Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Green Eggs - No Ham


What the hell is wrong with the chickens who laid these eggs?


I and She-Who-Digs me scored an invite to THE party of the season.  Bridget and Dave throw an amazing St. Patrick's Day party and Bridget makes some excellent corned-beef.  This party has all the Irish-ness befitting the day and none of the false-ness that marketing "experts" use to celebrate St. Patrick.

I'm talking to you SAB MillerCoors Brewing Company!

Yes I can and will look askew at green beer pretending to be Irish while I wear a green shirt despite the fact that I know of no Irish heritage of my own.  My thinking is if you're going to celebrate Ireland and things Irish then do that!  Green food coloring does not Irish beer make!

Well what about the Chicago River being dyed green?  Hmmm.  Okay that tradition goes way back and is cool as hell.  And the Irish population of Chicago is well deserving, so perhaps green food coloring does belong in the celebration discussion.

But, you will find no food coloring of any sort in my Not-At-All-Irish Deviled Eggs.  The green comes from avocado.  Yep, it's guacamole!

Most deviled egg recipes will call for mashing up the hard-boiled yolks and adding fat in the form of mayo.  I wanted all the protein, and none of the fat.  Check out the Hass Avocado website info!  
Here's an easy recipe for guacamole:
    4 ripe avocados
    juice of one half lime
    1 tablespoon minced garlic
    1/2 cup salsa
    salt and pepper to taste

Scoop the "meat" out of the avocados into a medium sized bowl.  Mash with a fork.  Add lime juice, garlic.  Drain a little juice out of the salsa so it doesn't make your guacamole too thin.  Add the chunky stuff from the salsa to the bowl and stir until smooth.  Add salt and pepper.  Refrigerate for a couple hours so the flavors get all happy together.

Meanwhile if you want to try the egg thing...  Put eggs into a pot of cold water.  When the water boils, cover the pan and turn off the heat.  Let it sit for 15 minutes.  Cool the eggs by running cold water over them.  When they are cool enough to touch, put them in the fridge for an hour or so.  Peel the hard boiled eggs, slice in half and toss the yolk out.

Put the guac into a ziploc-type bag and cut a little of the corner off so you can "pipe" the guac into the empty egg white halves.

Garnish with a little chopped cilantro if you like - OR a dab of Tabasco is fun too!  All the flavor - none of the fat.  Chicks Dig That!