Spider Deviled Eggs

I made these last year I believe, but when my husband asked if I wanted to go to his work potluck today for lunch, he specifically requested the spider deviled eggs he had remembered from last year. I love them because they're easy to make, difficult to mess up, and so darn cute! Plus, who doesn't like deviled eggs? They're usually the first thing to go at parties and everyone seems to get a kick out of them looking like little spiders. I had a great time getting to know the people my husband works with and being able to see where he works. If you're going to a Halloween party and don't have much experience in the kitchen, or don't want to spend a lot of time on something, but would like something festive, this would be a good recipe for you.

Mind you, I don't normally have a recipe for my deviled eggs. I typically cook the hard boiled eggs, take out the yolk, mix it with mustard, mayo, salt and pepper, until it tastes the way I like it and looks about the right consistency. This is really the only thing I feel comfortable making without measuring, but if you need something, here's a recipe I trust:

7 large eggs, cold

3 Tablespoons mayonaise

1 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar (or vinegar of your choice)

3/4 teaspoon grainy mustard

1/4 teaspoon Worchestershire

salt and pepper to taste

1. Place the eggs in a medium saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat immediately, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes.

2. Transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water and cool for 5 minutes. Peel the eggs and slice each in half lengthwise. With a small spoon, scoop the yolks into a bowl, add the mayonaise, vinegar, mustard, and Worchestershire, and mash with a rubber spatula until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Arrange the egg white halves on a serving platter, discarding the two worst-looking ones. Using a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip or plastic bag, pipe the yolk misture into the whites. Serve at room temperature.

Recipe from American's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

I do not go through that much trouble. Normally I simply put the mixture on the eggs with a spoon, but it does look much prettier with a bag. Since you're putting spiders on them, I don't think it really matters. I also would never discard two of the worst looking eggs...well, maybe after I've filled them I would eat them. ;-)

After you've made your deviled eggs however you like, the spiders are made from olives. I cut a whole olive in half to make the body, and with the other half, I cut it into strips to make the legs.

Happy Halloween!

Scrambled Eggs In Puff Pastry

I haven't had much practice in the breakfast side of cooking, but every Friday my hubby and I have "Breakfast Friday." Neither of us have anything to do Friday mornings so we sleep in and I make sure we have more for breakfast than cereal. This Friday I felt like getting a little fancy and make Scrambled Eggs in Puff Pastry. It looked wonderfully delicious in my cookbook, sounded quite impressive to me, and who doesn't like anything wrapped in puff pastry?

When it comes to eggs, I usually keep it very simplistic. For example, I don't like cheese in my eggs and stay clear from omelets. Odd, I know, but that's they way I am. Because of that, this is not my favorite breakfast, but I did think it was nice. My hubby even asked for seconds. :-)


Scrambled Eggs in Puff Pastry

7 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 (9 by 9 1/2-inch sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
Flour for dusting
6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
8 ounces sliced ham (6 slices)

1. Whisk 6 of the egges together with the salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, swirling to coat the pan evenly. Add the eggs and cook while gently pushing, lifting, and folding them from one side of the pan to the other until they are nicely clumped, shiny, and wet, about 2 minutes. Quickly fold in the parsely, then transfer the eggs to a large plate and refrigerate until cool, about 15 minutes.

2. Carefully unfold one sheet of the puff pastry onto a lightly floured work surface and smooth out the creases. Lightly beat the remaining egg and brush a thin layer over the pastry. Divide the chilled scrambled eggs, cheese, and ham into two equal portions. Arrange one portion of the scrambled eggs, cheese, and ham over the bottom half of the pastry, leaving a 1/2-inch border at the edges. Fold the top half of the pastry over the filling and press down with a fork to seal the edges. Repeat this process with the remaining puff pastry sheet, eggs, cheese, and ham. Transfer both pastries to a rimmed baking sheet, wrap lightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, 15 minutes.

3. Adjust an oven to the middle position and hest the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the puff pastries from the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap, and brush the tops with the remaining beaten egg. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before cutting into individual portions.

Make Ahead Option:
You can go through step 2 about an hour ahead of time. Wrap the pastries lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Recipe from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

Cream Scones with Currants

I made these for the first time this summer and love them! Since my hubby and I leave pretty early in the morning without time for us to sit down and even have a bowl of cereal, I make all kinds of breakfasts we can pack in our lunches. I believe you're supposed to eat scones with some butter, jam, or honey-we eat them plain. I think they are definitely worth making!

Cream Scones with Currants:

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for the counter
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes and chilled
1/2 cup currants
1 cup heavy cream

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Pulse the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a food processor to combine, about 6 pulses. Scatter the butter evenly over the top and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with a few slightly larger butter lumps, about 12 pulses.

2. Add the currants and quickly pulse once to combine. Transfer the dough to a large bowl. Stir in the cream with a rubber spatula until the dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.

3. Turn the dough and any floury bits out onto a floured counter and knead until it forms a rough, slightly sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds. Press the dough into a 9-inch cake pan. Unmold the dough and cut into wedges. Place the wedges on an ungreased baking sheet.

4. Bake until the scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Note: do not over cook! The longest I cook mine is for 12 minutes.)

This recipe is from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

Welcome!

Welcome to my work in progress! I've thought about creating a cooking blog for a while now, and was finally pushed into the idea by some encouraging friends. I'm hoping to create something that will be interesting, but also informative. I love cooking and have traveled through a number of blogs. I hope to make this what I would want to see in my searches for food information.

I'm a new wife with a kitchen completely to myself for the first time. I plan and make all the meals in this relationship, so I hope to share my successes (and maybe not such successes) to all of you. Since I need to be prepared for three meals a day, everyday, so I am constantly thinking about food and starting to get a lot of practice in my kitchen. Already in these first few months of marriage I have seen my cooking grow. I hope that continues!

Thank you for coming and visiting my blog, and I hope you'll come back soon!