BBQ Deviled Eggs

Don't you just hate when the "rules" regarding food constantly change? I do, and in the case of eggs, it's always something different. First they are good for you, then they are not, and right now they are "in" again. Who makes these rules? Regardless of what has been said in the past, I've always been a giant egg fan. I love them prepared any way. One of my favorite childhood memories was my dad making soft boiled eggs for weekend breakfasts. I also like them scrambled, in omelets, in frittata form, or sunny side up.

About a week ago I ended up with a plethora of eggs. They had been on sale, and long story short, I bought way more of them than I needed and was able to use, so I had to come up with some recipes that would require quite a few eggs.

What better way to use up copious amounts of eggs than to turn them into deviled eggs, and what better time of year to make these considering all the potlucks and picnics to get "rid" of them.

I found this recipe in one of my "Cuisine at Home" magazine and fell in love with it right away. BBQ Deviled Eggs? Two of my favorite things combined into one, no further convincing was needed.

This recipe is a bit of a departure from my standard  Snappy Deviled Egg recipe but it is just as good. Hard boiled egg yolks get mixed together with cream cheese, mayonnaise, mustard and barbecue sauce (aha!). Minced pickles (I used dill pickle relish), sweet onions, and parsley will add the final touch. The filled egg is then garnished with a drizzle of barbecue sauce and a pickle slice. Voilà!

These eggs were a giant hit! I loved the little bit of smokiness the barbecue sauce added and the crunch of the pickles. These eggs were gone in no time and are most definitely a keeper for our family! I know I will be making this recipe over and over again. I hope you'll give it a try as well, I'm sure there are plenty of occasions left during the summer months.

BBQ Deviled Eggs

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

12 hard-cooked eggs, peeled, cut in half, and yolks removed

2 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1 tablespoon barbecue sauce 

3 tablespoons minced dill pickles (I used dill pickle relish)

2 tablespoons sweet onions, minced

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

Salt and black pepper to taste

Barbecue sauce for drizzling

Sliced pickles for garnish

Directions:

Mash egg yolks in a bowl; stir in cream cheese, mayonnaise, mustard, barbecue sauce, minced pickles, onion, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Season mixture with salt and pepper; stir until ingredients are well combined. Divide filling amount egg whites*.

Drizzle barbecue sauce lightly over each egg. Garnish each egg with a small pickle slice. Refrigerate until ready to serve!

* For easy piping, spoon filling into a heavy-duty plastic Ziploc bag. Cut a small hole in the corner; squeeze gently.

Adapted from: Cuisine at Home

Ice Cream Fridays: Blueberries and Cream Ice Cream

Welcome to another edition of Ice Cream Fridays. Every Friday during the next few months (or until I get tired of it) you can look forward to a new ice cream recipe which will hopefully inspire you to break out your old dust covered ice cream maker that is hiding somewhere in a closet (yes, I'm talking about you). Since I'm always looking for inspiration and ideas, feel free to leave me a comment here on my blog or on my facebook page, and let me know what ice cream flavor you would like to see. Who knows, you might just get lucky and it will be featured the following week.

This weeks flavor was solely inspired by blueberries on sale everywhere. There was no way to pass up the gorgeous bounty at every store in the area.

This ice cream won me over solely on ease of preparation yet again. I don't mind making a custard and love the smoothness it lends to many ice creams, but when faced with standing over a stove for a while, or just mixing it up, ease will always win out, so I have more time to spend with my kids while they are on summer break.

I can't promise you that you will get by without turning on your stove for this one, but it is quick, painless, and doesn't require a lot of attention on your part. Fresh blueberries are added to a pot along with sugar and water, brought to a boil, removed from the heat source, and then steeped for about 30 minutes (see, painless). After that you add the whole mixture to a blender and let it rip until smooth. Strain it through a fine mesh strainer, and set it in your fridge for several hours. This was the "hard" part. After the blueberry mixture is thoroughly chilled, all you do is add heavy cream and fresh lemon juice and freeze in your ice cream maker. That's it!

This ice cream was fantastic for something that you wouldn't ordinarily find at any old grocery store. I loved that it only called for 1 cup of heavy cream for the whole batch rather than up to 2 cups that most other ice cream recipes call for. The most appealing aspect of this ice cream had to be the color though. It looked stunning in the book where I found it, and even better in real life. This is most definitely staying on my radar for blueberry season. If you are a big fan of blueberries, then this one is a must to try out!

Blueberries and Cream Ice Cream

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

2 cups (8 oz/ 250g) fresh blueberries

3/4 cup (6 fl oz/180 ml) water 

1 cup (8 oz/ 250 g) sugar

1 cup (8 fl oz/ 250 ml) heavy cream

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

In a heavy saucepan, combine the fresh blueberries, water, and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally too help dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let stand for 30 minutes to steep.

Transfer the blueberry mixture to a blender. Process until smooth, about 1 minute. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

Add the cream and lemon juice to the blueberry puree and stir to combine.

Pour the mixture in to an ice-cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days, before serving.

Adapted from: Williams-Sonoma Ice Cream

Oma Ingrid's German Potato Salad

The cooking was simple in my family growing up. Uncomplicated meals that were balanced, but nothing fancy were the norm. The garden provided whatever vegetables were in season. Potatoes were a staple, but we also had pasta and rice on occasion. Meat was mostly pork, beef or chicken. My mom did not rely on pre-packaged mixes, so everything she cooked for us was made from scratch. 

I love her meals and still consider it a special treat the occasional time I get to fly home and she cooks for me. There are certain things only she can make properly, no matter how hard I try. It must be the extra touch mom's add to their cooking that makes it so special.

I didn't grow up with mayonnaise based potato salad, the one I grew up eating all my life had a vinegar dressing. My mom made, and still makes this salad to this day, and there are hardly ever any leftovers when it is served at the dinner table.

This salad is very simple, but full of flavor. It starts by cooking whole Yukon gold potatoes (or any other waxy potato variant) in their skin by steaming them. Once cooked, they are peeled while still fairly hot, cut up, and immediately dressed with oil, vinegar and vegetable broth. The hot potato acts like a sponge and soaks up the flavor of the dressing. Mustard, onions and spices round out the seasonings, and finally a good sprinkling of fresh parsley and chives are added for the finishing touch.

This salad is my go to salad, especially when the meat I'm serving alongside is heavy (like ribs or Bratwurst) or when I have mayo based side dishes like coleslaw. My kids have come to love Oma Ingrid's salad as much as I do, and my husband prefers this variation over other versions as well. I hope you'll give this one a try, and you and your family love it as much as we do. Why not add a little piece of Franconia to your dinner table?

Oma Ingrid's German Potato Salad

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/4 - 1/3 cup hot vegetable broth (water with a vegetable bullion cube dissolved)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon brown deli mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
2 tablespoons chives, finely chopped

Directions:
Wash potatoes, place in a double boiler/steamer basket over hot water and cook until tender. Remove and let cool for about 5 minutes, then peel and cut into quarters which are then cut into 1/8 inch slices and place in a large bowl.

Immediately after slicing the potatoes, add the oil, vinegars, and 1/4 cup of the broth. Carefully toss to coat. Add onions, mustard, herbs, and season with salt and pepper. If your potato salad seems dry, add the rest of the broth. Serve or refrigerate until ready for use.

Adapted from: my mom