Poppyseed Egg Salad

A few weeks ago, with my nieces in town to hang out with my girls for what is known as Cousin Camp, we had a tea party with some other friends. I made PB&J and cream cheese and jam sandwiches in the shapes of hearts and flowers. But what about for the adults? I hadn't thought that far ahead. Fortunately, egg salad popped to mind, because all of the ingredients — including poppyseeds, which give this version a subtle nutty flavor and crunch — are always on hand.

My friend Ashley, who brought her girls to the tea party, and I were like "Omigosh, egg salad is sooooo good." There wasn't a whole lot of talking during the eating, actually.

Why don't I make egg salad more often? Well, the hubby is watching his cholesterol, and the kids won't eat it. But I'm here to tell you, my friends, that it's good to make dishes for just yourself (and a like-minded friend) sometimes. Besides, taste buds change, too. I now have one kid, Lucy, who absolutely loves this egg salad. I found out about Lucy's new love of egg salad when the leftovers that had my name (figuratively) all over them for a late post-cycle class lunch were half eaten when I got to them.

I hope you enjoy this simple, classic dish with a twist. I hope that sometimes you make something that only you like ... for now.

XOXO,
Amy



Poppyseed Egg Salad
12 hardboiled eggs
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon poppyseeds
Salt and pepper, to taste

Peel and cut up eggs; transfer to bowl. Add rest of ingredients and stir gently (so as not to make the eggs a mushy mess) until combined.

Question: Do you know how to boil eggs? That is, do you know how to boil eggs so that the yolks are perfectly cooked without any greenish hint of being overdone? And do you know how to boil eggs so that the shells come off easily, without taking out hunks of egg white?

No? Well, here is what to do. Place eggs in a pot and add water so that it there's at least an inch of water over the tops of the eggs. Add some salt to the water and set pot over high heat. Once the water comes to a rapid boil, allow water to continue its full-paced boil and the eggs to cook for another two minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove eggs and transfer to a bowl of ice cubes and cold water. Peel eggs immediately after they are cooled, within about 10-15 minutes.

Oh, and here's Lucy enjoying an open-faced egg salad sandwich.

Curry Chicken Salad with Grapes and Cashews

Our friends Cathy and Daniel picnic like it's their job. They take it seriously and they're good at it. We experienced this firsthand when visiting them in Baltimore while on Spring Break. We met up at the park atop Federal Hill. They brought a delicious picnic lunch in a beautiful traditional picnic basket, because details matter to Cathy, a former opera director and stage manager turned interior designer.

Together we unpacked curry chicken sandwiches in mini pitas and -- for dessert -- homemade (by Daniel and nearly 3-year-old Gregory) oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. We poured Orangina into plastic picnic stemware.

The chicken salad was sooooo good that I had to make it as soon as we got home. Cathy told  me all of the ingredients, which she mostly eyeballs. That's what I do a lot when I cook, too. I would say my version (below) turned out slightly more powerful on the curry than Cathy's, while hers was creamier. I still want to work on getting mine to be more like Cathy's in creaminess.

Anyhow, play with it and make it your own. My tweaks included using some of the whites of the green onions and adding some red bell pepper.

One thing Cathy and I agree on: the mayonnaise. I've said it before and I will again. It's gotta be Duke's. (See my Deviled Egg Sampler.)

I love how Cathy used mini pitas, which sadly I didn't find at the grocery. The ones I bought were too teeny to be filled with more than a thimble-full of chicken salad.

So, I wish I'd taken a picture of Cathy's sandwiches, because they were so cute and pretty. Oh well...I was too busy stuffing my face. And taking in a beautiful day in Baltimore. And picnicking with my friends, the professional picnickers.

XOXO,
Amy

PS: I did get Penny to eat this in her school lunch.

Curry Chicken Salad with Grapes and Cashews

1 1/2 to 2 pounds of boneless chicken breast, cooked and diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1 heaping cup of seedless grapes -- red or white -- cut in half
3 green onions,  white and green parts sliced ultra thin
1/2 to 1 whole red pepper, diced small
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 teaspoons curry
Salt and pepper to taste
Cashew pieces for garnish

Mix all ingredients except for cashews together and chill thoroughly before serving. Add cashews just before serving.

And here is a trick with the red pepper, which can make a salad super watery if you aren't careful. After you dice the pepper, roll the pieces in a paper towel to get out some of the water.

Deviled Egg Sampler

I recently overbought on the egg front. What to do? Make deviled eggs, of course. Plenty of other good reasons to whip up deviled eggs, too. I love using my pretty deviled egg plate. Plus, my older daughter Lucy recently discovered a love of deviled eggs; she ate like six at a wedding reception.

What's better than deviled eggs? A deviled egg sampler, of course. In mine: traditional, poppy seed and curried.

Mmm. Mmm. Mmm.

At top: curried. On right: traditional. On left: poppy seed.

My favorite in this sampler: the curried. Anyone who knows me and my love of Indian food would  not be shocked. Lucy plopped two of the traditional style in her mouth in about five seconds. Penny went for poppy seed. The hubby tried them all and remains a traditionalist at heart.

I bet you will come up with varieties we haven't even thought of.

XOXO,
Amy

Deviled Egg Sampler
8 eggs, hard boiled (See directions below)
Salt
1 teaspoon ground mustard, divided in half
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
3 tablespoons mayonnaise, divided in thirds

First, prepare the hard boiled eggs with this fool-proof method.

Take eggs out of fridge, so they start to come closer to room temperature. Add salt to a pot of water and boil. When water is boiling rapidly, use a slotted spoon to place each egg in the pot. Reduce to a moderate boil and cook eggs for 10 minutes. This timing is what ensures that the eggs are not overcooked; the yellow part of the eggs stays yellow and doesn't turn that gross green color around the edges.

Just before the egg time is up, fill a bowl with ice and cold water. When time is up, use a slotted spoon to gently remove each egg from the hot water and place in the bowl of ice and cold water. This last step ensures that  the eggs will stay nicely intact when you peel them.

Peel eggs immediately or drain water and place in fridge until you are ready to make your deviled eggs. I get better results if I peel immediately. I always make eight eggs to yield 12 deviled egg halves. By making eight eggs, I have enough eggs yolks to fill 12 halves and if I wreck two of the egg whites it's no big deal.

After you peel the eggs, slice in half and scoop out the insides. Divide the yolks evenly into three bowls. Add a bit of salt (to taste) to each bowl.

For traditional deviled eggs, add half a teaspoon of ground mustard and one tablespoon of mayonnaise to one bowl with egg yolk and salt. Combine/mash with a fork. Fill four eggs and top with paprika.

For poppy seed deviled eggs, prepare the a bowl as you did for traditional eggs and add half a teaspoon of poppy seeds. Combine ingredients. Fill four eggs.

For curried deviled eggs, add half a teaspoon of curry powder and a tablespoon of mayonnaise to  the third bowl with egg yolks and salt. Combine ingredients. Fill  four eggs and top with garam masala.

Eat immediately.

PS: A word on the mayonnaise. If you are using store-bought and you live in the South, you use Duke's. All other brands are lame.