Deviled Eggs

Growing up, we lived for a few wonderful years on a farm in Oregon. We had lots of chickens, and consequently, lots of eggs. Mama made Egg Sandwiches and Deviled Eggs routinely, and none of us ever thought much of it. However, when I grew up and had to make my own Deviled Eggs, I realized how much works goes into it...

The process begins with boiled eggs. Easy? LOL...NOT!! How long do you boil them to get them cooked through, but not get green yolks? My best "guesstimate" is: Cover cold eggs in room temperature water and let them sit until they are no longer cold. Then bring them to a soft but rolling boil, and let them boil for 5 minutes. Pull them off the heat and let them sit for another 10-15 minutes in the hot water.

Now, do your damnedest to peel those suckers without making a mess of the egg whites or breaking the egg apart. Have fun with that. You can try rolling each one around in a glass or tapping it against the sink 100 times, but if an egg is going to be difficult, it is going to be difficult. Period...

Carefully, remove the (hopefully, not green) egg yolk from the white and gently lay the white in a serving receptacle or plastic container that will keep things fresh. Mash the egg yolk as finely as possible and put that in a bowl. Add mayonnaise, a bit of yellow mustard, salt and pepper to taste and mix it up. Then add just a bit of milk to get this yolk filling to the desired consistency.

This will take quite a bit of trial and error and taste testing. But that is what all those broken egg whites are for!

Next, I use a small scoop to fill the "nice" egg whites with the yummy yolk mix. Usually, this all comes out fairly evenly. Also, when I am doing this, people tend to be aware of what I am making and happily

make themselves available for taste test or for ridding you of the unwanted extras, as well as for licking the bowl.

My mom always sprinkled paprika on the finished eggs to "give them a little color".

And, more than anything, just know that if somebody makes you Deviled Eggs, they REALLY love you!