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​Vol-au-vents, chicken Maryland and devilled eggs are just some that are enjoying a reinvention. The Americans even have a special day assigned to devilled eggs which happens to be tomorrow. When I was growing up these little stuffed treats were commonplace. Boiled eggs were split in half, the yolk removed and mixed with curry powder and salad cream and then piped into the cooked white - the height of sophistication, in Aghadowey anyway. Last year I filmed a TV series in Tennessee and was thrilled to cook alongside Rachel Parton, sister of the legendary Dolly. The sisters had brought out a cookbook of family recipes handed down through the generations. One had all the ingredients of devilled eggs but Rachel called them “dressed eggs”. Their Grandpa was a preacher and didn’t approve of any reference to the devil,so they coined the term “dressed” instead. It actually makes them sound a bit fancier too.Nowadays all manner of ingredients are added to eggs to pep them up - smoked paprika,Thai curry paste, Korean chilli, chorizo sausage and all manner of chillis. My recipe has no spice and takes inspiration from the classic Niçoise salad. This usually combines tuna with eggs, tomatoes, olives and a French dressing using oil, vinegar and mustard. Boil the eggs for nine minutes and if you want the yolk in the middle stir the simmering eggs frequently after five minutes. Cool in iced water before peeling and that will avoid any distasteful grey marks. Keep the water boiling, score a ripe tomato with a knife, plunge into the boiling water for 10 seconds then into the iced water. When you peel, quarter, deseed and dice the tomatoes it’s known as concasse. It sounds a bit pretentious but it makes a lovely garnish. Mix the yolks with tuna,mustard, vinegar,oil, finely minced olives and parsley and spoon into the whites. Top with some concasse and a little sprig of basil. Dressed eggs I’m sure the Reverend Parton would approve of….

Another food celebration day occurs next Tuesday - National Sandwich Day. You could do worse than make yourself an egg and onion sandwich - one of life’s simple but great pleasures. At this time of year a hot sandwich is a good idea to take the chill off. In the recipe here pork chops are flattened and breaded with some mustard powder added to the mix. They’re shallow fried to golden, crispy perfection. Pork and apple are a classic combination and here apple is into thin matchsticks and combined with onion, celery, sour cream, mustard and mayonnaise. You could use a sourdough bap or brioche roll for this but I’m recommending sliced plain bread. This is one of national food treasures here that we need to cherish and celebrate. We use it with abandon to make stuffing at Christmas and then tend to ignore it in favour of more stylish, continental breads. I was reared on it - it was toasted and slathered with butter, served with soup and used for sandwiches for school. The soft bread, sandwiched with crisp pork, crunchy apple salad is the perfect way to mark Sandwich Day. Soup and sandwiches are another lovely pairing. You could forgo the apple element of the featured sandwich and add some cheese instead or make the soup recipe here - a creamy cheese and cider soup. Slowly cook onions and celery in butter with a lid on until soft and golden then mix in some flour. Add a nice dry local cider and some stock and simmer for half an hour. Finish with cream and cheese and when the cheese has melted whizz to a smooth soup. Use a good sharp cheddar for this. I like to serve a small cup of the soup along with the sandwich so you can dunk.