The Devil You Know

I didn't think I liked deviled eggs. I didn't have a reason really, except that they had been categorized in my head next to the other foods that seemed to surface at holiday parties my grandparents threw when I was a kid that I refused to eat - pickled beets in particular. There was something about the consistency of the eggs, slimy whites and chalky yolks, ice cold and impossible to pick up, let alone eat, that didn't do much for me.

That was 20 years ago, and I figured not long ago that I should give the things one last shot. I'm glad I did, because in the process I found yet another use for one of my favorite things: pastrami.

When I broached the idea of putting meat into deviled eggs to some friends at a get-together I threw a few weeks ago, they reacted with universal...let's call it suspicion, though it might've been closer to disgust. It isn't that weird an idea, though - hard-boiled eggs have been intrinsically paired with ham for years and years and pastrami, though not a pork product, shares a lot of the same characteristics with ham while being a little subtler, a little spicier and slightly less versatile.
This recipe is perfectly tasty without the pastrami though, so leave it out if you must. Keep in mind, though, that you might have to increase the quantity of salt to compensate.

Ingredients:

• 6 Eggs
• 1 heavy pinch of salt
  

• 3-4 slices deli pastrami, chopped
• 1/2 tbsp butter
  

• 1/2 handful Green Onions, chopped
• 1 tbsp Mayo
• 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
• 1/4 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp Tabasco
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Paprika
  

The Gist:

Hard-boil the eggs. There are as many ways to this as there are people who make them, but I actually like Emeril's method - cover the eggs with water in a pan, bring them to a boil over medium heat, boil for 2 minutes, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 11 minutes before cooling and peeling.

Fry the chopped pastrami in a pan with the butter until crispy while your eggs are cooling.

Cut the hard boiled eggs in half lengthwise and remove and reserve the yolks in a bowl. You can use a spoon for this but if you're careful and if the eggs are cooked just right, you can pop the yolks out of the egg halves with your fingers without damaging the whites.

Mash the clumps out of the yolks with a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Spoon the yolk / mayo mixture back into the yolk shells, dust with paprika and chill in the fridge until serving.

Hot Potato

Of all the foods in the diner breakfast pantheon, it's hash browns that deserve more attention; what with bacon hogging the spotlight (looking back, that's a truly awful pun; sorry about that), even sausage has been relegated to the background, coming to prominence only infrequently on things like biscuits, but the minimal attention paid to sausage puts it on the C-list compared to the scoop-it-off-the-grill-and-forget-about-it nature of breakfast potatoes.

Potatoes have, in general, been stuck at the side of the plate for too long, which is a shame considering all the tasty things you can do to them - they're even good boiled, a fate I wouldn't usually reserve to the blandest of foods.

To hell with that, I say. Attention must be paid to potatoes, and breakfast is as good a place as any to start.
The diner breakfast trifecta is familiar the country over - eggs on one third of the plate, meats on another third and potatoes on the remaining third. This recipe brings the starch to the forefront by putting it smack-dab in the middle of the plate with everything else catering to it, for once. You'll notice that the proportions are similarly balanced in the potatoes' favor as well.

Ingredients:

• 1 mediumish potato, cubed
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter

• Pinches of Rosemary, Parsley and Thyme
• Dashes of Paprika and Celery Salt
• Salt and Pepper

• 1 Egg
• 1 tbsp half-and-half
  

optional:

• 1 cup (or so) sliced smoked hot Chorizo
• 2 dashes of Louisiana hot - Frank's, etc.
  

The Gist:

Melt the butter in a pan with the olive oil over medium heat, and throw in the potato and onion once the butter is bubbling. Toss to combine.

Potatoes are hardy starches - you're going to have to cook them for awhile at a relatively low temperature to simultaneously cook them and keep them from burning, about 10-15 minutes should do it. Add the spices and chorizo (if you went that way) halfway through - if you ever wondered what makes diner hash browns that distinctive slight-orange color, by the way, it's the butter and the paprika.

Once the potatoes are cooked, beat an egg with the half-and-half, pinches of salt and pepper and, if you like, the hot sauce. Pour into the pan directly over the potatoes and tilt the pan around for an even distribution. Don't touch it after that, just let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes. The eggs will be cooked through but slightly soft on one side, the potatoes will be fork-tender and the sausage will be warm and slightly crispy.

Serve with coffee and, if you think you can deal with the added starch, toast.

Notes:

• Chorizo translates to "sausage," but in practice (in the United States at least) Chorizo is almost always sold smoked, not raw. If the chorizo you have is raw, you'll need to cook it first.
• Sour cream can be substituted for the half-and-half. So can water; it's just a stretching agent.
• And speaking of sour cream, it works wonders here as a garnish.
• So does grated cheddar.
  

This recipe results in a diner-sized portion - I can eat this much by myself without so much as blinking, though you could probably feed two normal people with it. If you're cooking for two hungry people, add another egg and you should be fine. I serve it on one plate with two forks, but that's me.

Hiatus?

Sorry for the lack of posting recently - Angela was in Europe for two weeks and the camera was with her, and the pics-or-it-didn't-happen nature of food blogging kinda defeated the purpose.

She's back. Expect some tastiness soon.