy!
Wow, they all look delicious but I will go for the blue cheese one if I really have to choose!
Hi Sandie!
I’m big friend of these savory treats, but these special flavors…are scrumptious
The spicy hummus must be really appealing!
Cheers!
Gera
Love the presentation here! I think the hardest part is making (and peeling) perfect hard-boiled eggs. There are many strategies. Would you share your secret for success?
I would love to be a tester on the end of this…OMG Blue cheese and chive? Love it.
I could never understand the people who don’t love deviled eggs. I mean what’s not to love? Let alone four different kinds?! They all look fantastic
I love this idea. I printed all these and hope to make them next time I have a get together. Love the flags too!
Haha…love the culinary egg tour…next stop?
a hummus-centric deviled egg? be still my heart!
I enjoyed this post and I agree with your affections for the deviled egg- it is pretty easy to eat and are so very good. Great flavor combos. Thanks for the tour and the beautiful photos too!
Deseree – I love deviled eggs too, but don’t serve them as often as I once did because they became semi-boring
But with these adjusted flavors—they’re certainly not boring anymore and have rekindled my appreciation for the more traditional flavors as well!
Alisa – Even though I don’t know them, it makes me happy to know your dad and grandma would love these. Dad’s and grandma’s are important people in this world
Kevin – Never had deviled eggs? That blows me away. They are so easy to make (not to mention delicious to eat). Try them—soon!
Marguerite – They are delicious aren’t they?! Thanks so much for visiting!
Cynthia – You’re welcome and really hit the nail on the head with your comment—the tour is captivating and gets people to think of new ways to serve traditional foods. Experimenting with the flavors is only half the fun—eating them is the other!
Mental P Mama – Nothing wrong with craving deviled eggs at 10:35 PM—especially if you’ve got some hard boiled eggs on hand in the fridge. You can whip a couple real quick!
MaryBeth – You’re in good company—Blue Cheese ‘n’ Chive was very popular in the group I served these to.
Nina – If you ever try a variation of these while catering (or at home), be sure to let me know how well the different flavors were received. I’d be curious to hear the results, especially when served to people in a different country.
Denise – Yes, the presentation is certainly fun and really livens up a traditional platter—appetizers should be fun! Try coming up with your own variations too—the sky is the limit!
PigsPigsCorner – Wow…without anyone sampling them, Blue Cheese ‘n’ Chive is really pulling ahead. Interesting.
Gera – Spicy Hummus tied with Kickin’ Garden for my personal favorite. Both were so, so good.
Lydia – The secret to my success (for creating perfect deviled eggs that is) actually took years to perfect. Sounds silly but it’s true—-perfect deviled eggs can be tricky! I’ll see if I can share my tips in an upcoming post.
Noble Pig – I enjoyed the taste testing part too, especially serving them to my tasting club and hearing their responses.
Mike – I agree. What’s not to love, right?! But alas—to each their own
Chuck – Have fun with this idea—the little flags really do make this appetizer stand out!
Peter – Next stop is a surprise!
Grace – I know. I’m crazy for hummus and was glad to finally put it to use in a deviled egg. What fun!
Robin Sue – You’re welcome, glad you enjoyed! If you make these (or a variation) sometime, be sure to let me know what you came up with! I’d love to hear what these inspired you to create!