The Devil you say? Deviled Eggs

It's weird how you decide to cook things isn't it? It might be a smell that triggers the emotion to eat something in particular, or it might be a thought that pulls you back to an old memory and puts a smile on your face. No matter what the trigger is the need to build something wonderful in the kitchen can not be quenched.

I sat here in the house by myself all day today doing nothing...I had a "feeling sorry for myself" moment and in the past I would have gone and spent money. Well as most of you know I am a poor college student so my "therapy" wouldn't have worked! So I started thinking about things that make me feel good, happy, safe, and yes loved... and of course,...I went to the kitchen to create something ...anything! And I wonder why I am FAT! Anyway, I started thinking about good times and happiness and that usually conjures up food.

Well, I loved my Mama Reid's Deviled Eggs at family gatherings...they were simply works of art! My immediate family hates deviled eggs so I rarely fix them. When I moved to Tennessee in 2001 we had a get together at my sister Laura's house. I knew my mom would be there so I figured at least she and I could eat deviled eggs (she likes them too.) So I made Deviled Eggs like Mama Reid did back in the 50's and 60's with Paprika and Sliced Green Olives... well to my surprise, Laura's husband Gary loved Deviled Eggs...so I then had a reason to make Deviled Eggs whenever we had a small gathering here in Tennessee. Gary was such a joy to be around, if you can imagine a huge blond bear that loved to laugh, tell lies(jokes), and loved to eat you would have a picture of Gary! He could make you smile even if you had the crappiest day in the history of time.... so this recipe is for Gary.

DEVILED EGGS

1 dozen eggs
½ C. mayonnaise
1 tsp mustard
salt and pepper to taste
paprika
sliced olives

• Put eggs in the bottom of a large stainless steel or glass pot.
• Don’t use aluminum as it will turn the yokes green.
• Cover the eggs with cold water and approximately 1 T salt.
• Put on medium heat and bring to a boil.
• Once the eggs are boiling, let them continue to do so for 10 minutes.
• Don’t be concerned if the shells start to crack, they are still good.
• When they are finished boiling, remove from heat and pour off hot water and run cold water over them until they start to cool.
• Crack and peel them under running water.

• After they are all peeled, slice the egg long wise and put the yoke into a small bowl.
• When all have been ‘deyoked’ put the egg white bowl on serving platter.
• Grate the yokes into a bowl, add mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper.
• If any of the whites were torn during the ‘deyoking’ you can grate it and put it into the yokes.
  
• Refill the egg white bowl with the mixture and sprinkle with paprika and top with an olive slice. Tasty and pretty.

I am always surprised at the number of people who really don’t know how to boil eggs… my mom used to put a dish towel in the bottom of the pot to keep the eggs from knocking too hard on the bottom of the pan…. Try it !!

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You say you don't have a deviled egg tray? Not an issue, just take a serving platter and fill it with dried split peas - - - place your finished egg in the peas and it will not slip slide away!