Loyal reader and frequent commenter Straight in Upstate sent us a story that's perfect for the blog. In his own words, here it is:
We had a Super Bowl party for friends and Gay Co-Worker Dave and his boyfriend, Rick, came. (Rick loves football, and Dave loves Rick.) Dave doesn't believe in putting mustard in his deviled eggs - I disagree but I can respect it. But he does use (and I may be forgetting some things) sour cream, capers, scallions, and onion juice. And there wasn't even any paprika on them. Straight deviled eggs in our part of the world = egg yolks, French's yellow mustard, Miracle Whip (or mayo - we're not tyrants), and paprika on top (preferably from a tin that's been in the cupboard since Mom got married in '56). You can use a frosting bag and pipe in the filling, but don't get too swirly.
Gay Guy has his own vision of the perfect deviled egg. Egg yolk, chopped but not pureed; I like the filling with some texture to it. Just mayo, no mustard. I prefer to spoon mine with a teaspoon into the cooked egg white. I don't have a frosting bag and pipe, and I like the more rustic look that the spoon ladling leaves. Then a fine dusting of antique paprika on top.
I avoid any addition of onion, pickle, sour cream, capers, etc., in egg or tuna salads. The stronger taste makes me fear that the cook is trying to put one over on me -- trying to cover up ingredients that have gone bad.
But on the gay deviled egg saga: As a general rule, I think that gay men can over-accessorize food. We have this urge to over-transform it. One of the early bits of gay social coaching that I got soon after college: No food at a social gathering can be served in its original container. No hummus in the plastic tub that it was born in, no cheese on a plate without a sprig of grapes. I admit, it does look nicer. But, sometimes, I just don't have that extra few minutes. As a gay man, I've already transformed myself and others' expectations of me. More transformation feels exhausting.
So, if you are company (especially a first date), you'll get the hummus in a fancy dish, with a sprinkling of paprika or a grating of orange peel on it. Or, if I know you well, I might just plop the plastic tub down on the coffee table. If I do, don't be offended. It means you're family, at least chosen family.
--Gay Guy
11 comments:
There's nothing wrong with decorating food, but I admit I never really thought about it. Especially with deviled eggs, since I don't have them that often.
Love the title!! But I have to ask: is the anti-mustard bias a gay-gene thing? I'd love to hear more comments.
Funny you should say that about transforming food - I did feel pressure to fancy-up the Super Bowl food, if for no other reason than to hide the brand of my cheap-ass cold cuts. "If I roll them nice and put them on a Russel Wright Casual China platter, maybe no one will taste the difference." But for you, GG, I'd just have thrown the package on the table - and I know you'd do the same for me.
Okay...I'm still laughing about the "antique paprika" remark...too funny!
I'm sorry...I don't think there's anything unusual in considering the presentation. It's like mixing a Chanel suit with fake pearls...who's gonna know?
I don't know how I lived before "salad-in-a-bag"...but even I'M not crass enough to plop the bag down and say, "VOILA!"
My eggs are not this elaborate. Not even close. I hope that's okay. :-)
MMMMM, I want me some deviled eggs.
The mustard one is new to me. Just regular mustard or are we talking dijon?
That's a yummy looking deviled egg!
I'm famous in the annals of family food tragedies for switching out the paprika sprinkles on my deviled eggs with red pepper. (May I add that the folks are not big on spicy cuisine). The hazards of garnish.
It was an accident, I swear.
No mustard in my deviled eggs, thank you. I think it's a bit over accessorized for a Super Bowl party, but for an evening suaree (sp?) it would do fine. Dress code goes for food too!
Tinkerschnitzel makes an excellent case for food foofiness matching dress code.
My suspicion is still that deviled eggs set down before gay men would still have overly swirly stuffing, but who know.
I run in a more jeans and T-shirt crowd. Egg, mayo, bring on the mustard and paprika.
Oh now I'm all hungry and it's not even coffee time yet!
I LOVE deviled eggs - this post was great and I think I'm going to steal your recipe! ;o) I like them all ways - I've never had them quite as fancy as the ones you've described but I've had other variations and never met one I didn't like.
As for fancying things up, I pretty much follow your standard. If you're family or chosen-family (even better in my humble opinion), you're getting the tub! ;o)
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I'm with SiU on the Deviled Egg recipe 100%. That said, I do try to add some visual appeal to every dish I make, but never go overboard on the garnishes. My In-Laws however have to tell me every time I eat with them, "Now this isn't going to be as fancy as the stuff you make." Somehow it's meant as a compliment but comes out as a slap in the face.
What's wrong with considering the food before the fasion. Fact is, deviled eggs with caviar are heavenly, no matter what your orientation or culinary aeshetic might be. Try them!
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