EASY ENTERTAINING: HOW TO MAKE A DEVILED EGG BAR

I love to set up interactive stations for easy entertaining. A self-serve DIY bar offers guests lots of options and encourages conversation, too. In my book, that is a win-win. For Easter brunch (or any brunch for that matter) a DIY Deviled Egg Bar is nothing but easy, yummy fun and with a price tag under ten cents per serving, deviled eggs are super affordable.

THE HOW-TO:

Make your deviled eggs. I'd suggest making a pretty basic recipe since your guests will be adding toppings and piling on lots of flavor. Try my classic deviled egg recipe... and learn all about the best way to hard-boil eggs here.

How to build a deviled egg bar with toppings. Photo: Arden Photography Location: The Sonnet House, Leeds, Alabama

Assemble the eggs on a variety of different plates, egg dishes, and platters. Arrange the platters at different heights. Put the toppings in small dishes, jars, or bowls in groups. I like to get a bowl and fill it with ice and arrange bowls filled with toppings that are best kept chilled.  

Offer guests a menu of different combinations: BBQ, Asian, etc, to help them craft their eggs.

Deviled eggs with assorted toppings. Photo: Arden Photography

SUGGESTED TOPPINGS: Use as many or as few as you like based on your budget and the amount of room you have.

• Herbs: Fresh Dill, Thyme, Tarragon, Chives, Italian parsley, or cilantro; finely chopped
• Scallions, finely chopped
• Capers
• Spicy pickle relish
• Pickled okra slices
• Roasted red peppers, diced
• Jalapeno peppers, diced
• Green olives, sliced
• Toasted pecans, chopped
• Bacon crumbles
• Goat cheese crumbles
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Fresh horseradish
• Country ham, sliced ultra thin and cut into small pieces
• BBQ (beef or pork, shredded)
• Smoked salmon (thin sliced)
• Fresh lump crabmeat (cooked)
• Cooked baby shrimp
• Caviar (if you have the budget)
• Sour cream, creme fraiche or Greek yogurt
• Fig preserves
• Chutney
• Hot sauce
• BBQ sauce
• Salt
• Pepper
• Paprika

HOW-TO TIPS: BEST WAY TO MAKE AND PEEL A HARD BOILED EGG

I’ve seen lots of posts on social media discussing how to make a perfect hard-boiled egg. None of them are the same. Most are similar but they all have their own twist or timing. I decided to do a hard-boiled egg study from some of the more prominent offerings on the Internet to see which hard-boiled egg is the best egg for those yummy deviled eggs.

I compared hard-boiled egg cooking instructions from Julia Child, Alton Brown, Food Network, the Deen family, and the old school method of adding vinegar to the water to my own tried and true hard-boiled egg method. I also watched videos from Jacques Pepin and Food & Wine. The test was based on three criteria: texture of white, texture of yolk and ease of peeling. DISCLAIMER: This was not a blind taste test as I was the only person in the kitchen.

Hard boiled egg recipes: Which one is best? See tips and results below from five different methods.

HERE'S WHAT I FOUND OUT: TIPS FOR COOKING THE PERFECT HARD-BOILED EGG

• Farm eggs are harder to peel after boiling. Save your farm eggs for baking or ice cream. Fresh eggs from the store have thinner membranes which do peel easier so hard-boil super fresh eggs.

• Don't use a non-stick pan for boiling eggs.

• Do not cram too many eggs into a pot. You want to cover the eggs with one inch of water and leave room in the pot so you can stir the eggs around as they cook.

• Stirring the eggs occasionally during the cooking process helps yolks stay centered and the whites have two sides which are equally thick; better for stuffing and not lopsided.

• Use room temperature eggs and water or cold water and cold eggs. The result is about the same but eggs will crack more often if you add cold eggs to hot water.

• You can peel the eggs easier if you run them under cool water or put them in an ice bath for 2-3 minutes only. Alton suggests 5 minutes in the ice bath but those were slightly harder to peel. I prefer to quickly rinse in cool water just until you can handle them. Crack and put back in the water; peel quickly by popping the large end with the air pocket on the counter-it seems to make the peel come off in larger pieces.

• Some people suggest rolling the egg on the counter using the palm of your hand to crack the peel but I found all of those little pieces harder to peel. I used to do this but now prefer the "pop the air pocket" method.

• Adding salt, vinegar or baking soda in the water does not make the peeling process easier and when you boil the eggs with vinegar, the whole house stinks.

• The egg whites will become tough and rubbery if you cook more than the recommended time- you will not want to eat rubbery eggs ever again once you’ve had a properly cooked egg.

• The ucky green ring around the outside is truly caused by overcooking and no other reason. The longer you cook the egg, the darker that outer ring becomes.

• A soft or medium boiled egg yolk does not work as well for deviled eggs. The yolk was a little gummy when mixed with mayonnaise, etc. for the filling. However, the medium boiled egg (Alton Brown’s egg) was very delicious with just salt and pepper.

THE RESULTS: The Food Network method for hard-boiled eggs seemed to work the best because they peeled easier and had a better texture than the other versions but only slightly better than my own method. The instructions did not say how long to keep the egg in the ice bath so I left it in for 2 minutes. Follow the cooking instructions for the hard-boiled egg if you want to make deviled eggs. Here's the link...

My own cooking method worked just fine… tried and true. It was the runner-up to the Food Network method, but only because their method did peel slightly easier. Here's what I do:

Start with cold eggs; add tepid/lukewarm water to the pot, covering eggs by one inch. Stirring the water occasionally, bring the water to a just to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium high. Set your timer and boil for 5 minutes for large eggs, 4 minutes for medium eggs and 6 minutes for extra large eggs. Continue to stir them occasionally to keep the yolk centered.

When your timer goes off, remove from the heat and let them stand. Set a timer for 4-5-6 minutes- the same time you boiled the egg.

Once the timer goes off, immediately rinse in cold water until the eggs are just cool enough to handle. Pop each one- the larger side where the air pocket is- on the counter and put back in the water, working quickly to peel the eggs while they are still warm. Here's my deviled egg recipe. You'll love it.

Alton Brown’s method for hard-boiled eggs resulted in a medium/slightly undercooked yolk which tasted good but were not great for making deviled eggs. I could not find a link online but here's what Alton said about hard-boiled eggs on Twitter...

Alton Brown's hard boiled egg tips plus his method for oven cooked eggs.

THIS JUST IN: ALTON BROWN'S GONE CRAY-CRAY. His words, not mine. Just hours after I posted this comparison, my former mentor has upped the ante and posted a game-changer... he's now suggesting that baking the eggs in the oven is more reliable and easier than "the harsh environment of a pot of boiling water" - SO I had to test that for myself. I found the technique to be more difficult as I had two escapee eggs jump off the towel and onto my floor. However, the result is equally delicious as his boiled version above but again, a little underdone for my preference for hard-boiled eggs for stuffing. Additionally, the egg yolks settle to the bottom of the egg making a very thin cup, not so great for stuffing. There was a video with instructions but he pulled it down.

UPDATE 2: Now, AB says you should cook your eggs in a pressure cooker! I'm going to skip that one but if you are curious, here's the link to Alton Brown's Eggs Under Pressure blog post.

Jamie Deen's method resulted in the worst results. They tasted fine but were harder to peel and egg white came away with the peel creating big “potholes” in the egg white; pretty unattractive for deviled eggs. So many people looked at the video today that they crashed the site. I'll add a link for you to see it later but basically Jamie said to bring the room temperature eggs to a boil in salted water. Remove from the heat and add a lid and wait 13 minutes. Put in an ice bath. Here's a link to Paula's site with their own test kitchen results. Read more... Paula's method is the same as Jamie's but she lets the eggs sit for 20 minutes which I found way too long and produced rubbery egg whites.

The Julia Child hard-boiled egg method took too long compared to the others and didn’t taste better so I scratched it from the test. Her former assistant and one of my favorite chefs, the legendary Jacques Pepin suggests to prick the egg with a pin before boiling. Watch Jacque's charming how-to properly boil and peel a hard boiled egg video here...

PEELING A HARD BOILED EGG: I did find something completely new when it comes to peeling a hard-boiled egg: using a teaspoon between the membrane skin and the egg as shown in this Food & Wine video from Justin Chapple from their test kitchen. I tried it and found it harder than just peeling it the classic way. Sorry, Justin. What is it with these quirky guys named Justin?

RECIPE: LEMON RICOTTA POUND CAKE

Always being on the road or in someone else's kitchen, you would think I'd make sure I had everything I needed BEFORE I started cooking. I planned to make my Mom's pound cake recipe and was already in the middle of creaming the butter when I discovered the cream cheese was waaay past the expiration date. I did however, have some perfectly good ricotta cheese in the fridge so I ended up with this Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake. So moist yet a bit fluffy and very, very good. This will never replace my Mom's pound cake but I gotta tell you, it is the perfect shower, party, or afternoon tea cake. It is a lot better than that Lemon Pound Cake you get at Starbucks! Put it on your list to try.

A baking mistake sometimes results in something really good. Try this Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake recipe. Moist yet fluffy. Really easy. Really good.

LEMON RICOTTA POUND CAKE

Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean

INGREDIENTS

3 sticks butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese, room temperature

3 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons lemon zest

juice of one lemon (about 1/4 cup)

4 whole eggs, room temperature

2 egg whites, room temperature

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp lemon extract

1/8 tsp salt

LEMON GLAZE

Juice of 1 lemon

1 1/2 cups Confectioners' sugar (plus more if desired)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Prep two 9 x 5 loaf pans; grease and flour or spray all sides with Baker's Joy.

In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Add the ricotta and beat until combined. Then add the sugar, a little at a time. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Next, add the lemon zest and the eggs, one at a time, beating until they are combined. Add the egg whites and beat until they are just incorporated. Turn the speed on the mixer down. Add the lemon juice. Combine the salt and the flour; adding a little at a time to the mixer until it is blended. Add the vanilla and lemon extracts.

Pour into the prepared pans. Place on a baking sheet and place on center rack of your oven. Bake for 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then turn out onto a wire cooling rack to allow it to cool until just slightly warm before icing.

For the glaze, combine the lemon juice and Confectioners' sugar and whisk; the glaze should be thick and creamy and not too stiff. You should be able to pour it. Add more lemon juice or sugar as necessary to achieve the pourable consistency.

Using a toothpick, poke a few holes into the top of the cake. Pour onto the top of the cake and spread. Allow to cool. Add a second layer if you want a thick glaze.

Serve with berries, whipped cream or any of your favorites.