Baked Deviled Eggs

Connie says, "What are we having for dinner?"  I say, "Hard cooked eggs filled with mushrooms and shallots and...."  He says, "No, what are we having for dinner?"  Once again I begin the dissertation describing the dish.  He once again says, "What?"  By this time I'm totally frustrated and so is he.  He won't listen to the recipe and I don't have a name for the recipe.  You see, I'd picked up Simca's Cuisine at our friends Mary Kay and Andy's house and it'd fallen open to a recipe where you hard cook eggs and mix the yolks with cooked mushrooms and onions and top them with a mornay sauce.  That sounded good to me.

We were supposed to have dinner with some clients.  Dick retired and we were going to celebrate.  Then, Kathy had to work late and I was still pooped from my trek to Florida earlier in the week.  That's rescheduled.

So, I was home with nothing planned for dinner.  I considered making a pizza.  Alas, there were no Boboli crusts around and my yeast has seen better days.  Ok, fine.  It's seen better years.  Hmmm.  I looked in the fridge.  Eggs.  Mushrooms.   Ahhhhh, the makings of THE dish. 

Out came the egg cooker.  And three skillets.  And a cutting board.  Ugh.  I'd just finished cleaning up the kitchen from yesterday's mell of a hess.  Finally, everything was in a pie plate and under the broiler and I had a lovely glass of wine in my hand. 

What did we think?  A solid four out of five.  During dinner Connie said, "You know if you'd just told me we were having baked deviled eggs I'd have understood the recipe."  I said, "AH HA!!  That's what we'll call it!"  So, here you go.  Great for brunch, lunch or dinner.  Baked deviled eggs.  With a tip of the hat to Simca's Cuisine and the balance of the recipe to what needed to be used up in my fridge.

And, after dinner, time to relax.  Juste before bed we brought in the FOB's food.  (That's the fat orange boys who were feral and live on the screened porch.)  Annie and Wee Mac get a few pieces of kibble.  And, they share very nicely, thank you.

Baked Deviled Eggs

serves 4

Ingredients:

7 eggs, hard cooked
3-4 large mushrooms, cremini or white button, finely chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped
4 oz chopped pancetta, browned and drained
half and half
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 c milk
1/4 c white wine
nutmeg
4 oz brie
ground pepper
2 t truffle oil

Directions:

Saute the shallots, mushrooms and pancetta.  Now, you can do them all in the same skillet if you'd like.  I just prefer for the flavors and colors to remain separate until I'm ready to let them dance together.  I think the shallots and pancetta get a nicer browning without the moisture from the mushrooms.   Halve the hard cooked eggs.  Put the yolks in a mixing bowl with the cooked mushrooms, shallots and pancetta.  Mix well.  Add half and half or cream until it's the consistency of deviled eggs.  While you're doing all of that, put the butter in a saucepan and start it melting.  Add two tablespoons of flour and cook it for about five minutes.  Partially cooked flour tastes nasty so make sure you cook it long enough!  Add about 1/4 c of the milk.  It'll almost immediately turn into a paste.  Add the wine to thin it, stirring the entire time.  Then, slowly add the rest of the milk.  Cook until you've got a nice sauce.  Add the brie, nutmeg and pepper.  Stir until the brie meits.  Take the egg whites and put them in a pie plate.  Mound the filling in the whites. 

Top with the brie sauce.  Broil 10 minutes or until the top is nice and browned.  Serve drizzled with truffle oil.