I don’t know if I have shared this with you before, but I am obsessed with eggs. I just love them. In fact, many of my favorite childhood memories have eggs in them.
Like sitting next to my mom before she left for work, so many mornings, as she ate her usual scrambled eggs with ham, always cooked until tender, along with a piece of black toast with a thin spread of honey.
Like when my dad taught me how to crack a soft boiled egg, using a coffee spoon in such a way as to impeccably remove the top, revealing the still runny yolk that seemed to be waiting for soft butter and a sprinkle of salt to be mixed in. Then, he rushed to dip a piece of toast in the hot yolk and gave me the first bite.
Like the very first time my mom obliged my plea to let me cook and commissioned me to make the Sunday brunch scrambled eggs. She gave me the eggs. The bowl. The pan. The butter. The salt that she took from the spice cupboard and left it open. Temptation was too hard to resist, and I added more than a dash of every bottle in it. Bright red paprika, beautiful star anise, deep yellow cumin, fragrant crumbled cinnamon, and on and on… You know how those eggs turned out. Since then, I have tried to tame my enthusiasm when cooking.
I find eggs to be one of the most fascinating ingredients. They are affordable. They are beautiful. They are accessible. They are versatile, too, and can be eaten for any meal of the day, any time of day, taken for a sweet or savory spin, taking center stage or as a crucial ingredient. To boot, they are, along with milk and seeds, amongst the most nutritious foods on earth. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, they can be used for so many purposes aside from being eaten as eggs: they can act as a binding ingredient (think meatballs), as a thickener (such as in chocolate mousse), as a volume booster (like in a soufflé!) or as the medium that makes other ingredients shine (like in a frittata or omelet).
It is no surprise then that I have a hard time starting my day without eggs. My most common quick breakfast is, like my mom, scrambled eggs with ham. Followed by Huevos a la Mexicana, sometimes straight and sometimes adding crunchy green beans, slightly sweet diced zucchini or thinly sliced woody mushrooms. I can’t resist huevos ahogados or drunken in one or another salsa, like salsa verde, martajada or in a chunky tomato and poblano rajas salsa. Enchiladas stuffed with one or another kind of scrambled eggs for a sumptuous brunch are king for when you have guests. Any form eggs can take for a morning concoction, such as breakfast crepes, tortas, sandwiches or tacos, I will eat them up.
OK: getting to the point of this post. I love eggs so very much that the fact that there is something such as deviled eggs makes me beyond ecstatic. One of the best ways to honor the egg that can be eaten post breakfast and is so pretty, tasty and a classic finger food.
If there are deviled eggs on a menu, you know I am ordering some. If there is a tray being passed around at a cocktail hour or party, you know who that crazy woman is trailing the deviled egg tray.
Here is my version: I called them Twice Spiced, as they benefit from two of my favorite spicy Mexican condiments: Chipotles in adobo sauce and pickled jalapeños. You know you have nowhere else to go than to the kitchen to whip some up.
Twice Spiced Deviled Eggs
Ingredients
- 8 eggs
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons Mexican crema
- 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons sauce from chipotles in adobo sauce
- 2 teaspoons pickling vinegar from pickled jalapeños
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 scallion white and light green parts sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 3 bacon slices cooked until crisp and finely minced
- Pickled jalapeños sliced or diced, for garnish
Instructions
- Place the eggs in a saucepan and cover them with water by a couple inches. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Let the water boil for a minute, turn off the heat, cover and let the eggs steep for 9 to 10 minutes. Remove the eggs from the water and let cool. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel and place on a chopping board. Using a sharp knife, slice each egg in half vertically.
- With a spoon, remove the yolks and place them in a food processor. Along with the yolks, add the mayonnaise, crema, mustard, chipotles in adobo sauce, pickling vinegar from pickled jalapeños, white vinegar, unsalted butter, scallion and sugar. Process until completely smooth and fluffy. Give it a full minute of your time.
- Place the egg yolk mixture in a pastry tube or use a plastic or piping bag. I like to use the star tip, but you can use a tip with whichever shape you like - you can also use a teaspoon. Add some of the minced bacon at the bottom of each white half. Pipe or spoon the egg yolk mixture on top. Garnish with the jalapeños and serve.
