That's 'licious, Mommy!: Deviled Eggs

“I have met a lot of hardboiled eggs in my time, but you're twenty minutes.”
- Oscar Wilde

The first few times I boiled eggs, I made the mistake of letting them become "twenty minutes." In other words they were rubbery and the yolks were an unsavory green on the outside and chalky in texture. It took me a couple of tries before I gained any proficiency in making boiled eggs, and you can't make deviled eggs unless you can boil eggs. Apparently through the years I've gotten better at making deviled eggs, because they are always the first thing gone at family reunions. My brother will sit down to a plate of half a dozen at a time, and I boiled/deviled 12 dozen eggs for his wedding last year. I don't recommend doing that unless you have someone helping you peel them. My thumbs were shredded by the time I finished! My mom likes to make sandwiches with them. My daughter loves them. Eh, enough talk, let's get down to it, shall we?

Deviled Eggs

12 eggs

water

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tsp mustard

2 tsp vinegar (I used cider, you could use white)

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1. Place eggs in a large pot. Cover with cold water. Add baking soda. Bring to a hard boil for exactly 10 minutes. Stir them if you think of it.

2. Remove from heat. Drain, and return eggs to pan. Shake the pan to break the shells. Peel eggs under cool water. Rinse to remove any shell fragments. Place peeled eggs on a paper towel-lined plate.

3. Mix remaining ingredients together in a medium-size bowl, and carefully slice eggs lengthwise. Place egg halves on serving platter, pop yolks into the filling bowl.

4. Use a potato masher, pastry blender, or handheld mixer to blend filling together. You want a creamy consistency. If there are large lumps, break them up with a fork and blend some more.