Right now, in the Midtown Mercantile Merchants Mall at 4443 E. Speedway there is one of the cutest egg plates I’ve ever seen! This got me to thinking about these specifically useful items.    For example, did you know that there are two things that Southern women traditionally got for wedding presents: a hand-crank ice cream maker and a deviled egg plate?

Today, with men and women both cooking and entertaining, I believe that all women and all men, northerners and southerners, should probably be given a deviled egg plate at birth. LOL … After all, deviled eggs are the first thing to go at a party, so you better have an attractive empty plate.

There are plenty of egg plates (or platters) to choose from. You can find them in glass, fine china, Italian pottery, Fiestaware, etc. Some are figural with Easter bunnies, chickens, hearts, geese, pigs, you name it. 

The egg plate’s popularity peaked in the 1950s, but there has been a significant resurgence in their use. The recipes for the eggs range from simple to fancy schmancy gourmet. Here’s a simple old time recipe from our mid century maven, Betty Crocker, to get you started:

 6 hard cooked eggs

3 tablespoons mayonnaise 
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper 

Peel eggs and cut in half lengthwise. Slip out yolks and mash with fork.

Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper. Fill whites with egg yolk mixture, heaping it lightly. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.
Sprinkle with a little paprika for that “deviled” look.  
Enjoy! And don’t forget to share!

Carol Fenn 4-2017