What the Devil Had for His Dinner Quiz

Answer: chocolate

Devil's food cake is to chocolate cake what angel food cake is to white cake or yellow cake ... just as good only better. Since about 1905, bakers have made Devil's food cake following a recipe created in the US. The result is a chocolate cake made with chocolate frosting between the layers. Recipes change over time. Original Devil's food cake was made with little blocks of unsweetened baking chocolate; it is now more often made with unsweetened cocoa powder. Coffee, either as a liquid or dry finely-ground espresso powder, is sometimes added to kick up the chocolate flavour. No one is quite sure how Devil's food cake got its name but it is likely that it was in contrast to angel food cake, which had already been invented.

Answer: Underwood's Deviled Ham

The William Underwood Company (founded in Boston in 1822) began to market deviled ham in 1868. A canned meat spread was created by finely grinding ham and seasoning it liberally with spices. Difficulty with spoilage was resolved by a collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1895 to 1896. Early on the company used a red devil logo to identify and advertise its product.

This trademark was registered in 1870 and Underwood claims that it is the oldest food trademark in use in the US.

The term "deviled ham" cannot be copyrighted nor trademarked, thus there are other products made and marketed as deviled ham by other companies.

Answer: stuffed prunes wrapped in bacon

Angels on horseback is a colloquial name for grilled oysters wrapped in bacon. The correlative devils on horseback is a similar dish, replacing the oysters with prunes, sometimes stuffed with cheese and/or minced nuts. Variations include substituting prosciutto or pancetta for the bacon. If dates are substituted for prunes, they may first be soaked in brandy.

There is much disagreement about the source of the name "devils on horseback." Much of it is amateur, fanciful or both. A mention in "The Country Gentleman" magazine in 1885 says it is because they are served quite hot and hell is reputed to afford a hot climate.

The reason for the British association between devils on horseback and Christmas dinner is similarly unclear.

Answer: rum and champagne

In the 17th century, a drink was produced from fermented sugar cane which was called "kill devil." How it got that name is open to dispute. The result was rather like modern rum which is made the same way. A punch like those originally made from kill devil includes amber rum, pineapple juice, simple syrup, lime juice, champagne and garnishes of raspberries and lime slices.

Some makers freeze the raspberries into a block of ice which is then floated in the punch bowl. Others freeze raspberries into ice cubes which release the berries as they melt.

The elegant way to serve Kill Devil Punch is in antique tea cups, to which a lime slice and one or two raspberries are added.

Answer: brother devil

Fra Diavolo sauce is a tomato sauce made with sauteed onion, garlic, oregano and spicy-hot red peppers. "Fra diavolo" is Italian for brother devil. This sauce renders pollo (chicken), gamberi (shrimp) and aragosta (lobster) extra tasty. Herbs other than oregano (e.g. basil or parsley) may be used. A bit of dry wine may balance the flavours. The sauce is also good on just plain pasta.

Answer: shrimp

"Camarones a la Diabla" translates to "the Devil's shrimp." Fat juicy prawns are seared in a hot skillet and then sauced with a tangy red sauce made of at least two different sorts of chiles. These may include chiles de arbol, guajillo chiles, New Mexico (Hatch) chiles, California chiles, ancho chiles, and/or pasilla chiles. The shrimp are not so much cooked in the sauce as tossed briefly in it to take on the flavour immediately before service. Because shrimp are so easy to overcook, the sauce must be hot and ready before the shellfish go into the pan.

Answer: mustard, Worcestershire and cayenne

Crab cakes are popular throughout the Atlantic seaboard. The Cajun version is highly spiced with mustard and cayenne. Deviled crab is made by combining crab meat with onions, green bell peppers, tomatoes and celery, and sautéing the cakes on a lightly-oiled surface or deep-frying them. The Spanish-American version of this dish is "croqueta de jaiba" and is comparable to a variety of crab cakes made and sold in Florida, Maryland and India.

Answer: French

"Poulets Grillés à la Diable" is spicy broiled chicken, served either hot or cold. The "Diable" is provided by the mustard and hot pepper with which the chicken is coated. An equivalent Italian dish is "Pollo alla diavola." An equivalent Mexican dish is "Pollo ala Diabla." An equivalent Spanish dish is "Pollo diablo." In English, it is called "Devilled Chicken."

Answer: potatoes

Potatoes a la Diable (the Devil's Potatoes) has a history recounted in "The Picayune's Creole Cook Book" (1901). A man's wife asked him to go and purchase potatoes ("pommes de terre") at the local French Market. According to the story, he threw the marketing basket back at her with the epithet "Pommes de terre aux diable!" In order to express her displeasure, she fried the evening's potatoes and loaded them with both mustard and cayenne pepper. Rather than hate them, the old Creole loved the dish and that is how it got its name.

Answer: hard boil

Since the cuisine of Ancient Rome, eggs have been hard-boiled, cut in half and filled with a smooth mixture of the yolks combined with mayonnaise, mustard and seasonings. These eggs are called "deviled" in the US and "devilled" in the UK. In the American South, these delights may be referred to as "stuffed eggs." The amendments to cooked egg yolk may include cheese, raisins, anchovy, heavy cream, pickle relish and/or tomato.

These are most typically served as appetizers but are also a staple at picnics and as part of Easter Day menus.