Devilishly Delicious Deviled Eggs

Our fabulous Food Editor Christine gives us the download on that summer favorite, deviled eggs. Yum!

Is there a more perfect picnic food than a creamy deviled egg? A simple crowd pleaser, they are also versatile and adaptable to whatever theme or mood of your party. I’ve written this for two eggs ( I know, who only makes two deviled eggs!?!) in order to make it easer to scale up for however many you want to make; just multiply the mayonnaise and mustard by the number of eggs that you cook.

Deviled Eggs

For each two hard-boiled eggs:

1 tablespoon of good mayonnaise

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

pinch of salt

pinch of cayenne 

DIRECTIONS:
Cook the eggs for about 8 minutes in rapidly boiling water, drain them, and then immediately chill them in cold water.

When the eggs have cooled enough to handle, peel the shells off and cut the eggs in half. Scoop the yolks into a mixing bowl. If you want your eggs perfectly smooth and creamy, press the yolks through a fine mesh strainer. Otherwise, use a fork to crush the yolks. Mix in the mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper. Check the seasoning. Spoon or pipe the yolk mixture with a pastry bag back into the egg halves. Chill until ready to serve.

Some of my favorite things to add to deviled eggs:

Mix a teaspoon of chopped capers into the egg yolks. Top each egg with a sliver of sweet red onion and an arugula leaf.

Add chopped dilly beans and a splash of the pickling liquid into the eggs. Top with a dash of smoked paprika and a little sprig of fresh dill.

A little spin on bacon and eggs, make the recipe as written and add a shard of crisp smoky bacon to the top.

For one of the prettiest, most elegant deviled eggs you’ll ever try substitute the mayo and mustard with Dijon mustard and sour cream or crème fraiche. Top the eggs with a spoonful of jewel-like cured fish eggs (found at most Asian markets).

Check out Christine’s delectable blog or follow her on Twitter.