Tag: Deviled Eggs

Neviled Eggs – Towards Zero

Hello crime readers and food lovers. Let me start right off with an apology for the atrocious pun. I am so sorry. But…I was racking my brains to think of what to cook for Towards Zero and, as is my want, I started searching for a pun. “What rhymes with Audrey..tawdry…no cancel that one. Battle rhymes with cattle…maybe a beef Wellington?” And then I got to Nevile and “eh voila” as Poirot would say, the idea of Neviled Eggs was born.  And once it was in my head…there was no going back. 

Nevilled Eggs 3

I adored “Towards Zero,” so please don’t mistake my playful recipe title for any disrespect towards this brilliant novel. Usually, I read these books twice: once for the initial experience, and then again to glean details for these posts. My first read of Towards Zero left me utterly bewildered about the culprit, right until the big reveal. On my second read, however, I was astounded by the sheer number of cleverly hidden clues scattered throughout. 

Nevilled Eggs 1

The plotting here is simply masterful! What seemed like passing chatter on the first go-round all converged beautifully towards the killer’s identity. To any aspiring mystery writer, I wholeheartedly recommend “Towards Zero” as a masterclass in artful clue placement. But even if you’re simply seeking a meticulously crafted detective story, this is a must-read.

Neviled Eggs11

 

Towards Zero – The Plot

“I like a good detective story,’ he said. ‘But, you know, they begin in the wrong place! They begin with the murder. But the murder is the end. The story begins long before that—years before sometimes—with all the causes and events that bring certain people to a certain place at a certain time on a certain day.”.”

Agatha Christie – Towards Zero

We start with four seemingly disparate vignettes.  

  1. A group of London lawyers are speaking of the latest case and Mr Treves, a highly esteemed and elderly solicitor makes the above quote about murders being the end of a series of events that can bring a group of very different people together, all as they move towards zero hour.
  2. Angus MacWhirter is recovering in a hospital after a failed suicide. He is bitterly disappointed still to be alive but his nurse tells him that he was saved because God may need him in the future
  3. We next take a peek at a very disturbed person who is meticulously planning a murder
  4. Superintendent Battle’s daughter is intimidated into confessing that she stole things when she is innocent

Could these four seemingly unconnected events, be somehow related as they all move towards zero?

Nevilled Eggs 2

Our Cast:

  • Nevile Strange is a tennis player, known for his good sportsmanship on the court.  Neville was raised by Matthew and Camilla Tressilian at their home Gull’s Point.  Sir Matthew has now passed and Lady Tressilian is bedridden but Neville visits her each year.  (Incidentally, I did my first “reading” of this on audio via YouTube and the reader kept referring to Nevile as Ne-vile and not Neville.  For me, Ne-vile Strange sounded like the name of a Harry Potter villain.  
  • Kay Strange is Nevile’s second (trophy) wife.  She finds the visits to Gull’s Point boring and would prefer to be having fun with her friends, one of whom is Ted Latimer, a very handsome but somewhat louche young man.  Whilst not staying at Gull’s Point, Ted has taken up residence at Easterhead Bay, a short distance across the bay from Gull’s Point.
  • Audrey Strange, Nevile’s first wife.  Normally Audrey and Neville stagger their visits to Lady Tressilian however this year their trips converge.  And no one seems happy about it.  Except Nevile who seems to be trying to rekindle his old flame. 
  • Mary Aldin, Lady Tressilian’s companion
  • Thomas Royde. Audrey’s cousin who is visiting from Malaysia
  • Mr Treves, who was an old friend of Sir Matthews is holidaying in the vicinity and is invited to dinner one fateful evening.

Neviled Eggs10

 

We have:

  • Mr Treves killed by staircase (ingenious!)
  • Lady Tressilian beaten to death with a golf club and, 
  • Superintendent Battle virtually pushing someone off a boat to confirm that really can’t swim!
  • Rank odours, MacWhirter asking odd things of Mary
  • Something significant in the attic
  • And many, many people being lying liars who lie

Battle also channels his inner Poirot to bring the killer to justice.

Battle rubbed his chin and frowned.  “I wish I knew what keeps putting Hercule Poirot into my head.”

“You mean that old chap – the Belgian – comic little guy?” asked Leach.

“Comic my foot,: sais Superintendent Battle.  “About as dangerous as a black mamba and a she-leopard – that’s what he is.  I wish he were here – this sort of thing would be right up his street.”

Towards Zero – Agatha Christie

If only Battle had used a Boomslang (as per Death in the Coulds) as his snake analogy!

Towards Zero – The Covers

Towards Zero Collage (1)

 

So many great (and non-English) covers here.  My three favourites are Audrey on the cliff (top row second from left), a theatre bill, second row first from left showing Gull’s Point and of course, top row, first on the left, Tennis racquet head!  So clever and cluey!  

And it’s not the first tennis racquet head we’ve had either!  Murder at the Vicarage also has one of these!

Tennis Racquet Heads (1)

 

The Recipe Neviled Eggs

Print

Neviled Eggs – Towards Zero

A lovely elegant appetizer, inspired by one of the characters in Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero

Ingredients

Scale
  • 12 quail eggs
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • Dash of Tabasco (optional)
  • 2 tsp mayonnaise
  • sprigs of dill to garnish
  • Salmon roe to garnish

Instructions

Place the eggs in a pan filled with enough water to cover them.  Bring the water to boil then cover with a lid, remove from the heat and let the eggs sit for 2 minutes.

Drain and cool the eggs in cold water with some ice cubes in it.

Peel the eggs, cut them in half and scoop out the yolks.  

Mash  the yolks with the lemon juice, mustard, Tabasco and mayonnaise until the mixture is smooth. 

Fill a piping bag with the mashed yolks and pipe back into the egg whites.  

Garnish with a little sprig of dill and a salmon egg.  

Enjoy!

Notes

I found it easier to place the dill sprigs and salmon roe on the eggs with a pair of tweezers because I have massive man hands that are not great for delicate tasks like this!  

Neviled Eggs10

Links To The Christieverse

Battle mentions Poirot a few times but does not refer to any specific cases.  The other Superintendent Battle books are:

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in  Towards Zero

Our March read is The Hollow.

Have a great week!

Signature2

 

Sriracha Deviled Eggs

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!  Let’s hope it is wonderful for all of us.  And speaking of wonderful – let’s talk deviled eggs!  Specifically, let’s talk Sriracha deviled eggs. For Christmas Day, I wanted an appetiser that could stave off hunger pangs while the main meal and sides finished cooking.  Ideally, I also wanted something that I could cook the day before so there was one less thing to worry about on the big day.  This recipe for  Sriracha Deviled Eggs fitted the bill perfectly!  Plus, I got to use my gorgeous deviled egg plate!!  That’s a definite win-win situation!

Sriracha Deviled Eggs

I tell you, cooking Christmas lunch was hard work,  By the end, my plan looked like one of those walls you see in murder mysteries,  with scribbled notes and arrows linking timelines all over the place. At best, timing is my bête noire so trying to ensure 3 appetisers, 4 different kinds of meat, two sides and a dessert all arrived at the table at the right time required a lot of planning and, let’s be truthful, a little bit of luck! Here’s a facsimile of my plan!

So, it was a massive relief that the Sriracha Deviled eggs could be made the day before.   And, despite my wonky piping, they looked so pretty on the plate!  The recipe I had for these eggs had a garlic breadcrumb topping which, to be honest, I did not like the sound of.  They would have also been one more thing that would have needed cooking on what was already a mad schedule.   Instead, I topped my eggs with a slice of fried shallot (bought at the Asian grocery), a sliver of red chilli and about a third of a coriander leaf.  A sprinkle of smoked paprika and voila, the eggs were done.  And the colours not only matched the plate but the red chilli and green coriander were also very festive.

Sriracha Deviled Eggs 2

The gorgeous plate was a birthday present from my dear friend Ali a few years ago.  I love it but do not use it nearly enough.  This year may well become the year of the deviled egg just so I can use it more often!

The eggs went down a treat and were the perfect start to our Christmas festivities.  I was, at the time unaware that the great, great granddaddy of the deviled eggs we serve today were served way back in Roman times to the wealthy patricians as a first course called gustatio.  (Which is, I guess where we get the word gustation)

Well, if you would like to have a gustatio of your own, here’s the recipe!

A disclaimer on the recipe.  Usually, when I clip a recipe I write on the back the details from whence it came so I can give credit where credit is due.  This clipping has no reference so maybe someone gave it to me or it might be from before I started blogging and just clipped things because I liked the sound of them!  The font of the clipping makes me think it might be from a Delicious magazine but I cannot find a recipe online to confirm or deny.  If the recipe seems familiar to anyone, please let me know so I can reference it properly.  The eggs are basically that recipe with a few tweaks, the garnishes are my idea.

Print

Sriracha Deviled Eggs

A delicious appetiser, perfect for a festive celebration

Ingredients

Scale
  • For the Eggs!
  • 6 hard boiled eggs, shelled and halved
  • 2 tbsp Sriracha chilli sauce
  • 23 tbsp Mayonnaise
  • 4 Chives, finely chopped
  • For the Garnish!
  • Crispy fried shallots
  • Red Chilli, finely sliced
  • Coriander leaves
  • Smoked Paprika / Cayenne Pepper

Instructions

  1. Remove the yolks from the eggs with a teaspoon. Tip into a bowl.
  2. Add the Sriracha and mayonnaise and mash until smooth.
  3. Stir through the chives.
  4. If you want to be fancy, put the yolk mixture into a piping bag and pipe the mixture back into the egg halves using a star nozzle.
  5. Otherwise, just spoon the mixture back into the egg halves.
  6. Eitherway, garnish with a slice of crispy fried shallot, a thin slice of red chilli and a small piece of coriander leaf.
  7. Sprinkle with smoked paprika, or if you are feeling brave enough for a triple dose of chilli, some cayenne.

Notes

  • Please try to use free range eggs for this!

Sriracha Deviled Eggs 4

Have a fabulous week!