These smoked salmon deviled eggs are another addition to my creative collection of deviled egg recipes. Pickled Beet Deviled Eggs, Red Wine & Blue Cheese Deviled Eggs and Sushi Deviled Eggs are all big hits so far. I used the egg-dying trick again with these, and while the color of the eggs looks visually beautiful, these eggs aren’t pickled, so the flavor of the egg doesn’t really change.
Dying the eggs is a fairly simple process, and requires boiling the eggs a day ahead. All you need to do is boil the eggs, peel them and then let them soak overnight in a mixture of boiled onion skins and a little turmeric powder. The mixture turns them a brilliant orangey-brown, which looks lovely paired with smoked salmon.
I used (hot) smoked salmon in these deviled eggs instead of cured salmon, like lox or gravlax. Smoked salmon is cooked with low heat and is more similar in texture to grilled or poached salmon. It flakes when you cut into it, making it easy to slice off big chunks for the deviled eggs.
I love cold cured salmon just as much for the silky texture, but am reserving this type of salmon for a different recipe, which will pop up on Love and Duck Fat in the near future.
The firm texture and smoky flavor of the salmon is the perfect topping for the lemony egg filling. Chopped capers add a nice pop of tartness and very finely-chopped celery gives the eggs a burst of freshness and crunch. Chopped green onion is really the only garnish needed for this elegant appetizer that looks like you slaved away when it’s actually very simple.
I’ve learned a few tricks making all of these eggs. Check them out below to see if you use these techniques:
Ingredients
Method
In a medium saucepan, onion skins and turmeric to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, until the water turns a deep golden color. Allow to cool completely. Strain liquid and set aside.
Boil & Peel Eggs: Place eggs in the bottom of a large saucepan and cover with water so they are completely submerged. Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to water. Heat until water comes to a gentle boil. Simmer eggs for 8 minutes. Drain and rinse eggs under cold water.
Crack egg shells on the counter top, and roll them gently on the counter with your hand. Carefully peel under running water and set aside.
Add eggs to onion/turmeric water and refrigerate at least 2 hours to overnight. Remove and pat dry on paper towels. Cut in half with a sharp knife and pop the yolks into a bowl.
Mash yolks first. Then mash again with mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, salt, cayenne pepper, capers and celery. Fill egg whites with yolk mixture and top with a schunk of salmon. Sprinkle with sliced green onion.
http://loveandduckfat.com/smoked-salmon-deviled-eggs-turmeric-onion-dyed-deviled-eggs/
It’s Saturday as I’m writing this, one thirty in the afternoon and it’s the first time I’ve sat down since I woke up this morning. Weekends are for relaxing (aren’t they? Or do I have that wrong?). My weekends are more work than my weekdays lately. I have two days to clean the house, run errands (grocery shopping), spend time with my toddler (who is a full-time job) and work on Love and Duck Fat.
On Sunday I cook as much as I can to make sure we have healthy, home-cooked meals for the week. This Thai beef lettuce wrap recipe is one of our new favorites.
Gluten-Free, Paleo, Real Food, Organic, Grass-fed…however you want to label them; these beef lettuce wraps are a delicious, healthy recipe to add to your weekday meal lineup. I like to make a double batch of the beef filling and use it for dinner one night, and then use the leftovers in an Asian beef salad the next day.
Beef lettuce wraps are light, flavorful and full of crunchy texture. They are easy to make too. I usually keep a few pounds of grass-fed, organic ground beef in my freezer to pull out for meals later in the week. Ground beef is one of those versatile, affordable staples that make a busy schedule just a little easier.
When life is busy (and a little overwhelming) in times like these, you know what I do? More!
Yep. I committed to working out 20 minutes a day on top of everything else so I can manage my stress and get in better shape. I’m almost through my first week, and it’s hard, but I need to do something for myself–even if a toddler is climbing all over me while I’m trying to do yoga.
It’s a lot to handle, and sometimes I think I should just quit Love and Duck Fat for a while—I mean, why am I here? I’m certainly not getting paid (much beyond expenses) for my time, and blogging takes a LOT of my time. There’s recipe creating, cooking, photographic, photo editing, writing, social media promotion, emails to answer, blog maintenance.
I’m not complaining. After all, I started this blog and I’m very proud of it. I’m compelled to keep doing it—and maybe someday it will lead to something that would make the hours worthwhile in a more monetary sense. That would be nice…to be valued enough for what I do to get paid for it so I don’t have to go to that OTHER job where I feel like what I’m doing could be done by anyone.
Love and Duck Fat is all mine, and that’s why I’m taking the few quiet moments of my day (when my son is napping) to sit here and share this Thai beef lettuce wrap recipe with you. I would love to hear what you think about handling a busy schedule, priorities and blogging. You do you do it? Please share in the comments!
Ingredients
Method
Rinse the lettuce leaves and pat dry, keeping them whole by cutting the stalk and peeling away the leaves one by one.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan and add the chili flakes and ginger. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant but not brown. Add the onion and carrot and cook for 5-6 minutes, until soft. Add the beef and sauté beef until nearly cooked. If using Grass-Fed beef it is usually lower in fat and you may not need to drain the grease.
Add the garlic, water chestnuts, mushrooms, soy sauce, fish sauce to the beef mixture. Cook until mixture is lightly browned.
Cut half the lime and squeeze juice over the beef mixture. Slice the remaining lime and use as garnish. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
Garnish with scallions and serve with lettuce leaves and optional dipping sauce.
Mix all ingredients together and stir until combined. Garnish with scallions.
http://loveandduckfat.com/thai-beef-lettuce-wraps-paleo-gluten-free/
I am continuing my quest to explore the limits of the deviled egg and this one is the most fun so far! Sushi deviled eggs hit all the right notes for a show-stopping appetizer: delicious, fun-to-eat, elegant and beautiful.
They are easy to make, too. The hardest part about making these sushi deviled eggs is getting those little tobiko eggs (flying fish roe) in the seaweed. You can avoid the hassle altogether by making an indentation in the wasabi-yolk and scooping a mound of tobiko on top. Stick a little piece of seaweed on top and you have an elegant appetizer any expensive restaurant would be happy to serve.
I get my tobiko (also known as tobikko) from a Russian market near downtown Miami called Marky’s Caviar. If you are a serious foodie in Miami searching for an experience; I highly recommend a stop in Marky’s. It’s like going to Disney World. Without rides…and lots of fish eggs.
So maybe it isn’t like Disney World. But if I had a choice of one or the other (money aside), I would probably choose Marky’s.
Marky’s sells tobiko in little glass jars for around $5.00. It’s not expensive, and it comes in all sorts of pretty colors: red, green, black and orange. It’s the same stuff you see on top of sushi. Tobiko is sweet and salty and pops in your mouth. I could seriously eat it by the spoonful.
It just seems right to top a hardboiled egg with more tiny eggs. Throw in some wasabi and toasted seaweed and you had me at hello.
I suggest serving these with some pickled ginger on the side. They don’t need soy sauce, but you could offer it (or maybe some ponzu) at your next dinner party. I don’t actually have many dinner parties myself nowadays with a toddler underfoot, but if I did, these sushi deviled eggs would be at the top of my must-have appetizer list.
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Wasabi Deviled Eggs
Note: I made these green with a sprinkle of matcha tea powder. If you add enough wasabi to make the yolks green, you just may choke from how spicy they are.
Note: If making ahead, boil and peel the eggs. Store them submerged in water in a food container until you are ready to assemble (1-2 days).
Ingredients
Method
Place eggs in a medium saucepan in a single layer. Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda and enough water to cover eggs completely (the baking soda helps them to peel). Bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Cover and remove from heat. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. Drain and run cold water over the eggs or place into an ice bath to cool.
Carefully peel the eggs. Cut them in half lengthwise or crosswise. If you are cutting them crosswise, slice off a tiny slice at the rounded bottom of each egg half so they sit upright.
Scoop or pop out the yolks into a bowl. Mash with a fork until very smooth. Add the mayonnaise, wasabi and vinegar. Season with salt and matcha tea powder (optional). Pipe or spoon the wasabi egg yolk into the egg whites.
With scissors, cut the seaweed sheets into 1/2 inch strips about 2 ½ inches long. Dip your finger in water and wet one end of the strip. Roll into a circle or oval shape and insert into the center of each egg yolk.
Using a very small spoon or chopsticks, fill the seaweed with tobiko caviar. Serve with pickled ginger (optional).
http://loveandduckfat.com/sushi-deviled-eggs-elegant-appetizer-recipe/
Do you want even more elegant deviled egg recipes? Check out these:
It’s been a busy few weeks. I started working full time last week after being a stay-at-home mom with my son for over a year. I’m very grateful for having the opportunity to be home with my son; but also ready to get back to work. Carving out time to cook, photograph and post recipes on Love and Duck Fat will be difficult; but I’m determined to keep going in this labor of love.
Before I started my new job, I went on a little deviled egg bender; whipping up one new recipe after another in anticipation of having ZERO time. This recipe for pickled beet deviled eggs was one of our favorites. It’s easy to do and beats the heck out of the garishly bright food-colored deviled eggs I’ve been seeing on Pinterest lately. This is actually my SECOND batch because I can’t find the SD card with the original photos. They looked so beautiful I tried another color–using turmeric and onion skins to dye the peeled eggs a really pretty golden color.
The “deviled” bit in this recipe is a classic recipe. You get that delicious classic deviled egg taste wrapped up in a fun new package. Pickling the eggs overnight with spices, vinegar and garlic gives them a slight pickle flavor that works perfectly for a deviled egg recipe. Of course, you can pickle them longer for even more color, but overnight seems to be the perfect amount as it leaves the egg yolks nice and yellow.
The fresher the eggs, the harder they will be to peel, and since I used farm fresh eggs; I was worried they would be impossible to peel. To give me some help, I added a teaspoon of baking soda to the boiling water. Sure enough, all put one or two egg shells peeled easily. Don’t you love when kitchen tips work?
This deviled egg recipe makes 2 dozen eggs. You can fill the eggs with a piping bag like I did or just use a small spoon. For something in-between, just fill a sandwich bag with filling, close it tight, and then snip off the tip of the bag with scissors. You get an instant piping bag without any clean up.
Ingredients
Method
Beet mixture: In a medium saucepan, bring water, vinegar, beets, shallot, sugar, bay leaf, peppercorns, mustard seeds, garlic and cloves to a boil. Cook for 20 minutes on low heat. Cool completely.
Boil & Peel Eggs: Place eggs in the bottom of a large saucepan and cover with water so they are completely submerged. Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to water. Heat until water comes to a gentle boil. Cover and turn heat to low. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let sit-covered-for 15 minutes. Rinse under cold water.
Crack egg shells, and roll them gently on the counter. Carefully peel under running water and set aside.
Add eggs to beet mixture and refrigerate at least 2 hours to overnight. Remove and pat dry on paper towels. Cut in half with a sharp knife and pop the yolks into a bowl.
Mash yolks first. Then mash again with mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, salt and cayenne pepper. Fill egg whites with yolk mixture and garnish with chives or parsley
Do you want even more elegant deviled egg recipes? Check out these:
This spicy Szechuan roasted okra recipe is super easy and perfect for spice lovers. I used a bottled Szechuan sauce you can find in any Asian grocery store isle and a sprinkling of crushed red peppers. You can leave the okra whole or slice them in half if you want more seasoning-to-okra ratio. They roast up beautiful and tender; even the larger ones that seem tough when boiled. As for the “slime” okra is famous for, you won’t even notice it when you roast them up. They are sweet and delicate and have a delicious okra flavor.
I was an okra lover before, but now, roasted okra is my new favorite snack. Okra has been available in my grocery store for the past month now, and I’ve been bringing a bunch home every week, trying new flavors and combinations.
So far, I made soy & garlic glazed okra. A Parmesan and garlic okra recipe will be posted soon. I can’t figure out which one is my favorite, but this recipe for spicy Szechuan okra was my husband’. He is not an okra fan, but he ate these like candy, so I must be doing something right! They make a great side dish or unique appetizer everyone will talk about. Enjoy!
Spicy Szechuan Roasted Okra Recipe
Ingredients
Method
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F/190 degrees C
Wash and dry okra. Cut off stems just above the line where the stem attaches to the body of the okra. Slice in half or leave whole.
Place the okra on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil and Szechuan sauce. Toss with your hands to coat. Place into the oven and roast for 20 minutes, turning once. (If roasting whole okra, you may need another 5 minutes). Remove from the oven when okra is lightly browned and tender.
Toss with crushed red pepper flakes and salt (optional) to taste.
http://loveandduckfat.com/spicy-szechuan-roasted-okra-recipe/
I saw this recipe for asparagus wrapped with prosciutto on Pinterest and just had to try it out. The bright green asparagus spears wrapped in a cocoon of salty prosciutto looked so delicious, and easy to boot.
I’m always on the hunt for easy appetizer recipes that are elegant, fresh and delicious and this one fit the bill. My main concern was that prosciutto would fall off, but there was no need to worry. Once cooked, the asparagus and salty ham became one.
We had a few unexpected guests over and I took a few minutes to wrap these up (the most time-consuming part). A blast in the oven and I presented everyone with a cheese plate, a bowl of nuts, some fruit and these lovelies. Everyone’s eyes opened wide when they saw my steaming plate of yummy-ness. Voila! I’m such a fancy gal all of the sudden. I didn’t bat an eye and went about my business as usual. Of course, my husband made some crack about how “we always eat like this” and everyone chowed down.
The asparagus was gone in mere minutes.
This recipe is officially part of my appetizer–or since I’m a fancy gal–my hor d’oeuvre repertoire. I hope it becomes part of yours!
Ingredients
Method
Heat the oven to broil, with a rack 6 inches below the heating element.
Place the asparagus on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and toss with your hands. Remove them to a plate.
Starting just below the head of the asparagus, wrap one of the prosciutto slices, spiraling it around the asparagus towards the bottom of the stem. Place on the baking sheet. Continue with all of the asparagus until you cover them all. Try not to crowd them on the baking sheet.
Broil for 3-5 minutes, until crisp and slightly browned. Flip them over with tongs and broil for another 3 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper before serving.
