Scene - Blogs - NonSatanic goats edible knee caps and THE best deviled eggs EVER

Non-Satanic goats, edible knee caps and THE best deviled eggs EVER
Published: 3/27/2012 7:45 AM
Last Modified: 3/26/2012 10:52 PM

Potato canapes with red caviar, sour cream and dill.

How in the world could people think goats were evil? Just because they have weird eyes, cloven hooves and gnaw on knee caps doesn't make it so, yo.

I had no idea that goats' pupils (their eyes, not students) were square. Maybe rectangular, if you're anal about shapes.

Whatever, there they were, staring up at me -- staring with love. Or, at the very least, without a skosh of Satanic mischief, a characteristic often associated with the cloven-footed creatures, merely because of their eyes.

That's a shame because Echo and Lalia each had the cutest beard I've ever seen since Katie Holmes. They're sweet little goats who live on the Grove "ranchette" of Susan and Rudy Moritz, hilarious transplants from New Jersey who were gracious enough to invite FGP and me for a country retreat, complete with farm animals, a dazzling star-spangled night sky and absolutely fabulous food.

Shortly after our arrival, we were introduced to Echo and Lalia, which Susan said some psychologists will apparently get as a joke when the names are said in that order. Anyway, they were sweet creatures and reminded me of my cat, albeit just a few pounds heavier.

The following morning, Susan let us feed the chickens, and I gave crackers and an English muffin to Echo and Lalia -- probably the reason they were looking at me lovingly. Had my knee caps been made of English muffins, I'm quite sure they would've maimed me.

But whatever, it was a fabulous morning, during which time we also met some donkeys, saw several deer and watched Xena, Susan's mini-Dachshund, scamper about the ranchette. It was a ton of fun.

Back to Saturday night, though, when Susan put out a mouth-watering spread, including these delectable potato canapes -- one batch topped with red caviar, the other with sour cream and cheese.

She started with baby Yukon Gold potatoes, "basically the same as Dutch Gold," she said, "but you could also use small potatoes or red potatoes, or any tiny potatoes."

Basically, she washed and boiled the potatoes until barely fork-tender. After removing from heat and draining them, she immersed the potatoes in cool water.

Preserving the flatter sides of each potato, Susan cut them in half using a very sharp knife. Then, she set them on paper towels to absorb the water.

Using a small melon scoop, she removed potato from the center of each half.

"Don't scoop too close to the skin, as you need the potatoes to remain firm enough to hold together when picked up," Susan said.

Next, fill the potato halves with your choice of filling. She used sour cream mixed with chopped fresh dill and minced onion, topped with red caviar for one and, finally, a tiny frond of dill. For the other, she mixed a little sour cream with aged cheddar, heated it in the microwave until she could blend the cheddar smooth, and stirred in chopped pancetta before garnishing that with fresh rosemary -- abso-freakin'-lutely awesome.

Perhaps my favorite appetizer of the evening, though, were farm-fresh deviled eggs, an old family recipe Susan has embellished over the years. And by "embellished," I totally mean "flat-out owned and had this recipe screaming her name."

"The awful secret to them is that butter is used," she confessed.

She couldn't offer measurements, though, as her Hungarian grandmother taught her to cook.

"She didn't measure, she showed," Susan said -- "or described it as 'the needed amount' of something."

With that in mind, here goes ...

Susan's Hungarian Deviled Eggs

Eggs (However many you want, I’m not really sure)
Hellmann’s mayo (see below for measurements)
Butter, softened (Mmm …)
Olive oil
Pinch of Colman's dry mustard
Squirt of prepared sweet hot mustard
Sweet onion, finely minced
Celery seed
Celery, finely minced
Pinch of turmeric
Pinch of curry
Pinch of hot Hungarian paprika or cayenne pepper
Parmesan cheese, finely shredded
Paprika, for garnish

1. Bring the eggs slowly to a boil. Once they are simmering, cook an additional 10 minutes. Drain the water, and run cold water over the eggs for several minutes.
2. Peel the eggs, then slice them in half lengthwise. Pop the cooked yolks into a bowl, and place the egg white halves on paper towel to absorb any water.
3. Mash the egg yolks with Hellmann's mayonnaise and softened butter in a ratio of about 2:1.
4. Add a few drops of olive oil, the dry mustard, prepared sweet hot mustard, sweet onion, celery seed, minced celery (Susan sometimes substitutes dried celery flakes), turmeric, curry, hot Hungarian paprika or cayenne, and Parmesan at a ratio of about 1:4. Blend it all well, adding a touch more of mayo, butter and/or oil if needed to make it a creamy but firm texture.
5. Fill egg halves with mixture, either with a teaspoon, or using a
pastry bag. Garnish with paprika.
6. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

Peace, love and rectangular pupils ... XOXO

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Living Wright

While other kids were watching "The Smurfs," Scene Writer Jason Ashley Wright was tuned in to "Style with Elsa Klensch." By fourth grade, he knew he wanted to write, and spent almost three years publishing a weekly teen-oriented magazine, Teen-Zine -- circulation: 2. After earning a degree in journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi, he became the medical reporter and teen board coordinator for the Hattiesburg (Miss.) American, a Gannett newspaper. Eight months later, with visions of Elsa dancing in his head, he applied for the fashion writer position at the Tulsa World, where he began working on Aug. 3, 1998. He is now a general assignment reporter for Scene.

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