Cook Club: Four different ways to devil those eggs

Cooking, to me, is less about meticulously following recipes - using exactly a 1/4 teaspoon of salt here, or precisely a tablespoon of olive oil there - and more about knowing when to add salt or use olive oil in the first place. I enjoy learning about spices by tasting them in different dishes and then pairing them with the right ingredients to develop flavor profiles. It makes cooking less of a chore in which I dutifully check off all the boxes and more of a creative project.

To be sure, experimentation comes with risks, and I have had my fair share of mediocre or even downright awful dishes. And some dishes require more fidelity to the chemistry of their ingredients and steps than others. But for the most part, I have found that once the basics are covered, cooking is a chance to experiment and explore.

When deciding on a topic for this month's Cook Club, I immediately thought about one of my perennial Easter staples, deviled eggs. But whenever a dish has acquired words like 'perennial” and 'staple,” it also has the danger of acquiring words like 'boring” or 'stale.” So I decided to look for ways to give the traditional deviled egg a twist.

I started with a basic deviled egg base - boiled and peeled eggs, sliced in half, with the yolks removed. The yolks are mashed with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar and a little salt before being scooped back into the eggs. They are often dusted with paprkia before serving.

I have seen many slight variations on this straightforward base such as a dash of hot sauce or pickle relish added to the yolk mix, but for this column I wanted to do a little bit more. Whether you follow the four deviled egg recipes below or strike out on your own, I hope they in turn inspire you to look at a classic dish in a new way and try variations of your own.

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Basic deviled eggs

12 eggs

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

Place eggs in pot, cover with water. Bring to a roiling boil, cover, removed from heat and let stand 12 minutes. Drain, and rinse eggs in cold water. Tap firmly against counter or roll in pot until cracks form across shell and peel under cool running water. Older eggs peel more easily than fresh eggs.

Cut eggs in half and remove yolks with a spoon. Set egg white halves aside and mash yolks in a bowl. Add mayonnaise, white wine vinegar, mustard and salt and mix until smooth. From here, either return to egg halves and dust with paprika and serve for the classic dish or try one of the variations below.

Avocado lime eggs

1 ripe avocado

4 teaspoons fresh lime juice

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

cilantro to garnish

Start with basic deviled egg recipe. Add a mashed avocado to the yolk mixture, along with lime juice. Return to egg halves, dust with chili powder and garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.

Note: this variation will not store well, as the avocado will begin to turn brown once exposed to air. Prepare immediately before serving.

Bacon tomato eggs

Four strips bacon, cooked

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

1/4 cup chopped chives

While eggs are boiling, cook bacon and chop bacon, tomatoes and chives. Start with basic deviled egg recipe, then mix in all ingredients and return to egg halves.

Salmon lemon caper eggs

2 tablespoons drained capers, finely chopped

1 fresh lemon for zest and juice

Salmon lox

Start with basic deviled egg recipe and add capers, 3 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 teaspoon lemon zest (finely grated lemon peel) to the yolk mixture. Return to egg halves and top with tightly rolled strips of salmon lox.

Moroccan-spiced eggs

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons harissa (spicy tomato-based paste available at most grocery stores)

1/2 teaspoons paprika

Start with basic deviled egg recipe and add olive oil, harissa and paprika before returning to egg halves. Garnish with herbs such as parsley as desired and dust with more paprika.