The Deviled Egg: A Southern Delicacy

I have never been to a party where a plate of deviled eggs doesn't get finished off.  In fact, they're usually the first thing to disappear.

You see them at just about any gathering here in the South from luncheons, to pot lucks to weddings.  This past weekend I went to a birthday party and decided to whip up some deviled eggs to take with me.   I had to use what I had on hand so this is a "fly by the seat of my pants recipe."  Just a fair warning.

The  most important step in making deviled eggs is not to overcook the egg because the yolks will become too dry and turn funky colors.  You can find a good guide here.  Yes, believe it or not, I have Googled "how to hard boil an egg."  It's not as easy as you might think!

Here's my recipe:

6 eggs, hard boiled, chilled and peeled.

4 tbs. light mayo

1 tbs. finely diced dill pickle spear (about 1/4 of the pickle)

1/2 tsp.salt

1/4 tsp. white pepper

diced red pepper to garnish

paprika to garnish

Cut the eggs in half lengthwise and remove the yolks.  To the yolks add the next 4 ingredients and blend well until you reach a creamy consistency.  (You can always add more mayo to get your desired consistency.  Sometimes people use a little mustard too.)

Fill the hollowed egg whites with yolk mixture and garnish with red pepper and a dash of paprika.  I like to pipe the yolk mixture into the egg whites using a pastry bag because I think it looks prettier but you can certainly just spoon the filling in too.  Serve and watch them disappear!