Dilled Devil Eggs with Caviar

 

                                                     Sink your teeth into these beauties!!! 


A small jar of caviar goes a long way and I still have a bunch to use up yet.  My sisters and I always make a batch of Deviled Eggs for Thanksgiving and I figure with Easter coming up next weekend this recipe is timely.  I also had plenty of dill leftover from last weeks snack recipe.  The only thing I didn't have on hand, believe it or not, was mayonnaise.  I know right? Who doesn't have mayo in the fridge?!?  No worries though we have like a gallon of nonfat Greek yogurt so I substituted with that.  Which dropped the calorie count on these way down. 

Here's what I used:
5 fresh eggs
2 tsp fresh dill chopped
1/4 C Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt
pinches of salt, pepper, Cayenne pepper, garlic powder
1/2 tsp yellow mustard.  

First your eggs should look exactly as mine do after they have been hard-boiled.  Perfectly yellow and fluffy and no obnoxious odor.  

If you have a green ring around them or if they smell like sulfur than you'll want to follow my directions.  I know there are a lot of over the top techniques out there, like poke a whole in the bottom or let them sit in the hot water after boiling them or how about cooking them in the oven.  But really folks boiling an egg IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE!

Place your eggs in a  2 quart sauce pan, cover with cold tap water and place on stove over a medium flame.  Set the timer for 20 minutes.  Go do something.  When the timer goes off drain the water from the pot leaving the eggs in the pot.  Fill pot with ice and cover that with water, let the eggs in ice water sit on the counter for 10 minutes.  Peel the eggs immediately.  That's it, nothing more, nothing less.  :) 

Cut your eggs in half, lengthwise.  Remove your perfectly cooked yolks from the egg white.  Place the whites on a plate and set it to the side for later.  Place the yolks in a small bowl and mash the yolks with the back of a fork.

Once the egg yolks are crumbled into small uniformed sized pieces it's time to add some spices and seasonings. 

I've added dill, salt, pepper, mustard and nonfat Greek yogurt.  The yogurt is very bland so adding spices is so important here.  The garlic powder is a definite must add otherwise you'll be standing at the counter as I was saying " Hmmm something is missing!"

Oh and these are Deviled Eggs so gotta add a bit of the devil.  Shake a couple of dashes of Red Pepper Cayenne in there.  In my opinion the more the better, but kids were going to be eating this batch as well so I had to use it sparingly.  Stir it all up into a smooth paste.

Once you've got it all mixed up and tasting the way you want, use a spatula to scoop your mix into a Ziploc baggie.  Seal the baggie except for about a quarter of an inch at the top.  Snip off one of the bottom corners about a 1/4- 1/2 inch.  You are now ready to pipe for filling into those egg whites over there.

Gently squeeze the filling into the cup of each egg white.  Evenly distributing to fill all of the cups. Get fancy make some swirls and pointy peaks. 

"Close the door! We're getting dressed here!"

You filling should be stiff enough to hold a peak, but not so dry that it has no shine to it.  I cold eat these just like this, but I promised you caviar.  I got my eye on that one in the front though.  Mmmm!

"Three's a party!"

Using a plastic spoon of knife drop a small lump of caviar on each and accent it with a very small sprig of fresh dill.  You don't want to use metal utensil when serving your caviar because it ruins the taste.  The material of choice for serving caviar is Mother-of-Pearl.  Mother-of-Pearl is non-reactive material and it lets caviar's fragile taste shine.  You can read more about caviar spoons here.

"Umm...where did everybody go?"

 Oh look at you...all dressed up and no where to go?  Come to momma!

I've attached links below that I feel may be of some use to you.  Check them out and let me know what your think:

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Salmon Mousse in Belgian Endive Boats

Salmon Mousse in Belgian Endive Boats

It is raining cats and dogs here! While I was out going to the movies (Hunger Games) and running errands I got drenched.  The tune in my head all day has been "April Showers bring May Flowers!" and I swear the grass is so much more verdant than it was yesterday.  Unfortunately though, this driving rain is stripping the Cherry Blossoms off the tree branches prematurely. 

I threw together a really quick snack this afternoon, nothing too fancy or expensive, but can be served for an elegant lunch or party.  I love when they pass trays at wedding receptions or cocktail parties that have something served in an endive leaf. 

Belgian Endive

Endive leaves are the perfect snack canvas.  They are crispy, bite size and have a very neutral flavor.  They are extremely low on the glycemic index and are strongly anti-inflammatory. You can read more about the nutritional value of an endive here.

After peeling off of just the two outer leaves this is what an Belgian Endive look like.  And yes it is pronounced On-deeve.

I'm not sure why but I picked up some Vegan Cream Cheese instead of the full fat regular Philly Cream Cheese.  I'm not vegan, but I figure slipping a few vegan foods into my diet once in a while couldn't hurt.  Vegan crean cheese made from soy kinda tastes like the real thing, although I haven't tried it spread on a bagel or anything.  The jury is still out.

4oz. Smoked Salmon, 2T Fresh Dill, 2oz. Cream Cheese, Juice half a Lemon, Black Pepper to taste

 I whizzed 4oz. Smoked Salmon, 2T Fresh Dill, 2oz. Cream Cheese, Juice half a Lemon, Black Pepper to taste up in the blender, the one I used is a ninja.  No really it's a Ninja Kitchen System 1100 , its got like six blades and a uber powerful motor that just eviscerates any and everything you could possibly put in it.  

After cutting the bottom from the endive I removed the leaves one by one and set them on the serving plate.  Spoon the mousse into a Ziploc baggie.  (Ugh! Unfortunately I couldn't locate my brand new never used pastry bag!)  Pipe a good amount of mouse into each leaf.

 I garnished these with a caper, lemon zest and red caviar (lumpfish).  Kick back and enjoy!  Now I am going to fix a cocktail and relax!

Have you ever tried Vegan Cream Cheese?  Let me know what you think.

Get your own Ninja!
 

Candied Citrus Peel

 

Even though this recipe can be a bit laborious it is totally worth the effort.  Citrus peel has such a zingy flavor that just perks up the pallet. I dipped half of each peel in chocolate, but they are just as yummy without the chocolate. 

My childhood friend Alexa had mentioned on Facebook that she wanted some of these Candied Citrus Peels so I figured I'd whip up a batch.  She is sending me great stuff all the time.  The last thing she sent me was one of her "Bags-of-the-Week".  Check out here blog and see what she creates using re-purposed items around the house.  

Okay Candied Citrus Peels!

You'll need:

4-5 citrus fruits (I used 2 oranges, 1 grapefruit and 3 lemons)

4 C water
2 C Sugar
More sugar for coating
Dark Chocolate Baking Bar -optional

Cut each fruit into quarters and remove peel.  Try not to tear the peel. 

 Using a sharp paring knife remove as much of the bitter white pith as you can.

  Slice the peels into 1/4-1/2 inch strips

Boil for 20 minutes in a large pot with enough water to cover. Drain and repeat this boil process one more time. Drain and set aside.

In a large pot add the 4 C water and 2 cups sugar, heat to dissolve sugar.  Add parboiled peels.  Bring to a boil them lower to a simmer.  Simmer on med-low for 1 hour.  Brush the insides of the pot while cooking with hot water and a basting brush.  This will help get rid of the crystallization of sugar on the sides of the pot.

Once your peels have simmered for an hour allow them to cool in the syrup.  When cool enough to handle roll each peel strip in the additional sugar and place on a rack to dry over night. Store syrup in an airtight container in the fridge and use it to sweeten teas, fruit juices or pour over ice cream etc.

  

If you want to eat them today, place them in a 200 degree (or the lowest setting) oven for about 2 hours.

Melt dark chocolate in a double broiler and dip all or half of each peel, let dry for a few hours.

FINALLY!!! It's time to enjoy all your efforts.  Can you believe how long it takes to make these candied peels.   Luckily the citrus oil bite will slow the kids down so you'll have a chance to enjoy them for a while.  Enjoy!