It's here!
The day us annoying fans everywhere have been waiting for; the return of the hit AMC series Mad Men is tonight. And I couldn't be more excited.
I love Mad Men for a lot of reasons; the sixties costumes and pop culture references. The peak into decades-past advertising practices.
The completely crazy (to me, now, anyway), very low glass ceiling over Peggy and every other female's heads.
The chain smoking. The binge liquor drinking. The copy writing.
All of it.
And so in honor of the return of my most favorite show, I wanted to share a few sixties snacks. However, this has been done time and time and time again, and much better than I could hope to do. So instead, I decided to stick to the one thing I know I actually like from the Mad Men era (sorry, but anything requiring a gelatin mold is not happening in this kitchen); deviled eggs. But of course, not exactly typical deviled eggs. Instead, I insisted upon emptying my fridge and coming up with five different variations on this classic snack. Here they are, in no particular order, along with my top five moments in Mad Men history.
Hard boil some eggs, observe what you've got in your fridge, and whip up some of these bad boys before tonight!
Dill, Lemon, Yogurt, Salt, Pepper
This is a pretty standard take on the deviled egg. I mixed the yolks with a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt and the juice of half a lemon. I used a plastic baggie with the corner snipped off to pipe this onto the eggs. Then, just sprinkled finely chopped fresh dill over the top, with some salt and pepper. Classic. Perfect. Delicious.
Mad Men Moment: The Carousel
Don is tasked with creating a campaign for Kodak's new Wheel slide projector at the end of season one. His marriage is flailing, he is falling apart, and yet he somehow utilizes this to absolutely nail this pitch. Not a dry eye in the house (certainly not mine or Harry Crane).
2. Southwest
Jalapeño, Red Pepper, Lime, Yogurt, Cumin, Coriander
The trick with this variation is to chop the jalapeno and red bell pepper very very fine. I added a spoonful of yogurt and about half a teaspoon of cumin and coriander to the yolks and then piped in onto the egg. Garnish with the jalapeño and red pepper and sprinkle with a little salt.
Mad Men Moment: Betty Goes BB Gun Bezerk
I'm not the biggest fan of Betty Draper, but you sometimes do have to feel for her. Stuck in the 'burbs, with only time and money on her hands, she slowly starts to unravel toward the end of season one, knowing Don is keeping things (big things) from her.
So she does what any reasonable housewife would do. She shoots her neighbors' trained prize winning pigeons after he threatens the Draper family dog. Of course. All while chain smoking with perfect curlers-set hair.
So bad ass.
3. The Steakhouse
Tomato, Blue Cheese, Red Onion, Yogurt, Celery Salt, Pepper
This, I wanted to do a reference to the classic flavors of a wedge salad. Bacon would be great on top, I just didn't happen to have any. These were probably my favorite of all the combinations. Again, the trick is really finely diced veggies; mince up your onion and slice and dice those tomatoes tiny.
Mad Men Moment: Roger Blames the Oysters
One of my favorite characters on Mad Men, hands down, is Roger Sterling.
Here, after a probably fifteen-or-so martini lunch with Don, the guys return to the office to find the elevator out and their meeting underway. After climbing twenty-three stories on stairs, Roger promptly proceeds to puke on the floor at their clients feet.
And then he simply waves his hand and says, "oysters," like it's positively not his fault.
Hero.
4. Asian Inspired
Sriracha, soy sauce, fresh ginger, pickled red onion, jalapeño
So you might not exactly have pickled red onions lying around, but we did after Matt mad a bunch according to this recipe. Initially, I had wanted them to go on top of pork belly tacos (and they did. And it was good) but since I've been putting them on just about everything I can. Whip up a batch, if you're so inclined. They really made this deviled egg awesome. This was definitely one of my favorite flavor combinations as well.
I added a little over a teaspoon of soy sauce, a big squirt of Sriracha, and a few turns of grated ginger to the yolks and simply spooned them into the eggs. Topped with finely diced pickled onions and some tiny jalapeño slices. Nom.
Mad Men Moment: Peggy Smokes Pot
Watching the evolution of Peggy Olson from very sweet, naive girl who tried to hold Don Draper's hand in the first episode, to copy writing, say-anything, brown-liquor-swilling badass now, has been absolutely awesome for me, a professional woman, to watch.
In this episode, when all the mid-level "kids" are working on a Saturday and decide to smoke some weed, is one of my favorites. When the guys in the office try to tell Peggy she shouldn't smoke with them because she "wouldn't like it," she swiftly declares "I am Peggy Olson, and I want to smoke some marijuana."
Get it, girl.
5 - Mustard and Greens
Arugula, Parsley, Whole Grain Mustard, Dijon, Yogurt, Salt
This was kind of another play on the "classic", but I stuck with some bitter greens and very pronounced mustard flavor. I actually didn't add yogurt, but I'd recommend you do--these were a touch too "mustard-y", but had great potential. Maybe stick to about a half a spoonful of yogurt and dijon, and just a small amount of whole grains with the yolks. Chop some arugula, parsley, whatever other dark greens you have, and garnish.
Mad Men Moment: Roger Drops Acid
As I've said, Roger is probably my favorite character. This episode, while heavy on metaphors and deeper meanings, was also just plain hilarious at times.
Do you have a favorite Mad Men moment or character? What about sixties era snack?
Tomato, Blue Cheese, Red Onion, Yogurt, Celery Salt, Pepper
This, I wanted to do a reference to the classic flavors of a wedge salad. Bacon would be great on top, I just didn't happen to have any. These were probably my favorite of all the combinations. Again, the trick is really finely diced veggies; mince up your onion and slice and dice those tomatoes tiny.
Mad Men Moment: Roger Blames the Oysters
One of my favorite characters on Mad Men, hands down, is Roger Sterling.
Here, after a probably fifteen-or-so martini lunch with Don, the guys return to the office to find the elevator out and their meeting underway. After climbing twenty-three stories on stairs, Roger promptly proceeds to puke on the floor at their clients feet.
And then he simply waves his hand and says, "oysters," like it's positively not his fault.
Hero.
4. Asian Inspired
Sriracha, soy sauce, fresh ginger, pickled red onion, jalapeño
So you might not exactly have pickled red onions lying around, but we did after Matt mad a bunch according to this recipe. Initially, I had wanted them to go on top of pork belly tacos (and they did. And it was good) but since I've been putting them on just about everything I can. Whip up a batch, if you're so inclined. They really made this deviled egg awesome. This was definitely one of my favorite flavor combinations as well.I added a little over a teaspoon of soy sauce, a big squirt of Sriracha, and a few turns of grated ginger to the yolks and simply spooned them into the eggs. Topped with finely diced pickled onions and some tiny jalapeño slices. Nom.
Mad Men Moment: Peggy Smokes Pot
Watching the evolution of Peggy Olson from very sweet, naive girl who tried to hold Don Draper's hand in the first episode, to copy writing, say-anything, brown-liquor-swilling badass now, has been absolutely awesome for me, a professional woman, to watch.
In this episode, when all the mid-level "kids" are working on a Saturday and decide to smoke some weed, is one of my favorites. When the guys in the office try to tell Peggy she shouldn't smoke with them because she "wouldn't like it," she swiftly declares "I am Peggy Olson, and I want to smoke some marijuana."
Get it, girl.
5 - Mustard and Greens
Arugula, Parsley, Whole Grain Mustard, Dijon, Yogurt, Salt
This was kind of another play on the "classic", but I stuck with some bitter greens and very pronounced mustard flavor. I actually didn't add yogurt, but I'd recommend you do--these were a touch too "mustard-y", but had great potential. Maybe stick to about a half a spoonful of yogurt and dijon, and just a small amount of whole grains with the yolks. Chop some arugula, parsley, whatever other dark greens you have, and garnish.Mad Men Moment: Roger Drops Acid
As I've said, Roger is probably my favorite character. This episode, while heavy on metaphors and deeper meanings, was also just plain hilarious at times.
Do you have a favorite Mad Men moment or character? What about sixties era snack?
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