Deviled Eggs

This past weekend Will and I attended our parish potluck. Being the slacker that I am I didn't sign up for what we were going to bring, but I knew we needed to bring something. So, I opted to make deviled eggs. I had made this my "go-to" dish this past Christmas and decided it would work well for a potluck - especially one where you didn't sign up for anything!
I love deviled eggs. I think I could eat them every day of my life and not get sick of them. They're just that good. And, luckily, they aren't too tricky to make. When I first went to make them this past Christmas I looked up recipes online and those all seemed so meticulous and complicated. I knew the basic ingredients that went into a deviled egg, so I ditched all the recipes and just made what I wanted. For the sake of posting a "recipe" on this blog I tried to note approximately how much of each ingredient I put in my deviled eggs. But remember a deviled egg is not an exact science. You can just go with what "feels right" and they will likely turn out great!

Deviled Eggs
Ingredients:
1/2 C mayonnaise (I used a little less than 1/2 C)
1/8 C Dijon Mustard
salt
pepper
cayenne pepper
1 plastic sandwich bag

Recipe:
1) Hard boil 10 eggs (or 8 or 12 or however many you like).

Luckily figuring out how long it takes for an egg to be officially "hard boiled" is much simpler than you might think. All you have to do is put the eggs in cold water. Bring the water to a boil. Then once you notice the water is boiling turn off the heat (but leave the pan on the burner) and let the eggs continue to cook. As soon as the water is cool enough to retrieve the eggs (with your hands) you will have a perfectly hard boiled egg. No runny yolk, and no greenish-brown yolk either!

2) Peel hard boiled eggs.
I've found that this actually isn't very difficult to do if you peel them right away. Run the eggs under cold water and the inside of the egg seems to condense before the shell, so it (seems to) make the egg peel away from the shell fairly easily.

3) Cut hard boiled eggs in half and remove yolks. Place egg yolks in a small bowl.

4) Mush egg yolks (I can't think of a better word and I'm no professional cook, so cut me some slack).

5) Add mayonnaise and mustard. Then add salt, pepper and cayenne pepper "to taste." Mix well. (Sorry - I didn't take a picture of this part of the process.)

6) Cut a corner tip off sandwich bag. Then fill with yolk mixture.

I like to use the sandwich bag like an icing bag. It makes filling the eggs much easier and much less messy.

7) Fill eggs with yolk mixture. You can be generous with how much you put in each egg - I filled mine pretty full and still had a lot left over.

extra yolk filling

8) Enjoy the extra eggs you made for yourself. You did make a couple extra just for you, didn't you? I am always so tempted to eat the ones I'm preparing for others that I've now learned to just add an extra egg or two in for my own eating pleasure. This way I'll still have a full tray of eggs to serve :) And if any of the eggs tear or get messed up I don't have to serve those.

I would like to note if you're planning on making deviled eggs in advance it's important to keep them in an air tight container as they tend to dry out. But, really it's best to make them just before serving them.
I would also like to say that I think adding a little relish or finely chopped pickles would be a really yummy addition to the yolk mixture, but I've never tried it because we never eat relish or pickles. A lot of people also top their deviled eggs with paprika, but I've never noticed that it really changes the flavor it only seems to add to the aesthetics.