Deviled Egg Plates

I have a collection of egg plates.  I don’t know exactly when I acquired my first one, but I likely have 5 or 6 different ones, and I am always tempted to buy another one when I see them at flea markets or vintage stores. My plates range from traditional glass to pretty shades of porcelain. 

The egg plate, of course, is to serve your deviled eggs.  The deviled egg is revered.  It’s the symbol and the centerpiece for every covered-dish dinner or picnic, and it’s always carried in on its special dish.  And no other piece of China has become such a powerful symbol of Southern women. There’s even a book about this subject titled, “Southern Belle and Her Egg Plate” by Liz LaMac.

While researching the egg plate, I discovered a woman in North Carolina with 820 egg plates and counting.  She says there are no two of a kind, and she has plates from all over the world documenting where she bought each plate, whether it was a gift, and any history she knows about the dish or manufacturer.  Once she hits 1,000 egg plates, she plans to seek certification of her collection as the largest in the world from Guinness World Records.

Wow, I do not plan to try breaking her record, but I will still be tempted when I see a special egg plate I must have.  This brings me to my moment today. We had a pre-Easter lunch in the office today, and among other things, I brought deviled eggs.  I just said that I have a variety of egg plates, but none are in my dish collection in Jacksonville.  So, shame on me for bringing my deviled eggs to work on a $1.25 carrier that I got at Dollar Tree.

It served the purpose, but I’m not sure any proud Southern Belle would walk into a room with an egg plate from Dollar Tree.  But as a side note, the eggs were delicious.  I found a new recipe in last year’s April Woman’s Day magazine for Pimiento Cheese Deviled Eggs.  If you’d like to try it, here it is:

12 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut lengthwise in half

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons hot sauce

dash of salt

½ cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1 4-ounce jar pimientos, drained well and finely chopped

1 scallion, finely chopped

paprika, for garnish

My egg plate may not have been the talk of the town, or it may have been for its tackiness, but I pulled it off with a great recipe for deviled eggs.