Thursday Recipe - Deviled Eggs

I posted about nice hard boiled eggs last week. If you have trouble getting your eggs to peel, go check it out. It might help.

This week, I'm going to share my secret recipe for deviled eggs. These get devoured at my house where hard-boiled eggs tend to just sit in the fridge and smell.

If you like your middle creamy, use a mixer to cream the yolks with the mayonnaise and mustard. Stir in the pickle chunks after you mix it up.

As always, feel free to mix this up according to your taste. Try different pickles and relishes. Try different spices and sauces. Experiment to your heart's delight.

Deviled Eggs

8 hard boiled eggs
1/3 c. mayonnaise or sour cream or cream cheese (lowfat or spread works best)
2 T. prepared mustard (yellow is traditional but feel free to use brown or spicy or whatever mustard you like)
1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. garlic salt
1/4 c. chopped pickles or relish
smoked paprika for garnish

Slice the eggs in half lengthwise. Pop the yolk out and drop it in a small mixing bowl. Set the white on a plate. I have cool egg plates that were wedding presents. I never would have bought them for myself, but I really like them. Not necessary but they keep the eggs from sliding around too much.

When you have all the yolks in the bowl, add the mayonnaise, mustard, onion powder, and salt. Mash with a fork until smooth (or use a mixer). Stir in pickle chunks. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. Try a dash or two of tabasco sauce. Or some sweet chili dipping sauce.

Carefully spoon the yolk mixture into the whites, dividing it out evenly between all 16 halves. Dust the tops with a light sprinkle of paprika. Refrigerate for about an hour to help them set up.

Serve cold. Makes 16 halves.

If you really want to be fancy, skip the pickles in the yolk mixture. Cream it good with your mixer, then spoon into a cake decorator tube with a wide star tip. Pipe the filling into the whites, swirling into a fancy star thingie. Garnish with thin pickle slices cut and folded into flowers. If you use bread and butter pickles, you can use the red peppers in the pickles to make roses and use the pickles for leaves. I'm not this fancy.