Food for fun’s last few posts have gotten a bit lengthy, so we’ll simplify this week with a simple story about a simple recipe.
A recent Dash magazine photo knocked me out.
Beet Pickled Deviled Eggs. So. Pretty.
Deviled eggs are high on my list of favorite foods; pickling intrigues me. A dislike of canned beets (remember this?) wasn’t enough to dissuade me from giving these deviled eggs a go. It’s not like I was going to consume the canned beets, right? They were there only to add pretty pink and a tinge of sweet.
So, I set out to hard-cook a few eggs. My method? Foolproof and taken from the pros: Bring a covered saucepan of eggs and lots of water to a gentle boil. Turn off heat and let eggs sit 10 minutes. Drain and cool immediately under cold, running water. Works all the time.
Except today when I forgot about the saucepan and let it sit longer than 10 minutes (doh!). This particular batch of hard-cooked eggs sported the dreaded greenish halo around an otherwise yellow yolk. Yet their color didn’t bother me as much as the rubbery whites. These babies were tougher than I’d have liked.
Texture aside, I didn’t love these eggs as much as I’d hoped to. While they were still shockingly pink and pretty, that canned beet flavor was there. Using cooked fresh beets sounds lovely, but wouldn’t provide canning brine for the pickling. Perhaps it’s a recipe that would improve using home-canned beets?
Another note: The eggs had white spots where they had rested against the bottom or side of the bowl. A larger bowl may have helped as would have the occasional stir.
While I wouldn’t consider this as disastrous as my last round of canned beet cooking, I deem them better looking than they taste. Proper cooking would have improved the texture, but there’s no getting around that tinny, canned beet flavor.
That said, the filling was most definitely a win: yolks, a judicious amount of mayo, and sprinkling of celery salt, black pepper, and ground mustard. It’s now my go-to deviled egg filling as it has just the right amount of each ingredient.
overcooked, but still pretty
I made these up on a sunny day, so have no excuse for this sad little photo. By the time I noticed my pictures were too dark, it was too late. The four pink-tinged deviled eggs had become my lunch, making them far more edible than my last beet escapade.
food for fun 
Ooh! Pink eggs! Love this, Liz. Reminds me of my friend bringing green deviles eggs for a Dr. Seuss party. Very fun.
love it, Andi–Dr. Seuss eggs! Canned spinach 🙂
How fun! As Kay Thompson sings in Funny Face, “Think pink!”
Thank you, Princess! No one has ever brought musical theater to food for fun before!! (amb’s gonna loooooove this) These eggs definitely need to be in that routine. Pink shampoo, pink toothpaste, pink eggs, …. It’s officially a party here now as we have food, music, dancing, and you 🙂
I do, I really, really do. 😀
Ohhh I love deviled eggs! And I’ve seen things like this done before (dying/pickling) and always wanted to try it out. Kudos to you for actually giving it a whirl. Even if they didn’t taste as awesome as you hoped, they still look pretty!
Thanks, J. The bright pink still fascinates me. Very Martha, don’t you think? 😉
Well, I don’t see a problem here. Simply use the pink egg whites as a vessel/utensil to eat the delicious yolks! No beet flavour, and no tough egg whites! They are just pretty, tiny pink bowls. 🙂
Jenny! This is why they pay you the big bucks. Pretty, tiny pink bowls. Love it 🙂
These eggs look awesome. Definitely on my list to try!
Thanks, Brenda. Though the food photography is not up to even my usual standards, so let’s focus on the top picture, shall we? 😉
Clicked over to find you from this link and it was a different spot than I’d found last night. Do you have two blogs? Glad to have met you at either place. Your chickens will like these eggs very much 🙂
I love the color:-) my grams used to make something simliar to this but added vinegar oh I think these would be fab in an egg salad 🙂
pink egg salad–that’s awesome. You had a very cool grams if she made pink eggs! These are very girly for sure. Thanks, Poppy 🙂
First of all, Liz, I’ve told you how glad I am you’re in my life, right? Seriously. Your foolproof hard boiled egg trick is going to just rock my socks, I can tell. I LOVE hard boiled eggs and I HATE making them because I always end up with the dreaded green ring. Well not any more!
Second of all, between your pink eggs and Princess’s squirrel pie, there is so much food-cuteness happening!! And it’s the greatest!!!! I just love seeing how creative you can be with this stuff, it’s such a talent and you’re both so good at it! 😀
Nice to have a new cooking trick up your sleeve, yes? But. FYI: you may be looked down on by the cooking know-it-alls (which does not include me, btw–I’m the one that messed up even when using the foolproof method) if you call them hard-boiled as somewhere along the line the powers that be started calling them “hard-cooked.” Perhaps you didn’t get the memo? 😉
Thanks for hanging out in my virtual kitchen. I’m still excited Princess posted a musical number. It’s almost the party that is WBS!
hard cooked – got it! thanks for the tip Liz! Thanks to you I can fake it till I make it in the kitchen for sure 🙂
Thanks as always for making your virtual kitchen so warm and inviting! You know I love it here!!
I’m still excited about that musical number, too. I just watched it again and am marvelling at the way they found a rhyme for “chartruese” 😀
I love deviled eggs! Totally want some now! Love the beautiful beet color 🙂
Thanks, Lilly Sue. Deviled eggs seem a universal fave. I love the kitsch factor and then seeing them come back around again. Trendy for sure. I’d bet they go real well with certain beers, too. Suggestions?
Nothing specific with eggs really..I would probably enjoy with any of my hoppy favorites.
Liz..hard-boiled eggs are one of my favs..make them all.the.time. Have one in my lunch for today in fact! My kiddo loves them as much as me….and I use the same fool-proof method also. I add in a cup of ice to the cool-down, not sure sure where I learned that! The pink is adorable but I am with you..not a fan of beets and not sure I could get past the taste either, but like the ladies, sometimes it’s fashion over function, right?! – B
Yes to fashion over function. That is Brilliant and would have been the perfect title for this post! Very cool that you enjoy daily hard-cooked eggs. Great protein for sure.
Let me know how the bbread turns out. Always encourage folks to post pictures of fun food finds (of which your banana bread would be 🙂 ) on my deLiz facebook. That boozy puree still has me pumped–what a great idea. Hope you make and enjoy! (will you use brandy, rum, or bourbon?) Thanks for stopping by, Bonnie. Fun to see you in multiple places.
Bourbon..it will have to be bourbon, because, well, I must admit, I am well stocked, shall we say. I am SO glad you asked me…because for some reason I had it in my mind that I would have to use rum, which is fine of course [other than vodka, far be it from me to knock a good booze!] but it’s nice to know I already have what I need. Besides, boozy bourbon bananas just sounds pretty fun! Now, I am even more motivated..maybe even this very weekend that is just around the corner..hmmm!? ..and will be fun to share if it turns out! Glad you liked my fashion/function – fun! And agreed, love the cross location banter!
Hey, Bonnie. Do you mind if I friend you on fb as we have so much to talk about re: bourbon. I heart bourbon. If you look at my blog categories, you will see multiple bourbon posts. If you look at my last Blog of Funny Name post, you will read about a bourbon distiller. Bourbon rocks (and yes, I will go with the expected and say it is good on the rocks, too) and want to hear more about why you like, etc. Yes to boozy bourbon bananas.
Since you mentioned vodka, have a batch of vodka gummy bears soaking, so will bring them to our next Hoot meeting.
Hi Liz..that would be great! find me as Bonnie McDonald Burnell 🙂
I will have to check out your blog for bourbon posts…I am limited in my consumption – I use it for Manhattans, (yes, on the rocks! haha!) a drink that my grandmother liked and so did my mom – now it’s my turn! Vodka and I don’t get along so well…I like it, but it does not like me…so unfair, yes? But, I think that perhaps the gummy bears just might balance things out and so I shall remain open to new possibilities! See you on FB! – B
I love the egg bowl idea. Not a beet fan.
On a separate note, I went to a tea tasting based on the Laura Childs’ Shades of Earl Grey. The owner of the shop made the most fabulous hard boiled eggs I’ve ever eaten. She crushed the shells, leaving them on and let them soak in the Earl Grey tea. It had the most intricate lacework design I’ve ever seen. Just some food for thought. 🙂
do you read LC’s books, Tracy? I follow multiple culinary mystery series–the tea books included. Very cool about the tea egg decorating! LC was signing books at a store not 5 miles from my house a few months back and I didn’t know until after. Arrgh.
Speaking of earl gray–did you see the egray cookies on deLiz facebook a few weeks back? Got them from this blog: http://thepeckishkiwi.com/2013/05/30/seg-way-crispy-chewy-earl-grey-white-chocolate-chunk-cookies/
They were amazing.
Yes, boo to beets. Canned anyway. Keep trying to like them, but no go.
‘Preciate your visit as always!
Regarding LC’s books, one of my friends just gave me Motif for Murder. It’s in the stack. I hadn’t read any of the Tea Shop Mysteries yet, but since the tea tasting, I now want to read them. I understand she also includes recipes.
On a BoFN note, the person teaching the class is named Michael Coffey…a tea expert. I just love him.
I’ll have to check out the cookies, thanks for the heads-up.
her tea shop mysteries are good reads. I have a good handle on a bunch of the culinary mysteries out there should you want a few recommends. So many series out there! Though none as cleverly written as your posts 🙂
Michael Coffey is teaching tea classes. That is awesome!
You are ridiculously clever. These look delish. And the whole running under cold water thing DOES work every time. You speak true words. I don’t know what the fuss is about getting eggs right. Perfect poached egg? Three minutes in barely simmering water. Perfectly runny poached eggs. Right, I have a right hankering for eggs now. Luckily I have ONE in the fridge, and I am going to hard boil it and have an egg sandwich tomorrow. HURRAH! THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING TOMORROW’S LUNCH FOR ME!!!
Thanks, Becky. That’s what I love about the blogosphere–people (and by people, I mean you) think I’m ridiculously clever when I am not. 🙂 Perfectly runny poached eggs are my most favorite food ever. Do you do the whirlpool thing with the water to keep the egg from fragmenting into a zillion tiny and separate strands? I always have trouble making it look pretty. (imagine that)
You’re welcome for helping you choose tomorrow’s lunch. That’s what I’m here for–to guide folks through the seemingly overwhelming task of deciding what to eat. (That’s not really why I’m here–see banana post #2 for that.) Enjoy your egg and I love that you’ve been fooled into thinking I’m clever! You da’ best 🙂
I once fell asleep with eggs being boiled that were intended to be dyed for Easter. I awoke to the sound of eggs exploding in my kitchen. I didn’t dye any more eggs but I did spend a good portion of my Easter Sunday scraping egg off of my kitchen walls and ceiling. You can, therefore, understand my trepidation when it comes to hard-cooked eggs. Still, these do look so good that I would love to give them a try. I wonder if a grated beet or two would render enough liquid to dye eggs? Like you, I’m not a fan of that tinny taste. Either way, thanks for sharing a creative little recipe.
That is an excellent (eggsellent? haha) story, John. So you’re saying the kettle boiled dry and the eggs kept heating until they exploded? Aie yi yi. For sure set a timer next time. What a crazy thing to wake up to!
Grated beets you say? Maybe would do the trick? Thank you for being here, kind sir 🙂
Now these are some deviled eggs! What a funky little take on these little guys! Touch texture or not, these look the part and the filling sounds amazing! I’m not huge on mayo, i wonder how it would be if I used half greek yogurt? Great post Liz! This will be killer for summer bbq’s!
Yes, these are funky 🙂 Post on my deLiz facebook page (are you on fb?) if you make them. Pretty please? Greek yogurt sounds like a good stand-in. Let me know!
Thanks for your kind words, Trace.
I need to start a fb page! I don’t have my blog on there, but I should! Yes, I am planning on make these, or at least a variation of them. When I do, I will hit you back!
I’ve seen pickled beetroot (home pickled), maybe that would work for these eggs. Love love the pink!
I’d give it a go with homemade pickled beets if I had them. Aren’t they pretty? Glad you’re here–thanks for the comment 🙂
So pretty! The pink is beautiful, I love pickled beets and deviled eggs.
Thanks! You might have liked these better than I did, then. Definitely loved how they looked.
Those pink eggs does look quitte spectacular, Liz. MMMMM.
Thanks, Sophie 🙂
I love deviled eggs but never had them this way before! And the pink is so pretty. Thanks for sharing!
You’re most welcome for sharing and my, but I love the name of your blog!!!! I’ll be over shortly for a visit 🙂 Appreciate you stopping by. Seems deviled eggs are favorites of many.
My my! What have I just seen !
Beauty at its best form 🙂
Adorable, glamorous deviled eggs idea 🙂
thank you 🙂 they are kinda glam, aren’t they? A sprinkle of edible glitter and they’ll be ready for the red carpet!
Definitely cute eggs. I remember having Chinese-style tea eggs at a friends house when I was in high school. Her mom made them and they were really good. Maybe fusing the two types into a recipe would impart a nice flavor plus the pretty color. My favorite beet concoction is horseradish and beet relish often found in jars.
Sounds like you have a plan for some lovely beet-pickled tea eggs? What do you serve your horseradish-beet relish with? Intriguing!