Deviled Eggs



Deviled eggs, or as Julie says, 'Angeled Eggs', are great to serve with a brunch.  Peeling the hard-boiled eggs can be a bit time consuming, but otherwise this is a simple recipe to make.  They can be prepared a day in advance.  Be sure to buy good quality eggs, preferably ones that are laid by chickens who are free-ranged and have not been fed soy.  For those of you who have chickens, I will provide my chicken food recipe for you soon.  As with egg salad, the quality of egg you use will determine how good this tastes.

Ingredients:

12 hard boiled eggs

2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/3 cup mayonnaise (buy a good quality one that uses expeller or cold-pressed oil and no soy oil - I currently use Hain's Safflower Mayonnaise)
1 Tbl minced green onion or chives
1/4 tsp Tabasco
1/4 sea salt
a few grinds of fresh black pepper
paprika

Hard boil* a dozen eggs.  When ready to use, peel eggs, rinse off any shell bits and dry.  Then carefully cut eggs in half lengthwise.  Gently remove the yolks and place in a medium size bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients (except paprika) and stir together well.  Then fill each egg white half with prepared filling and sprinkle with paprika.


*Hard boiling Eggs:  I put my eggs in water and bring them to a boil over medium high heat.  Once boiling, I then turn off the heat and move them to another burner, setting a timer for 15 minutes.  In the meantime, chill a large bowl with a little water and lots of ice.  When the timer goes off, immediately transfer eggs from hot water (don't burn yourself) to the cold water.  Place more ice in bowl on top of eggs and let cool until completely chilled (I leave them for about an hour in the ice water).  Remove, dry, and place in refrigerator until ready to use. 

Growing up I was taught to put a little vinegar in the water to keep the eggshells from breaking.  I have found with good quality eggs (those from my chickens), that I do not need to do this because the shells are not weak and thus do not make when hard boiling.  Thus not using vinegar in the water can be a test of the quality of egg you are using - if the shells are cracking find a better quality egg.