Decomposed Deviled Eggs

Halloween in the summer? Yes, it's that time again for me. I've already began working on my Halloween recipes along with a few summery dishes. You'll see a spattering of both from me this summer. But here's my first appetizer of the season...Decomposed Deviled Eggs.  I realize these deviled eggs look a bit menacing, but like all my Halloween dishes, they look the part but taste amazing. These are a Halloween version of my Sriracha Deviled Eggs.  Equally as important, these deviled eggs are super easy to make. I love deviled eggs but I really hate having to peel all those hard boiled eggs. Here's a technique my mom told me about where you prepare deviled eggs by cooking all the whites in the oven and the yolks on the stove top. I was skeptical about how the yolks would turn out, but holy moley, these were super easy to make and tasted great with great texture.  You can't tell that the yolks were not hard boiled.
Enjoy! 
 

Decomposed Deviled Eggs 

Makes 24

12 eggs, yolks and whites separated
olive oil or cooking spray
red and purple food coloring
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sriracha sauce
black sesame seeds


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Separate the whites and yolks into two bowls. 

Separate about 2-3 T of egg whites into another small bowl. Add enough red and purple food coloring to the small amount of egg whites until you get it to look like blood. A deep dark red.
 
Spray an 8"x8" pan generously with cooking spray or olive oil. Cut to fit a piece of parchment paper and line the bottom of the pan with parchment. Take extra care to remove all creases and bubbles from the parchment. See my picture below...I learned the hard way and didn't get all these creases out and some of the egg whites seeped below the parchment and stuck to the bottom of the pan and made my egg whites uneven. So make sure you get all the creases out. Once you get the air bubbles out, spray the top of the parchment with more cooking spray. 

Pour egg whites into prepare pan. Using a fork, drizzle some of the red dyed egg whites into the pan. You do not have to add all of the red egg whites. Less is more in this instance because as the dye sits, it will spread to the rest of the eggs whites to give a mottled appearance. The first time I made these, I was heavy handed with the red whites and got a deeply colored egg white with very little white showing, like this. Still looks creepy as far as Halloween dishes go, but I wanted the whites to be more recognizable in the photos. Here they look like chunks of meat, don't you think?

Once you add the red whites to the egg whites, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Don't let the egg whites sit too long before cooking or the red food coloring will start to spread. If you use less than 12 eggs, you will have to adjust your time. Start checking after 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool. Refrigerate for an hour or more until completely chilled. You can make these ahead of time and then cut and assemble right before party time.  

In a large non-stick skillet, add yolks over medium heat and using a rubber spatula, stir yolks until they are cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Cool and then refrigerate until chilled. Once chilled, add cooked yolks into a food processor. Add mayonnaise and sriracha and blend until smooth. Add food coloring until the desired color is achieved. I was going for a wormy reddish-brown color. Put prepared yolks into a piping bag and refrigerate until ready to assemble.

Get the cooked and cooled egg whites from refrigerator and use a sharp knife to cut around the pan and turn out egg whites onto a cutting board. Cut into 24 even slices. Place slices on a serving platter and pipe sriracha yolk mixture and top with black sesame seeds. Enjoy! Happy "Summer" Halloween!

Other Halloween recipes to try:

Spider Caviar

Spiderweb Eggs

Bloody Eyeball Bruschetta

Spider Web Eggs (Guacamole Deviled Eggs)

I must sound like a broken record lately when I say that I've been too busy to blog, but I have been too busy. Since I took on the PTA at my boys school, it has been the only thing I've been giving my time and attention to since August (i.e. no blog posts at all in September.) I figured this would happen since I'm new to the role and it has taken me a while to get things going. This is also why I spent all summer blogging my Halloween recipes. I wanted to get a jump on the Halloween season knowing full well that I wouldn't have much time once school started. But now that things are beginning to slow a bit, I'm anxious to get back in the saddle and ride out the remaining days to Halloween with a few more Halloween inspired dishes. Starting with an appetizer course of these deliciously beautiful and fantastically festive Spider Web Eggs!

You can tell right away these are not your typical Deviled Eggs with its cool looking egg whites veined with bright purple and blue spider webs along with it's bright green filling with the flavor and spice of guacamole. Dare I say, a healthier choice in fat, the avocado replaces the mayo and is heavily spiced with cilantro, garlic, onion, cumin and cayenne. Delicious! Then I topped the whole thing off with crushed Blue Corn Chips, which was just what all that rich guacamole filling needed!

Check out this easy and delicious recipe that will most certainly impress your guests at your next Halloween Party. 
Happy Halloween!

Spider Web Eggs (Guacamole Deviled Eggs)
Makes 12

6 eggs, hard boiled
1/4 t purple gel food coloring in water

Boil eggs. Cool under running water and refrigerate for about 4 hours or overnight. 
Remove eggs from the refrigerator and using the back of a spoon, tap the shells in various places. This is what gives you the spiderweb pattern. Into a large bowl and add enough water to cover the eggs and add the gel food coloring and mix well. Add eggs to colored water and Refrigerate the eggs overnight. 
Drain water and peel the shells to reveal the cool spidery webs of color. This is the most fun part of this recipe. The eggs are stunningly beautiful. I may never color Easter eggs the same way again. 
Cut eggs in half, place yolks in a food processor and continue to prepare the guacamole egg filling below. Place egg white halves in single layer in a shallow dish and refrigerate until ready to assemble.

Guacamole Egg Filling
yolks of 6 hard boiled eggs
1 avocado
juice of one lime
1-2 T cilantro leaves
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t ground cumin
1/4 t cayenne pepper (to taste)
salt to taste
Blue corn chips, crushed (garnish)
In a food processor, blend yolks, avocado, lime, and herbs and spices until very smooth. Transfer into a piping bag with a star tip and pipe into spiderweb eggs and garnish with crushed blue corn chips or red pepper flakes (not pictured) or even top with your favorite salsa for a bloody effect. Enjoy!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 

Other Halloween inspired dishes to try:
Ghoulish Goat Cheese Torte
Amputated Appetizer
Fangtini (Blood Orange Martini)

Sriracha Deviled Eggs with Garlic Toast Crumb Topping

You've probably noticed on the blog that I've been on an appetizer kick lately. It all started a few weeks ago with a sweet and salty, White Corn and Cotija Cheese Dip and then a delicious and lite, Zucchini Bruschetta and today when I get into the kitchen, I'm making some Tofu Spring Rolls. But yesterday, I made these amazing Sriracha Deviled Eggs. (a recipe from the blog, a farmgirl's dabbles.) I love her blog! 

These were so yummy, words just aren't enough to describe them. So I took lots of pictures of these beautiful morsels to let the photos speak for me. Aren't they gorgeous?

I don't think I'll ever go back to eating plain old deviled eggs again. The spicy sriracha and the crunchy, garlicky panko breadcrumbs really elevated these eggs to another level entirely. They were incredible! My husband and I ate every last one...an appetizer course that turned into a meal. :) In fact, I'm thinking this recipe would make a great version for Egg Salad Sandwiches. Just think...Sriracha Egg Salad Sandwiches with some sprouts and pickled onions? Doesn't that sound yummy? I just may have to give that idea a test drive this weekend. Anyway, without any more introduction, here's this delicious recipe. Enjoy! 

Sriracha Deviled Eggs with Garlic Toast Crumb Topping (recipe from a farmgirl's dabbles)
Makes 24

1 dozen eggs, hard boiled
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sriracha
1 T butter
1/4 cup Panko Flakes (Japanese Bread Crumbs)
1/2 t garlic powder
1/8 t salt 
pepper (to taste) 
finely minced cilantro leaves

For perfectly cooked hard boiled eggs every time: (via Mom's Macaroni Salad blog) Place eggs in a single layer in a pot and cover with enough cold water so that the water is about an inch above the eggs. Heat pot and bring to a boil. You must watch these eggs to know when the boiling begins. Once water begins to boil, boil the eggs for no longer than 2 minutes. (set a timer) Turn off heat and let eggs sit in the hot water for 15 minutes. (Again, set a timer, because you will forget) 
Pour off hot water and replace with cold water, letting it overflow in the sink to cool down the pot and the eggs. Let sit in the cool water for a few minutes, then drain water and refrigerate the eggs until completely cold. Tap to crack shell and peel.

Assembly
Cut eggs in half and place cooked yolks in a small bowl. Add mayonnaise and sriracha to the yolks and mix well.  If you plan to use a pastry bag with a star tip, you may want to put this mixture in a blender so that it gets really smooth. 

In a small skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter and add Panko bread crumbs, garlic, and salt.  Saute until crumbs are fragrant and lightly browned. Remove from heat and cool on a plate. 
While the crumbs are cooling, spoon or pipe filling into eggs whites. Sprinkle eggs with bread crumbs, pepper and minced cilantro and serve immediately. These eggs can be made in advance but don't sprinkle with the bread crumbs until just before serving to avoid the bread crumbs from getting soggy.

Shakshuka

It's been a while since I've cooked, let alone blogged. I've been too busy giving my time away to others to take the time for myself. But my kiddos are on Spring break this week and I've finally had some time to "Chillax" as my 8-year old Jackson says. And I'm thankful for the time off.

Basically, I've done next to nothing..I've read 4 books since last Saturday. It's been heaven being able to sink so deeply into these fictional worlds, an escape from reality. But I'll admit, I've felt a wee bit guilty because I've allowed my kids to play video games all day with the occasional break to play catch or take a bike ride...I'm sure the mom-critics (including my husband a few times these last few days) would say, that I'm being a bad mother by allowing it. But to be honest, I've needed the break. 

Allowing endless video games and my submersion into fictional worlds aside, I realized I really need the break away from the kiddos. 
I need to be just me, not a mom with a thousand responsibilities. I broke down to my husband and cried,..."I need a vacation!"

In fact...We both do. The last time we had any time off together was probably 2 or 3 years ago for our anniversary...sigh* 

Back when we both worked full-time, vacations were easy to take because we had money to do it, whether it was a weekend trip or just a quick date night with a sitter. Back when we both worked, we had money to pay for someone to clean our house each week and we were able to go out to dinner if I got home late or if I hadn't made it to the grocery store. 
These were convenience luxuries that made up for the time I was at work because, I couldn't do it all myself. 
So on the days when the kids are on vacation from school, I want to be on vacation too and that's when I most miss those luxuries. I don't want to clean my house. I don't want to cook. I want to go out to dinner, sleep in, and let my kids play video games all day. A vacation at home.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I love being home with the kids and I am so thankful for my husband working so hard to allow me to be home with them, I just need a small break to remember who I am and reconnect with my husband, who works so hard for us. I'm thankful for my husband being my biggest supporter when I feel lost, upset, conflicted or just plain tired. Especially lately... he has been my rock and my biggest supporter when I probably didn't deserve his constant support. He supported me when my priorities shifted away from us and then witnessed the toll it took with unhappiness. 

I'm ashamed to say, I take him for granted too often.

He's always there to support and challenge me when I need it; he fights the good fight for me and against me when I need a wake up call.

I'm so thankful for this man whose had the misfortune to marry this head-strong, stubborn woman who seems impossible to please. I'm thankful for his ability to break through the toughness I throw up to protect my insecurities and how he selflessly works to make things all right. 

In line with his generous and loving way to make everything all right...my husband heard my cry for a vacation and booked a two day trip for us! No kids. We leave today. I love you baby! :)

....So somewhere in the last few days between video games, reading, crying and vacation planning I made this amazing Shakshuka. If you are not familiar with the dish, like me, Shakshuka is a Tunisian dish of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce. I saw it on Pinterest and I was inspired to make it. I'd say it's most similar to the Latin dish, Huevos Rancheros, but if you remove the poached eggs, it's also reminiscent to Ratatouille. It's amazingly delicious! Enjoy!

Shakshuka (recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Serves 4-6

3 large Anaheim chilies, seeded and chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 T olive oil.
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 cloves, roughly chopped
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 Tbsp paprika, (I used smoked paprika)
1/2 tsp coriander
cayenne pepper (to taste)
Kosher salt (to taste)
1- 28oz can of whole tomatoes, crushed
1 cup of fresh tomato puree
4-6 eggs
pita bread
feta cheese
fresh spinach, thinly sliced (garnish)

In a large skillet, cook onions and chilies over medium high heat, in oil until soft and golden brown. About 6-8 minutes. Add garlic and spices and cook an additional 2 minutes. In a large bowl, add tomatoes and crush by hand. Add crushed tomatoes with sauce and tomato puree to the skillet. Cover and cook over medium high heat for a minimum of 1 hour. (The original recipe calls for a lot less cooking time but the tomatoes were too acidic for my taste so I cooked the sauce, covered for an hour in order to sweeten the tomatoes and blend the chilies and the sauce turned out fantastic!)  

Add eggs, cover and heat an additional 8-10 minutes until the eggs are set but the yolks are still soft. 

Top with feta and spinach and serve with pita bread. Enjoy!