Egg Salad?!

For many years I *hated* egg salad. No. *Detested* egg salad. From the time I was a child I'd have to leave the room if someone started in on an egg salad sandwich.

Yes. That's egg salad!
So it struck me rather funny one day last winter when I decided I wanted...an...egg salad sandwich. So I researched recipes on the web (it's *so* easy) and decided I liked this one here at Serious Eats. There really isn't much variation in egg salad recipes. At the time I ended up wrapping my egg salad in lettuce leaves.

I've had it several times since and always enjoy some variation of that recipe.

I start by steaming the eggs. I get a steamer going at a ripping boil and put my cold eggs in for 14 minutes. Serious Eats says 12 minutes. My 12 minute eggs come out underdone. Maybe it's my steamer. I put them in a bowl under cold running water when they're done and leave them for 10 or 15 minutes. This technique was originally the result of trying to find an easier way to peel hard cooked eggs.

Here. Check this out.

Just about the whole egg slips right out
And I get *perfectly* cooked eggs...

Every time

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The recipe:

• Two eggs, cold
• Two tablespoons of finely chopped celery. Be sure to get some leaves.
• 2 teaspoons mayonnaise. I like Hellmann's Light.
• Generous dot of Dijon mustard
• Splash of lemon juice

I mash the eggs with a fork and mix everything together. Sometimes I add some chives. Chives are especially good. Sometimes I include a tablespoon of chopped red onion. Sometimes I add parsley. You get the idea. I need to try a pinch of curry powder some one of these days.

I think it goes especially well forked onto those little Rubschlager rye breads and the radishes are a nice touch. That idea came from Serious Eats. I like my egg salad wrapped in lettuce leaves too. I have to try it on a hamburger bun sometime.

So. Which is it? "?!" or "!?". I looked up the rules. Apparently there is no rule. But people who study this stuff say "?!" is in more common usage. It appears maybe twice as often as "!?".