Anchovy and Cornichon Deviled Eggs

my best (and first) deviled eggs!

WITH a large jar of Maille cornichons on hand, I decided to make something else using them. After a bit of Googling, I came across this recipe for anchovy and cornichon deviled eggs.

always reliably good, Maille

Last night was, perhaps, my first real lesson in using the finest ingredients possible for your recipes. On my way home from work, I stepped off the train at 110th Street for a quick stop at Westside Market (my favorite place for cheese in the city--try their domestic feta). While there, I picked up: one large onion, some parmigiano-reggiano, eggs, two donut peaches and (what seemed to be) good quality anchovies!

Eureka--I've found them!

These anchovies looked so fine, I nearly didn't want to use them for this recipe... but I also didn't want a repeat of last time's incident (there were also canned anchovies available). At $5.79, I placed them into my basket with little to no reluctance.

ONCE home, after placing six eggs in a pot of water to boil, I excitedly opened the jar of anchovies to experiment with a first taste. Straight from the jar, the anchovies (in olive oil) were simply delicious--as is. I couldn't have been happier. I then went to work, finely chopping eight cornichons (in a mixture of sizes), four anchovy filets and two tablespoons of fresh parsley, washed ahead of time. (although I used curly parsley, instead of Italian parsley--I find it to be better for chopping and for presentation) Once the eggs à la Julia were done, all I had left to do was to halve them, add the yolks to the base ingredients, and fill the egg whites. Without a pastry bag available, I decided to make my own using a clean produce bag with the corner neatly snipped off with a pair of (clean) scissors.

the filling, ready for piping

The filling didn't pipe into the whites as seamlessly as I would have hoped for; however, I do think they came out better than had I simply used a spoon. From there: deviled eggs that were "so good you would die!" (there's a very short list of foods that I describe that way)

rather regal-looking, if I do say so myself

The cornichons added a nice, unexpected crunch and paired with the anchovies and Dijon--as you would imagine--a very flavorful delivery. But in retrospect, these deviled eggs are probably not for everyone. I was telling a co-worker, earlier today, about them and he'd said to me, "I don't like eggs." (he probably doesn't like cornichons or anchovies either)

Well, I was going to save these for you...

But that's alright, the three eggs that I was going to save for "someone special" went down the hatch with breakfast this morning. Bon appétit, to me!