Beard House Highlight: Smoked Deviled Eggs with Crispy Bacon, Pickled Jalapeños, and Chives

Beard House Highlight: Smoked Deviled Eggs with Crispy Bacon, Pickled Jalapeños, and Chives / Bay Area Brilliants

We live in a world where showstoppers reign supreme. Our social media feeds are crammed full of Cronuts and Nutellasagnas, whole-pig roasts, and foie gras hot dogs. But sometimes the most telling evidence of an expert hand comes from the more subtle tweaks, as was the case at our star-studded Bay Area Brilliants dinner, which featured Jennifer Puccio and JBF Award winners Emily Luchetti and Jonathan Waxman. Puccio kicked off the night with these stunning smoked deviled eggs she serves at Park Tavern in San Francisco, immediately winning over Beard House guests with her elevated take on this classic canapé. A decadent dish from start to finish, the hors d’oeuvre ran the gamut of textures and flavors, from the earthy smoke pervading the egg whites, to the snap of crispy bacon, brightness of the salsa verde, acid from the pickled jalapeños, and luxuriant unctuousness of the yolks. The only crack against Puccio is that she’s not using ostrich eggs—these bite-size beauties offer far too fleeting of a delight. Even with the promise of a great meal to come, I found myself throwing caution to the wind and diving in for seconds and thirds. Be warned: make these, and you just might find yourself in a similar position.

Want to wow at your next cocktail party? Get the recipe.

View all upcoming Beard House event menus and book your seat at jamesbeard.org/events.

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Maggie Borden is assistant editor at the James Beard Foundation. Find her on Twitter and Instagram.