I love deviled eggs.  I could literally make myself sick eating them.  I’m quite certain that at least once [or ten times] in the last 4 decades, I have.  I don’t think I’ve met a deviled egg that I haven’t liked.  My aunt’s are probably my favorite [I’ll let them duke it out as to which Aunt holds the Deviled Egg title].  I asked for her recipe once and I got: “oh you know, it’s a little of this and a little of that.”  Great.  That was very helpful, thankyouverymuch.  So I did what I always do when I’m a bit stymied in the kitchen.  I fetch Granny’s or Ome’s recipe book–in this case, it was Granny’s–and then immediately kicked up the heat, as I think the creaminess of the egg lends itself to a bit of bite.

There are two things I have learned over the years.  First, I only make them in small batches, so that if I decide to eat them all in one sitting a couple of days, it’s not such a gastroenteritis nightmare.  Secondly, I start with a small amount of each ingredient I add.  You can always add more but there is nothing worse than adding too much mustard and having mushy, runny deviled eggs.

As such, it turns out to be exactly like my Aunt said:  it’s a little of this and a little of that.

So when it is a certain holiday and you find yourself staring at a colorful bowl of hard boiled eggs and wondering what to do with them, it is THE perfect time to do a bit of experimenting on your deviled egg recipe.  If you didn’t want to experiment on your own but wanted something different, try one of these recipes.  I tend to be a [somewhat] traditionalist and keep my recipe pretty basic.

Hard boil the eggs, cool them, peel them, cut them in half, scoop out the yolks, set the egg whites aside, and smash the yolks all together.  To that you are going to add:

• mayo
• sweet relish
• a dash of vinegar (for just a bit of tang–of all the ingredients, this is the one you want to use the most sparingly!)
• salt & pepper
• mustard**
• paprika or chipotle powder for garnish

**the mustard is how I decide what type of kick my deviled eggs will have.  EITHER I use [pardon me, do you have any…] dijon mustard for a spicy flavor OR I use yellow mustard and add chipotle seasoning powder into the mix for a  smokey-spicy kick.

I like to start out with a tablespoon or so of each ingredient [except vinegar–use about 1 tsp max per dozen eggs].  I alternate the mayo, mustard, and relish until the filling has a creamy, but not runny texture.  Add the seasonings. Do a bit of quality control tasting and once the filling is to your liking, refill the yolk indention of the egg white.  Lightly sprinkle paprika or chipotle powder on top for a bit of garnish.

TA-DA!  Yes, it’s that easy.  I’m telling you, the hardest part is not eating them all in one sitting sharing.   Bon appetite!