Receta Cooking Class and the Perfect Deviled Egg
OK–we are definitely making up for lost time. The very last part of May we attended a cooking class at The Stock Pot. The menu was derived from whatever was fresh at the Farmers Market and the chef was from one of our favorite restaurants, The Tavern on Brady. We were in!
We were given a copy of the recipes, a coupon for purchases in the store, and a free pen!
The menu for our farmers market meal follows:
Balsamic Roasted Garlic Bruschetta
Perfect Deviled Eggs
Grilled Caesar Salad
Rosemary-Lemon Roasted Chicken
Herb Garlic Roasted Farmers Market Vegetables
Blueberry Lavender Cobbler with Streusel Topping
We were the first ones there and Chef Grant welcomed us and chitchatted with us a bit about the farmers market, gardening, and his favorite kitchen utensil. According to him, one can never have enough tongs. Since we were so prompt, we got prime seats at the kitchen bar.
Chef Grant was genuine and seemed to be a natural in front of the audience. He was unassuming and stated that he never gets to make these dishes anymore: “Executive chefs don’t get to cook that much.”
As we sat down, there was some wonderful bread and roasted balsamic garlic. OMG! This was so good. He shared his technique:
Cut the top off of a head of garlic, place it in a ramekin, pour about 1/3 part olive oil and 2/3 part balsamic (LOTS of balsamic). Roast in oven about 20 minutes.
The garlic cloves are laying on a thin slice of unsalted butter. Sorry, this picture really doesn’t do it justice.
Next came the deviled eggs. Deviled eggs are sort of a specialty at the Tavern and they do many variations like wasabi, curry spiced, and bacon! Chef asked, “How many cooks are there?” and answered, “That is how many ways there are to boil eggs.”
Here is his philosophy:
Fill a large pot with water and 1/4 c. vinegar and bring to a boil. While waiting on water to boil, prepare an ice bath in a large bowl with half ice and half water. When water is boiling, gently add eggs with a slotted spoon. Set your timer for 15 minutes. Transfer eggs to ice bath for 5-10 minutes to cool. Then, peel eggs.
There were lots of questions regarding the vinegar, the practice of adding salt (which he said does nothing), and using old eggs. Fresh eggs will not peel and you will be left with a clumpy mess.
- Here is his recipe for a classic deviled egg:
- Classic Deviled Eggs from the Tavern on Brady (Chef Grant Vespasian)
- 12 eggs (boiled with directions above)
- 1/3 c. mayonnaise
- 1/4 c. mustard
- 2 t. dry mustard
- 1/4 t. paprika
- salt and white pepper to tast
- chopped chives for garnishing
Grate yolks through a sieve. Add grated yolks, mayo, mustard, dry mustard, paprika, salt and pepper to food processor and puree until smooth. Taste to check seasoning. Adjust. Transfer filling to pastry bag with tip and pipe into eggs.
Garnish with more paprika and chopped chives.
He made sure to tell his wait staff not to be stingy with the chives.
Now, my mom makes a mean deviled egg (learned from my grandmother), but let me tell you, these are pretty outstanding deviled eggs.
Absolute perfection.
I can’t wait to share the rest of the recipes from this evening with you.
(Please add the Tavern on Brady to your to do list if you are ever in Tulsa!)