these eggs are positively bedeviled 🥚
these eggs are positively bedeviled 🥚
and I'm not yolking 👹
It’s Friday, November 17th, 2023. Here’s all the news that’s fits to newsletter.
an egg-cellent new video
You can catch me in the latest episode of 4 Levels on Epicurious making deviled eggs alongside the hilarious Desi and top-notch chef Joshua Resnick. Watch it right here if you haven’t yet!
side note
In less good news, Condé Nast (which owns Epicurious) recently released a list of employees they intend to layoff as part of a restructure, which I understand from my colleagues includes several beloved and invaluable Epicurious production team members.
The Condé Nast union is lobbying to get input and transparency in the restructure, especially since, while the proposed layoffs cover 5% of the overall workforce, the list includes as much as 25% of all Condé Nast union members (booo).
You can read about the announcement in general here, and you can follow the union if you want to support their efforts.
Anyhow-
my deviled eggs recipe
To me, these deviled eggs are everything you want in a dinner party-ready deviled egg. They’re classic, classy, simple, elegant, and flavorful – and they’re easy to make, to boot.
This is my take, adjusted to suit my tastes, but credit where it’s due – the original recipe I started with when thinking about putting my spin on a deviled egg was Oprah’s, which remains an absolute banger.
You can also get Chef Joshua’s recipe for harissa-spiced deviled eggs right here.
Yield: 16 deviled eggs
Ingredients:
8 large eggs
Filling:
8 yolks
2 Tbsp mayo
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
½ tsp Tabasco sauce
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dill pickle, small dice
1 tsp capers
1 Tbsp fresh dill, roughly chopped
salt & pepper
Garnish:
handful of chicharrones, roughly crumbled
fresh dill sprigs
sprinkle of smoked paprika (optional)
Equipment:
large pot for egg boiling
ice bath (ice & water in a bowl)
food processor
Ziploc bag & silicone spatula for DIY piping
Preparation:
Place eggs in the base of a large pot and cover with cold water. (You want at least an inch of water over top of the eggs.)
Bring water to a boil, then cover pot and remove from the heat. Let sit 10-11 minutes.
Move eggs into an ice bath and let cool.
Once eggs are cool enough to handle, peel them, cut them in half lengthwise, and scoop out the yolks into your food processor.
Add yolks, mayo, dijon, lemon juice, sauces, and salt and pepper into the food processor and process until mixture is almost smooth. Add relish, capers and herbs and mix on low another 30 seconds to break up any chunks and mix fully. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed to your tastes.
Spoon the mixture into your ziplock bag and snip the tip so you can pipe the filling into your egg white halves.
Refrigerate 1 hour, if you have time. (If not, it’s fine, honestly.)
Garnish and serve!
some sweet discounts
My extremely cool merch is on sale for the month of November! I’m working out whether I can create a discount for international shoppers, but at least for US folks, you can get 20% off with the code CHEERMEUP.
Nakano knives are offering 30% off until Dec. 10 with code EMILYDUNCAN. I have to tell you, Dan is kind of obsessed with our knife from them. It is, in fact, a pretty sick knife and has continued to hold its sharpness (I accidentally cut my finger washing it the other day). I officially recommend.
Garcia de la Cruz will be running a sale at Whole Foods for the first two weeks of December, if you want good olive oil at a discount (I like this one, what they call their ‘Master Miller,’ best).
Get $25 off your first Farm Box from Farm to People with code NOEXPERT.
Use FORAGED10 or EMILY to get 10% off at Foraged Market.
Note: These are all companies I have a relationship with, but I won’t recommend anything I don’t actually believe in. Some of these are affiliate links, so I may receive a commission on your purchase at no additional cost to you.
what i’m into right now
Lastly, here are some things I’m enjoying more broadly that you might like too.
Err: Urban Rustic Thai – this is a self-published cookbook from the chefs behind the Bangkok restaurant Err, a sort of Thai gastropub run by Bo Songvisava and Dylan Jones (better known for Bo.Lan, their Michelin-starred Bangkok restaurant that was featured on Chef’s Table). Dan and I ate at Err in Bangkok in 2019 and freaking loved it, so we had to snap up the book when we saw it at Kitchen Arts and Letters. It’s a super bright, visually arresting book in both Thai and English with tons of recipes we’re excited to cook. (I’ve actually been chasing the high of this passionfruit chili cocktail since we walked out of Err about 4 years ago. I haven’t been able to get it right at home, but maybe you have a better source for fresh passionfruit.)
The Screenwriting Life – I just love this podcast about screenwriting. It’s hosted by Lorien McKenna and Meg LeFauve, two writers who’ve worked for Pixar on movies including Inside Out and Up (both of which I thought were just wonderful). It might be a little hyper-specific for non-writers, but if you have an interest in how movies are written and made, I recommend it.
Mama’s Broke – I went to see this folk duo from Nova Scotia perform in Brooklyn recently and they put on a great show. If you’re into mournful ladies, fiddle, and/or banjo, you might just dig their music.
Porco Rosso – yes, I’m recommending an animated movie from 1992 (article about the movie linked but you can stream on Max or rent on a variety of other streamers). I’ve always been a fan of Studio Ghibli’s movies – fun fact about me, I wanted to be an animator when I was younger – but hadn’t seen Porco Rosso until recently. It’s a movie set in Italy between the first and second World Wars about a pirate-battling pilot who was mysteriously turned into a pig, and it’s delightful.
David Tanis’ Cranberry Curd Tart – I haven’t made it yet, but I can’t get the idea out of my head. It just seems right for this time of year. Blast The NY Times and their effective Instagram ads!
and that’s the latest dispatch from my kitchen.
To my US pals, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving, and to everyone else, a surprisingly good next two weeks!