The inspiration for my first assignment comes from a food blog named The Kitchen is My Playground. I have a great passion for food and finding new ways to pair flavors together in order to create a great tasting dish. This particular blog post I will be commenting on is “10 Deviled Eggs Garnishes {that aren’t a sprinkling of paprika}.” The reason I chose this post is because I use to absolutely hate deviled eggs. I remember when I was a child I would never eat the deviled eggs, which were usually served at my parents’ friends parties. Fast-forward to present time and I actually like them quite a bit, which is why I was interested to read about new ways to garnish them. I will go through the 10 different ways this blogger has mentioned and give my feedback.
The title of the post hints to the fact that the most common way to garnish a deviled egg is with paprika. I love the fact that this post is discussing new ways to spice up a classic dish, because I always enjoying doing that. The first garnish suggestion is to use bacon crumbles, and who doesn’t love bacon? I have to try this, because the great flavor of bacon would add an extra level of flavor to the deviled egg. I can imagine why the blogger says this is her husband’s favorite.
The second and third suggestions add heat to the deviled eggs. The second suggestion is a slice of pickled jalapeno. This may add a good level of flavor and heat, but I can’t quite wrap my head around pairing deviled eggs and jalapenos together. I would much rather use a spice to add heat to the deviled eggs, which is what the bloggers third suggestion is. A sprinkling of cayenne pepper is the third suggestion, and you should definitely be careful as sprinkling too much on the deviled egg could ruin the egg all together.
Given the fourth suggestion is the bloggers favorite, I will probably give it a try to see if it can compete with the bacon crumbles. The suggestion is capers and fresh dill, which I’m sure adds a nice layer of flavor, but I have never been a big fan of capers. However, I do love dill pickles so maybe it would appease my palate.
The fifth suggestion is simply adding some fresh chives. Given the blogger explains how easy it is, I will most likely give it a try and see how much the chives add to the taste of the eggs.
Number six brings some crunch to the party as the blogger suggests a slice of pickled okra. I love fried okra, but I haven’t had pickled okra nearly as much. Adding Old Bay seasoning would definitely add a kick of flavor, so this suggestion could very well be a big hit at parties.
Suggestions seven and eight don’t really appeal to me. Number seven is adding a sprig of parsley, which I feel would take away from the egg flavor. However, given I haven’t tried it before, it could be delicious. Suggestion eight is adding diced pimento and parsley, which as the blogger says, would be good for Christmas time. However, I really don’t like pimento, so I would pass on that pairing.
Suggestions nine, a green olive, and ten, a radish, seem more unique. The blogger explains how she loves egg salad with olives, so I think this pairing appeals more to her rather than a large party of people. I don’t quite have the same love for eggs and olives paired together. Lastly, adding a radish could give a nice fresh crunch and bite to the egg, but if the radish is cut too think it would take away from the creamy egg flavor.
An ingredient that I love and have used on deviled eggs is pancetta bits. Pancetta is very similar to bacon, but it has more of a salty flavor in my opinion. The next time you make deviled eggs, I recommend trying pancetta bits as a garnish.