Devilled Eggs

A chafing-dish supper dish rather than the cold stuffed eggs the name suggests today: sliced hard-cooked eggs warmed through in a sharp catsup-and-Worcestershire sauce and spooned over toast. It comes together in about five minutes once the eggs are cooked.

• The hinge: barely heat the eggsThe eggs are already cooked, so they only need to warm through in the hot sauce, a minute at most. Left over heat they turn tough and the yolks go chalky and start to crumble into the sauce.
• Chafing dishA chafing dish is a shallow pan set over a spirit lamp, sometimes above a pan of hot water for gentler heat. Any small heavy skillet or saucepan works, but keep the flame low once the sauce boils, as there is very little liquid to spare.
• ShorteningIn a book of this vintage this means lard or a vegetable shortening. Butter gives a better sauce here; two tablespoons is right for the quantity of sauce.
• Catsup of the periodCommercial tomato catsups of the period were often sharper and more vinegary than today's. Modern ketchup may make the sauce noticeably sweeter, which the mustard and Worcestershire can carry, but taste before salting.
• The odd salt measureA third of a teaspoon is an unusual figure to specify. Worcestershire and catsup both bring salt of their own, so add it at the end rather than at the start.
• Slicing the eggsA wetted knife or an egg slicer keeps the yolks from shattering. Slices about a quarter inch thick hold their shape in the pan; thinner rounds fall apart when stirred.
• ServingSix servings means roughly one egg and a slice of toast each, which is a light supper or breakfast portion. Butter and toast the bread just before serving so it does not go soft under the sauce.