Deviled Eggs
Solid Basics
A friend asked me how to make tuna fish sandwiches the other day, and I was taken aback. Then another friend asked how to make deviled eggs, as she wanted to serve them for a backyard gathering. It got me wondering just how many people want to know the basics—a few trusted recipes worthy of repeating time and again. With this in mind, I’m sharing a few of my standards. Click for Egg Salad Sandwich, Grilled Cheese how tos, and Tuna Salad Sandwich recipes.
Deviled Eggs
Deviled eggs have been around since 15th-century Italy. But it wasn’t until the mid-1700s that the British gave them that moniker—not because they were sinfully rich, but because the cooking term “devil” meant food that was well chopped up and mixed with a sauce or seasoning. The key to a good deviled egg is to be certain to mash the yolk with a fork until it is free of all lumps prior to mixing in the other ingredients. This ensures the creamy texture that makes deviled eggs so heavenly.
This is a straightforward, no-nonsense recipe. Feel free to jazz it up with either a dash of Tabasco, dill, curry powder, wasabi, pickle relish, capers, parsley, or even minced ham. The possibilities are fairly endless, but for some reason, I always circle back to the original.
Deviled Eggs
Serves 4
6 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2-1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise, preferably Best Foods
parsley and paprika to plate
Boil and peel eggs per master instructions.
Place egg yolks in a small bowl and use a fork to completely break up the yolks.
Mix in all other ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Use a spoon (or get fancy with a pastry bag and decorating tip) and distribute the filling amongst the eggs. Plate and decorate with a sprinkle of paprika and a small bit of parsley. You can make these hours ahead. To refrigerate, use strategically placed toothpicks to create a plastic wrap tent so the covering doesn’t touch the filling.
Sally Uhlmann’s passion for cooking led her to publish a memoir-style cookbook, “Just Cook with Sally.” She splits her time between the States and her farmhouse in Cortona, Italy, when she is not traveling the world. Sally cooks, develops recipes, and writes stories—mostly about the intersection of food, travel, and her life.
